H/K audio upgrade - VAST Improvment

[CndnRam]

Just want to confirm

I have 2022 laramie with HK system. The PAC APH-CH03 will work for my application?

That video says so, i'll report back when mine get's here from crutchfield. Ordered friday, hoping to see it before the weekend, have everything else lined up and ready.

 

[Mopar4u]

That video says so, i'll report back when mine get's here from crutchfield. Ordered friday, hoping to see it before the weekend, have everything else lined up and ready.

Thank you

 

[CndnRam]

100% you only need the CH03, works fine. I used the black and brown wires for speaker signal cause I think that’s back left and right if I looked at the diagram correctly.

so you don’t need to spend a big chunk, just get the APH-CH03.

 

[CndnRam]

Fair warning though, getting the 4gauge through the suggested location from that YouTube vid is a ****ing task lol.

 

[Mopar4u]

100% you only need the CH03, works fine. I used the black and brown wires for speaker signal cause I think that’s back left and right if I looked at the diagram correctly.

so you don’t need to spend a big chunk, just get the APH-CH03.

Good to know, thanks! Curious, where are putting a sub and what box are you using? Pictures?

 

[Pompito]

I started the Rebel sound project aka (F@#$% HK project) today. Replaced all dash speakers and headliner speakers with the Faital 3FE32's. I can tell you modding the Faitals to fit the dash was fairly easy but removing the headliner grills was a PITA, I thought I was going to rip the headliner of all the force applied to it. I can already tell the fuller sound in the front stage. Did a quick RTA with audio tools app to flatten that EQ a bit($20 from the app store and saves a lot of trouble). Next step is to sound deaden all doors and disconnect the front door speaker "tweeter/mids" whatever that is leaving just the door subs, is messing up the front staging with this full range speakers now installed. Step 3 is adding the subs to fill that lower octave missing, purchased the JL stealth box with the twin 10" woofers and the JL Vxi 1000/1i with DSP. Will be getting this done next week or so. Will see how it comes out. If not pleased with it I will be going full active on the fronts and adding some morel Virtus 3-ways on the doors with an JL Vxi 8 channel amp

 

[JustCallMeD]

I started the Rebel sound project aka (F@#$% HK project) today. Replaced all dash speakers and headliner speakers with the Faital 3FE32's. I can tell you modding the Faitals to fit the dash was fairly easy but removing the headliner grills was a PITA, I thought I was going to rip the headliner of all the force applied to it. I can already tell the fuller sound in the front stage. Did a quick RTA with audio tools app to flatten that EQ a bit($20 from the app store and saves a lot of trouble). Next step is to sound deaden all doors and disconnect the front door speaker "tweeter/mids" whatever that is leaving just the door subs, is messing up the front staging with this full range speakers now installed. Step 3 is adding the subs to fill that lower octave missing, purchased the JL stealth box with the twin 10" woofers and the JL Vxi 1000/1i with DSP. Will be getting this done next week or so. Will see how it comes out. If not pleased with it I will be going full active on the fronts and adding some morel Virtus 3-ways on the doors with an JL Vxi 8 channel amp

Sounds like it's gonna come out nice! You know you're gonna be chasing the dragon anyway until you go fully active
I haven't regretted it for a millisecond after I upgraded all my components from the HK

 

[Pompito]

Sounds like it's gonna come out nice! You know you're gonna be chasing the dragon anyway until you go fully active
I haven't regretted it for a millisecond after I upgraded all my components from the HK

We both know how this ends. Trying to convince myself not to drop $15k in a sound system...again, and having to lie to my wife about it...again
What setup did you go with?

 

[JustCallMeD]

We both know how this ends. Trying to convince myself not to drop $15k in a sound system...again, and having to lie to my wife about it...again
What setup did you go with?

Good luck! I tried convincing myself of the same thing, didn't last long

Helix v twelve
Helix d one
SB Acoustics beryllium tweeters
Xcelsus xxm325 3" mids (front)
Focal utopia 6.5" mid lows (front)
BLAM Live L165P mid lows (rear)
Hybrid audio tech L3SE wideband (rear headliner)
JL TW3D4 10" Ported enclosure under rear seat

 

[Pompito]

Good luck! I tried convincing myself of the same thing, didn't last long

Helix v twelve
Helix d one
SB Acoustics beryllium tweeters
Xcelsus xxm325 3" mids (front)
Focal utopia 6.5" mid lows (front)
BLAM Live L165P mid lows (rear)
Hybrid audio tech L3SE wideband (rear headliner)
JL TW3D4 10" Ported enclosure under rear seat

Great system!! Love those Helix DSP amps. You have a taste of every country's hi-fi audio there. I'm biased with Morel Hi-Fi, have been using them for quite some time with great results. Let's see how everything comes out.

 

[Brunzca]

Sounds like it's gonna come out nice! You know you're gonna be chasing the dragon anyway until you go fully active
I haven't regretted it for a millisecond after I upgraded all my components from the HK

We both know how this ends. Trying to convince myself not to drop $15k in a sound system...again, and having to lie to my wife about it...again
What setup did you go with?

I feel this…. Finally got my subs in a couple weeks ago. Now that all the speakers are in, and Im learning how to use the DSP, I’m quickly starting to wish I would have gone with a DSP with more functionality than the Kenwood XR600. Even though I’m still a total novice, The 13 band eq and 3 band parametric don’t seem like enough to really get everything out of the system. But, I built using the Maestro AR, so I’m limited as to what I can put in, unless I start all over with a new DSP, amp, and Amp Pro for the line out….(cant use Helix… basically a few choices from Arc, AudioControl, or Audison, and that’s it….). but, seriously considering the Audison F8.9 anyway for more DSP control and a little more kick.

 

[Pompito]

I feel this…. Finally got my subs in a couple weeks ago. Now that all the speakers are in, and Im learning how to use the DSP, I’m quickly starting to wish I would have gone with a DSP with more functionality than the Kenwood XR600. Even though I’m still a total novice, The 13 band eq and 3 band parametric don’t seem like enough to really get everything out of the system. But, I built using the Maestro AR, so I’m limited as to what I can put in, unless I start all over with a new DSP, amp, and Amp Pro for the line out….(cant use Helix… basically a few choices from Arc, AudioControl, or Audison, and that’s it….). but, seriously considering the Audison F8.9 anyway for more DSP control and a little more kick.

I know that feeling, it sucks when it does not sound how expected. The XR600 has a pretty complete DSP. Try using an RTA app from the phone to see how those slopes are in real time and setting those time delays. But if you are not pleased, back to the drawing board and start over. Been there, done that

 

[Brunzca]

I know that feeling, it sucks when it does not sound how expected. The XR600 has a pretty complete DSP. Try using an RTA app from the phone to see how those slopes are in real time and setting those time delays. But if you are not pleased, back to the drawing board and start over. Been there, done that

Thanks… that’s what I’m using now, the Mobile Tools app. It’s definitely a major improvement, and getting better with every adjustment, dont get me wrong! hopefully, as I get more experience tuning, I’ll work it out. (But I also think that as I do, I’ll just want more to play with..lol)

 

[JustCallMeD]

I feel this…. Finally got my subs in a couple weeks ago. Now that all the speakers are in, and Im learning how to use the DSP, I’m quickly starting to wish I would have gone with a DSP with more functionality than the Kenwood XR600. Even though I’m still a total novice, The 13 band eq and 3 band parametric don’t seem like enough to really get everything out of the system. But, I built using the Maestro AR, so I’m limited as to what I can put in, unless I start all over with a new DSP, amp, and Amp Pro for the line out….(cant use Helix… basically a few choices from Arc, AudioControl, or Audison, and that’s it….). but, seriously considering the Audison F8.9 anyway for more DSP control and a little more kick.

Yup, this is how the addiction starts!
Honestly, if you're just beginning into the DSP realm, I would suggest focusing heavily on getting the time alignment aspect right before starting to mess around too much with the EQ settings. With the right crossover points, time alignment and a simple low shelf and high shelf applied without doing any RTA/mic work it will sound pretty amazing. That and focusing on your gain output matching for each component as well. Doing so this will greatly shift your soundstage to where you want it to be andbelnd everything nicely. After all that for the really fine tuning can start getting into the GEQ and PEQ if you have a pro mic accessible.

 

[Brunzca]

Yup, this is how the addiction starts!
Honestly, if you're just beginning into the DSP realm, I would suggest focusing heavily on getting the time alignment aspect right before starting to mess around too much with the EQ settings. With the right crossover points, time alignment and a simple low shelf and high shelf applied without doing any RTA/mic work it will sound pretty amazing. That and focusing on your gain output matching for each component as well. Doing so this will greatly shift your soundstage to where you want it to be andbelnd everything nicely. After all that for the really fine tuning can start getting into the GEQ and PEQ if you have a pro mic accessible.

Thanks! Crossovers have definitely a challenge for me, since I’m using widebands in the dash, not a tweeter… Ive found that that (so far) I get much better, and richer sound, by overlapping those with the mid bass (even though I guess thats not usually the best idea). The wide bands will cover anything from about 300-20k, and sound good in the lower registers, too.. so, Im high passing them around 1000 now, but have been playing around band passing the mids from 69 up to 3000-6000, and getting really good results, as compared to just one or the other in that range.
i think I have time alignment pretty close, measured it out, and have been tweaking gains to get that where I want it. My umik-1 will be here next week, so can work with that soon

 

[Handmeawrench]

The items I installed are:
Pac AP4-CH41
7 Ea. Faital Pro 3FE22 - 3" wide band driver
4 CDT Audio CL69S - 6x9 Midbass
2 JL 13TW5 subs
JL 1200/1 amp
MTI Sub box - The first stage one box built by them - mine is the actual box on their website.

Thank you for posting all of this great info! I am following your recommendations so far in the CDTs and Faitals.

Question: what sort of connector did you use for the Faitals? Did you solder bare wires?


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[patriot_tech]

Thank you for posting all of this great info! I am following your recommendations so far in the CDTs and Faitals.

Question: what sort of connector did you use for the Faitals? Did you solder bare wires?


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Metra 72-6514 if I recall correctly. These will plug into truck harness and speakers. So no cutting wires etc.

 

[Handmeawrench]

UPDATE: I have replaced all four 6x9s with the CDT Audio CL-69S. I also replaced the five front 3.5” speakers (one in each front door and the three on the dash) with the FaitalPRO 3FE22.

I also replaced broken door clips in the panels where needed.

Additionally, I bought a JL Audio CS110LG-TW3 enclosed box and a JD500/1 amp to power it, but they aren’t installed yet.

Sound quality is MUCH better. One note: I have a bit of tinnitus and I think I need a little more treble so I can really hear the cymbals. So I ordered a pair of Infinity Reference REF-3032cfx that I’m going to try in the dash corners. They have a tweeter onboard so that may suit my needs.

I really appreciate all [mention]patriot_tech [/mention] did in the original post. I’m much happier already!


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[patriot_tech]

UPDATE: I have replaced all four 6x9s with the CDT Audio CL-69S. I also replaced the five front 3.5” speakers (one in each front door and the three on the dash) with the FaitalPRO 3FE22.

I also replaced broken door clips in the panels where needed.

Additionally, I bought a JL Audio CS110LG-TW3 enclosed box and a JD500/1 amp to power it, but they aren’t installed yet.

Sound quality is MUCH better. One note: I have a bit of tinnitus and I think I need a little more treble so I can really hear the cymbals. So I ordered a pair of Infinity Reference REF-3032cfx that I’m going to try in the dash corners. They have a tweeter onboard so that may suit my needs.

I really appreciate all [mention]patriot_tech [/mention] did in the original post. I’m much happier already!


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I'm glad to hear my info was so well received by many. I have been kicking around adding some tweeters up front, but time has eluded me. Let us know how the infinity's sound - that may be the trick. It's amazing the difference in sound the upgrade makes. CDT and FaitalPro owe me some kickback lol!

 

[Handmeawrench]

I'm glad to hear my info was so well received by many. I have been kicking around adding some tweeters up front, but time has eluded me. Let us know how the infinity's sound - that may be the trick. It's amazing the difference in sound the upgrade makes. CDT and FaitalPro owe me some kickback lol!

The Infinitys have solved the treble problem for me. Your mileage may vary, but I'm happy with things now. 3 FaitalPros + 2 Infinitys up front are working well with the CDT 6x9s.

Thanks again!