That looks beyond amazing. Like a much better version of what I did to my Renault 5 in '97. Good times!

 

This is an inspiring thread.

This! The center speaker destroys the imaging. With a time-aligned system with no center speaker you can achieve imaging that's like being on the stage.

 

Just buy your next car from Sunset. We'll outfit prior to delivery, hahah.

Thank you, it takes a lot for most people to get over the mental block of using less speakers than the factory system to get a superior sound. I understand though — unless you've experienced a two channel car with great time alignment, you really don't know how magical it can be.

 

Next step is to work on the lower half of the door. First we needed to acoustically treat the door to create a better environment for the speakers. The 991 has very little sound damping material from the factory, and I'm sure that's to save weight. We added just enough butyl-based material in the door to lower the panel resonance. Some folks go overboard with this stuff and add 30 pounds in each door — not necessary! I didn't get a pic after we applied the material, but I found one of a 991 Targa we did to give you an idea of the coverage.











After the damping is applied we precision cut a layer of mass-loaded vinyl to go between the door and the door panel. This is a two-layer material that has a closed-cell foam to absorb road noise and a thick vinyl sheet to reject what it can't absorb. Very effective process.

 

AMAZING work!

 

Thanks Larry, I'll have more pictures up of the rest of the build real soon.

 

The factory door woofers were a 220mm diameter and we're replacing them with a 165mm Dynaudio E650 woofer. A couple things we need to take into account here are mounting depth, hardware locations, and acoustic coupling.

We fabricate a new adapter out of multiple layers of HDPE. The base layer adapts to the car and lets us use the factory mounting hardware for the OEM speakers. The second layer adapts to the new woofer size and allows us to install our foam coupler. The coupler ring essentially meets with the door panel grill to concentrate all of the energy into the cabin. Not doing this can lead to unnecessary vibrations and a loss in potential.

 

The midrange also needed adapters. Mostly for converting a 3-hole pattern to a 4-hole speaker. This one's made from .25" acrylic and then the same type of coupler ring is attached on top. Also, we run new wiring into each door for all of the new speakers and solder on molex connectors for serviceability. In the last picture you can see both speakers and the acoustic treatment fitted to the driver's door.

 

Subwoofer control is custom fit into the smoker's package with a hand-milled and painted acrylic ****.

 

Beautiful work. I'd be interested to see your analysis of the Burmester setup along with the Bose. It seems like a no-brainer this would be worlds ahead of the Bose, just wondering how it would compare to the other option. http://www.whathifi.com/features/han...r-sound-system

 

approximate cost ?

 

Do you plan order production for this solution?

 

I'd like to know this too. I love my Burmester, but the depth and resolution doesn't compare to my system at home (which, at a fifth of the price, it wouldn't, but still...)

 

I read this a while back and thought it was a well-written article from the perspective of someone that listens to nothing but factory audio systems. I've spent a considerable amount of time listening to both platforms and I can say that the Burmester is one of the best sounding factory systems available, however, doesn't even come close to the resolution and focus in the Aria system.


It's funny you mention that, the owner of this TTS has a pair of TAD CR1's on Marantz monos at home($100k+ system). After listening to the Aria he said it's a very close second, and wouldn't at all be upset if his power was out and he was forced to listen in the car.

 

Sneak peek of the amplifiers...