My old school car audio systems

[@adamscott310]

What a Blast-from-the-Past! LOVED this travel back into time... I have such fond memories of Car Audio of the 80's, 90's and early 2000's... THANK YOU for curating this video :Beer:

[@Aleziss]

you're welcome ! I'm glad you enjoyed ! Yes it was good time with friends and music, we used to hangout in restorant parkings friday and saterday nights showing off our installs and cars... I miss this a little, there is nothing here for car audio when we used to have so much shows and competitions... Even IASCA came for many competitions !

[@TheSupradude26]

I started having big systems in 1992 when i got my license at 16 years old. Started with an Alpone pullout tape deck, an LA Sound Malibu 100 amp and a Orion XTR 12" sub. Shortly after i added a second Orion. This was in my 1983 Nissan Sentra. 8 months later in february of 1993 i got a 1985 5.0 mustang GT, and had a pair of Kicker Comp 15" subs, running off of a Rockford Fosgate Punch 200 DSM. Those were beastly amps. I had the matching Punch 4040 running some.pioneer seperates up front and coaxials in the rear. I also had a Sony in dash CD player with a 10 disc changer in back. Things got really crazy with my next car i got in 1995, which was a 1988 GTI which i had all the 1992 bumpers installed, the Euro grill and lights, real single wiper conversion, Zender body kit etc. That car ended up having a Pioneer in dash CD, dont remember the model but it was their best model, along with their top of the line single din graphic equalizer, both mounted in a custom full length center console which also had my rad car phone and linear actuator operated E-brake. I had a full floor to ceiling wall built, all painted fiberglass that matched the exterior red paint. It was a 14 cubic foot sealed box with 8 Fosgate Punch 12" subs right behind the front seats. Below that just above the floow was a compartment that displayed 2 Optima red top batteries and 8 Phoenix Gold 1.2 farrad caps. Popping the hatch exposed a full 100" seal to seal painted fiberglass panel that was molded around 2 Fosgate Punch 200 IX sub amps, the same punch 4040 qhich ran a set of A/D/S/ 5.25 seperates in the kick panels as well as a set of their 4" speakers in the dash. Lastly, there was a Punch 100 qhich was running a pair of Fosgate Punch 8" woofers mounted in custom door panel pods. At a IASCA competition, Rockford actually approached me about sponsoring me in trade for them using my car at nation wide shows, but being i was a 19 year old kid, it was my only car so mlm i couldnt do it. Plus i ended up wanting to triple my amp power so i took out the 4 Rockford amps and had a PPI A606 6 channel and a pair of PPI A1200.1 sub amps installed. That car was stupid loud.... After that i have more or less gone with sound quality based systems rather than filling my cars with as much gear as possible haha.

[@malakisands4669]

PPI was no joke 90’s were insane with how much there was. The A.R.T series Amps were great. I ran MB QUART separates in my doors, 3 JL audio 10W6 subs in a triangle in the trunk were the spare would have been. Phoenix Gold Amps and capacitors, Clarion super tweeter connected to the rear view mirror, Denon in dash CD player, Alpine digital Equalizer.

[@dtrain8335]

Ah the 94 Accord.... My favorite system over the years was also in a 94 Accord EX. Clarion dead head cd player McIntosh MC431 (100x4) Diamond Audio Hex 6.5" components up front and McIntosh 5 1/4" components in the rear and 3 JL Audio 12w6's in a sealed box powered by a Precision Power PC2350 (350x2/1400x1). Kept having problems with the MC431 going into protect so I eventually replaced it with a Precision Power PC4100 (100x4). Still to this day I'm kicking myself for selling the PC2350. Such a beast of an amp back in its day.

[@Aleziss]

that's a nice setup you had there too ! yeah, I also should have kept those mcintosh in their original box and store them away... another thing I trew away were ALL the kenwood car audio catalogs for each year from 1985-1997, there were BEAUTIFUL units shown in those catalogs and I wish I would have scan them and make a youtube video out of those catalogs... I had so many papers, magazines, booklets, pamplets about car audio that I trew most of the stuff away think "what I am going to do with all that useless junk"... now I regret it, same as my amps and my beloved DEXP1...

[@dtrain8335]

@@Aleziss I've had so many different sub and speaker combos but even today I still run a PPI PC450 bridged feeding 200 watts/channel to a set Diamond Audio Hex 6.5's and a PPI PC2100 giving a pair of American Bass XD 10's 200 watts each. I was previously running a single Image Dynamics IDQ10 V1 and that sounded amazing just didn't have thump I desired. Hell I even have another PC2100 sitting on a shelf lol. The old Accord I had did a 146.8db on the mic at a competition back in 1999 even though it was an SQ build. I will admit the McIntosh amp sounded better than the PPI's for sure. I just can't get enough of the old school stuff though! Great video!

[@panchorcas4296]

Dammm you had clean systems

[@Aleziss]

thanks man ! I really enjoyed clean installs and HQ sound systems !

[@xalint1]

Its been many many years I miss my phoenix gold amp it had lots of power for the time. The McIntosh was the dream system always loved them.

[@Aleziss]

true ! I remember when I moved from cheap kto international or pyramid to kenwood, we were all blown away how much more power they had and same thing happened again when I moved to the phoenix gold stuff... but when you think about it, those PG amps were extremely high quality (like the zx, zpa or all the special editions) that did draw a lot of power for the output the pushed... now with digital amps, there is sooooooo much more power than what it was back then... but it was a lot of fun learning everything on how to build, connect, tune, learn DSP technology, so much nice memories... and there was those nice blue meters I could not resist either ! I had always nice compliment everywhere I showed up... far from being the loudest but it did sound amazing I don't regret it... My only regret is that I sold them... many I sold I regret because now they are gems and rare equipments ! thanks for your comment !

[@xalint1]

The only thing I have from those installs which was many many years ago was my audiocontrol line driver with equalizer still packed away with a sony head unit and cd changer. For some odd reason I just couldn't let them go.

[@Aleziss]

@@xalint1 on top of having a special place in your heart, they are now rare and might worth a lot of money if they are in good condition... I would have like to keep the mcintosh amps and the DEXP1 radio... unfortunately, the only thing I still have are 4awg cables and phoenix gold rca !

[@martinbrunning4532]

Wow, this brought back memories. Remember fitting loads of both the PG amps and Kenwood KAC stuff back in the day. 👍🏻

[@Aleziss]

Thanks for your comment ! Yep, it was a good time in my life with car audio and awesome music 89-92 ! but man did I put soooo much money into this hobby... now using stock radio in my car... but I must admit that I sometime would like some bass in my ride !

[@Aleziss]

my dream amp was to get a KAC-1021 back then and later PG ZPA amps but I got into McIntosh amps instead...

[@deathtoflesh]

Those McIntosh amps though! Some of the best ever made.

[@Aleziss]

absolutely !! so sad they aren't making them anymore... I should have kept them in their original box and store them away... but back then I had to sell them as I had other project that needed money...

[@gregoryjenkins1461]

My basshead journey began in 2003.. Started with 2 10" mtx 8000 series 4ohm dvc in parallel to one of the 1st Gen xPlode 1k monoblock... Later added another xPlode 1k and another SVC mtx 10" 8000 series.. moved on to many other setups from Fosgate to JBL... Finally found my sweet spot with old Soundstream T4 12s on SS amps and Alpine HU around 2008... Currently running 2 Soundstream R3.8 dual 2 ohm and one of my T4 12s at .5 ohms on my 2013 Soundstream TA1.3000D and finally updated from the Alpine HU to a Pioneer dual din touchscreen BT/DVD/etc.. TA1.3000D HANDS DOWN my absolute favorite class d amplifier.. 3K WATTS RMS at .5 ohm of clean power.. (My Alpine type r 12s with Alpine vpower m1000 runs a close second..) I truly enjoyed your video.. would like to see more like this... Makes me miss the good old days.. sorry for the long comment.. car audio gets me exited... Lol.

[@Aleziss]

no problem for the long post, I too type a lot when I am passonate about something !

[@fiolds350]

enjoyed it a lot. i was 10 in 95. i remember going to car shows and seeing all this amazing gear.

[@Aleziss]

totally, I did the same things when I had no car but it was in 1986-88, I had friend how also bring me to car shows too ! it was good fun !

[@rogerdavis2056]

Great video, i remember competing 88'89' love it!

[@Aleziss]

thanks man for the nice comment !

[@kylerbrown3457]

Dude thank you so much for sharing this. I'm just getting into the hobby myself and it's cool to see all these old school shots. Clean looking installs too!

[@Aleziss]

thanks man ! it's been a long long time since I've played in car audio... back then there were no 10kw amps available ! you are in a special time where technology and electronics is way more advanced then back in the day ! thanks for your nice comment !

[@kylerbrown3457]

Yeah haha we're definitely spoiled. I posted your video to the carAV subreddit as well, if you're cool with it. I think those guys would appreciate this as well.

[@Aleziss]

no problem with that ! thanks for your appreciation ! it was a good time of my life back then... but man did I pump money into this hobby... good luck with your projects !

[@kylerbrown3457]

Thanks man

[@kylerbrown3457]

If you don't mind me asking, how did you learn all the fabrication stuff? Just trial and error? And what kind of signal processors did you guys have back then? Or was it just like analog EQ? It's pretty interesting to me

[@clearme2]

Wayy nice video. Miss those days dearly , I collect lots of gear from that time period. I’m hanging on to lots of my pg amps and subs

[@Aleziss]

@Racoon Tunes Thanks for your nice comment ! at my age now, I wish I would have kept all those in their original boxes, they were gems back then, I miss my PG amps and McIntosh but life and financial situation pushed me away... I'm glad you could keep yours !! I remember my PG ZX amps and my first PG MS275 with the plexi glass with beautiful gold plating... those were crazy expensive, beautirully crafted but far far away power wise compared to modern amplifiers !!

[@clearme2]

Aleziss I keep a mint pair of Xmax 10’s , a sapphire pg amp along with many other older amps to tinker with

[@Aleziss]

@@clearme2 ah yes ! the x-max subs ! I remember when I was selling those !!! webfaq.phoenixphorum.com/Sapphire.htm

[@SQ_Silverado]

Sheeeeeeeesh 🔥🔥🔥

[@Aleziss]

Well thanks for your comment! Hope it reminded you some nice souvenirs !

[@supraman1250]

Nice set ups. All high end, high quality equipments and professional installations.

[@Aleziss]

thank you for your nice comment ! I did all those installs by myself by the way !

[@supraman1250]

Aleziss excellent work. Seeing your old school setups brings a lot of enthusiasm back!

[@Aleziss]

@@supraman1250 thank you again for your appreciation ! I did put a lot of effort back then to build all those setups ! I'm glad you find that interesting and motivate you to build something new maybe !

[@IDontHaveAVideo]

Awesome video! I used to have an Alesis ME-Q 230 back in the day. The idea of using studio gear in the car was so bad ass to me. I bought the Alesis but never got around to installing it in a car. I also had a pair USD AP Mats. Again, never got around to installing those in a car. Some highlights of the gear that I had were Soundstream SA and Reference amps, MB Quart Mids/Highs, Image Dynamics CD2 Comp horns (still have these), Rane ME30 EQs and AC23 xover set (converted to 12Volt by Autosound 2000), Alpine 3402 EQ, Alpine 7823 CD deck, Alpine CRA1656SP, JL Audio Microsub 8", IDQ10, AudioControl EQL, Eclipse CD headunit, and the list goes on...

[@Aleziss]

Thanks for your appreciation ! I used the Alpine 3540 to power the MEQ230, there is +/-15V in that amplifier exactly what is needed to power the MEQ230. Now you could simply get a power inverter and power pretty much anything with 120V. Even with the Alpine PXAH600 (that is already an EQ) I had cut and Ai-NET cable and was able to run the audio through the MEQ230 for even more precision and tweaking as the PXAH600 was doing automatic calibration not to my taste. The MEQ230 was able to shape and correct the null and peaks in the car pretty good. I had a 34/40 IASCA score sheet. When I connected the 7949 with fiber optic, I could not use the MEQ230 anymore. So I swapped the head unit and the processor by the DEXP1, I LOVED that head unit, it sounded great, nice built in eq, 3 way crossover and time alingment, I could even use my MEQ230 again. I guy had a 300ZX with USD waveguide and a bunch of Rane 30 band eqs, crossovers, he had PPI Art amps (if I remember correctly) along with the famous JL audio trio-plate in the back of the 300ZX, superb system with studio gear, this is when I had to get the MEQ230 (I still do have it, the only part of my car audio era with the 3540 that used to power it !). Those were good old days, wonderful audio setup and gear. Good music techno house of the 88-94 but I used to listen to jazz quite a bit in my car. Thanks for sharing !

[@MrALAVOL99]

Wow very nice thanks for the flash back

[@Aleziss]

thank you for your nice comment !

[@cochinoman7152]

Those OZ Audio 12"s were bad ass. Had a pair in my IROC

[@Aleziss]

oh yeah, they did sound amazing ! The shop where I got them had a caravan with 4 OZ-300L with PPI art series amplifiers, it was pretty impressive ! I chose the 300H for the open baffle free air configuration and it sounded amazing, not powerful but sound quality was just on the spot, deep smooth response. The guy I sold these is STILL having them and he is near 60 year old !

[@droopytx]

Aw man I thought that was a buick skylark

[@Aleziss]

Haha ! Nope ! AMC, Chevrolet and 3 Honda accord !

[@txknightrider82]

Great video I sure wish i could find them Pro Plus subs , they were amazing at a super low price !!

[@Aleziss]

true !! they looked beefy at the time too ! those were my first subwoofer in that 81 AMC Concord !!

[@traveler3i]

So nostalgic, awesome...

[@Aleziss]

thanks for your appreciation ! it was a good time of my life back then, lots of work and money into this hobby ! that was more than 20 years ago ! time fly by pretty fast !

[@fpoonman30]

SoundMan would be jealous

[@Aleziss]

yeah... I don't think he really cares about my system, he is more into building other stuff now than car audio... Unfortunately, I had to sell all those gear back then because I needed money... I wish I would have just put those amps in their box and keep them... oh well... thanks for the comment !

[@fpoonman30]

Aleziss I totally understand

[@Inurfacewithbass12]

@@Aleziss the McIntosh equipment I'm sure Soundamn Ca would like. Cool tho to see all these. I started out in the mid 90's with 2... I think Pyle 15's. On a 300 watt Malibu something amp lol

[@Aleziss]

@@Inurfacewithbass12 nice ! pretty much the same era I play with all that stuff ! The two 15" I had in the Celebrity station wagon looked pretty much the same as the Pyle, they were 8ohm Crown speakers in parallel to the KAC921 that gave 200W rms at 4ohm ! It was quite a bit of power back then ! Thanks for the comment !

[@Inurfacewithbass12]

@@Aleziss not a problem bro. Exact same era lol. I've tried a few different subs over the years but have mainly stuck with Kicker. Have to 12" solobarics on 3k atm. 2 15" solobaric waiting to be put in my 07 Accord

[@user-fk2si1xc2s]

i have 2 zapco c2k's the 9.0xd and 4.0x with 2 12idmax v3 i like the old school jl w6 v1 i use to have 3 10's back in the day 98 good old days i have on old school usa-400 amp sound amazing clean and hard like get punch in the chest.

[@Aleziss]

yeah, those were nice equipment too ! we did not have a lot of retailers that had zapco but the shop where I used to buy started to get that line but I chose the mcintosh in the end ! thanks for the comment !

[@jesusvelazquez4057]

Makes me remember My vw bug. By 1993 with only KENWOOD 👍👍👍

[@Aleziss]

yep those were great years for car audio and music !

[@houseoffire72]

Man this brought back a butt ton of good memories..! I had to laugh when I seen the celebrity. I had an 84 4dr sedan loaded with kicker 12s 6x9s & 4x6 in the dash all powered with us acoustics amp with an alpine 7392s pull out deck with CD changer controls. Prior to that I had a Pontiac t1000 hatchback with CV 8s and rockford 6x9s. Also had a Nissan hardbody truck I managed to squeeze my kicker 12s in with 6x9s in custom pods. Damn almost forgot about Honda prelude - that thing was a bitch to get any serious low end in from the truck shape itself being to square. I had to down fire the subs running a long slot port out the rear arm rest area.

[@Aleziss]

hehe ! yeah, there was a guy that had a big station wagon with wood panel sidings, he had home speakers in the back and we heard that guy all the time... the first car I had my father gave it to me so I took it but the second car I ever bought was SPECIFICLY to beat that guy !!! So I went with the Celebrity ! Man that car was soooo slow 2.5L throttle body BUT it was pounding A LOT for that time with the kenwood amps and two 15 inches in a compression box ! Hatchback and wagon were perfect for sound systems... hatchback was just to small for my plans !!!

[@houseoffire72]

@@Aleziss I enjoyed the video very much. It started me on hmmmm maybe I should go nutz in my Trailblazer finally. Hahaha:) So far it has a nice Kenwood double din with some 6.5s in the doors. I've considered designing T - Line enclousers for the doors with a dedicated 6.5 sub in each door with morel coaxials mounted in pods along with 4 - 8s in the rear. I never would have even comsidered 8s in the past but after building my budget home stereo with "stereo 8" subs" running off plate amps I think it would be legit.

[@alanfish3317]

Late to the game here, but this brought back some memories. I had that Alpine CDA-7949/PXA-H600 combo for a few years. Cool tech, but the CD player drove me insane with it's horrible error tracking. If you so much as sneezed in the general direction of a CD, the 7949 wouldn't play it anymore. Tiniest of scratches were a deal breaker for that thing. Also, my first PXA came with a diode wired backwards, and immediately started smoking on install. Got a hard time about it because I had installed it myself and they didn't want to warranty it, saying I must have wired it up in reverse. Finally convinced them to send it back, and got a new one when they determined that the main input diode was installed in reverse. Only one of the Alpine products of that generation I had that gave me no issues was the MRV-1505. It was great, aside from it's unwieldy size.

[@Aleziss]

thanks for your comment ! I remember also the 7949 being really picky about playing CDs specially home made burned CDs. When I switch that expensive combo to the Pioneer DEXP1, wow, I was wondering why I had not chose that P1 instead of the Alpine. It gave more flexibility, less components and it had been one of the best unit I ever got in my systems, I enjoyed that P1 a lot with no issues playing CDs and sound quality was superb, time alignment, EQ, that was just what I needed. I never had any issues with the 7949/H600 but I found that the H600 did not give a lot of lattitude for manual adjustements. I had to cut an AI-Net cable in half, extract the analog audio from the cable and run an external EQ (the Alesis MEQ-230 that you see in the video). Then it gave me a lot more flexibility to adjust the audio to the amps. I had the chance to get to a shop that had a audio control RTA where I could fine tune the external EQ to get the curve I wanted... I let the H600 auto tune and on top of the auto tune, I added the external EQ that I could adjust with the RTA. Once I got the P1, it got way way less complicated and sounded better in my opinion but I am glad I experienced the 7949/H600 combo. I am happy it made you remember good time and good music !

[@alanfish3317]

Yeah, I remember being a bit frustrated with the PXA when it came to tuning options, and especially flexibility. Some channels would only allow a high pass, or a low pass. Crossover frequency options were quite limited, etc. Why? Just make it open architecture and let me figure out what to do with it. Thankfully they do that these days. I also ended up replacing it with a head unit that offered similar functionality a few years later. I couldn't afford the Pioneer, so I went with an Eclipse which I can't remember the model name of. It had basically all of the features of the PXA, with fewer restrictions, and it played anything you fed it, which was a huge benefit. The 6 band full parametric EQ was enough for my needs, but I'm not super sensitive to tonal balance. I'm much more into dynamics, impact, etc, and the active processing definitely helps with that over passive crossovers. Funny thing is I actually had one of your other old items as well, though slightly different. I had a McIntosh MC431 for years, primarily as my front stage amplifier. Mine didn't have the meters though. Used it to power my full system early on, then added a subwoofer amp when I could afford it. Got a great deal on that Mac because I was apparently the only person who ever asked the store owner about it. He sold it to me for the price of the two Soundstreams I had intended to buy that day, which was a huge discount at $880. Was a great amp for years, then I built a new system that mounted it in the spare tire well in my 2002 GTI 337, and it started running really hot, despite the fact I had nothing over it but mesh. Was worried it simply didn't have enough room to ciriculate air, so I decided to "downgrade" to a smaller amp that hopefully would not overheat in the same spot. Interesting story when I did that. I went to a local shop where I was stationed at the time in the Air Force, my first time there, and was asking them what they could recommend. Went through some options, and an oddball came up. A US Amps TU-300, which was brand new at the time. They hadn't even had the chance to hear one after having it on the shelf a few months, so again, they offered me a discount provided I promise to bring it back for them to listen to after I was done with the install. On paper, it was a huge downgrade in power vs the Mac, and only two channels so I lost some tuning flexibiity and had to rely on only the passive crossovers. Imagine my surprise when that US Amps kicked the living shit out of the McIntosh from a sound quality perspective. That thing hit SO HARD in the transients. It was a revelation. Best car audio product I ever owned by a large margin. I was running a set of DLS UR36S three ways, and it just rocked. Snare drums could literally make you flinch they were so sharp. Would love to see that topology tried in home audio some time.

[@Aleziss]

@@alanfish3317 ahaha ! Nice to read you ! Wow Eclipse made beautiful and high quality products, they were amongs the first to have high voltage line outputs at 5V, some high end models even had 8V output ! And that ESN security feature where you could lock your radio with a specific CD, no need to remove the head from the radio anymore, Eclipse were ahead in term of quality. Yeah, the mcintosh amps are smooth response amps, damping was low and I always found they were not powerful amps (compared to other guys with cheap orion cobalt amp with a single 12" that would crush my system for SPL). For my part, I also liked the dynamics and what made the biggist change in my system was the day I bought the AVI Sound MX 5-1/2 component set. My MC420M was bridge for my front component set and those speakers were incradibly crisp with really high dynamics, I never heard any other cars with such a punch for snare drums, 2X100W RMS into those speakers and it was out of this world, like you had the drum set in your car. I guy had a USD Audio Wave Guides which where at the time said to be super dynamic but when I compared my sound with his system, which had a CRAZY amount of gear in his ZX300 with 19inch rack RANE pro crossovers and EQs on PPI Art amps with an Eclispe head unit) and he never come close to the impact I had with those AVI speakers with a way less expensive system than his, just for this fact I was a happy camper ! But that system was my last one ever, when I sold the car, I sold all those mcintosh amps with my DEXP1 on ebay. Today I wish I had kept all those gear in their original box properly stored. They are now really rare gear that when kept in good condition worth more now than back in the days ! Oh well, I had other projects and needed the money...

[@alanfish3317]

@@Aleziss Yeah, my eclipse was one of the ones with 5V outs. Which was key because the TU-600 really didn't like normal 2V. I liked the idea of the ESN, but in practice it became a real pain in the butt for me. I used a CD recording of my brother's band, which was never released commercially, as my key. This CD got scratched, and even though I made another copy, ESN would not recognize it. Thus, I had to call Eclipse every time I disconnected the battery. I asked if we could reset it with a different CD, and they said this was impossible. Doh! I had my MC431 set up for 4 channels into my DLS UR36S. Two channels on the mid and tweet in kick panel pods, and 2 on the 6.5s in the doors. The DLS had Biampable crossovers for this purpose, so I was still using the passive crossovers. This changed to single amping with the TU-600, but still using the same crossovers. I had an MMATS mono amplifier on my single MB-Quart 12 in that system. I always thought those DLS had amazing transient response with the soft dome mids, but switching from the McIntosh to the TU-600 took that up like 10 notches. I've also heard the USD horns, and this was well beyond them as well. It was honestly difficult not to blink on drum strikes that came out of the blue, like the first song on Dave Matthews Band's Album Under the Table and Dreaming, because it was so sudden your brain would think something was flying at you or something. LOL! you could literally feel the compression wave hit your skin, not just your ears. It really did sound like the drums were in the car with you. Everyone who ever heard that system was shocked at how good it sounded, and it's honestly still the best sound I have ever experienced in person. That was my last system for a while, but a couple years ago I got the bug again and built a system in one of my cars, primarily to get rid of a factory Bose "upgraded" system that was god awful. It's a relatively simple one. with just a three way Morel component set running time aligned through a Zapco Z8 processer, and no subs. I'm not super satisfied with how it sounds, but haven't had time to really fix it. Beats the hell out of the factory Bose though. My other car has pretty damned good factory audio, so I'm okay with leaving it well enough alone. I do miss the system in my old GTI though :). Still own my TU-600, but it was not a good fit more my goals with this system. Went with a JL 800/8 this time around, and it's fine but nothing to write home about.

[@Aleziss]

​@@alanfish3317 ​ well, it seems we were seeking the same type of audio quality, for a long time I was listening to jazz/electro stuff where I wanted to have the full drum impacts like crisp and dynamic snares and toms (that made your eyes blink) and I got it with my AVI speakers even though there were connected to my MC420M, I can't imagine what it would have sounded like with an amp like yours ! Funny you mention having the bug again, I am contemplating to install (far from being done) a DSP in my 2016 Golf TSi, I'm ok with the stock radio but the SQ is horrible and requires a TON of EQing and I mostly miss time aligment... I found Helix DSP amplifiers that even have iso wiring harness that integrate to the OEM sound system, like you, I just want to gain SQ, remove the aweful low mid bass that is way way too loud in the doors and smooth the highs that are so agressive in the 2-3.5khz range. With that DSP amp, I can even keep my original speakers and in the future, I could add a small subwoofer. But just for the fact of correcting those OEM speaker imperfection and adjust the listening position timings will make the system sound so much better... Like I said, nothing is done yet but I envy you with your Zapco DSP there, nice gear you got there ! Speaking of JL, the guy I told you about with the 300ZX with RANE and PPI amps had the JL trio plate in his trunk, it was an incradible install to see pro gear like that in a car audio setup ! I guess we would have a lot to talk about if we had met in a car show ! Here all competitions and car shows are long gone, back in the 88-94, IASCA came here and we had real SQ competitions with high quality installs and products. Now these days, it is only who is going to be the loudest... I still find incradible install in SPL vehicules but I find there is no real enjoyement of music in those systems. I could spark a bad argument there so I'll stop it here !

[@michealmuir9959]

o yes the late 90,s sound off comps how good was it!!! I had alpine 7949e also with the mrf1005 amp on subs mrf305 on fronts and rears .Dddrive subs and mtx sub and mtx amp also it all sits on shelf in cupboard in my shed. the world of after market is just not as fun any more

[@Aleziss]

yep, back then IASCA even came in Canada for competions and a lot of SQ systems this is where I got hooked... I pump so much money into this though... but it was a good time indeed !

[@1979phill]

those mcintosh amps are stunning. i'd love a pair of those.

[@Aleziss]

thank you for your appreciation ! Yes they were beautiful to watch and listen at ! it's a shame they stop all their car audio line...

[@1979phill]

@@Aleziss i'm using at the minit in my work van a denon z1 with the matching amps dca760bl running 130k fronts and a dca660bl running a 10" focal. using balance cables, running 8v output and qed silver speaker cable. the drive to and from work is good.

[@Aleziss]

@@1979phill nice stuff you have there ! before replacing the CDA7949 with the PXA-H600 with a DEX-P1, I like the fact the alpine head unit and dsp were on fiber optic and the dsp was close to the amps with only 3' RCAs, it made a big difference from the preceeding head unit I had before at 2V unbalanced. The DEX-P1 had low impedance 4V RCAs but I had to run 15' RCAs to the McIntosh amps. Those last days of my car audio journey made me realize that it was waaaaaaay overkill for the type of car I had. I am happy to have use those gear but it was way too much when on the road with tire and wind noise, it deafeats the purpose of such high components, specially in a 1994 honda accord...

[@1979phill]

@@Aleziss i won't grow out of car audio, 41 now and able to afford the gear i couldn't afford when i was 17. never tried a processor in my audio system, sounds pretty awesome as it is. and still plays loud enough to make my ears ring after a long journey. i've put a video on youtube but doesn't do the sound justice. would love those mcintosh amps with mcintosh head unit. but still too much for what i'd want to spend.

[@Aleziss]

@@1979phill right, processor is the best peice of gear I ever bought, time aligment is a MUST in a high end car audio. I used to have the PXAH600 like I told you but it was very limited on the tweaking, the system ran with a microphone to configure it but I could not retouch the settings much after it was done. When I changed to the DEXP1, WOW now I had control, nice EQ and time aligment with the mcintosh amps, it was really nice... again, a bit overkill but it did sound nice and it was nice seeing other be in awe when they saw the amps, those were extremely rare here in Quebec. I'm 49 by the way and I never got into car audio again when I quit. Sometime I miss time aligment in my current car, I might get an amp with a build in DSP but that's about it. We'll see next year maybe !

[@JaimealonsoVidalzamarron]

Hola buenas tardes soy de chihuahua y me hice de un amplicintohs pero no lo puedo aser sonar bien ya que la unidad principal es un alpine que puedo hacer para aserle honor a la marca

[@joshtaylor4249]

Love the McIntosh! !!

[@Aleziss]

oh yes, I just wish I would have keep them in their original box instead of selling them... they are now pretty rare... thanks for your comment !

[@stevej6824]

Aleziss I was about to say the same thing. I always loved the look of McIntosh amplifiers.

[@frankingram3477]

Video brings back so many memories from car audio in the 80's and 90's. Awesome how Aleziss moved up in equipment through the years to the best of the best...McIntosh. Sold many MX406 HUs and Mc amps in the early 2000's. Had 5 MC4000M's. Sold all for $2.5-3k each around 2004-5. Now in 2021 they're worth $7k+ a piece.

[@oscardardenjr3473]

Stop me if I'm wrong but I remember 2 of your cars being featured in car audio and electronics magazine or performance auto & sound magazine

[@Aleziss]

if it is the case, I'd like to know in which one and at what date ! If they are, they never asked me any pictures and I am not aware of my cars being in those magasines, if you have information, I would check that out ! Pictures of my cars were once on a car audio website where I use to buy some stuff, if they did it, they have stolen pictures from there and never ask me permission !

[@senorhedvoycez6017]

How would you describe the bass with the AP Mats? Im planning on doing an AP with a Image IDQ8"

[@Aleziss]

AP Mats sounded really good but in my particular install, they were not efficient in loudness. A ported box will outperform the AP Mats anytime. But sound quality, abosolutely no problem, it souded really good and subwoofers were controlled properly. In my case they were 2 X 10" AVI SL250 with a McIntosh MC431M giving 2 X 200W rms.

[@Badassvidsz]

Nice ....very nice .

[@Aleziss]

thank you very much for the appreciation !

[@Badassvidsz]

@@Aleziss You are much wellcome :-)

[@weedman7303]

I had that same kenwood set up in my Nissan pickup

[@Aleziss]

those were nice amps, I really enjoy them ! My dream was to get a KAC1021 but it never happened... switched to Phoenix Gold amps instead...

[@jasilva78js]

Of all those great set up which one to you had the best SQ ?

[@Aleziss]

the first one was really bass heavy (for that time) and not too much sq, it was impressive to listen at. I'd say the one kit with the ZX250, ZX450 along with the 7949/pxah600 with the meq230 connected on the alpine Ai net cable was pretty decent, I got a nice 35/40 on IASCA RTA curve. The Oz subwoofers were sounding superb but it was not a loud system, max 134db. But I think my favorite was the DEXP1 with the Mcintosh amps and all AVI speakers, it was even less louder than the previous install (max 130db) but it sounded pretty clean, snappy and a lot of dynamics... I got 34/40 IASCA RTA curve with the DEXP1 time aligment and internal eq so I'd say the last one was my favorite for SQ. The front speakers had 2X100W from the MC420M and both 10 inch sub had 2X200 from the MC431M, all fed by the DEXP1 and phoenix gold RCAs.

[@jasilva78js]

I kinda had an idea was the last set up with those awesome amps!!...thank you for this video

[@Aleziss]

well thank you for the appreciation ! sad that mcintosh dropped their car audio line... but yeah, loved the pioneer dexp1 deck, cupper chasis, high performance rca, 2/3 way crossover, time delay, EQ all in a single unit that drove those nice mc amps and AVI speakers ! I even prefer the dexp1 than the 7949 with the pxah600 + meq230... now I listen to the stock radio in my car (which sounds pretty bad), you can't replace them anymore as they are part of the car computer... I am thinkering about keeping the stock hu and speakers and hookup a small 5 channel digital amp (with the proper adapters not to cut any wires) with time delay, EQ and a tiny sub... just to get some SQ back... I realize I still love this stuff but I won't EVER put so much money into this...

[@arnoldsalazar5851]

How did the subs perform with the aperiodic mat?

[@Aleziss]

they sounded beautiful, nice tight bass but with really surprising deep notes too... the only downside I would say is the efficiency, they were not really loud, specially with the seat closed it was even worst. A ported box will outperform those AP mats for sure but back then, I wanted to keep as much trunk as I could and it sounded just like I wanted, I did miss a little bit of power output that's my only bad comment, the overall sounded beautiful.

[@andrewilson1768]

What's the name of that song playing

[@Aleziss]

it's written in the end credit of the video and in the video description, it is there so you do not need to ask and in order to play that music on youtube, you need to credit the author...

[@tavocarballido9668]

Man you should make a video on how to do the rear of a vehicle

[@Aleziss]

thank you very much for your appreciation ! the most difficult one was the one with the accord 94 with the zx450 and 250 along with the slanted 12 inches, there was a LOT of wood cutting and adjustments there, the floor was slanted, the "box" (as it was an open baffle box) was slanted... all that was with MDF wood, some wood filler and speckled paint ! The other difficult part was when I moved the amplifiers in the rear seat of that same car... cutting the metal back plate of the seat, cutting the foam, making a wood form, aluminum trims, install the amps with the wiring... the amps were so close together, I had to used 90° RCAs and 4AWG connectors to make this work, that was really difficult to do. The seat was REALLY heavy too... But that is the last time I built something in my car. I have got 4 other cars since that 94 accord... brand new 2004 jetta 1.8t then back to a 2000 accord coupe, another jetta 2014 1.8t and now having a golf 2016... in all of those 4 cars I never reinstall anything beside just replacing the radio in the 2000 accord but kept the original speakers. What a contrast besides what it used to be back then ! Priority in life have change since almost 30 years ago ! I can't afford those expensive audio gear anymore and radios are now integral part of the car with so much information about the car status, backup cameras and so on... IF I do something, I will adapt the original head unit of my 2016 golf on a DSP amp for time aligment (I miss that so much !) and EQing and MAYBE add a sub, which I really would like but the trunk is full of tools, difficult to install a sub box... I do miss nice sound quality in my car, true ! it's just not the right time now... BUT I DO PROMISS that if I ever build or mod something again on my sound system, I will post a video. I really appreciate that you enjoyed my work there ! Thanks again !

[@jamesrobin9961]

Your telling me that at :50 that consol wasnt a stock/factory peice? Whaaaat...?😉 J/K ...I had somethin very similar in my 1st Whip...81 Mustang with Pioneer cassette tuner, remember the 1's with a flip up handle to pull the whole unit out?!!! Had 2 Crunch 15's off of a Pyramid amp that my 15 yr old dumbass had no crossover?! Full range to the subs!

[@Aleziss]

@James Robin that custom console was quite a bit of work back then, close to 30 years ago !... make everything fit properly and hold everything solidly so the CD didn't skip... yep, I also remember those pyramid amps with no crossover, ours weren't pyramid but rather KTO International. We had a huge KTO International amp that was at least 28" long and "rated" 4X250W RMS, we had bridge that amp on two 8ohms Crown 15" (similar to your crunch subs) and the day we installed a active alphasonic two way crossover on that amp, it was simply amazing (for the time back then), the difference was incradible full range vs subwoofer... Prior the crossover intall, those 2 15' were also coupled with a bunch of black plastic motorola piezo tweeters (the square and rectangle ones) since the amp was full range !!

[@GamerDadschannel]

Haha i remember those old ass equalizers

[@Aleziss]

I did appreciate all of them regardless...