Charlie P's 2001 Chrysler Sebring
High-calibre Sound in the Car
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Items installed:
- Eclipse CD7200 MKII CD receiver
- Boston Acoustics S35 3.5" speakers
- Boston Acoustics SX95 6"x9" speakers
- Boston Acoustics G108 8" subwoofers
- Boston Acoustics GT-50 5-channel amplifier
- AudioControl DQXS 6-channel digital equalizer
- Dynamat Xtreme door kit
- Dynamat Xtreme bulk pack
- StreetWires wiring
Charlie's Story
Charlie wanted a stereo system that could handle flying down the highway with the top down. And as a professional musician, his standards for good sound were pretty high. Since he got the car for a good price, he decided he could afford to spend a little extra money on a top-of-the-line audio system.
He chose Boston Acoustics speakers, subwoofers, and amplifier to power and deliver the music. For the stereo, he picked out a copper-plated stereo from Eclipse that was designed for good sound quality — the copper blocks out electrical noise from the car. And he added a digital equalizer from AudioControl for tuning and polishing the sound. Finally, the vibration and road noise was minimized as much as possible with Dynamat noise damping kits.
Q&A Section
I ran through our usual list of interview questions to get more details about the stereo system from Charlie.
Why did you decide to upgrade your A/V system?
I love music, and I have a long commute. Even though the factory stereo system was the upgraded Infinity system from Chrysler, it didn't come close to giving me the volume or clarity of sound that I was looking for.
What made these stereo products the right choice for you?
First and foremost, I wanted high-performance sound. When I planned this system, I decided that if I was going to put the time and money into this upgrade, I wanted to go all the way and do it all at once. So I spent a little extra to get the excellent sound quality that I was looking for, and these products fit that bill.
What's the first thing you show people about your installation?
The custom-installed subwoofers in the back seat. I couldn't put a subwoofer box in the trunk because I need all that room for guitars and music equipment, so I knew from the start that I needed another solution.
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What was the most difficult part of the installation?
Of the installation? That was mounting the subs in the back seat. We had to make mounting plates to lift the subwoofers out of the car body to create the depth that was needed. And after that, we still had to use a saw to trim some metal in order for the subs to fit. We had to run a lot of wires too, but once we took out the rear seat, it was a piece of cake.
After the installation, getting it all in tune took a lot of time. I mean, when you just put in a new stereo or a new set of speakers, it's not that hard to adjust the way it sounds. But since I replaced everything at once, I had to get used to the speakers, then slowly start tuning things in. And having that digital equalizer made it more challenging because I had to learn how to use it, but it also made it possible for me fine tune to an incredible degree. That thing is amazing.
What plans, if any, do you have for future upgrades?
At this point, there's not much else I want to do. I have my dream system. The stereo even has built-in Bluetooth® so I can make calls without digging for my phone.
You can read more about Charlie's new system in his blog posts, "Top-down sound. Or check out the short-version in our videos, "High-quality Sound in a Convertible" and "Tuning a High-end Car Stereo System."
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by Crutchfield's
Meet Robert Ferency-Viars
Eating up the highway with clarity and volume — a champion of car audio.
During my first few years at Crutchfield, I served as one of our Advisors, helping our customers choose new audio components for their homes and cars. Eventually, I moved to the writing team and spent a decade researching new products and getting even more hands-on with car audio gear.
I've performed many car and home audio installations over the years, some of them even on my own cars. As the editor of Crutchfield's car audio web articles, I couldn't ask for a cooler job. We listen to music and play with car audio gear every day!
Like most of us here, I've always been into music. I installed my first car stereo system before the family car was even mine. In college, I helped friends and roommates install their car stereos and set up the stereos in their apartments. I was a volunteer DJ for the local community radio station for a few years (playing late night metal and Sunday morning bluegrass & alt-country). That's where I also first learned a little bit about sound mixers.
These days, I serve my community by volunteering with the Boys Scouts of America. I also love playing board games & RPGs, spending time with my family, and installing new audio systems for my friends.
More about Robert
More from Robert Ferency-Viars
Review of the Sony XAV-AX5500 car stereo
Single-DIN vs Double-DIN car stereos
How to connect your new car stereo's wiring
How to choose a replacement FM antenna for your car
What is the Vision Zero Automotive Network?
What are Crutchfield Demo Videos?