High End Audio Build - 2018 CX-3 - my neighbors are gonna hate me...

I decided I don't like the JL audio grills so I mounted these grills to the cover:

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Still need to trim down the rings...


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Take two on the faceplate... I made a mistake on the first one.

The Fiio's on/off switch has to be pressed when the screen goes to sleep. That switch is on the left side of the player, hence the cutout for my fat fingers to push the button.
It sucks, but I don't have the option of "waking" it with the buttons on the front.

Next issue: I didn't like the bulge that came from wrapping the vinyl around the corners around the player, so I cut the vinyl at the edges and I will be adding a cover over the cut outs (see aluminum sheet in the background) to hide the edges... I actually think it will look much better with the cover and it will have a more finished look.

This idea has been a real challenge and has been very tedious and time consuming, but I think I like how it's coming together.


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There is a lot going on behind this thing...

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Made the aluminum trim piece for the faceplate... Gonna try gloss, satin and flat black paint to see what looks best.

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Decided on gloss black to match the trim around the vents... Now to get a perfect high gloss finish. (freak)

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Installed the aluminum knobs:

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I'm very pleased with them as they match the factory knobs perfectly! :)


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cool build, definitely better to put your money into a nice sound system rather than stupid aesthetic mods, but by far the best way to spend your money is to make your car go fast in both a straight line and around corners :)

will you be doing some sort of extra sound deadening for the sound system?
 
Yeah, really well done!

cool build, definitely better to put your money into a nice sound system rather than stupid aesthetic mods, but by far the best way to spend your money is to make your car go fast in both a straight line and around corners :)

will you be doing some sort of extra sound deadening for the sound system?

Thank you! Yes, the front doors have been well deadened (pics in earlier posts), as well as the trunk. I still need to do the dash and firewall and the rear doors...

I agree with you on where to put money... I do some minor, clean aesthetic mods, but audio is a huge hobby of mine and most of the fun is in the build process!
 
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Well, there's also the pain in the ass side of this high end car audio game...

Here's the list: defective tweeter - replaced by mfg; audio player defective - being sent back to mfg right now after two weeks of chasing the problem; front stage amp cutting out - still trouble shooting, might need to be replaced.

On a brighter note, I have been able to listen to it a little and start the tuning: time alignment, level matching, and some EQing...
 
Great work! I love the alum knobs. it looks nice

Thanks a lot! After hours of searching, I got lucky finding these knobs on ebay, they really match the car's silver knobs well in both shape and finish.
 
Moving on to the next phase, and that is adding "rear fill" to the system...

I am either going to put the speakers inside the trunk lid or in the side panels in the trunk, and I'll also need to stash a very small amp back there to power them.

Probably going to go with AudioFrog 4" mids and a Mosconi Pico 2 amp:

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