# install Sub-woofer/power W/factory head unit? & any good car stereo shop in LA/orange county?



## entacto (Nov 22, 2010)

Anyone here install Sub-woofer and power W/factory head unit? & is there any good car stereo shop in LA/orange county?


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## rabbit07 (Feb 22, 2007)

entacto said:


> Anyone here install Sub-woofer and power W/factory head unit?


 also interested in this.


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## JHolmes (May 14, 2010)

If I can ever get my friend Shaun to make time, I'll be doing it. I'll have pics. Don't wait on me though, as he's crazy busy and the freebie/friend installs get pushed back! Theres some threads if you search tho! 

I'm doing 6 1/2 Hertz Hi-Energy or Milles in the front. No rear fill, a 12 SI flat or Jl13w5 and an Audison Lrx 4.1.


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## CCRay (Sep 23, 2010)

*I'm also interested in doing this...*

Please post details if you go through with it.


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## Trade-N-Games (Feb 22, 2008)

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...en-cc-build-jml-audio-st-louis-phase-1-a.html 
My car build above and I have stock headunit. So far front stock sounds good but I will upgrade it soon. It would be 10x better to replace stock headunt with aftermarket but thats my last step on my build. 

Edit: By the way mine is 2010 they posted it wrong on that forum.


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## JHolmes (May 14, 2010)

Trade-N-Games said:


> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...en-cc-build-jml-audio-st-louis-phase-1-a.html
> My car build above and I have stock headunit. So far front stock sounds good but I will upgrade it soon. It would be 10x better to replace stock headunt with aftermarket but thats my last step on my build.
> 
> Edit: By the way mine is 2010 they posted it wrong on that forum.


 Thats ironic. Here's mine. Semi derailed my plans. Hopefully I can get my build done soon. 

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/81577-2010-vw-cc-r-line-saga-begins.html


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## entacto (Nov 22, 2010)

Trade-N-Games said:


> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...en-cc-build-jml-audio-st-louis-phase-1-a.html
> My car build above and I have stock headunit. So far front stock sounds good but I will upgrade it soon. It would be 10x better to replace stock headunt with aftermarket but thats my last step on my build.
> 
> Edit: By the way mine is 2010 they posted it wrong on that forum.


 wow.... what a nice setup you have there?, i have the stock Rn510 on my CC, if i bring my CC to car audio shop to install subwoofer and power, would it be hard and problem with the electronics and remote on the steer wheel? how hard would it be?, thanks


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## xx4u2nvxx (Nov 28, 2010)

Trade-N-Games said:


> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...en-cc-build-jml-audio-st-louis-phase-1-a.html
> My car build above and I have stock headunit. So far front stock sounds good but I will upgrade it soon. It would be 10x better to replace stock headunt with aftermarket but thats my last step on my build.
> 
> Edit: By the way mine is 2010 they posted it wrong on that forum.


 Very nice & clean! 

I haven't done any research yet but is changing the HU in our cars doable? Do we lose any functionality besides the SD card slot in the stock HU?


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## JHolmes (May 14, 2010)

For the most part: changing to an aftermarket deck, whether it be nav or not will mean you'll lose interation with the MFI cluster, MDI, integrated BT and steering wheel controls unless you buy something that has the ability to communicate with the CAN-BUS system (MFI/MFSW) or add additional components (MFSW/MDI/BT)

I'm aware of no aftermarket system that still retains the OEM BT setup and Mic.


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## irongrey (Dec 16, 2009)

You can look at my signature to see what system I have. I did retain the factory head unit to maintain full integration with the steering wheel controls. I overcame many of its limitations by including in my system the Rockford Fosgate 360.2 DSP which cleans up the signal from the factory head unit. It also has active crossovers for each channel, time delay, more EQ than I know what to do with, and can be interfaced through my blue tooth Palm for real time tweaking. 

Incidently, I omitted the crossovers included with the Focals and use a separate channel for each of the four Focals speakers (2 tweets and 2 mids). I then use the active crossover in the RF 360.2. This was recommended by my install shop and it made a big difference. Much cleaner and more power getting to each speaker. 

I especially love the sound of the Focals and the 360.2.


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## boneshop (Aug 30, 2009)

i have the 250w bazooka in my trunk. do you have a pic of where yours is located?


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## irongrey (Dec 16, 2009)

boneshop said:


> i have the 250w bazooka in my trunk. do you have a pic of where yours is located?


 Pic is below. I used the Bazooka to save space in the trunk (I have 2 kids) and it is a snap to remove if needed. I find it adequate, but certainly doesn't rattle the windows of the car next to me. I had to do quite a bit of tuning in terms of crossover and EQ to get it to sound just right. What do you think of your Bazooka and where do you have the crossover set? 

Ideally, I would have had a custom sub built into the empty battery compartment, but that would have been big bucks. 

Hey Trade-N-Games, that sub built into the spare tire space must rock, and been quite expensive. Do you mind divulging what that set you back?


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## boneshop (Aug 30, 2009)

My bazooka is okay. I was hoping for more of a thump though. It is installed horizontal to the seatback. I don't know if this is proper or not. It was a professional install. So I trust it was correct. I don't really know where to set the control knob on the tube. If I turn it up slightly, it distorts.


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## irongrey (Dec 16, 2009)

boneshop said:


> My bazooka is okay. I was hoping for more of a thump though. It is installed horizontal to the seatback. I don't know if this is proper or not. It was a professional install. So I trust it was correct. I don't really know where to set the control knob on the tube. If I turn it up slightly, it distorts.


 There are two knobs in the back. One of them is the gain (or volume essentially) and the other is the crossover frequency. Both are very important to good sound. If the gain is too high, it will distort. If the crossover is set too high or too low, you would get the right frequencies from your sub. And no, the sub is not supposed to be installed sideways. The speaker is supposed to face the trunk (and ideally be within a foot of the back for proper resonance). But this probably isn't a big deal. 

Go to the Bazooka website and download the diagram chart for the sub so you know which knob is for what. Then you need to play with them to get them set right. I have my crossover set at 85mhz (though I don't think it is marked on the back of the sub). It should not distort (gain is too high) or sound boomy or muddy (crossover is set too high). It is definitely worth playing with. 

Your install shop was supposed to set the gain and crossover but they did not seem to do a very good job. You could also go back to them and ask for guidance. 

FYI: the initial analysis my 360 made of the signal coming from the head unit indicated that the low frequencies tended to be boosted; i.e., probably less gain will be better.


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## boneshop (Aug 30, 2009)

That is wonderful advice. I wouldn't of had a clue without it. Thanks.


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## irongrey (Dec 16, 2009)

boneshop said:


> My bazooka is okay. I was hoping for more of a thump though. It is installed horizontal to the seatback. I don't know if this is proper or not. It was a professional install. So I trust it was correct. I don't really know where to set the control knob on the tube. If I turn it up slightly, it distorts.


So did you manage to make some adjustments to improve your sound from your bazooka?

I have a little knob up front that can adjust the gain which is very helpful as I find different recordings call for different levels of gain, depending on how bass-y the recording is.


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## c25porter (Sep 12, 2006)

I have a 2001 S4 and I use the factory system and added a sub and amp in the trunk, it really rounded out an already great Bose system, plus the car is already setup with pre-amp outputs from the factroy head unit, so with some online searching, I found out which wires were the + and - rear pre amp out puts, and with some line filters, that is what "drives" my amp and it sounds great, and honestly very few aftermarket headunits look as good as a stock one, after all it is truly meant for the car, especialy these days now that very few factory radios are single DIN rectangles.


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## Shimano (May 19, 2016)

Where to run the power wire through the firewall on a 2013 vw cc r line? Also where's the best place to put the ground for the amplifier?


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## Dtrain12 (Aug 14, 2010)

JHolmes said:


> For the most part: changing to an aftermarket deck, whether it be nav or not will mean you'll lose interation with the MFI cluster, MDI, integrated BT and steering wheel controls unless you buy something that has the ability to communicate with the CAN-BUS system (MFI/MFSW) or add additional components (MFSW/MDI/BT)
> 
> I'm aware of no aftermarket system that still retains the OEM BT setup and Mic.


this.


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## rodriguezdjoe (May 22, 2016)

*reply*

In reply to good shops. I recommend a shop ive been going to since my first car in college. The distance is not far from LA OC but the honesty integrity and level of service I received over the years has been outstanding. Look up Auto Image Plus in the city of Ontario, CA off the 60 or 10 freeway just a few minutes form LA or OC. Ask for Frank. He has always been honest, fair, doesn great work and guarantees his work. He has a big loyal customer following while all the other shops around him over the years have not been able to stay in business and the main reason, because he does great, honest, fair, and quaity business. Check him out, you wont be disappointed.


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