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Full SQ Passport Build

10K views 38 replies 11 participants last post by  XMan714 
#1 ·
Here’s some photos of the nearly completed installation performed by Matt Schaeffer at Musaic Design. It just needs a complete tune and some tweaks here and there and she’ll be complete. After years and years or tinkering in car audio, I decided last year to take the plunge and book an appointment with arguably the best in the business. After hearing a few of his system installations, I was simply blown away by what’s possible in a car! List of gear chosen for this build:
  • Focal Utopia Be/M (front)
  • Focal Auditor Components (rear fill)
  • Mosconi 8to12 Pro
  • Mosconi RCD; Mos-BTM; AMAS96K
  • JL Audio XD800/8v2
  • JL Audio XD1000/1v2
  • JL Audio 10TW3 Subwoofers

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#4 ·
Removed jack?

does it have a cover to still haul groceries and soccer bags??
Frank, this install was not about retaining every aspect of the cargo area. It’s a deeply complex build that requires room and sacrifices to allow my preference of sq audio over other aspects. So, no spare, jack, factory subwoofer or little cargo bins remain. I realize this isn’t for everyone, but car audio geeks might get a kick out of it.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Dang, you win, that's gonna sound awesome!

Could you give us (me) for additional details on the set up?
What what were the stock Tweeters were in the Front A Pillers? (Whatever it is - they look huge!)
What was added to the front sides near the Mirrors (in the custom panels)?
What did you use in the rear doors (woofers of full channel speakers)?
What did you put in the Rear C Pillers?
How much power and how many channels are you running?
What is under the Temp Controls?
Are you running all of this thru the main head unit? And if so, do all the functions still work?

Lastly do you mind tell us a price? I'm just guessing, but it looks like it could be in the $5k to $8k range!

Cheers!
 
#6 ·
Okay, here goes:

1- It’s a 3 way active, on axis front soundstage with the Focal mids in custom a pillars, beryllium tweeters in custom sail panels and Focal mid bass in the factory lower door locations.

2- Rear doors and c pillars use Focal Auditor components, just for rear fill.

3- 1800 rms watts and 9 channels.

4- A custom panel mount for the Mosconi DSP controller and the factory heated seat switches.

5- Yes, signal pulled from the factory with all new wiring and sound deadening throughout.

6- Not even close unfortunately. Just look up the price on the equipment alone and you’ll surpass that range without installation. Now, I had some of this from previous systems but it’s still a competition grade sq build and they are quite expensive.
 
#7 ·
Oh yeah, I looked at the prices of a few of the units and can only imagine the labor and fabrication costs, but I revising my guess to $10k!
 
#10 ·
Calling Ironchef - its been 11 days since your last update, surely it's finished by now...

So how does it sound?????
 
#16 ·
Those're (southern slang) some pretty good suggestions but my old ears likes CCRs Suzie Q.
Another choice (from my oldest grandson) is The Elk Ridge Boys Elvira.

Played loud (not in my car) but at home.
Yeah, he paid $10k to listen to the Elk Ridge Boys...

He's not wanting to hear what people like, he's looking for stellar recordings, another suggestion is two Peter Murphy albums, both of them recorded as DDD: "Love Hysteria" and "Deep" - the highs and lows are awesome, the drums pounding and the acoustic guitars and Peters voice are crystal clear. For bass that will rattle your fillings, try The Cure's "Faith" album.

I should ask what is your available music sources? CD, hard drive or flash drive?

Are you playing mp3 files? Wav files? Hopefully not just FM, which has a narrow frequency range(?)
 
#19 ·
I'm inspired by OP's amazing audio upgrade, but it is waaay out of my price range. Are there any "do-it-myself" kind of audio mods/upgrades that are, say, less than $1k that would be worth it? I'm thinking something like replacing OEM speakers with something better? Replace the OEM subwoofer? Maybe add an amp?
 
#21 ·
Yep, Like Beachbum mentioned, I did a minimal upgrade using some hi-end components, under $1k. If you have the Elite/Touring model with the 540w Amp, I think you may be happy only replacing the Front & Rear Woofers (In the Doors) Speakers and the Front & Rear Tweeters/Midrange Speakers. If you get Woofers that put out clear and hard-hitting Bass, you may find (like I did) that the Factory Sub-woofer is just fine..

Here's my link, ask me anything you want "over there"...

 
#23 ·
Hello Ironchef, care to give us an update on your stereo?
Are you happy with it?
Do you have it dialed-in?
Any stand out songs or types of music?
Any negatives?
Any cops stop ya yet ? (lol)
Etc.
 
#24 ·
Anybody that's ever been bit by the car audio bug knows that it's a never ending pursuit! That being said, I'm narrowing in on what I want and did make a few changes. Notably, I decided to add a programmed preset on the Mosconi DSP to give me a two seat tune. Thus, I wired a new center channel to a bridged output from the 800/8v2 and fed the signal from the OEM amplifier to the DSP then to the amp. I then fabricated a mount for another Focal 3.5 midrange to sit beneath the factory center channel cover. While having the OEM deck set to DTS Neural ON, the soundstage is simply amazing. The DTS Neural option in our Passports is no joke but needs upgraded power and speakers to really shine.

Big, big shoutout to Andy at Audiofrog for taking the time to walk me through a proper center channel setup. He's had this on his cars and agrees with me that the future of car audio is immersive sound, not just a one seat tune with a phantom center. When I toggle back and forth, my preference is for the center channel and DTS Neural setup hands down.
 
#27 ·
What about Ethiopian Elder?
 
#33 ·
Ironchef, have you compared your stereo sound, with having the rear seats UP vs DOWN?

I can hear a difference, with the rear seats down, it sounds like there is less blocking of the music...
 
#35 ·
I've been searching the audio threads for a few days now and I think this is the most extensive stereo upgrade posted. Very nice and clean setup. My plan is to upgrade all the factory speakers and amp and use the factory head unit. My current 2014 Accord EX-L has JL Audio slash 300/4 and 500/1 amps to two 12w3 subs, Infinity components in the doors and coaxials in the rear deck. I fully rewired all the speakers and left all factory wiring intact. I'm headed to my local stereo shop in the coming days to get a quote on a similar build minus head unit replacement. In the past I did the basics stuff myself but it's winter in Chicago and I'm much older/not as willing to do the work myself. I trust this stereo shop so I'm confident in a clean install with no hacking or shortcuts. I'm still going through this forum to find details on stereo upgrades. The Accord needed major sound deadening AND dampening. I'm hoping the Passport isn't as extensive but having very loud systems in 5 vehicles eventually something will rattle. If anyone can provide links to reduce my searching it would greatly appreciated.
 
#36 ·
What links are you needing exactly? As for sound deadening, you’ll need it. All vehicles benefit from it and is a must when your talking subs like you have. If you wanted to save a few bucks, lose the rear speakers, just leave them stock. Do a simple two way in the front and add your subs. It’ll sound pretty good and shouldn’t break the bank.
 
#37 ·
I didn't find detailed pics and procedures to remove panels, layering of deadening material and recommendations on dampening material. The driveaccord forum has a few members that went into extreme detail of disassembling, installation, and reassembling their vehicles. I have years of experience to know you can never have enough deadening and dampening. Places I've done will still eventually wear down and other places that didn't have issues will. Since it's winter, I don't have access to a garage to do any work myself. I can add the deadening to the trunk floor and doors as a starter, but what about removing all the panels including doors, trunk area, and the roof? No luck finding posts with pics yet.
 
#38 ·
Crutchfield has an excellent step by step for the removal of all panels for the Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, which are all essentially the same in most regards. But honestly, the Passport is as easy a vehicle that you'll find to take apart. It's all self explanatory. Until you get to the wiring that is..... If you want panel specifics, look for my posts on piloteers under ironchef audio or something like that. I did a complete step by step along for your review.
 
#39 ·
Thank you for this thread. It's been very helpful and with an ongoing conversation with @stevenD I can't wait to get my system installed. Still much to do to properly balance the mids and tweets from our conversations. Your list of components are far more than my budget. I'm looking for more club sound than audiophile but I don't want overpowering bass that it just drowns everything out. Still, I'm so eager to get started. It's been 16 years since my last car stereo install and that means immense changes that I'm trying to catch up on.
 
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