We bought
our '94 Integra GS-R almost immediately after the sedans became available in early
'94. We couldn't believe the value and technology the car represented. I
thought my '88 Supercharged MR-2 had a high redline at 7800 RPM, but the GS-R had it
beat at 8100 and there was no doubt that the Integra was much smoother above 5000 RPM.
One of our projects for the new car was to build an
audio system that would be representative of the years I'd spent in the consumer
electronics business. With that in mind I had several goals for our system:
High output with as little strain as
possible on the stock electrical system.
Excellent bass response, but most important,
accuracy.
Imaging with a good front-center-stage and
realistic rear-fill.
Stealth, as little equipment showing as
possible.
(On the right) A Nakamichi
TD-500 cassette deck, Nakamichi CA-101 Pre-amplifier. The digital display / infrared
receiver for the Alpine CD Changer is mounted where the ashtray used to be.
The subwoofer array used 8
Audiophile 6" drivers mounted inverted in a custom enclosure under the rear shelf.
A black grill cloth cover concealed the woofers (left) and the swivel halogen
lights replaced
the stock trunk
light. The acoustic bass energy was channeled directly into the passenger
compartment though the original rear speaker 6 x 9 grilles (the speaker removed of
course).
The job of providing rear fill
was handled by a unique speaker made by Imminent Technology. This bi-polar,
planar-magnetic design radiates sound equally front and rear and that is what made the
setup
so
effective. The rear wave reflected off the rear windshield and created the rear
staging I was looking for. The front wave (which in this type of speaker is very
directional) shot forward towards the center of the windshield enhancing my front imaging.
The output was mono (L + R) so when it reflected off the glass it combined with the
left and right front speakers to give me a wide soundstage (L + C + R)
The three pictures above show
the left, center and right sides of the trunk. On the left I've got the dual
Soundstream SX-2 electronic crossovers. One crossover handled the subwoofer to
mid/high change with the output staggered to reduce the 70hz "boom". The
second crossover ran from 300 hz up for just the rear speaker. The right side housed
my custom built Monolithic amplifier (made by the owner of Monolithic himself).
Rated for a modest 20 watts x 4 channels, this beauty was stable into .5 ohm.
By careful wiring, the 8 6" subwoofers were getting about 160 watts and
the front Audiophile 51/4" speakers about 80 watts.
The final result exceeded my wildest dreams. All the
elements came together smoothly, my installer Roy Kuroda seamlessly integrated all the
extra equipment into the Integra without making the audio system stand out (see two shots of the installation in progress). Definitely the
finest system Fran and I had ever indulged ourselves with.
