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Started out with the Sony XAV-65 and two pair of cheap Kenwood separates under the delusion it would be good enough. PFFFT. The Sony's quirky U.I., lousy iPod control, lack of software based frequency and active crossover controls, and a cheap class D amp driving the barely sufficient Kenwoods proved to be downright unsatisfying, even annoying.
So, gathering replacement gear began. Planning of each upgrade is intended to give time to assess the affect and value of incremental improvements. First to go was the Sony, replaced with a much improved Pioneer AVH-X3700BHS.
The Pioneer is light-years ahead of the Sony in software maturity and usability. Everything from backlight color control, superior iPod interface, very flexible frequency and crossover control to a very intuitive U.I., the Pioneer was like moving from a clunky first generation off brand mp3 player to IOS6.
Next to go were the Kenwood dome tweets in the factory location, replaced with AMT Mini's from Parts Express. Being a big fan of the original Heil Air Motion Transformer, the reintroduction of Dr. Heil's design coincided with the upgrade project, so it was a no brainer for me. After breaking out the calipers, it looked like they would shoe into the factory grills perfectly, and they did.
At first, the Minis were crossed first order way up around 10Khz using the Jantzen Mylar caps in the image, mostly because I was paranoid about operating them down to the upper limits of the Kenwood mid/woofers. While the high frequencies shimmered, there was way too wide a gap. The caps were by passed (for now) in favor of using a third order 4.5Khz two way xover from the box of tricks lingering in the garage. That changed everything. Now we are getting somewhere.
There are many folk who shun the idea of high frequencies reflecting off the windshield and the existence of full range rear channels. All I can say about that is some people like catsup on eggs, some don't. There are plenty of opinions about sound staging and such, which are all valid, however after spending several years in professional audio, I can only state my opinion. An automobile does not lend itself easily to focused sound. We can optimize the best we can but there are also genuine benefits to experimenting with reflections and phase coherence (or incoherence) which can reap huge rewards in a pleasing listening experience.
For the moment, I'm very pleased with the sonic improvements these two changes brought about.
Next up: DC wiring and amplifiers. The box of tricks in the garage had a near pristine old school Zapco 151 with the 200 remote power supply. This is the second generation version class A/B amp using a separate power supply/filter and amplifier chassis. She now lives behind the drivers side back seat, driving the front channel quite nicely. She's been running for a while and doesn't seem to mind being backed up to the CCF liner installed on the back wall. Using a laser temp gauge, the hottest measured temp at the heat sinks is 105 so I'm good with that.
There's a project underway for a subwoofer install that should be pretty unusual for the Ridgeline. Pictures of that will have to wait until more progress is made. For now, lets just say available space in the bed will be reduced a bit. In the meantime, I opted to run one Zapco STX-2 mono connected to the stock (GASP) woofer. It will be interesting to see how much that thing will take. One thing is sure, it does an OK job of getting down below the 4-6 3/4 Kenwoods, by a big margin.
So, gathering replacement gear began. Planning of each upgrade is intended to give time to assess the affect and value of incremental improvements. First to go was the Sony, replaced with a much improved Pioneer AVH-X3700BHS.
The Pioneer is light-years ahead of the Sony in software maturity and usability. Everything from backlight color control, superior iPod interface, very flexible frequency and crossover control to a very intuitive U.I., the Pioneer was like moving from a clunky first generation off brand mp3 player to IOS6.
Next to go were the Kenwood dome tweets in the factory location, replaced with AMT Mini's from Parts Express. Being a big fan of the original Heil Air Motion Transformer, the reintroduction of Dr. Heil's design coincided with the upgrade project, so it was a no brainer for me. After breaking out the calipers, it looked like they would shoe into the factory grills perfectly, and they did.


At first, the Minis were crossed first order way up around 10Khz using the Jantzen Mylar caps in the image, mostly because I was paranoid about operating them down to the upper limits of the Kenwood mid/woofers. While the high frequencies shimmered, there was way too wide a gap. The caps were by passed (for now) in favor of using a third order 4.5Khz two way xover from the box of tricks lingering in the garage. That changed everything. Now we are getting somewhere.
There are many folk who shun the idea of high frequencies reflecting off the windshield and the existence of full range rear channels. All I can say about that is some people like catsup on eggs, some don't. There are plenty of opinions about sound staging and such, which are all valid, however after spending several years in professional audio, I can only state my opinion. An automobile does not lend itself easily to focused sound. We can optimize the best we can but there are also genuine benefits to experimenting with reflections and phase coherence (or incoherence) which can reap huge rewards in a pleasing listening experience.
For the moment, I'm very pleased with the sonic improvements these two changes brought about.
Next up: DC wiring and amplifiers. The box of tricks in the garage had a near pristine old school Zapco 151 with the 200 remote power supply. This is the second generation version class A/B amp using a separate power supply/filter and amplifier chassis. She now lives behind the drivers side back seat, driving the front channel quite nicely. She's been running for a while and doesn't seem to mind being backed up to the CCF liner installed on the back wall. Using a laser temp gauge, the hottest measured temp at the heat sinks is 105 so I'm good with that.

There's a project underway for a subwoofer install that should be pretty unusual for the Ridgeline. Pictures of that will have to wait until more progress is made. For now, lets just say available space in the bed will be reduced a bit. In the meantime, I opted to run one Zapco STX-2 mono connected to the stock (GASP) woofer. It will be interesting to see how much that thing will take. One thing is sure, it does an OK job of getting down below the 4-6 3/4 Kenwoods, by a big margin.
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