Operation: Big speakers little holes

[BradKnob]

I got the MS-8 installed last night!!...
















LOL!!! ok let me explain...


1. I just wanted to make sure it worked and functioned properly since i bought it used.

2. I was racing against the sun bc i loaned my shop light to the guy im building the blowthrough for so... no sun = no bueno



In order to get it hooked up, there were a few things i had to change with my install...

1. Needed to run a new power and ground wire
2. Had to run wire from tweeters to where the ms-8 would be since my tweeters were previously running off the head unit.
3. Needed a remote wire, amps are signal sensitive so signal from RCAs used to turn them on. Now amps are required to be turned on by MS-8.
4. Had to run a wire for the MS-8 remote to the front. (pic below)
5. Rock out with my **** out


I also gave myself another project, Ima build a little fiberglass pod for the MS-8 remote/control screen. ill prob put it where its located i this pic below, but i want to make it removable without any noticable modifications.



Well, there was no rock out our **** out. It turned out to be a nightmare!! I managed to accomplish all of the above and get it fired up. Before I even calibrate I hear a loud whistle, like a bomb falling, then it goes away. I wasnt too concerned bc i expected some noise with the cluster fu@% of wires behind me. Well i get it calibrated and all the music is coming from the drivers side tweeter, and its staticy and sounds like crap. Sounds like a Lemming **** or some ****. Thought the tweeter was blown. I recalibrate...same thing. Its 10:30 Pm and im tired and have to work early so i say eff it. I go to bed thinking of a few things to try since everything was rushed to get in so im not too worried.



Fastforward to 3:45 am, I cant sleep over this crap. Back to the driveway... The tweeters are the only thing hooked to the ms-8 internal amp, and theyre the only thing i hear, so i unhook the harness for the ms-8 amp and Bam!...noise dissapears but i can still hear music from the tweeter? I must have it still connected to the head unit some how. Still dark so ill have to dig into it later. So i recalibrate, with one tweeter still working, so i covered it to see what happens and yay noise free music. Quiet bass free music....****!! wheres ma bass? I make a few adjustments to amp levels etc etc.... re calibrate....Bam music, with a little bass, all coming from the left side. Time for work... so i leave with my left side sounding pretty kinda good. Now I gotta get through the day with this $hit rattling my brain until i can get home and mess with it.

 

[Sud]

Hopefully it's not an issue with the "used" amp?

I'd say maybe you're just overlooking something simple... best of luck! you're obviously talented enough to get it straightened out.

 

[Power247]

Ahhh the joys of driveway installations. It's amazing the little things you can miss when racing against the sun...

I am sure you will get it figured out once you have time to trace it all out.

Sent from my LG 8.3 GPe

 

[Etroze86]

Like my advice in last post, when you get off work sit down with a beer and think about it I am positive its just something you aren't seeing in the mess of wires.

 

[BradKnob]

Thanks guys....

I'm not really sweating it just yet. Like you all said, I'm sure it's something I just overlooked. Plus there's so many adjustments with the amps, dsp, an head unit I'm sure I'll get it straight.

We're supposed to get rain all weekend. Hopefully it lightens up or I may need to borrow a garage, or clean mine so I can fit in it.

 

[charonblk07]

Looks awesome, I vote you leave it just like that!

The most common issues with the MS-8 is incorrect setup. Have a look through your wiring and make sure that everything's hooked up correctly and then look at how you've got everything setup in the MS8 itself. A lot of people get better results by disabling the Logic 7, but I'll keep an eye out for what you come across when you have daylight to work with.

 

[BradKnob]

^^^ LOL. I may throw a custom floor matt over it so i can peel it back whenever i want to show off my custom install.

Thanks for the insight. Im pretty positive whatever is happening is install/rookie DSP'er related and ill figure it out. Ive been reading throught he 7 million page MS-8 thread on DIYMA and it seems my issues are pretty common and are fixable. Ill bust it in the ass this weekend.

 

[charonblk07]

Yeah, I spent a bunch of time on that same thread before deciding to try the MS8 for my system as well.

 

[BradKnob]

Well at lunch I went and tried something...

I pulled the sail panels and cut the wires to the tweeters and recalibrated. Also when it said look at driver side mirror I did..... Instead of passenger like I had been doing. Damn I'm dumb.

Hence the reason for only left side playing, the right was just over attenuated and I couldn't hear it. Damn I'm dumb


Result... Fkn INSANE center stage. Like I've never heard before in any vehicle. Like I feel like I can touch it. Right there dead center in the dash. But, very low volume. Which can be fixed pretty easily with some gain changes and a recal.

I determined left tweeter was seeing signal from dsp and head unit and right tweeter was not playing at all. Now instead of tapping oem wires I gotta get off my lazy ass and run them right.

Now I'm excited, I like where this is headed

 

[BradKnob]

Just realized the ms-8 has it's own volume control also.... Damn I'm dumb.

 

[BradKnob]

Today.... I woke up a free man. until 6:30 at least so plenty of time to do work.



So yesterday when i got home i routed wires from tweeters in the sail to the back. Did i ever mention i hate running wires. Anyway, now the left tweeter isnt getting a signal from the head unit and DSP at the same time and right tweeter is actually getting a signal... fingers crossed. Fired it up, recalibrated, and had a listen...


Fuarkin beautiful! no hiss, wine, lemmings fuking, or bombs falling. Just dead centered sonic purity. Enogh to make my pants get tighter. Now i gotta straighten up that mess so i can breath. I get claustrophobic and anxiety when my truck looks like that.


this in case u missed it 2 posts up...







Fast forward to today... In order to keep it simple but still clean I whipped up a little bracket or stand whatever u want to call it...



This way, no glues or caulk or crazy tricks to make it stick to the wall and I can still hide the wires.

Where it will go...



Here it is mounted. Too many damn wires to make any neater. Ok im just lazy but thats what the beauty panel is for. right?








All back together, for the most part.



JBL Pronz incoming















Alright, i can breath again. Then I started on the mount for the control screen.





I wanted to make a little mold for the screen to mold into the center tray. Then i saw this screw box...






nah.....too easy. I wanted something a little more exact So i decided on a different route.






*WARNING: GRAPHIC. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME











Well its exact alright. So exact that its stuck in there. lol




Nothing a razor blade cant take care of.



annnnd phew, shes safe.




and where my day ended...






I should be able to get it triemmed up, fit flush and painted or covered (not sure yet) tomorrow. Now im going see if i cant get to the bottom of a bottle of Jack Daniels. Have a good weekend.

 

[charonblk07]

Very nice sir! Knowing how **** I am, I would have used heat shrink and a small amount of techflex on every exposed wire running to the MS8, but I love the bracket, nice and clean.

If you ever want to create a small gap around something you're fiberglassing or planning to wrap, try putting a piece of double sided foam tape around it, then you can cut through the tape and the part will just pop out and you'll have an even gap around the edges.

Great work, love seeing the progress.

 

[012RAMbo]

Do you ever stop making bad ass $h*t? lol. Everything looks great, bet it is sounding even better! Curious to see how that control screen mold ends up. Looking good bud.

 

[Power247]

I really need to stop following this thread!!! LOL!! man you just give me way too many cool ideas Love the where you are headed with the mount for the control module.

If you take your drinking as seriously as you do your audio you should have no trouble finding the bottom of that bottle Enjoy!!

 

[BradKnob]

Very nice sir! Knowing how **** I am, I would have used heat shrink and a small amount of techflex on every exposed wire running to the MS8, but I love the bracket, nice and clean.

If you ever want to create a small gap around something you're fiberglassing or planning to wrap, try putting a piece of double sided foam tape around it, then you can cut through the tape and the part will just pop out and you'll have an even gap around the edges.

Great work, love seeing the progress.

Thanks!

If I had heat shrink and tech flex on hand I would have used it but Im too impatient. Character flaw I guess...

Awesome tip with the foam tape. Jotted it down in my duh why didnt i think of that book of charonblk07 rediculously helpful customizing tips and ideas. lol

Do you ever stop making bad ass $h*t? lol. Everything looks great, bet it is sounding even better! Curious to see how that control screen mold ends up. Looking good bud.

Thanks!

I just see other peoples bad ass $h*t and say damn i want to make bad ass Sh*t. Then i go get in over my head and hope for the best.

I really need to stop following this thread!!! LOL!! man you just give me way too many cool ideas Love the where you are headed with the mount for the control module.

If you take your drinking as seriously as you do your audio you should have no trouble finding the bottom of that bottle Enjoy!!

This thread woudnt be made if it werent other build logs i drooled over. Thats the beauty of forums.

Growing up in New Orleans/Baton Rouge its hard to not take drinking seriously.









With that said, I did find the bottom of that bottle and in turn it took a little longer to get moving the next morning so not as much progress as i hoped. Plus that guy im doing the blow through for ran his 150 ft of welding cable and was ready for his console so i had to finish it up. The unofficial most powerful center console in in the world...housing 5 Reikken 2000 watt power cells and 2 - 3500 watt amps.




As for the controller mount, I trimmed it so be flush...er



Testing fit and location...



Good enough for me. FYI the "A" in "RAM" on the dash under the A/C controls is not centered. When i lined it up with the A... it was not lined up with the cigarette lighter by the stick shift and it annoyed the crap out of me. so i took like 100 measurements and this is where i decided was center...ish





got her wet...




Got her hard...






And got it in...












Now i need to smooth it out so itll sit a little more flush and ill prob paint it flat black like the rest of the dash. After that, ill work on the new Dyns in the doors. and been throwing some ideas in my head to get the tweets and mids more on axis but thats down the road...

 

[Sud]

 

[charonblk07]

That's a spectacular placement. If I didn't have plans for that location already I'd be setting my display up there as well. How does the remote connect to the MS8? Is it wireless?

And seeing your dash install kit around the stereo headunit has cemented that I'm just going to fiberglass mine in so it's smooth all around. I only have to wait another month to really get going on my audio install *sigh* I'm cheating and using a NetAudio sub box only because I don't want to ever fiberglass in my truck again, the smell lingered for over a month last time because I have to lock it up tight every night.

And finally, I can't take credit for all the hints/tips. I have a decent background in the wood working side of things, but I wanted to really improve my knowledge in audio builds as opposed to cabinetry-type projects and found an awesome youtube channel with really amazing how-tos when it comes to the fabrication side. I picked up the foam tape tip from him and I've used it a few times now and love it, not to mention some other wicked tips.

 

[Etroze86]

That is pretty sweet can't wait to see it smoothed out

 

[Power247]

Friggin awesome!!! That YouTube channel an excellent resource. Those guys do some sweet work. I can't believe that they take time to video all those tips and tricks.

Sent from my LG 8.3 GPe

 

[BradKnob]

And seeing your dash install kit around the stereo headunit has cemented that I'm just going to fiberglass mine in so it's smooth all around. I only have to wait another month to really get going on my audio install *sigh* I'm cheating and using a NetAudio sub box only because I don't want to ever fiberglass in my truck again, the smell lingered for over a month last time because I have to lock it up tight every night.

.

Cant agree more...I actually returned the first dash kit bc it looked worse than that one. I installed that 3 days after i got the truck but had so many other mods on my mind i just lived with it for the time being. Plus I just wasnt ready to start chopping up a dash in a 1 week old truck. If i ever come across a cheap one ill scoop it up but its kinda on the bottom of a long to do list.


The remote has a 3.5 mm jack, like on headphones i believe. Maybe its a little smaller than that.

I actually have seen one of those youtube videos, didnt realize they had a whole channel tho. awesome.