Back in the game ~Build Thread~

[WreckedX]

OK; so its been a long time since I have done this, vehicles are gone, systems sold, its been a long damn time....too long....so here we go.

The vehicle housing this Build is a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport


Before Christmas, I did a little shopping for myself and picked up a pair of Pioneer TS-W2502D4 10's. I am going to be building a 4th order bandpass horn enclosure based on the "Wicked One" design. I built one based on that design for a pair of Infinity 1242w 12's (super cheap) that I was extremely happy with, it far exceeded the output and sq I ever expected to get out of those subs, and well blew away the wall I had them in prior to that.


Now it comes to decision time for the most important amp.....but I am still undecided...
So far I am between the Hifonics BRZ2400.1d, the Audioque AQ2200d, and the Crescendo BC2000D. Pioneer recommends running these subs on an amp that "produces less than the RMS rated Power of the subs". I say the hell with Pioneer, I don't want to run an amp that is going all outworking as hard as it can to drive these. I would rather run a more powerful amp with plenty of head room, keep my gains down, and not be pushing the amp to the edge of distortion to drive the subs. I'm going to be wiring them at 1ohm, so 1 ohm stable is what I seek. I am open to any suggestions, because I just cant decide.

Once that is all handled, ill start hunting some good separates (I will be running some ****ty pioneer 6x8's and 6.5's for now, because I already have them in storage)
Somewhere......I have a great old school Coustic 4 channel amp that I will be using to power the up front noises, just need to dig it out.

Other things will happen, big 3, wiring, sound deadening, etc.....so stay tuned
I have a family and a full time job that has me on call 24/7, so progress will be a little slow (Limited spare time, and the secretary of treasury will get after me if I spend too much at one time), but I will keep this thread updated. I will try and post something at least once a week, even if I have not made much/any progress. I also appreciate any advice/input along the way, as it has been many years since I have done this....

[Burkem_10]

Glad your back, I'm excited to see what comes of this.

[NoePerrin]

Will you show us the blueprint of your box if you have it.

[WreckedX]

I actually have it rendered in 3D on my work computer, I have to do some work tonight, so I'll try and post it then.

[98Civic]

I would go with the audioque or the crescendo instead of the hifonics. They are higher quality and you can't go wrong with either one. But there isn't really anything wrong with the hifonics amp either. For the price I would go with the audioque since crescendo raised their prices to 480. You are right to go with a larger amp btw.

[WreckedX]

OK, I cant remember where the crap I saved the final render of this enclosure, but I did find one if my incomplete draft renders.
The red lines designate where the Speaker baffles will be, the subs fire towards the port at the back of the enclosure.



If tomorrow is a quiet day, I may dig around for the final rendering, but this one gets the point across.

[WreckedX]

Ok, took a mental break from project overload at work, and redid the enclosure design in sketch up.

Here it is in all its glory.



Now, hopefully, I can use some of our tax refund to push this project forward a little....you know,depending on if the IRS will get it in gear sometime soon......

I'm bummed SoundQubed's prices went back up just in time for me to have some extra $$, so I may wait until I can find a good amp used, or they run another sale.....
I dont know, I wanted the AQ2200, but Im flexible.....Crescendo looks nice, not sure about Audiopipe....any of the Korean made stuff looks like it offers a decent bang to buck ratio honestly.....AQ was just the most straightforward with their output ratings/THD/Voltages tested @.


Anyhow, Im rambling.... Stay tuned folks!

[WreckedX]

Ok I've got my front stage amp, old school Coustic beast...super clean power

I started a thread about it over here http://forum.realmofexcursion.com/am...tml#post929948

[97_eldo]

sounds like ya gots lots to do

that box looks decent, what does it sound like response wise ?
interesting design.

it's always cool to see the old stuff put back into service....shows the longevity of the better built equipment. i doubt alot of stuff built today isn't going to survive as many years.

good luck with the build, hope to see more.

take care and have fun

[Dr.BeatGood]

Man, that explorer makes me want a blazer again so bad. I miss my blazer a lot! lol

[KingPen]

Haha, yea he had me missing my explorer too

[WreckedX]

For those of you interested in the enclosure design, I love designing enclosures, and would love to claim this one; but alas....tis not my baby...

Steve Deckart from Decware/ high fidelity engineering.

The response on this thing is flat like a horn (each frequency resonates from a different part of the horn, so its like a port that self tunes), but it can still get LOW like a 4th order.....its a beautiful blend of designs.....
Here is a link to the info page
DECWARE's Wicked-One Horn Subwoofer

He actually gives this plan away for free, just read through and click the PLANS link under the drawings.

It cant really be modeled effectively, but when figuring out what subs to use, you can model for a 4th order and should be fine.

That was a sharp Explorer kingpen, 1996? Black is always a good color!

As far as my Explorer go's, this is my second two door Explorer. I have a soft spot for all explorers, but especially the two door sports, they feel stocky and capable but still nimble and light.
My only real concern with this build, on this truck,is the back glass. On the explorer (as kingpen will be well familiar with), the back glass is frame-less, and just closes on a seal. WIth the mouth of my horn firing to the back, im concerned its going to rattle the hell out of that glass. I may have to find a way to affix it more permanently at some point (I think some of the early explorers lacked a flip up glass, may have to look at them for inspiration)

[sri3850341]

The "Wicked One" has been around for some time... It is a good design...

[KingPen]

Haha, yes you will have that problem. I had two solo x's on 2 2500.1's so I had fun with that every day. Broke my damn wiper too . And the latch will break on you too.

[Spl150db]

nice drawing, what program did you use to do the box layout?

[WreckedX]

Originally Posted by Spl150db

nice drawing, what program did you use to do the box layout?

Google Sketch Up! Its free, but will have a bit of a learning curve if you have never used any sort of CAD or 3d drawing software.

[WreckedX]

Oh and I forgot to mention, while cleaning out the garage, I found some foil backed high density foam (its for sound deadening/cushioning underlayment for laminate floors) left over from my flooring project last year. There is a fairly good amount, going to attempt to use it as s sound deadener for behind interior panels, as well as combining it with some spray adhesive to seal off my door skins behind my door panels.
Ill use CLD squares on exterior panels where I need to, but I am not a member of the "Blanket everything with CLD club" Diminishing returns are not just a rule , they are a law!! LOL

[Spl150db]

Originally Posted by WreckedX

Google Sketch Up! Its free, but will have a bit of a learning curve if you have never used any sort of CAD or 3d drawing software.

i should be be fine, i am a quick learner

[KingPen]

Originally Posted by Spl150db

i should be be fine, i am a quick learner

haha, you say that now. No honestly the basic are easy to pick up but you will get frustrated trying to make the more advanced things.

[Spl150db]

Im not going for anything complicated. Hell if i can design a box to house 2 DD beasts back in 200 with 5k watts to each coil this shouldnt be too far from that

[OVER 160db MISSION]

Those pioneers arent pushing a grand a peice in RMS...
most likely why pioneer suggests underpowering them. ive heard a pair of 12s sounded like kicker cvrs.

I would guess those subs around 600 or so RMS. I mean really mainstream 100 dollar 1000 RMS sub? I dont think so. But for their price they are still AWESOME dont get me wrong.

Crescendo amp... Stays cool.

[WreckedX]

Originally Posted by OVER 160db MISSION

Those pioneers arent pushing a grand a peice in RMS...
most likely why pioneer suggests underpowering them. ive heard a pair of 12s sounded like kicker cvrs.

I would guess those subs around 600 or so RMS. I mean really mainstream 100 dollar 1000 RMS sub? I dont think so. But for their price they are still AWESOME dont get me wrong.

Crescendo amp... Stays cool.

They are a little beefier than the average Pioneer. They are rated at 800w rms each, I know I'm planning on overpowering them a bit, but I think they can handle it just fine. They were not always 100$, I'm fairly positive they are closing them out.


Banana for scale (because I'm an Imgurian)

[07blackg5]

those at least look beefy. seem like a great deal for 100 bucks

[WreckedX]

These subs are actually sort of strange in the fact that they don't have any spiders, they have 2 cones (One inverted under the other) something Pioneer call "Air Suspension".
Got a message from my wife saying there was a package for me, so my Bravox components are here (so excited).
I will make an unboxing/comparison video this evening and post it, since there is so little info about these out there.

Also.....could I get a Mod to move this thread to the Builds subforum where it belongs? Thanks....

[WreckedX]

Well crap....... This sucks

Riding home from work yesterday, I start seeing smoke... So I pull in my driveway, and slide underneath.... It's suddenly leaking oil out of the rear main seal area (very new oil leak, the oil was fresh)

So I pull the dip stick.... And am hit square in the face with the smell of gasoline..."well that explains the sudden oil leak"

So today I am going to change the oil, change the plugs, and do a fuel pressure test....

Pretty sure I'm dealing with a stuck injector here, this should be fun. Well at least my engine is sludge free now, gasoline eats that right up... Hopefully some fresh Valvoline High Milage will keep the rear main seal leak in check.