fisherpl

iTrader: (1)

I've finally done it!

Thanks to the excellent threads on here I have junked the orignal Kenwood double DIN HU and replaced it with an Alpine CDE-9850Ri £200 off at Halfrauds at the moment) and a Forester Pocket. This is the one that controls an ipod from the HU and it is absolutely brilliant! I have an ipod on it and can testify to this!

If you are thinking of swapping the original HU and hadn't dared, do it. It's a piece of cake!

I had already replaced the speakers with a set of Kenwood 3 ways (again with help from the links on Scoobynet)and thought this had made an improvement but it proves what everybody on here says.......the OEM HU is siht!

Before I started I listened to a set of Infinity CS6510s' and agree with the views on here. They are too bright at the high end. Even the two way all in one version (can't remember the no!) sounds wrong. Take note Infinity. My 10 year old Kenwood 3 Ways sound better, more rounded!

While I was Dynamatting the MDF spacers I noticed they were damp at the bottom and as a result had swollen. The speakers were fine and dry but they no longer sat flat on the spacer.

I made some replacement spacers out of marine ply and varnished them. That should solve the damp problem.

Before I put the new spacers in I made up gaskets front and back out of Dynamat with square cut outs at the back for the plastic mounting blocks that hold the spacer in. I reckon this should kill off any resonance for good.

I also glued some foam blocks to the polythene sheet at the point where it is slack over openings in the inner door skin as on high volume the polythene vibrates against the back of the door card (you can see it moving like a giant speaker with the door card out!!!) This should, I hope, stop the vibrations by damping the poluthene against the door card. I will report back! I used some 20mm foam cut into 50mm squares and held to the polythene with double sided foam sticky fixers.

Again, thanks for all the help in the ICE FAQ and the other links I have shamelessly roobed tips from! Hope mine are of some use.

C2forWRX

know its a bit late... but take sum pics with the door cards off and post them up!!!

fisherpl

iTrader: (1)

C2forWRX....You're right. It is a bit late. The door cards are back on and staying on. Just stick the foam over the holes in the door that you can see through the polythene!