Well the time has come to add some low bass. I haven't purchased audio gear in quite some time so I was carefull with my selection as much has changed and old school high end equipments is mediocre at best. Not all but most have sold out to cheaper companies. Alpine is one of the few that has remained unchanged so I went with a D class MRX-M100 1000watt sub amp. I have a Image Dynamics Q series V3D2 12" sub on the way. I will have pics of it soon. I'm doing a relatively basic and clean install, nothing too fancy which I almost went all out and built a wall and I even ordered the actuator, magnetic switches and remote LEDS for the amp rack but wife talked me out of it.

1st pic is the 4gauge wiring from battery to the amp location. The wiring is in blue with fuse near battery.



This is where I tapped into the signal from the stock amp location under rear deck. Was a little tricky as it required a staggering of the taps so they would all eventually go back into the hole.



Install complete (very stealth) and ready for sub.

Nice, are you going with a sealed or ported box? So I'm guessing that using the battery in the rear for the airmatic is the way to go, from what we spoke about before? Definitely can't wait to see the final product pics because this is something I think I will doing soon. I wonder if MB Quartz is still around, I always liked their components back in the day,,,, way back..lol

MBQuart is still around by name. Bought out by Maxxsonics (Crunch, Autotek, Hifonics) a few years ago. Their stuff isn't what it used to be, but I don't think its bad.

No kidding, wow. My stereo fascination goes back from 1989 until 2002, so things are so different now. I actually liked a lot of Rockford Fosgate stuff back then also, along with JL subs. I used alot of Pheonix Gold amps, really liked them, but I think they were done when I was getting out of it. If I do a sub and amp in my car, I really have to do some homework.

WOW you were able to get all those taps onto that harness!

Yeah, same with PPI and Soundstream, bought out by Epsilon/Power Acoustik. If you dig a little, you'd find that the originators put a lot of heart into their work and it showed in their products. Nowadays, everybody just rebrands everything. Too bad all that stuff cost an arm and a leg even back then, not taking into account inflation.

Phoenix Gold is still around but it was bought out by Audax, IIRC. Seems like a decent outfit still, but hard to find their stuff and they stopped selling online completely.

wow ! can't wait to hear a sound clip if possible .

You have ECO start / stop feature in your beautiful black car covered with Swans too

Sorry, I digressed kinda but I know RNBRAD is your man if you need some help about audio stuff

BM2BZ, I agree with you , a sound clip would be awesome lol

Yea Rob using the battery is definitely the way to go since it is right there. The IDQ will go in a perfect 1 cubic foot enclosure which is considered the best size box for that sub for overall performance.

On a side note, I have used MB Quarts for 19yrs as of this year, still have 2 sets with Q's in my comp vehicle. I have not owned the stuff since maxxsonics buyout of the product. I've heard it is not as good but would like to audition it myself. If I ever change speakers, I will probaby go Image Dynamics, Hertz, or Focal.

looks like nice clean work Brad, nice!
thanx for sharing....

Are you buying a pre made box or making one yourself? I used to love making boxes, I think it was lxwxh divided by 1728??? I forget, its been so long... -.07 (approximate)for a 12" sub...lol My 2000 CLK 430 had mb quartz 6.5 components in the front, and 6.5 coaxials in the rear with 2 12" JL 12w6's in a sealed inclosure. The box was nice, i did a lexan(3/4"thick and 3/4" mdf) front with mirrored interrior of the box(and yes, I had to throw a red led light hidden in the box,lol), with a false wall suround. Came out nice and sounded great. Damn, the good ole' days

I'll just build it myself. I already bought carpet that's an almost exact match to the trunk and I may use a little vinyl and personalize it. Your box numbers are dead on. I like to build my own and make them perfectly sealed and deadened with spray liner. A good built box makes all the difference in the world, especially when using multiple subs but just a single in my case.

I love plexiglas too. Just finished CNCing a 3/4 black lexan piece for my truck dash that houses my amp temp gauges, real trick. It was originally a clear lexan piece back painted with the gauges mounted behind the unit but the lexan started crazing (stress crack from age) and it drove me crazy. That's what I did here but used real glass for my equipment rack. This is mounted in the headliner of my single cab truck. Sorry only pics I have access to from work.

Wow, that looks trick in the headliner. Damn dude, your into it, thats very impressive. I have a Ram 3500 mega cab and I wanted a little sound in there. I always see guys mounting subs under the seats on these trucks whick takes away from the seats folding down flat, and there is so much room behind the seats since its a mega cab. I built a 1.3 cubic foot ported box for behind the seat, with the 3"port firing up above the seats, it came out nice, I just carpeted it to match the vehicle and it only takes up the space on the 40(60/40 split seats) side seat. It gets low, probably in the low 30's , but I still always liked sealed boxes. I have an older Pioneer z3 in my dash in which I love and have it linked to my stock rear seat entertainment, I can watch movies up front(or radio) and the rear passengers can still watch movies using the headphones during long trips, or both screens can play off the front dvd. Its amazing to me that my pioneer is 5 years old and has a better nav then our cars, and the same 7" size...

wow, nice work is right..........side jobbin' it anyone??

EXACTLY. Really bothers me, but the fanboys seem to think it's all cutting edge type stuff.

I had a pair of IDQv2's before, each in a sealed cubic foot box. Regret selling them. Looks like the v3's really upped the power handling.

Yeah, its really only one of my complaints with my car(other than not having the new tt motor). The electronics are just so boring and bland, would have been cutting edge back in 2007.

From what I read,and it wasn't much, the v3 will give better spl(makes sense,more power) then the v2 , but the v2 has better sq. Either way they are pretty badass.

I've been a devoted kicker sub user for 23yrs, was a member of the KCG (kicker competition group) in the 90's cause of the success I had on the competition circuit using their subs. Just really a well balanced sub. I have a kicker square in my Civic and to me it's an average performer. To me subs are like a cars suspension, the softer the ride the worse the handling, less you have adj air ride. Same thing with a speaker, you stiffen up the suspension for power handling, you lose that quick response needed for sq. It's hard to have the best of both worlds but always felt kicker had it pegged. Anymore they have lost their sq edge to appeal to the spl crowd. That's where the money is coming from and the the force driving the car audio aftermarket. SQ guru's like myself are having less and less to chose from. Funny thing is the best car audio equipment was made a decade or more ago, it's gone down hill ever since. A few company's have stayed the same but most have changed to cater to the masses. Which is a lot of distorted power, big numbers, flashy cases, not much else. I could talk about this stuff for hours, grew up in the market, judged, competed, installed, and watched-helped it grow and now watching it's slow demise. Kind of sad, it's quite an art and very enjoyable. I spend hours talking to my 16y/o about car audio, he listens intently but not sure what he thinks. I'm sure he thinks I'm half crazy to be honest, and really I am. Some people think the smell of fresh flowers after a spring rain does it for them, I assure you nothing smells better than fresh cut MDF, 3M super trim adhesive, fiberglass resin and lacquer thinner.

Some people think the smell of fresh flowers after a spring rain does it for them, I assure you nothing smells better than fresh cut MDF, 3M super trim adhesive, fiberglass resin a
nd lacquer thinner.


Lol, thats awesome, and couldn't agree more. I was into it, not like you were, but I really enjoyed doing everything myself. I had alot of friends growing up that were into it like you were(spl junkies though), but it sounds like you enjoy the sound of a great system, not just the spl, like I do. I love a really clear system across the frequency line, all aspects, low,mid and high.I can't wait to see your install when its done,, so get on that...lol edit: oh yeah, the sub in my truck is a Kicker 12", not sure what model, but got it off a friend of mine at his shop. Kicker is what I used for many vehicles also,, well, just their subs back then.

I ran kicker comp 12's back in the day then switched to the XPL's to which I still have. Totally marketed wrong as the XPL were the best SQ sub kicker ever made, yep even better than the solo rounds. Had several of the solo rounds too. If the IDQ's impress me I won't hesitate to switch over to the IDQ's in my truck as well.

I do have an update for anyone interested in doing the same thing. Instead of grabbing the signal after the amp there is some low level 6v signals going into the amp. They are the very small brown and white wires on the rear amp plug. Oh man it's sounds a lot better. I tapped into my input signal from there right into an RCA then plugged into the amp. There is also a turn on signal which is the medium sized either dark blue or black wire. It's 12v when stereo is turned on. Very simple, everything is right there. I did all the work so now you guys will have it easy.

Here's the sub install link: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post5399827

is the picture correct from the first post? i dont see the brown and white wires in that picture?

it is the N40/90 Amp and the pin 2 and 3 BN and WH wires in my pdf attached correct? thanks!

The pic doesn't show those wires since I changed the wiring but didn't get an updated pic. Your PDF is correct.

thanks! i think im going to try a JL audio 10W6 prowedge in mine. hope it will sound good

My set up sounds ridiculous, thanks to RNBRAD

JL 13.5w3v3 Sealed Box
JL 500/1v3

Damn you guys/gals are kickin' old school! I wasn't as involved as you guys, but certainly recall the different brands and such.