AAR - Component Speaker Installation

For those of you that are not militarily minded, AAR means "After Action Review". I would like to break down the good, bad & areas that would require improvement in the future (should I ever do this again for whatever reason). This is meant more as a message of closure than a true AAR, but well see how it turns out once I'm done.

• What was the task being executed: Installation of component speakers into my car (With a subtask to fix my passenger front seat).


• Who was executing the task: Me.


• What happened: Speakers were installed in my car.


• What went well:
  • The speakers were installed with as much attention possible payed to the acoustic and practicality designs taken into consideration.
  
  
  • The car was disassembled and reassembled in a timely fashion (I met my deadline of having my car ready for next drill.)
  
  
  • The car is 100% functional after being reassembled
  
  
  • The passenger seat is now able to be adjusted front to back as required at the whim of the passenger.
  
  
  • An additional subtask of installing seat covers was completed during the state of disassembly.
  
  
  • One of the results expected to be obtained in the installation of the component speaker set was to shift the soundstage from the center of the car to be in front of the listener.
  
  
• What went poorly:
  • A interior piece got broken due to negligence during the installation process. (Driver's side sun visor clip)
  
  
  • Lack of attention lead to the exclusion of a dashboard item from being reinstalled (not really a negative as I wasn't going to put the 6 disk changer back, however, I was anticipating on replacing the shroud for it anyway.)
  
  
  • Due to poor planning & tunnel vision one of the tweeters were installed in a less than favorable aesthetic method. (See my previous post Too Many Answers)
  
  
• What could have been done better:
  • Better planning and execution of the determination of where and how the tweeters were to be installed in the car.
  
  
  • Complete the task at hand without the damage to any unrelated body parts.
  
  

So, there you have it, a quick & dirty summary of what occurred and what I thought about the process.

Now, let me tell you about the results.

The acoustic difference is amazing. I told Exile about it and came up with this comparison.

A set of headphones gives you a centrally located sound stage, there is not a front or back, just side to side. This is how my car was previously setup. The soundstage was tat the center of the car, right about the location of the front passengers. I thought it was a good layout until I finished with this install. The soundstage is now at front like that of being at a concert or within the field of a properly setup surround sound system. The difference is night & day. I am so happy with the results. The only thing left to do is get my sub amp replaced (got my RA number today) so I can get it repaired.

Once I get the sub amp back I will have to re-tune the entire system but I think I will be able to call my system complete until I get the drive to install a preamp or EQ. Only time will tell, but I'm feeling pretty damn good about what I've got setup right now.

I will eventually (maybe only once) enter my car into a Psychlone comp. I would love to see what people think when I pull a convertible up to a SPL competition (pretty unusual to say the least). However, the comp is new for this year and it may take a while for it to catch on locally. Time will tell.

Peace!