Money2536

Definitely. I'm going to weigh everything that I put in the car, then everything I take out to find out the difference.

gago1101

I am in the process of upgrading mine. I am replacing the door speakers with Focal 165WRC 2-way kit and deleting the midrage driver. I am not sure deleting the dash center is a good idea, the soundstage will likely suffer since the door speakers are too low. I am not sure what I want to upgrade the dash speaker with yet, but thinking about a combination of Mosconi and Alpine for amplification.

Another note, can't you set your crossovers with your DSP? I think going for an active crossover and deleting the passive option that comes with many component speakers will help the sound tremendously. I am looking at Alpine or Helix DSP for mine. Still have to decide. And I am still not sure where I want the sub.

Let us know how it sounds when you get the system installed.

gago1101

No, Burmester speakers are 2 Ohm that need power. I think even the sound package in the GT3 will not be enough. I think they are also active and will need the DSP processing that comes with the amp in the Burmester system.

I wouldn't get the Burmester anyway. There is a lot of hype regarding the Burmester system. It actually is not really good. It has a lot of power and will play loud, but it will not deliver quality sound. The upper midrange and the highs are raspy and not clean. This is from first hand experience with my Panny Turbo. In fact, the amp in the Burmester system is not Burmester at all. I think it is still made by ASK, an Italian company that makes OEM audio equipment. Only the speakers are Burmester brand. Since Burmester is known and famous mainly for their incredible amps and preamps, I think this defeats the purpose and is mainly designed as a marketing gimmick.

24Chromium

^ gago1101

Is there a bay area shop that you would trust to work on your GT3? I'd like to upgrade my stereo, but wouldn't have a clue as to who to trust with my baby.

gago1101

I came across Kustom Kar Audio in Santa Rosa through a PCA event. They really impressed me with their knowledge of stuff I would reserve for Audiophiles. I am planning my own system, and I think I will do the final installation with them when I draw up the plan. They will, however, talk with you and come up with the best solution given your budget and what your are looking for.

Money2536

My first inclination was to go fully active and do a three way set-up replacing the 3" mid in the door as well, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I didn't want multiple amps, I wanted to use factory wiring, and cost was a factor. I started to get into the $10,000+ territory.

I tore apart the car this weekend. My stuff will be here on Tuesday.

gago1101

Did you find out if the factory amp under the seat receives low or high level signals from the head unit?

Money2536

I'm fairly certain it's high level.

jlanka

Matt thanks a lot for that video - I have to install a Racekeeper video system before 7/1 (going to NJMP to track for the first time) and that helps a lot with some of the install. BTW the porthole through the firewall is just to the passenger side of the steering column.

Jeff

neuroguru

Good to know - I would call that the Coolshirt Porthole.

Money2536

I found it the other day, super simple! It saddens me that is where the third pedal should be.

bigkraig

Don't get an impact gun at Home Depot. Check out the Snapon ct761, its got a lot of torque and its tiny.

gago1101

Do you have the wiring diagram for the head unit? I think I remember seeing somewhere that the head unit has low level outs, in addition to the high level. Can't remember where I saw it. I wonder if there is a harness we can utilize to tap into those.

Man, I am new to these car audio brands. So hard to decide where to go and what to choose. You mentioned about the illusion sub. Have you heard it in a complete system? 87 db sensitivity is good compared to some that are 82-83, I would have preferred above 90db, but not sure where to look. Pioneer has one cheap shallow mount 12" sub that has 93db sensitivity, costing only $80. I am thinking I would rather spend the money on a better amp driving the mid range and the tweeters.

BTY, what amp are you going to use? I am torn between Mosconi AS vs Audison Voce vs Helix vs Alpine PDX. I have had alpine in my past cars and it has been a stellar performer, but I would like something more gentle for the Focal beryllium tweeters.

Turbohead

I recently installed a rear view camera .My car has the Sound Plus package .There was no optical cable going out of the PCM only a blue plug out to sound.
Is this considered Low Level ?
Elliot

Money2536

I've confirmed. It is low-level. There is one Molex Plug with low-level inputs to the amplifier. The other plug is a little different (don't know what it's called) that has the outputs to the individual speakers. The 3" mid in the door and tweeter in the dash are wired together as they are the same color wires. I'm guessing in parallel. I'll have a full write-up and video in the next week or so. I'm about 1/2 way through my install.

I chose to follow Sound-in-Motion's advice to use a British made Genesis Profile III four channel. I had never even heard of Gensis, but they were pretty confident I would love it. I originally planned on Audison Voce.

Since I'm installing myself, I chose not to go active. I'm installing the Esotec 242 crossover under the passenger seat next to the Mosconi processor. I'm guess you're really going to want to use Sound in Motion's box in the passenger footwell, so the Illusion with it's neodymium front mount magnet is the way to go.