Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

reunited · 02-11-2012, 10:39 AM

Congratulations on your new purchase.

I also drive a 2012 Touring ... mine also has the sport package.

There are several roads you can take depending on your preferences but almost assuredly you will end up in the same place.

If you are into sound quality, then you will want to upgrade your fronts (mids & tweeters) because if the mids aren't right nothing will sound good. As noted by previous posters this entails getting a line output converter and an amp. Your choices in LOCs are cheap/simple, LOCs with equalization (DSP based) capability via manual adjustment, or higher end LOCs (also DSP equipped) with greater granularity and ease of adjustment through laptop attachment.

Initially (I've only had my car 40 days!), I chose Rockford Fosgate T2 components for the front, a simple LC6i converter, and a Rockford Fosgate P-300. Huge improvement over the Bose.

However, it became quickly apparent that the rear fill and subwoofer were terribly weak. I decided to build a custom spare tire sub enclosure and use a Pioneer SW-251 10" shallow mount sub. (If you want to use an off the shelf subwoofer solution, go to Wicked C.A.S. and look at their Magic Box.) I swapped out the RF P300-2 amp for a RF T600-4 providing more oomph to the fronts and bridging the rear channels to feed the sub. I also swapped out the LC6i for the LCQ-1 (a mid range line converter with equalization) which also has a nice bass restoring feature (go to Audio Controls for more info)

Now the system is done and it sounds pretty good. No loss of functionality in terms of the HU or steering wheel controls. The amp, crossovers, and converter are installed and hidden behind the seats w/o impacting seat travel, and the sub is stealth (under the rear rug.) However, the installer did not do a good job of tuning. A good installer/tuner is probably at least as important to overall sound quality as the components you select.

The other road you can take, and many have taken this route because of their choice in music, is to address only the low end first by purchasing a LOC, amp and a subwoofer. Going this route means that after improving the low end, your fronts are going to seem woefully inadequate. Also, disconnect the rear fills ...in a car with 58 cubic feet of space, excluding humans, you don't need them, they are junk, and they will just mess up your soundstage.

My advice: do it all at once (fronts, LOC with DSP, 4 channel amp, and subwoofer) as that's where you'll probably end up anyway and you'll save on labor (car is taken apart/reassembled once). If you plan on adding sound dampening, this is also the ideal time to do this.

Bill

02-11-2012, 10:39 AM	#5 (permalink)
reunited Base Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: meta state Posts: 72 Drives: 12 370 AT, sport Rep Power: 13	Congratulations on your new purchase. I also drive a 2012 Touring ... mine also has the sport package. There are several roads you can take depending on your preferences but almost assuredly you will end up in the same place. If you are into sound quality, then you will want to upgrade your fronts (mids & tweeters) because if the mids aren't right nothing will sound good. As noted by previous posters this entails getting a line output converter and an amp. Your choices in LOCs are cheap/simple, LOCs with equalization (DSP based) capability via manual adjustment, or higher end LOCs (also DSP equipped) with greater granularity and ease of adjustment through laptop attachment. Initially (I've only had my car 40 days!), I chose Rockford Fosgate T2 components for the front, a simple LC6i converter, and a Rockford Fosgate P-300. Huge improvement over the Bose. However, it became quickly apparent that the rear fill and subwoofer were terribly weak. I decided to build a custom spare tire sub enclosure and use a Pioneer SW-251 10" shallow mount sub. (If you want to use an off the shelf subwoofer solution, go to Wicked C.A.S. and look at their Magic Box.) I swapped out the RF P300-2 amp for a RF T600-4 providing more oomph to the fronts and bridging the rear channels to feed the sub. I also swapped out the LC6i for the LCQ-1 (a mid range line converter with equalization) which also has a nice bass restoring feature (go to Audio Controls for more info) Now the system is done and it sounds pretty good. No loss of functionality in terms of the HU or steering wheel controls. The amp, crossovers, and converter are installed and hidden behind the seats w/o impacting seat travel, and the sub is stealth (under the rear rug.) However, the installer did not do a good job of tuning. A good installer/tuner is probably at least as important to overall sound quality as the components you select. The other road you can take, and many have taken this route because of their choice in music, is to address only the low end first by purchasing a LOC, amp and a subwoofer. Going this route means that after improving the low end, your fronts are going to seem woefully inadequate. Also, disconnect the rear fills ...in a car with 58 cubic feet of space, excluding humans, you don't need them, they are junk, and they will just mess up your soundstage. My advice: do it all at once (fronts, LOC with DSP, 4 channel amp, and subwoofer) as that's where you'll probably end up anyway and you'll save on labor (car is taken apart/reassembled once). If you plan on adding sound dampening, this is also the ideal time to do this. Bill Last edited by reunited; 02-11-2012 at 11:28 AM.