Stage 2 Audio Upgrade ZL1
 

Stage 2 of my Audio Upgrade is coming soon...

Front Stage: 3 way active setup
HAT L1V2 1.1" tweeters (on axis)
HAT L2SE 2.7" full range drivers
HAT L6SE 7.1" midbass

REAR:
HAT L3V2 3.7" full range drivers
JL AUdio W3 6.5" Subwoofers in custom fiberglass side panels
JL Audio W6 10" subwoofer in custom fiberglass box in trunk

Amplifiers:
Hertz ML Power 1 (10" sub)
Hertz ML Power 4 (front tweeter/midrange + rear full range)
Hertz ML Power 5 (2 channels bridged x front midbass, 5th channel to rear 6.5" subs)

MISC/Processors:
NavtTV GM650
Hertz H8 DSP/DTA
BatCap x 2
Ntv kit800 (HDMI input)
NTV kit780 (HDMI audio)
Roku Premiere
Front camera

Have you considered 8-10" shallow mounts in IB from under the rear shelf? Could move the full range drivers to the side panels for rear fill. With the tight enclosure of our trunks and limited space, a good adapter seal with the bottom of the shelf and matting on both side of the shelf should provide surprisingly decent bass response.

I'm thinking of doing free air on the rear shelf of the Camaro and the Mustang.

Nice choice is parts. With such a high SPL system, are you going to mat the full interior to remove the increased road noise from losing ANC? I totally understand not wanting ANC signals chopping your audio reproduction, but the ambient noise increase is going to also lower the nuances perceived.

So this is an overhaul of the system based on my experience over the last year with this setup. In my CT-V, I have a close to perfect setup. Went through multiple infinite baffle setups before i decided on front firing dual 10" W6's , sealed to the cabin. Used both CLD and MLV to eliminate unwanted vibration as well as sound.

When I started this build in the ZL1, I knew it would never be perfect. The mechanisms for the convertible won't allow for a proper seal to really get rid of all of the extra noise. But I still want more bass when the top is down, so we're moving to this setup.

What you suggested would be perfect to try in a coupe.

"are you going to mat the full interior to remove the increased road noise from losing ANC? I totally understand not wanting ANC signals chopping your audio reproduction, but the ambient noise increase is going to also lower the nuances perceived."

No, I am trying to keep the weight down, hence, why I didn't go full throttle on CLD and MLV on this car. The CT-V is already a heavy pig, and even with 600+ hp, it feels really heavy with all of the sound deadener we put in there. Knowing my sound will never be perfect in this car anyway, am forgoing SQ for SPL, which is more what I care about when the top is down

You've sold me on the HAT speakers. Gonna try these vs. the Voces

I have listened to the voce's, they sound great, don't get me wrong. In fact, there are a LOT of high end drivers that still sound great. Re: Audison, I am running Audison 5.1 Av HD, Av Quattro and SR2 in my other daily. But for drivers, HAT has everyone beat regarding bang for buck in every level from OEM replacement to audiophile grade competition. I have yet to see anyone go with high end HAT drivers and be disappointed.

I didn't catch on that you had the convertible. Yes, between the weight of the LT4 and the extra braces on the convertible, you probably weigh as much (or more) than a Challenger.

Would love to see pics of your brackets for the rear sides that fit the 3.7" and 6.5" woofer. Where are you planning to put the 2.7" drivers up front? Are you going to keep a center channel or is this a driver-only system? I have found losing the center channel brings down the mid and high stage, causing the midrange and midbass to muddy up together.

Hate to say it, because their system is sadly weak in comparison, but the Mustang Shaker system (with 3-way fronts + center) has better staging than the Bose in our Camaros. They have a low mount 6.75" woofer that can fit a 6.5" subwoofer, a high mount 3.5" driver that can fit 4" Hertz & JL's, and 1" silk tweeters in the A-pillars. The center is also the same 3.5" driver. They don't have rear side speakers (unless it is convertible) and the rear deck works good for rear fill.

lol not quite, Challenger is a good 300lb more that the ZL1 vert

Will post pics of the box that we create for the rear fill midrange and woofers

No, we removed the center channel, Not enough available channels on my H8 to utilize it .

2.7" midrange will go in factory locations for now firing off glass, tweeters are in custom A pillars firing on axis.

Depending on how I like this setup I may of may not move to a setup with both the midrange and tweeter firing on axis in custom A pillars. I love that sound on my previous builds, and, IMO, it just looks better.

I really appreciate the wide bandwidth of the smaller midrange as a drop in solution. I am wondering how the high frequency response is with those....

ZL1 Convertible = 4118 lbs
Challenger GT = 4108 lbs

=)~ (just had to give you grief)

Well yeah, but that’s the baby engine lol. The challenger hellcat, which would be more comparable , weighs 4448 pounds

Wow, this is your idea of an imperfect system? Lol.

I am thinking about putting a Hybrid C10SW in the rear deck IB, along with Hertz MLK 165.3 front components all powered by an ML Power 4 amp in the 3 channel 150x2 + 500x1 configuration. Do you think that would be a good setup for $1500 or so?

How are you planning to mount a single 10" in free air config? I'm just curious, also like to hear if someone has thought of something really creative.

Though the 10" will net you a little deeper hz, I would suggest two 8" for the practical mounting aspect if you wanted to tuck them under the rear shelf in place of the 6x9 openings. You'll need a tight adapter seal and good matting on the top and bottom of that noisy shelf. Some fresh felt tape between the interior body panels will help as well. Just remember that when you run IB with subs, you only want to give them 50% of their max RMS to avoid premature wear. A speaker also needs to approved by the manufacturer for free air, as such a deployment is harder on the surrounds and needs more back plate clearance.

Free air doesn't hit as hard as an enclosed sub, but it sure is nice to not give up space for moderate bass.

By enlarging one of the rear deck 6x9 openings. I have seen the Clarus subs are good for IB along with some Acoustic Elegance lines.

Also thought you would want to go as big a sub as possible to take advantage of IB?

Yes, the clarus subs are ok for IB. A lot of competition guys on team hybrid are running their clarus subs in IB. You can reach out directly to Bob morrow or even Scott himself at HAT for advice running these subs in IB.

As Jax stated, important parts of runing IB is a to
1. reduce vibration of the deck.
2. Create a proper seal between the cabin and the trunk.
When i was running IB in my CTS-V, we used combination of wood boards and CLD to stiffen the deck.