2010 CX-9 Touring Install Log

And there she sits, mounted under the passenger seat:


I did end up running a turn-on lead from the head unit because it turns out that JBL's auto turn-on function sucks. I had to turn the sound way up for the amp to recognize the signal and kick on. Then if I turned it down to a normal listening volume, the amp would shut off. PITA

I am using the 4_channel MTX amp to biamp the front components for now. So the front channels power the tweeters through the JBL passive crossovers. The rear amp channels power the midrange speakers with no low pass crossover. The JBL passive put a full range signal to the midranges already, so they are meant to run this way. (See here and here)

So now the whole tuning rigmarole begins anew...
 
Thanks for documenting your install. Looks great and I bet it sounds awesome.

I'm curious, in your first post where you laid out the gear you were using you listen Dayton tweeters for the corner dashboard locations and JBL components for the doors. I saw the pictures for the Dayton tweets and for the 6.5" drivers for the doors. Does this mean you didn't install the JBL tweets? If so, why use the Dayton tweets and not just use the JBL ones in the dash location?

My wife also drives a 2010 CX 9 Touring and I've been contemplating upgrading the sound system. Is there anything you wish would have done differently or any part of the install that was particularly difficult?
 
Thanks for documenting your install. Looks great and I bet it sounds awesome.

I'm curious, in your first post where you laid out the gear you were using you listen Dayton tweeters for the corner dashboard locations and JBL components for the doors. I saw the pictures for the Dayton tweets and for the 6.5" drivers for the doors. Does this mean you didn't install the JBL tweets? If so, why use the Dayton tweets and not just use the JBL ones in the dash location?

I went with the Dayton tweeters for a couple of reasons. First, I broke one of the JBL drivers while experimenting with different mounting positions when I had all this gear in my previous car. Second, I never really was happy with the sound of the 3/4" silk dome JBL tweeters. The Daytons are a great bang for the buck. They're about $20 each and sound MUCH better.

My wife also drives a 2010 CX 9 Touring and I've been contemplating upgrading the sound system. Is there anything you wish would have done differently or any part of the install that was particularly difficult?

One thing thing that is difficult is getting speaker wires into the doors through the Molex plugs. So, I didn't do that. I have connected to the factory speaker wires for the last couple of feet to the door speakers. Not a big deal to me right now, but it's worth knowing.

There's not a lot of space for locating amplifiers. I am keeping the storage under the rear cargo area open right now because I may end up building a subwoofer enclosure into it to get all my cargo space back. However, there are amps on the market that are a LOT smaller (dimensionally) than the ones I have, so that obviously opens up more mounting options. Look at this tiny thing!

Overall, the CX-9 is pretty easy to work with. It's easy to take apart and put back together without breaking clips off or ending up with a bunch of misaligned panels and new rattles when you're done.

Feel free to hit me up with any specific questions you might have once you get into it.
 
Thanks for the info.

I may go the budget route and just swap out speakers, run them off the factory head unit, and call it a day. It wouldn't win any awards, but a definite upgrade for sure.

However, if the wife says "oh no, I've been driving with this tired old factory head unit for far too long. I need something that rocks and has features." Well, then I'm into a complete overhaul.

I have two amps that I could use which I've been storing for many years, a Sony XM4045 and an ESX Zed Audio Q60.4. Both are nice old school amps, but they are definitely huge so mounting either one or both is a bit involved.
 
I have two amps that I could use which I've been storing for many years, a Sony XM4045 and an ESX Zed Audio Q60.4. Both are nice old school amps, but they are definitely huge so mounting either one or both is a bit involved.

Oh yeah, those old boys definitely need a home.
 
I'm also going to try using this JL Audio Bluetooth receiver as my only input to the new processor. Then I can just do away with the head unit entirely since I don't really need it for anything at that point.

 
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Got the MS-8 installed a bit more cleanly this week. I also took some measurements of what it's doing to the sound, see here.

I put the factory head unit back in since Bluetooth is my only source now. I still have the MS-8 remote mounted next to the shift lever as I use it for my main volume control. The MS-8 display is mounted in the glove box. I rewired the main unit and slid it up under the front seat from the front. I still need to make some brackets to reposition it slightly so the wiring connections will be less vulnerable to kicks.



 
It turns out that my hot-glued tweeters can't handle the Florida heat. After re-gluing them a few times, I've replaced them. P-E had the same tweeter with a built-in wave guide on sale last week, so I picked up a pair. These drop right in and won't fall apart....hopefully.







I did retune the MS-8 afterwords. Everything sounds pretty much the same, as I would expect. If anything, these tweeters have a theoretical advantage in the upper dash location as they direct all the sound energy at the glass. This way I'm not hearing both reflected sound and direct sound.

But like I said, they sound the same to me.
 
I picked up a used Arc Audio KS 300.4 amplifier to replace the MTX 4 channel on my front speakers. The higher quality design and added horsepower (4x~100 watts VS 4x55 on the old MTX) make a noticeable difference in sound quality. Overall clarity and detail is better and it playes quite a bit louder without sounding strained.

Unfortunately, it doesn't quite fit under the front seat the way the old amp did. It will fit if I remove the seat, place the amp and then put the seat down on top of it.

But for now...



More about the KAR series Class G/H amps from Arc:



 
I rearranged my amps under the seats to get everything to fit. My new Arc KS300.4 would not fit under the driver's seat where my MTX 4-channel had been.

So, I moved the JBL GTX500 over under the driver's seat and put the KS300.4 where it had been under the passenger seat.

I also cleaned up all the wiring and made everything neater and more secure.

Making room to work:


Listen up kids, friction tape is NOT THE SAME as Tesa Tape:


Finishing up:




How they fit with the seats installed:


 
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