TTownThomas

I just finished installing the Boss Bass 1200 under the passenger seat of my '85 Targa. It fits great and sounds even better. I couldn't be more pleased. The car has an alpine head unit that the previous owner installed. Even with replacement speakers the system sounded AWFULL. I knew more bass would help but I was shocked how much of a difference it makes.

The unit is roughly the exact same size as the opening under the seat. I put down some of that rubberized mesh (the kind you line the drawers of your toolbox with) and it does not move at all under there. It also keeps the box from vibrating against the metal floor.

I was having trouble finding a spot to get through the front fire wall to get a wire to the battery. Fortunately It gets dark early now due to the time change. I had a halogen lamp shining into the front trunk and as soon as the windows to the garage quit shining a beam peeked through in the upper right corner of the passenger foot well (up where the ducting is hidden by a carpeted panel.)

I was able to run all the wires underneath the arc of the seat bracket and actually used one of the seat bracket bolts as the ground location.

Chris Thomas
'85 Targa
Cary NC

apperception

Me too! I got the same unit for my new (to me) 88 Targa. Presently using a Nakamichi CD 40, NOS Nakamichi plate rears, and some kickers that were in the front. Alpine amp under passenger seat. Very pleased and happy to be among the fortunate. I'm loving the new ride. Anybody looking for a Lancia Scorpian? I'm making the leap to use the Carrera as a DD, so reducing family fleet. The final factor in buying the car was the sense that you folks would try to help if things got ugly.

Larry

theiceman

Hey I have that EXACT unit sitting on my worshop shelf stillin the box . I read about this once before and ordered it up .. how was i suppose to know my head did not have a sub out ..

rusnak

This might be OT, but do you guys get a high pitched whine through your speakers?

I took my amps out in order to troubleshoot the AC relay and fan blower. Ever since re-installing the amps, I hear a slight whine. I thought it might be due to a faulty ground, but have not had the time yet to go back through everything. I did notice that when I turn on the AC compressor & blower, I hear a louder whine. I'm going to try to ground the amps and the head unit case to see if that helps.

theiceman

nope mine is fine .. i have heard some cars need a small isolation transformer though. probably just a ground.

Mitch Leland

I hope you don't mind me jumping in on this... What do you do for rear speakers? I just bought new 4X6 speakers since I'm redoing the leather on my package tray. There isn't any more room/depth for any larger speakers. I have an old Alpine AM/FM/CD unit that works for me.

Right now the speaker cone is buried in the insulation. I was told I could raise up the speaker into the factory grill cavity. Cut a larger hole than the speaker in the package tray so I would get more bass. Does that sound like a plan?

Here's pix of my pad that shows the speaker cone depression in the pad.

theiceman

no pic

I have a 78 with the factory package tray with holes in it . I did NOT want to put grilles on my rear package tray as I don't like the look . I installed Blaupunkt overdrive speakers. they fit just barely without any cutting so I am happy with the results. i am sure there are better sounding speakers out there but I am fine with them.

rusnak

Mitch, I had some custom spacers made from Lexan by a local plastic company called "Precision Plastics". If you want, send me a template and I can have them make you a pair. The spacer lifts the speaker magnet out of that shallow hole, and allows you to use larger speakers than you would otherwise. I spray painted the clear Lexan semi-gloss black to match the speakers. It looks nice.

Mine are 7" overdrive, round 2-way speakers by Infinity. I think they are the Kappa series. I'll look for a pic.

TTownThomas

My rear shelf speakers are plastic cone pioneers that were installed by the p/o. I tried to pull them out to see how much room was behind them but even with the screws out they were in there pretty tight. Instead of risking marring the shelf I just left them alone.

Chris

rusnak

Here's my pic. It's not such a good shot of the speakers, but you can see that they are taller than "stock", due to the spacers. The rear shelf is a custom installation. It consists of accoustic plywood with round holes cut in them. The speakers screw into 1" wooden rings, and the vinyl is stretched over everything to give it a finished look.

If anyone is interested, I can pop one of the speakers out and do some close up shots of how it was done.

That box in place of the rear seats contains the 12" sub-woofer on the left. The hinged lid on the right side was probably where the p.o. put his stash of pot or something. He is a musician/ custom guitar maker. I don't use the compartment for anything because it gets too hot to store anything.

rusnak

I re-located my audio system grounds, cleaned the contacts, re-routed the signal cables to the amps, and isolated them further from the speaker cables. I also changed the unbalanced setting on the front speaker amp to allow balancing, and recalibrated the head unit with a calibration mic.

The result? My system is completely noise-free now, sound better than ever, and has audio that you can practically see, not just hear and feel.

Thanks Rennlist!

https://rennlist.com/forums/off-topi...eliminate.html