my 2012 mk6 gti build

N

nadams5755

New member
i guess i'll start with the things that are current

most work was done by JT Audio & Accessories ( http://jtaudioacc.com ) in Cerritos, CA. i did the deadening, rcas, and power wiring.

JT's build log for a previous iteration is here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155183823314142.1073741864.75484824141&type=3

an even further back iteration is here https://www.facebook.com/pg/jtaudio...&album_id=10154330262729142&ref=page_internal

here's the gear:
  • factory vw rns-510 radio, vagcom'd to do 4vrms-out
  • helix pro mk2 w/ usb-hec and director
  • topping d10 dac into coax spdif input of dsp
  • two arc audio x2 1200.6
  • two arc audio x2 1100.1
  • two scanspeak r3004 tweeters
  • two scanspeak 12m midranges, sealed
  • two audio-development w800neo midbasses, sealed
  • two audible-physics ar3p, infinite baffle (rear fill)
  • two illusion audio c12xls, 1cu ft sealed each
  • CLD/deadener installed on the front door frame, front door card, floor, ceiling/roof, hatch area, and liftgate
  • CCF installed on all five doors and floor
  • CCF or trunk liner under the enclosure to decouple
  • 1/8" MLV installed on the front four doors and floor (1lb per sq ft)
  • HMF installed on the roof/ceiling
  • Denim/Polyfill stuffed in gaps
  • 1/16" sheet lead installed on the front seat floors (4lbs per sq ft), sandwiched inside CCF
  • knu 1/0ga and 4ga power/ground
  • audison connection sfd41c power/ground
  • custom RCAs from dsp to amps. gepco 61801ez cable, pailiccs RCA ends, followed shinjohn's how-to https://pbase.com/shinjohn/diyinterconnects
  • stinger 6000 4ch rca front to back

as configured:
  • one 1200.6 in 5ch mode sending 700w to one midbass and 150w to each tweeter and rearfill
  • one 1200.6 in 3ch mode sending 700w to one midbass and 325w to each midrange
  • one 1100.1 to each sub, giving them about 1050w each

tweeters and midbasses are different but here's the front stage:
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made the 5600mi round trip journey to finals. didn't get the scores i wanted but did okay in my class. almost okayest of extreme class!

positive notes for this year:

  • no stolen gear from bigred's front yard
  • no tire blowouts
  • no emergency room visits

it was nice seeing people again.

fuck that drive. 🚮
 
oh, might as well add pictures of deadening

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when you order sheet lead from amazon, the ups delivery person is angry at the small heavy box. this is about 40lbs.
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What dimension lead sheet did you order? Does using lead still work like MLV where you shouldn't have more than about 10% left open for it to work?
 
this is about 4lbs per sq ft, or 1/16" thick. i ordered a 24" x 48" sheet from amazon, roto metals brand

1/64" thickness is 1lb per sq ft, same density as 1/8" mlv. goal is 100% coverage like mlv. sheet lead is more moldable than mlv and 8x thinner
 
here's some why with this build, since some is a bit unconventional:
why mlv in the doors? minimize subwoofer resonances in the doors.
why sheet lead on the floors, as well as MLV, CCF, CLD, and factory deadening? get rid of remaining kickpanel midbass tactile feedback.
why upgrade from 3/4" r2004 to to 1" r3004 tweeters? 5-6db more sensitive across much of the passband, for effortlessness/realism i detected while helping a few people tune their r3004s out here.
why upgrade from 10" subs to 12" subs? effortlessness on the bottom half octave (20-30hz). for a given output, less cone movement means less tactile feedback
why 1100w to the subs? extra power to power through slightly smaller enclosures. they're in slightly undersized (1cu ft vs 1.2cu ft) sealed enclosures.
why 700w to the midbasses? same reason as the subs, but really helps with dynamics and impact.
why 325w to midranges? helps with detail and dynamics.
why rear fill aimed that way? conventional wisdom is forward for depth, side-to-side for width. i don't need any more width so i aimed for opposite headrests (of sorts) to help with depth/layering. rear-fill's been off all year long though.
why replace illusion c8s with ad w800neos? get 100% of the magnet structure behind the cone, avoid chuffing noises (air moving in the coil gap) as the cone moves
why sail monitors? all the width.
 
nadams5755 said:
...
why 1100w to the subs? extra power to power through slightly smaller enclosures. they're in slightly undersized (1cu ft vs 1.2cu ft) sealed enclosures.
why 700w to the midbasses? same reason as the subs, but really helps with dynamics and impact.
why 325w to midranges? helps with detail and dynamics.
...
Click to expand...

I need to save this quote to remind myself to go for it when I upgrade my amps.

I know I won't be happy unless I have a similar power setup, though I know I'll never use it all..
 
i finally washed off 2300mi of bugs. :)

i also replaced the single-color LED strip with a multicolor addressable LED strip. for the same size, that meant a 5v LED strip. 12v strips are much wider.

that meant 12v->5v buck converters. 1m is about 30w so finding big enough buck converters sucks.

almost 2m of strips caused a voltage drop by the end, so i had to wire both ends to the power source.

white balance in the video is pretty off, it's white and red:
 
my factory radio takes forever to boot, so VW turns on the radio as soon as the car's unlocked and shuts it off 15 minutes after the last door is closed/locked. it's also nearly impossible to shut it down. turn-on pop is pretty bad as well. :)

as much as i like the helix dsp, i hate the director knob for day to day. first picture? director knob's in the glovebox. ��that thing. less i have to interact with the director, the better.

i replaced the radio but wanted to keep a volume knob and add carplay. sony xav-ax210 with the maestro-rr bits and bobs. adjustable button LEDs match the dash too. :)
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however, the radio is iso mount only and the scosche kit seats the radio pretty far back.
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i shaved down like 1/4" of the plastic lip and brought the radio forward. shadow makes it look off-center:
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so it's connected analog inputs. i've still got the usb-hec and topping d10 in the glovebox.

screen's about the same size, just don't have the massive buttons around it.
 
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I saw this on Nick's video interview with you from Finals. Awesome build!

Interesting that you're using the Topping D10 as opposed to the USB HEC on the Helix.. I assume you're using the Topping SPDIF coaxial output to the Helix instead. Do you find the Topping from the phone and camera adapter is better than phone direct to the HEC?
 
Babs said:
I saw this on Nick's video interview with you from Finals. Awesome build!

Interesting that you're using the Topping D10 as opposed to the USB HEC on the Helix.. I assume you're using the Topping SPDIF coaxial output to the Helix instead. Do you find the Topping from the phone and camera adapter is better than phone direct to the HEC?
Click to expand...

Damn, Nick did a video?

Can someone post a link to it?
 
Babs said:
Interesting that you're using the Topping D10 as opposed to the USB HEC on the Helix.. I assume you're using the Topping SPDIF coaxial output to the Helix instead. Do you find the Topping from the phone and camera adapter is better than phone direct to the HEC?
Click to expand...
sound is the same via usb-hec or d10.

it was a practical reason: ios 12.1-12.4/helix bug with not charging through the ck3. now that ios 13 is out, the bug is mostly gone.

d10 takes like 10 sec to boot though. :cry:

Chris12 said:
Damn, Nick did a video?


Can someone post a link to it?
Click to expand...


https://www.caraudiojunkies.com/sho...inals-Competitor-Spotlights&p=48237#post48237
 
nadams5755 said:
it was a practical reason: ios 12.1-12.4/helix bug with not charging through the ck3. now that ios 13 is out, the bug is mostly gone.
Click to expand...

Yeah I notice on my iPhone XS with that same adapter, I still get the "accessory not supported" error or whatever it was, iOS 13.. I dunno. Thought I read somewhere it was a charging issue or something to do with some phones. Gotta love Apple. I'm looking forward to getting the car tuned so I can do some decent comparisons between the iPhone/CCK/USB HEC verses the Fiio X5 Gen2 SPDIF coaxial.
 
Babs said:
Yeah I notice on my iPhone XS with that same adapter, I still get the "accessory not supported" error or whatever it was, iOS 13.. I dunno. Thought I read somewhere it was a charging issue or something to do with some phones. Gotta love Apple. I'm looking forward to getting the car tuned so I can do some decent comparisons between the iPhone/CCK/USB HEC verses the Fiio X5 Gen2 SPDIF coaxial.
Click to expand...

Hey Nick...where do you work again? lol

Jay
 
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