Vette Sounds (Page 62-69)

Located off the main drag in an industrial park in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley area, Sounds Good Audio, Security and Marine may not resemble the kind of place that draws an elite clientele. But the mobile-entertainment retail stores' low-key location contrasts its high-profile reputation. Sounds Good owner, Isaac Goren, has been building his business since 1978 and is one of the most respected names in the industry. He and his installers' technical skills and installation savvy are so well known that many celebrities, recording engineers, music producers, and even mobile-entertainment equipment manufacturers bypass the surplus of install shops in the outlying area to seek out Sounds Good's Services.

So when it came time to install a system in Goren's own car, a 1998 convertible Chevrolet Corvette C5 Indy 500 Pace Car, he and his install team wanted to make sure that it made a statement, especially since the car would also serve as a demo vehicle for the shop. Even so, the system in the Vette-"a very rare, limited-edition vehicle; there are only 1,051 of them," according to Goren-is decidedly low-key. A crucial aspect of the install was that it couldn't permanently alter the vehicle in any way. But at the same time, the system had to perform flawlessly and display a first-class-although subtle-appearance. With these goals in mind, Sounds Good chief installer Shawn Enright and assistant Matt Milstein commenced work on the design the Goren had mapped out for the Vette's pace-setting system.

Car Talk

Goren, 43, says he chose to go with the Eclipse electronics gear because "their Commander system allows you to operate the entire system by voice command." An Eclipse Commander 9002 "black box" processor is tucked away in the dash and a small mirror picks up voice commands that control the sound system, a cellular phone, and an Eclipse 9902 navigation system, all through an Eclipse 55040 CD tuner. The head unit is installed in the former DIN-and-a-half- factory-radio location and is bordered by a laser-cut black-Plexiglass trim panel. Set-up software for the Commander is placed in CD slot of the 55040 via a CD-ROM, transforming it into a minicomputer. "I can upgrade as new software comes in," Goren reports. In addition to the standard voice-activated functions, the Commander system allows two additional verbal commands. Goren programmed one to open the trunk and another to switch the radio power from an ignition-controlled source to a constant one. "This means that the radio sends a signal to a set relays to keep the radio on without having a key in the ignition," Goren says.

The ashtray that's below the climate controls houses a control panel for a K-40 UN3000SW radar detector and a K-40 LD5500-Plus laser diffuser. Goren ordered an extra ashtray, mounted the control panel in it, and then painted the panel yellow to match the car's seats. It houses the volume/on/off control for the radar detector (the laser diffuser is automatically activated by the ignition), front/rear radar warning lights, a laser warning light, and a mode switch. The "brain" of the radar detector was separated from the controls and hidden in the dash, but it's accessible for servicing. Audible radar indicators are imbedded in the front air vents to identify which direction a signal is coming from. The left sensor warns of radar from the front, while the right indicates that it's coming from the rear. A separate laser buzzer is in the center air vent. The radar and laser sensors themselves are hidden in the Vette's bumpers.

The antenna for an Eclipse 9902 GPS navigation system is situated on top of the dash close to the windshield, while the unit's main processor is hidden in the dash. Audible route-guidance instructions play through the audio system and visual navigation information in shown on the radio's display. An Eclipse 9820N phone interface provides more verbal control from the Commander, this time for a Nokia 6160 cellular phone. "As I'm driving and listening to music, the audio system mutes, and you hear the phone ringing through the sound system," Goren details. "You give the command to answer through the mic, and the caller's voice comes through the sound system." The interface processor is hidden behind the radio, while the cradle that connects the phone to the interface is nestled inside the storage compartment underneath the center-console armrest.

Topless Bar

That the Vette is a convertible-a type of car that's notorious for being very noisy-presented on major design hurdle. "The challenge was to make it sound loud, clean, and accurate with the top down," Goren recounts. He chose MB Quart speakers for front and rear fill because he says he likes to "play music very loud, and they're very smooth-sounding. You can also lower the power to the tweeters so that they don't sound too bright as you raise the volume." A 6 ½ inch midbass, 4-inch midrange, and 1-inch tweeter from and MB Quart PSC 316 component speaker set are mounted in each door where the stock speakers used to be. The speaker trio is secured to a medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and fiberglass baffle installed in the stock location, which formerly held a factory 8-inch woofer and a 3 ½ - inch full-range speaker. The midranges are mounted inside fiberglass enclosures to isolate them from the other speakers and, along with the tweeters, are angled backwards toward the passengers. Scosche Accumat sound-deadening material was applied to the frame of both doors before the unaltered door panels, which feature built-in grilles, were replaced. A pair of MB Quart PKC 113 5 ¼ -inch coaxials were dropped into the stock locations in the side panels behind the seats. MDF baffles angle the speakers toward the front of the car, though Goren admits that the speakers aren't very effective when the top is down because they are partially concealed by the folded top. The stock grilles imbedded in the factory trim panels cover the speakers.

No Screwing Around

The trunk is hurting for available space, which made the install more difficult since the convertible top occupies a good portion of it when lowered. Three stock compartments in the trunk floor-a large center one and two smaller ones on each side-proved to be the best places to house components. A JL Audio Stealthbox subwoofer enclosure manufactured specifically for a Corvette is mounted in the large center compartment. The box holds a single JL Audio 10W3D2 10-inch subwoofer. While the stock cover for the compartment was retained, it did have to undergo a transformation. "We needed a way for the speaker to breathe and penetrate the cover," Goren reveals. "We cut the center away, installed perforated aluminum, then covered it in black Ozite, and acoustically transparent material. We also purchased another cover from GM so that the one we cut can be replaced." Scosche Accumat lines the inside of the center storage compartment as well as the trunk lid and the bottom of the convertible-top cover.

The passive crossover networks for the MB Quart speakers and a Scosche PSC 1-farad capacitor are inside the smaller compartment on the passenger's side of the trunk. Mounting screws never touch the fiberglass framework of the Corvette, Goren points out. With the stock carpet peeled back, a ¾-inch MDF panel was attached with silicone to the compartment floor. The carpet was the re-glued in place, covering the panel. Screws that secure the equipment attach to the MDF panel, not the car, Goren insists. An Eclipse 5083 eight-disc changer was also installed in the compartment using an MDF base. A removable Masonite panel that's finished in Ozite material and has a cutout for the top of the changer fits over the top of the compartment and covers the crossovers and capacitors. Additionally, the factory cover still fits over the entire compartment. The third compartment on the driver's side was left for storage.

A McIntosh MC40M amplifier is mounted just in front of the sub enclosure and close to the seat backs on another MDF panel siliconed in place under the carpet. Goren says he chose this six-channel amp because it provides the power of a multi-amp system in one compact package. "It's also a lot cleaner look with just one amplifier," Goren observes. And, he adds, the amp's position doesn't interfere with the functioning of the convertible top. In the down position, the top stores neatly over the amplifier and it serves a dual purpose as a cover to protect the amp from prying eyes. Even when the top is up, the amp is well hidden, assures Goren: "The only way you can see it is when the trunk is open and you bend down and look inside."

Beauty and Brains

An Optima D34 Yellow Top battery replaced the stock battery under the hood, and a USD Micro circuit breaker with a manual reset button is located near the battery. Goren choose Scosche EFX power cables and connectors, and was even able to use purple and yellow wires that match the car's paint scheme. The factory alarm offers more than the standard bells and whistles, and that's why Goren chose to retain it. It includes a defeatable keyless-entry feature that "recognizes" separate handheld remotes as Goren or his approach the care and automatically disarms the system, unlocks the doors, and adjusts the electric seats and mirror to their individual preferences. When Goren leaves the car, the alarm arms automatically and the doors lock. "This kind of security isn't very common on Corvettes, so I decided to leave it," he says. Aftermarket sensors were integrated into the stock security system for extra protection; Micro Alarms radar sensors guard the car when the top is down.

Goren didn't feel that the Corvette needed many tweaks to make it more cosmetically appealing; in fact he actually removed most of the pace-car emblems and racing stripes. Goren regularly displays the care at local automotive events and encourages spectators to take a close look at the Corvette's system. "Once people listen to the car, they're impressed with how good the sound system is with so little product involved," Goren affirms. "Then," he adds, "when we show them the navigation and the voice activation, that just makes their jaws drop. They walk away extremely impressed." And those impressions are what keep the famous, almost famous, and knowledgeable aficionados bypassing other, highly visible shops to seek out Sounds Good.

SIGNAL PATH

The audio signal begins and the Eclipse 55040 CD tuner or the Eclipse 5083 CD changer via voice commands through the Eclipse Commander 9002 or manual entry. Because the system doesn't have an equalizer, the signal next travels to the single McIntosh MC440M six-channel amplifier (50 watts x 4 plus 100 watts x 2 into 4 ohms). The amp's built in crossover handles primary signal-routing duties. It sends 80 Hz and up to the door speakers and 125 Hz and up the rear speakers. Passive crossovers further divide the frequencies going to each speaker. The crossovers for the PSC 316 component set send 350 Hz and down to the 6 ½ inch midbass, 350 to 3,500 to the 4-inch midrange, and 3,500 Hz and up to the tweeter. The crossovers for the PKC 113 split the signal between the coaxial's 5 ¼-inch midrange and ¾-inch tweeter at 3,700 Hz. The amp also routes 85 Hz and down to the subs. The two 100-watt channels run in bridged-mono mode and form a single channel to power the JL Audio 10W3D2 10-inch subwoofer in the Stealthbox. The dual voice-coil JL sub comes pre-wired in a series configuration, which drops the impedance on the amplifier to 2 ohms, so the sub gets approximately 400 watts. The other four channels power the pair of MB Quart component speakers in the doors and the two coaxials behind the seats; these speakers all get 50 watts apiece. The speakers are wired with Scosche EFX cable.