Yesterday I had my JBL 660 GTi component speakers and JL Audio HD600/4 installed. Previously installed was my Kenwood 8120. It took much longer than their original estimate of two hours to complete the job. Very long day, waiting very nearly their entire work day to get it done.
The leather trim was stained (originally brown) to better match my car's black interior. Pods were fabricated for the tweeters with the waveguides.
The depth of the woofers was too great to allow mounting from the outside of the door ... would've had a conflict with the window mechanism. We used several rolls of Dynamat, to add to the Dynamat Speaker Kit previously installed. The JL Audio HD600/4 is installed under the passenger seat, while the JBL crossover is out of sight, WAY up inside the passenger side footwell cubby hole.
And, here's my 8120 installation ...
I had the rear USB connector extended into the glovebox to allow connection of a flash drive or USB HDD. GPS antenna is mounted on right hand side of dash near the windshield ... even though I requested it be mounted out of sight under the dash. I guess he missed that. The microphone is mounted above the rearview mirror. But, I don't foresee me using the Bluetooth.
Sound quality is very good, as expected. Although I have heard better sound systems, most of them were not in cars. The installer suggested an 8 or 10 inch sub might round out the sound. I'll think about it after I've had time to evaluate the system as is. My initial reaction is that it probably won't be necessary. I may tweek the bass a bit via the 8120's equalizer though.
At volume levels I can bear inside the car I hear zero distortion. But, I have to remember to keep the door pouches clear because at volume, items in them can begin to vibrate. Today at work, showing off, I opened both doors with the car facing away from myself and an observer. From 40 feet away, I cranked up Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. It was awesome! Mind you, I am sure I couldn't handle that volume while sitting in the closed car. Distortion would be happening inside your ears at that level, even if the speakers were handling it with ease. Only two of four channels from the JL amp are being used.
The installer really, really wanted to leave the OEM sub and tweeters intact and functional, powered by the 8120. I went along with it, but I'm not sure about it. I tend to think they are (a) insignificant and (b) inferior to the components installed. Which means, at volume they'd accomplish what? The addition of some distortion which would otherwise be missing?
Overall, very pleased
Linear Mode
