Current Audio Build: Audi Rs6

LaserSVT

Got FB banned again for saying nards
Founding Member
Nov 29, 1999
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So I have been hunting for years for the perfect Audi RS6 to show up. Wanted maintenance history, lowish miles, had o be Mugello Blue with the ebony interior and some mods wouldnt hurt.
Well I lucked out and found my baby. 75k miles, $32,000 in modifications, $30,000 in service history and just a rocket ship. Has the 610hp tune with full exhaust, big brakes, Bilstien coilovers, Miltek exhaust with high flow cats.... car was done up right. It even came with a once great stereo system. Some of it is showing its age so some will be replaced.

The stereo it came with is as follows:
Morel Supremo SW6 6" mid-bass front and rear.
Morel MT-22 tweeters front and rear
Morel Elate CDM88 3.5" mids up front
Alpine Type R 10" subwoofer
Two McIntosh MC406M amplifiers (oh man I wanted these for years!)
Alpine IVA-205W DD touch screen deck
Alpine DVD player
Alpine NAV
Alpine H701 DSP
Alpine Sirius Sat radio module
Alpine Bluetooth module
Alpine Rear Camera

and while not audio related, an Escort 9500ci built in radar detector with active laser scramblers.


So this is what I started with:
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Now I am not an Alpine type R fan so the sub had to go. I love Boston Acoustics G5 subs so set out to find a NIB one which was quite the challenge. I did locate and purchase on but it was too deep for the custom box so I had to mount it inverted.

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I didnt like it sticking out like that so spoke to a few friends and one had one of the holy grail SQ subwoofers sitting NIB on his shelf. The old CTD ES-SQ1000 subwoofer. What a sub! Works perfect in a .45 sealed box and just sounds fantastic!

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I do have a dark grill on order that I hope fits due to the large amount of X-max this sub has but if it fits it will hide that yellow basket. LOL




The next step will be re-wireing the McIntosh amps to double their output to the front stage and add a JL Audio 500/1 to take over sub duties. I already have the amp and wires are on the way. Should sound much better.
I also have a complete new front stage in route. I was never a fan of Morel and even though its a nearly $3000 front speaker setup I dont care for it and will be removing them in favor of AD speakers. New to America Italian compay that meakes some killer speakers. The distributor is sending me several kinds to play with and review and I can just keep the ones I like at a very good deal. :nice:

I believe I will end up using the following.
AD Vipera F6 6" woofer with a 1" x-max
AD M35 Midrange but not sure is I willl use the NEO version or the standard one.
AD Supertweeters. They use a semi EMIT design and will have the crisp highs I so desire.

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I will also be using SDS sound deadener throughout the car and will be sure to doccument progress. :)
 
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Somehow I spent $100 just to add in that dang JL sub amp. I only needed 8' of power wire and a set of RCAs. How it hit $100 so quick..... I dunno? :scratch:
 
Made some small changes today. Added in a JL 500/1 to take over sub duties and then rewired the McIntosh amps to double the power to the fronts. It all made a big difference. The bass no has some authority and the front stage is capable of some nice output. Still hate the Morels but the new speakers show to arrive on Friday so I wont have to suffer long. LOL


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Spent the day cutting the hell out of my fingers. This stuff is SHARP! It is of really nice quality though and very easy to use. I ordered way too much though. Ordered 100 sheets thinking I would need 80 for mine and 20 to finish the Mark VIII. I think I used 60 sheets for mine and did WAY more than the suggested 25% coverage. Did all four doors, door cards, trunk lid and trunk floor as well as the uncarpoted area under the rear seat. I also have some MLV that just arrived for under that seat but since I had so many tiles left I threw a few under there as well. LOL
This cured all of my mid-bass rattles in the doors as well as in the door handles. System is perceived to be louder I guess due to the exterminated vibrations. These cars are very "dead" from the factory but the CLD tiles from SDS really made a big improvement.
One trouble area I had was a big gain in the 50-60hz area that would sound a bit hollow sounding. After removing the spare tire I thumped the trunk where it pops up and it went "Dooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg". Guess I was getting a fair ammount of resining in there. After the CLD you thump it and its a mellow thud. Much happier now.

Always impresses me what CLD will do for a system. More so when combined with MLV. But these SDS pannels are just great. I always do 100% coverage and didnt come close with these but feel they did a superior job. Kudos Don!


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Oh boy! New toys arrived today. :D The AD speakers showed up and I have to say, I am in love. They are not the prettiest things out there but they have excellent build quality and so far I am very happy with their performance. Everything dropped in pretty easily. The woofers dropped right into the factory location like they were made for the car. The JUST fit with maybe 1/16" to spare. Since I may not keep the tweeters I didnt want to modify them so I used some foam blocks to secure them under the OEM tweeter clip. The mids though, well thats a different story. I got the regular ones but needed the Neo magnet versions so they will fit. The regular ones are a bit too deep and the magnets too large. For now while I await the Neos I have used the tried and true DIYMA way of setting them in place. Lucky I have extra towels. LOL

While I have many hours of testing and tuning ahead of me I can say right off the bat they blow the Morels away. Tweeters are much more crisp and detailed, mids are much more realistic and the mid-bass has kinda blown me away on what I thought a 6" could do. Cant wait to dial them in but using the exact settings I had on the Morels these speakers are far far superior.

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Out with the old:

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Side by side comparison:

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Yay! The proper NEO magnet M35s arrived today and I promptly installed them. I was able to modify the old Morel grills to fit and then make a small spacer to allow the mids to sit properly in the dash. I am pretty pleased with how it all turned out. :)


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Just read your Average Joe review, how would you compare to Hertz or Focal? Needing a new setup in my Fox vert.
Superior. They sound better than Focal Utopias but are louder than Focal Powers. Hertz Mille is similar tonality wise but not nearly as powerful and the Vipera F6 mid-bass produces lower notes unlike anything I have ever heard. Many are using the 6" as a subwoofer. :nice: