You guys must be made out of rubber or something. I couldn't even get my hands past the window track. I can only reach that tiny area right above the speaker opening, just below the mirror.

Nope,just have to not only pull the speaker,but also that plastic frame that supports it.That gives you a fairly large opening to work with,I weigh 240lbs,not exactly a flyweight and could get my arm in there.

I did remove the entire speaker baffle, not just the driver. Then again, the skies were about to drop on my head, so I was in a hurry to get everything buttoned back up. It doesn't matter right now since I am out of dampening material. I'm sure I'll dig into it again soon enough.

Speaking of digging into things, here's a couple of "guts" shots of the Arc 1200.6 amp. It's amazing how small this little guy really is, especially considering the amount of power it produces. Not only is it built like a tank, it also uses quality Alps potentiometers throughout.

I can't wait to get this gear up and running!

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...75786849-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...75786848-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...75786924-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...75786977-5.jpg


Roku remote for size reference...
http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...75786990-5.jpg

Amplifier porn!!!

Just for the hell of it, I ran the RTA on my system as it sits, nothing more than the Pioneer head unit, Memphis 2.75" dash speakers and bone stock base 6.5" door speakers.

I used my Dell laptop running Room EQ Wizard (REW) into the head unit via the new AUX input I installed in the dash cubby with an AudioQuest 1/8" cable, and the miniDSP UMIK-1 mic.

This isn't a perfect session as it's about 210*F outside as well as nosy neighbors wondering around (stinkin' apartment complex). So I had the engine running, AC running and me sitting in the passenger seat. I tried keeping my legs and laptop out of the way of the passenger door speaker as much as possible. This means I was sitting Indian style in the seat (which was a bit uncomfortable) and the laptop folded in half on my stomach.

To overcome ambient noise of the engine and AC running, I ran the pink noise up around 90 dB. With the pink noise playing, I really couldn't hear the engine and definitely not the AC as I had it running on its lowest setting. Though from the looks of the measurements, the mic was still picking up engine/exhaust noise, so just ignore the measurements from about 50 Hz down.

It's quite obvious in the graphs that I'm getting a fairly decent suck-out between 3 kHz and 6 kHz.

Other than that, it sounds amazingly good! Doing nothing else other than tweaking the EQ for a little flatter response, it made a huge improvement! I'm very impressed in the sound stage, imaging and width as well as the overall sound, all of which improved with the tweaking.

I know this sounds crazy, but I hope the Stereo Integrity setup sounds as good, only because I love all of the mids and vocals up on the dash.

Anyway, a few pics...
http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...77011546-5.jpg

The red line shows the initial curve before tweaking...
http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...77004727-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...77004728-5.jpg

And what the EQ looks like...
http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...77011547-5.jpg

not too shabby........

Spent the day over in Clearwater today getting the amp and speakers installed. No pics of the install yet. Maybe if I have time this weekend after work, I'll pop the dash grills off as well as the rear carpet to show the tweeters and amp. They made custom mounts out of 1/4" ABS for all speakers and the amp.

With that said, there will be a video on their site in a few days or so. Maybe tomorrow, I don't know.

Dean (the main installer) had never heard of Stereo Integrity before and thought I was nuts when I told him I wanted the tweeters crossed over at 2 kHz. After everything was installed and they dialed in the levels, he was quite surprised at the sound, especially with those tweeters being crossed over that low.

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...82614081-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...82614079-5.jpg

anxious to hear your thoughts on the SI's

Looks like you are in my neck of the woods... I'll have to check out this setup sometime!

When Dean (the main installer) set up the amp, he set the built-in crossovers to 2 kHz for both the mid and tweeter as I requested, and IIRC, 40 Hz for the low end. This is perfectly fine and it works flawlessly! The head unit is still in Network Mode, so I still have crossover control in that as well, which I'll get to in a moment.

So far, I'm loving them. I've played a variety of music through them and they do a great job. I'm still running the EQ flat, though I have been noticing a bit of "chestiness" to vocals.

So to help tune that out some without resorting to the EQ, I adjusted the crossover in the head unit. Since the tweeter crossover can not bypassed in the head unit, Dean had it set at 2 kHz @ 6 dB, but had the mid bypassed both on top and bottom. I left the bottom end alone, but activated the crossover on the top end (bandpass) and set it to 2 kHz just as in the amp, and started increasing the slope to see if I could work out that chestiness. I ultimately ended up on the 24 dB slope. At 18 dB it sounded just as good, but you could definitely hear a phase shift there, hence why I went to 24 dB.

I have no clue what the crossover slope is in the Arc XDi amp, but I'm guessing probably 12 dB. So if that's the case, then theoretically I should be running at a 36 dB slope at 2 kHz on the mid, and 18 dB on the tweeter.

Doing this and running both crossovers in unison, I have removed nearly all of that chestiness in the sound. All of that without ever touching the EQ, which is the way it should be done. The less manipulation you do to the signal, the better. I always prefer using EQ as a last resort, using as little as possible, and almost always using it by subtracting, not boosting. However, sometimes you have no choice but to boost a little.

So back to your question, yes, I'm loving the SI's so far. Keep in mind they are brand new, and only have a few hours on them at medium volume, so they have a ways to go before they fully break in and I can really evaluate them. But things are sounding promising already.

There's a couple songs that I did play pretty loud, and the funny thing is, they sounded even better! Not only that, I am also pleased to say that from what I could hear, or rather not hear, there are no rattles or buzzes in the doors! Nice snappy bass, great attack in the mid-bass, vocals crisp and clear, treble silky and clean. Of course, having plenty of clean power to back them up helps! :tup:

Yes sir! We can work something out one of these days I'm sure.

Must not have THAT anxious to hear my thoughts... LOL

Anyway, a few pics of the amp install...

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...88944322-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...88944323-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v...88944325-5.jpg

Lol.. I Was anxious..... But I just got mine back from a 5 week stay at the local body shop.. (just resprayed the front end) So I was putting in some seat time! (not computer seat). Glad to hear youre liking them, And yes, You can wail on them, and they smile back at you..lol

Well I'm glad you got your ride back finally! It would suck being away from my Z that long.

Just in time for a DIYMA get-together near my hometown, too !!