[The Purplator]

Ok, so I sold my HC WB in March not thinking COVID would end anytime soon and it was just sitting there mocking me. Well I regret it. LOL So after a lot of BS, I talk about in another thread, I just bought a 2019 Plum Crazy HC WB RE. The one I sold I ordered from the factory and was my dream car and was my baby. This one is not, I'll take care of it as I would normally, but not too chuffed if I do some mods.

I had a 1983 Honda Prelude and it was a hand me down and had an awesome sound system. JL Audio all around with separate amps for each speaker, I think 8-10 speakers including remote tweets and two 10" Kef Car Audio Free Air woofers. Sony CD Player with add on tape cassette player and an equalizer. It rocked. I mean the sound was clean. You put on Carolina in My Mind by James Taylor (I like him, but more heavy metal and modern Folk) the bass would be loud and booming but not over powering and good highs and mids.

So I want to recreate that in the HC. From what I've read the thing to use is the PAC device. With the Alpine that's there, there are 6 speakers.

Any thing else I need to know as far as connectivity or upping the audio game in thing?

 

[DevilsReject97]

@Rio Lobo Since you just did something similar to your HC, I figured I would add you to this.... lol

 

[Rio Lobo]

Thanks for the vine DevilsReject.

It's all about that rabbit hole and how deep you really want to get. Check that - black hole cause it will suck you in fast (not that you won't enjoy the ride).

Many options. Here are the top 3 I'm thinking.

1. Simple. Upgrade factory speakers. Use metra type wiring harnesses for easy connections. You can use 4 ohm speakers without losing any "power." You can go 2-ohm (I think JBL does 2 ohms that fit these cars) and you'll get even more oomph off the factory amp. Need bass? A cheap line out converter can tap the speakers in the rear deck. Use this signal to feed a sub amp. Put the amp in your spare tire well and the connections are super easy with the battery a foot away. I used Zenclosures for my box because honestly I just didn't want to fool with building one. Fits perfectly in the trunk. You can choose how many subs and which way they're facing.

2. Not as simple but not full blown Audiophile. Get the Rockford DSR1 and the Datalink harness for the Dodge Challenger. This will be your line output converter plus a Digital Signal Processor. It will set up your sound for you. You'll need an aftermarket amp for everything because you are now bypassing the factory Alpine. And don't quote me on this, but you might have to run wires from your amp to your speakers (I'm not for sure because I didn't take this route). Replace all speakers as mentioned in step 1. The DSR1 will feed signal to your sub amp, so no need to tap rear speakers for signal.

3. PAC AmpPro and associated harness for Dodge. This will be your line output converter. Any speakers you don't want to put on an aftermarket amp can still be powered by the Alpine. The beauty of this route is that you don't need a DSP, but if you want one you can go even harder core than what is included in the Rockford DSR-1. I went this route because of flexibility. I am in the process of installing a JBL amp with its own DSP, but I could have just as easily gone straight amp (not looking to enter any sound quality competitions). Again replace all speakers as step 1. Add subwoofers.

So there you have it. Keep it simple or use one of them fancy converter deals like the Rockford DSR1 or the PAC. To me it seems PAC is more popular to Rockford because people don't want to be tied down to whatever the DSR1 is doing.

EDIT: I know for sure with the PAC you don't have to replace wiring to your speakers. You'll run wires from your aftermarket amp to the PAC Dodge harness, which is in turn connected to your factory wiring. The only concern is if your looking at pushing huge RMS through the factory wiring (let's say 100W+). You'd likely want to run thicker gauge speaker wiring directly amp to speaker.

 

[The Purplator]

Awesome. Thanks. I'm in tier 3, not crazy, but really really good.

 

[Rio Lobo]

Awesome. Thanks. I'm in tier 3, not crazy, but really really good.

Amen brother. I found the amp on sale (it's still on sale as a matter of fact). 8 channels for $239 with some DSP. Was gonna wait but couldn't pass up the deal. Now I have to fill out the rest of the build (amp wiring, PAC, speaker wires) but waiting to reload the coffers cause I've spent money on other car goodies.

 

[The Purplator]

LOL I hear that. What other car goodies? I want to fit one of those tiny projectors in where the puddle lights are so I can play movies or anything I want.

What speaker brands are you going with?

If stock for me is 6 speakers, do you recommend adding more and if so where (location wise)?

 

[thedynoguy]

here's a final walk through of the system that Nick Apicella did on my HC.

 

[Rio Lobo]

LOL I hear that. What other car goodies? I want to fit one of those tiny projectors in where the puddle lights are so I can play movies or anything I want.

What speaker brands are you going with?

If stock for me is 6 speakers, do you recommend adding more and if so where (location wise)?

Just got some Lil Devils flares for my NB. Been putting some extra aside for wheels and tires.

I'm using all Kicker because, well, I've always had everything but Kicker. I'm also 6 speakers only. Not planning on adding any extras. Maybe you could loosely wire anything beyond the standard 6 locations, and move them around when tuning. Maybe front kick panels, side panels where passengers sit, A pillars, center channel? I would imagine good sound staging would be harder with adding speakers. If you're going for loud, I definitely get that too.

Congrats by the way. You did the hard thing of giving up your HC, and ended up with a RE!

 

[The Purplator]

@thedynoguy Awesome build!

Couple of questions so I understand what we're all talking about.

1. Does the PAC and the Rockford DSR-1 do the same thing essentially or do you need both of them in a system?
2. I take it DSP (digital sound processing?) is because you're getting a raw signal from your music through the head unit, which you can't change, so that you get better processing of the music. Such as in the old day where you'd get a better head unit?
3. When you setup the sound with the PAC, speakers and amp, is it all still controlled through the head unit? Volume, equalizer, bass, etc.. or are something controlled outboard of the head unit?
4. To get the best sound I was going to use my iphone plugged directly into the car's usb port and redo all the music on there from iTunes turning off "covert higher bit rate songs to"?


@Rio Lobo, thanks. I did. Total regret doing it, but like you said now I've got almost the exact same car, but a RE. I'm going up Friday to pick it up.

Also, I'm a fabricator so I'm thinking of designing my own box with curves, not flat, for the subs that fit into the back of the trunk. Should fit like a glove. Just gotta pic the subs and find the specs for how many cu.in. of space inside.

 

[DevilsReject97]

Also, I'm a fabricator so I'm thinking of designing my own box with curves, not flat, for the subs that fit into the back of the trunk. Should fit like a glove. Just gotta pic the subs and find the specs for how many cu.in. of space inside.

The Challenger subwoofer box is a good idea, maybe copy something along that lines?

 

[Rio Lobo]

@thedynoguy Awesome build!

Couple of questions so I understand what we're all talking about.

1. Does the PAC and the Rockford DSR-1 do the same thing essentially or do you need both of them in a system?
2. I take it DSP (digital sound processing?) is because you're getting a raw signal from your music through the head unit, which you can't change, so that you get better processing of the music. Such as in the old day where you'd get a better head unit?
3. When you setup the sound with the PAC, speakers and amp, is it all still controlled through the head unit? Volume, equalizer, bass, etc.. or are something controlled outboard of the head unit?
4. To get the best sound I was going to use my iphone plugged directly into the car's usb port and redo all the music on there from iTunes turning off "covert higher bit rate songs to"?


@Rio Lobo, thanks. I did. Total regret doing it, but like you said now I've got almost the exact same car, but a RE. I'm going up Friday to pick it up.

Also, I'm a fabricator so I'm thinking of designing my own box with curves, not flat, for the subs that fit into the back of the trunk. Should fit like a glove. Just gotta pic the subs and find the specs for how many cu.in. of space inside.

1. It's either or.
2. DSP is not needed - it's an added feature.
3. You can still use the "equalizer" in the head unit. Probably make sure everything is set to nominal and then start tuning amp, DSP from there.
4. I haven't played with this really. I think usb will likely give you the best sound quality. Bluetooth probably next. Aux port will take you back to 1920. Sounds like you're going deeper down the hole than me. I initially thought about trying out one of the High Quality streaming services to get the better recordings/bit rates. But after riding around with spotify playing off my tablet, I'm completely satisfied with that source quality. I've got decent bit rate MP3s on my USB - they sound good, but I just like the ease and flexibility of bluetoothing Spotify.

Re: redoing your music: maybe convert a single song many different ways. Then see which conversion sounds best.

 

[thedynoguy]

@thedynoguy Awesome build!

Couple of questions so I understand what we're all talking about.

1. Does the PAC and the Rockford DSR-1 do the same thing essentially or do you need both of them in a system?
2. I take it DSP (digital sound processing?) is because you're getting a raw signal from your music through the head unit, which you can't change, so that you get better processing of the music. Such as in the old day where you'd get a better head unit?

The DSR-1 plugs into the main harness that runs from the head unit to the factory amp (no PAC unit required). Then, all of the DSP controls are run from the DSR-1 through an iPhone app. Sounds good, right? Well, I tried the DSR-1 in one of my 1st systems in the HC. It was a nightmare. The app is super glitchy, and the actual sound that came out of the system was inconsistent. Bye bye DSR-1. I went to a Helix DSP.3 with the PAC interface. Night and day better than the DSR-1. Super friendly user interface by tablet or PC. A plus is that I could run a digital cable from the PAC interface.
3. When you setup the sound with the PAC, speakers and amp, is it all still controlled through the head unit? Volume, equalizer, bass, etc.. or are something controlled outboard of the head unit?

Yes, the head unit controls the sound level. The "tone controls" no longer work

4. To get the best sound I was going to use my iphone plugged directly into the car's usb port and redo all the music on there from iTunes turning off "covert higher bit rate songs to"?

I have found the best sounding results are from HQ rips to either a USB thumb drive or to my iPhone plugged into a USB port.

Now, an owner/user aside: I have the Helix director installed in the system. Using the director, I can access up to 10 different tunes to compensate for various material that I am listening to. It also controls the main level input as well as the subwoofer level. It also controls other various things that generally aren't used frequently...

@Rio Lobo, thanks. I did. Total regret doing it, but like you said now I've got almost the exact same car, but a RE. I'm going up Friday to pick it up.

Also, I'm a fabricator so I'm thinking of designing my own box with curves, not flat, for the subs that fit into the back of the trunk. Should fit like a glove. Just gotta pic the subs and find the specs for how many cu.in. of space inside.

 

[The Purplator]

@Rio Lobo, not necessarily I just like to know all my options in case I do the install myself. I've done a ton of audio installs over the decades, I used to be an auto mechanic, but not on modern vehicles. I would let a pro do it if I knew of a trustworthy audio shop in San Francisco area. I just don't like the idea of people tearing my car apart.

@thedynoguy, excellent info. Thanks. Also that Helix in the sunglass holder is very trick!!

One last question about the head unit, does the sound system after modification, i.e. PAC, allow all the other functions to work? Such as Apple Car Play, Siri telling directions from map? Car Sounds, etc..? I assume so.

 

[The Purplator]

Just got some Lil Devils flares for my NB. Been putting some extra aside for wheels and tires.

I'm using all Kicker because, well, I've always had everything but Kicker. I'm also 6 speakers only. Not planning on adding any extras. Maybe you could loosely wire anything beyond the standard 6 locations, and move them around when tuning. Maybe front kick panels, side panels where passengers sit, A pillars, center channel? I would imagine good sound staging would be harder with adding speakers. If you're going for loud, I definitely get that too.

Congrats by the way. You did the hard thing of giving up your HC, and ended up with a RE!

Where are you located? Near me, SF, there are actually 2 or 3 sets of Widebody Devil's Rims with Tires for sale. $1500. Craigslist. Also Rear Demon Wheels and Tires, reals not aftermarket.

 

[Rio Lobo]

I'm in MS, so not close. I've thought about the factory WB wheels, but even with the Lil Devils flares, 11's on the front won't work. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[The Purplator]

Ok no prob. I don't like most rims, but I love the Devil's Rims though. I'd like to get those Demon ones, but not for that price.

 

[thedynoguy]

@thedynoguy, excellent info. Thanks. Also that Helix in the sunglass holder is very trick!!

One last question about the head unit, does the sound system after modification, i.e. PAC, allow all the other functions to work? Such as Apple Car Play, Siri telling directions from map? Car Sounds, etc..? I assume so.

Apple car play works as it should, phone, music, Waze, messaging, directions, etc. The proximity sensor warnings work as well, but the sound only comes out of the LF speaker(s). You can set the sound level with the PAC. I never ask Siri anything. She's the devil...

 

[The Purplator]

Thanks. LOL I totally agree about Siri.

 

[stroked383z]

I did an awesome system in my charger

Upgrading Alpine stereo

So I’ve decided to upgrade the factory Alpine 6 speaker system in my Charger Hellcat. Problem is all the speakers are 2 ohm and really limits you to choices. I’m thinking I can use the factory amp and put a complete set of Kicker 2 ohm 6x9 speakers in the doors and rear deck and Infinity...

www.hellcat.org

 

[The Purplator]

Good post. I'm not familiar with DD. Is the JL Audio Fix doing the same as the PAC?