OJ's Audio Update

[NM156]

Nice clean install. thanks for taking the time with all the pics. Great job!

 

[havinnoj]

2017 stock Sony system. The problem I ran into and maybe you know how to avoid was when the auto stop/start shut down the engine at a red light or similar the sub would also shutdown due to the power supply being altered. An

I haven't experienced that in either of my trucks, though I do drive in Sport (so ASS is disabled) 99% of the time. I'll have to play with it and see. I have seen certain amplifiers being compatible / not compatible with ASS. What amp are you running? What's the voltage when this happens? Where is your amp getting power from, I assume the battery? Maybe it's just not getting signal at shut down?

 

[havinnoj]

Looks good, very clean. What was the amp rack material? Maybe I missed that.

It's 1/2" HDPE from Sounds Good Stereo, pretty beefy stuff, fitment was really good too. (link here: https://soundsgoodstereo.com/products/2015-ford-f-series-custom-made-amplifier-rack-plate)

 

[havinnoj]

One thing to note on the amp rack, that I NEVER really see mentioned from the manufacturers selling these amp racks (SGS, MTI, etc.), is that you CAN'T just put gear wherever on the board unless you're okay with the seat in the "down position all the time. I learned this the hard way

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

Great setup - I just added a simple PowerWedge+™ 10" powered subwoofer to my 2017 stock Sony system. The problem I ran into and maybe you know how to avoid was when the auto stop/start shut down the engine at a red light or similar the sub would also shutdown due to the power supply being altered. Any idea how to work around this besides disabling start stop would be welcomed!

grey/blue in the pkp. middle of 3 black plugs towards the front. rap wire.

 

[dhmcfadin]

Thanks yeah that’s the worry, it’ll get swapped out for a downfiring box.

As far as Nav TV / optical goes, the “Global Level” is currently set to 0dBFS, think that’s the max. Besides phone gain and chime level, not much else to adjust there unless I’m missing something.

Different input sources (optical vs rca) will affect the output. The output from your zen to your amps are different depending on the connection type. You have to set your gain accordingly for different connection types. If your input signal is lower (optical), you need to set your gain with that lower input signal. I have run both optical and rca from my zen to my helix mk2. All parameters equal, with optical, the input signal was lower so clipping did not occur on my amps until the gain was increased. Once I correctly adjusted my gain, the output of my system was exactly where is was prior to going optical. Make sure you are using the correct test tones and tools when setting your gain.

 

[havinnoj]

Different input sources (optical vs rca) will affect the output. The output from your zen to your amps are different depending on the connection type. You have to set your gain accordingly for different connection types. If your input signal is lower (optical), you need to set your gain with that lower input signal. I have run both optical and rca from my zen to my helix mk2. All parameters equal, with optical, the input signal was lower so clipping did not occur on my amps until the gain was increased. Once I correctly adjusted my gain, the output of my system was exactly where is was prior to going optical. Make sure you are using the correct test tones and tools when setting your gain.

Thanks, that's in line with what Manville Smith (VP of Marketing for JL) has said on the VXi Amp thread over at DIYMA. Though with the VX series, you cannot adjust gains with optical input, only output level. I'd have to re-read the thread but believe, like you mentioned, all things being equal then overall output is very very similar. The difference arises in some distortion that is acceptable/inaudible at certain frequencies with the analog route. I'm happy with optical for now, but would like to explore the analog route down the road.

 

[RPsG2Rap]

grey/blue in the pkp. middle of 3 black plugs towards the front. rap wire.

Sorry noob here - what does pkp stand for? Really appreciate the help and guidance

 

[smurfslayer]

I just added a simple PowerWedge+™ 10" powered subwoofer to my 2017 stock Sony system. The problem I ran into and maybe you know how to avoid was when the auto stop/start shut down the engine at a red light or similar the sub would also shutdown due to the power supply being altered. Any idea how to work around this besides disabling start stop would be welcomed!

ditch auto stop / start. I too have a 2017 and for a while I did the 8” kicker behind the seat with 300w Kenwood. The reason the truck shuts the sub off is to preserve the amp. When the truck restarts from a stop, there’s a pretty significant voltage drop at the amp. I didn’t really notice until I pulled the kenwood, and redid the factory stereo. I used a DSR1, amp for the main stereo and JL audio sub/amp/MTI 10” behind the seat sub.

After this, I noticed that at lights with the truck shut off, when it restarted my sound would go out for 3-4 seconds after startup. That prompted me to check voltage and it would drop as low as 9.?v at the amp, but mostly ~10-11. -- I have battery home runs power and ground, no skimping.

So, I got a stop/start disable doodad. In the event I’m in stop and go traffic and not blasting the stereo I can still use the feature.

If you want good tunes in the truck, auto stop start needs to go. There’s a FORSCAN setting for the Kicker amp/sub that also disables stop/start.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

Sorry noob here - what does pkp stand for? Really appreciate the help and guidance

passenger kick panel. attached to the fuse box.