This is the story of my journey through having my car Angelica (Angie) sent down to JL Audio in Miramar, FL (close to Miami).
It started with a thread here on Planet-9 from another forum member Ted Curtis Posting "Urgent Custom Subwoofer volunteer needed!"
I immediately responded and told him I was close to the location and I would be willing to part with my CS for a month! :crazy:
We were in contact with Manville Smith - V.P. of Sales of JL Audio and they will do a full Stealth Mod/Box conversion for the
Cayman
. If you have not had the chance to check out the Stealth Mods or Stealth Boxes from JL Audio I would highly recommend it as they are compact, beautiful and full of sound.
Manville handed me off to the man in charge of JL Audio's "Skunk works" or research and development Bill Hamze. Bill has been with JL Audio for over 10 years and has done many high end modifications, he immediately put me at ease about leaving my car there for the month. Even faxing over their insurance rider for me to keep on record.
Bill and I worked out the details which included me driving the 4 hours down to them and getting a rental car back up to Tampa.
the whole process seemed to be going to smooth, but alas it was meant to be. I dropped Angie off and they dropped me off at the rental car pick up in a Limo! :banana:
So now for the details, after talking with Bill at length about what we were looking for from the system, I told him that I love to listen to a huge variety of music including - Classic rock, rap, Country, Classical and blues.
When I dropped Angie of is when they finally had the chance to see what space was available and what could be done.
the trunk being a hatchback was a perfect conductor for deep Bass and they used one of their Super Space Saving Shallow Mount Subwoofers.
The 13TW5-3 is a 13.5" Subwoofer with a mounting depth of only 2.5"!!!! :cheers:
This was engineer to fit in the trunk completely hidden by the trunk and not on top of the engine.
One of my main concerns was losing trunk space and taking my car to the track, so being the pioneers that they are, they designed the enclosure to be on quick release straps so that it could be removed for Home Depot trips or Track Time! It honestly takes me about 1.3 minutes to remove it.
They used a program called "Solid Works" which is like a CAD program for 3-D modelling and made a very classy and beautiful enclosure that compliments the lines of the
Cayman
perfectly.
After that they reverse engineered the door speakers to get the right mountings for full range speakers in the doors. They used their C3-650 convertible speakers which are 6.5" mids with tweeters inside, this gives an incredible full sound and a lot of high bass slapping you in the face.
The big thing is that they took my
Bose system
and made it work with the JL Audio "Clean Sweep" which takes our information from the
Bose
and converts it to a useable flat signal that can be sent to the amps and crossovers.
The Amp that was used is a very powerful "HD 900/5" which is a 900 watt 5 channel amp!
The Amp also has advanced Bass control which for the uninformed is a knob mounted by the E-Brake that allows me to adjust the bass with the turn of a knob.
The results are that this is a completely different sounding car! The Bass is clear and deep, the highs are crisp and clear and the mid range fills out perfectly.
I am amazed at the difference in my daily commute, being able to enjoy whatever I want to hear at appropriate levels.
I have to say I would recommend this when it is available (in about 2 months) to anyone looking for a full stereo conversion or just the added bass from just the stealth box.
The big thing they do is take everything from the stock
Bose
or CDR-24/30 and make it useable without tearing anything out.
All of my stock equipment is still there with the exception of the door speakers, so I can return to stock at a moments notice.
If you are in Tampa I would encourage you to drop by one of the Cars n Coffee events and listen or PM me and we can meet up, ever without the in-person listen I think that the pictures speak for themselves.
Feel free to ask questions and I can answer to the best of my ability.
Also you can check out the project on their FaceBook page just look up JL Audio and in their photos is the "
Cayman
Project"
So now after completing my journey and hopefully not just helping myself but all the
Cayman
owners who are looking for a better solution to our sound systems I say Good Day.
Cheers,
Justin
:burnout:
Thanks for posting Justin. This looks like a great product.
Is that a new frunk cover in the first and second pics in post 2? Is that something that they plan to offer as well?
Yes, It is a new amp cover that goes over both amps.
The amp bracket that they made moves it out an extra inch, So the new cover Compensates for that.
Hi Justin
Have been following this story avidly from day 1. Firstly thanks again for donating your pride and joy and allowing us all to enjoy the fruits of your sacrifice. I'm glad to hear the final solution is as good as we all hoped it would be.
Couple of questions:
Do you know if it will be possible to get the sub only?
I am already half way through my own conversion. Already trashed the
Bose system
up front and changed the HU.
Do you notice any rattles in the trunk area?
The only concern I had when I saw what JL were planning is the little screen thing attached to the trunk lid vibrating like crazy and causing unsavory rattles.
How much is something like this expected to cost at retail?
Yes, the Kit will be offered Sub only and full kit.
That is Stealth Box and Stealth Mod.
Initially there was some slight vibration, I didn't have my trunk lid screws adjusted out far enough. After I turned them out a bit the vibration went away.
No Idea. I imagine you can get a sense of the cost from checking out what some of the other Stealth Mods/Boxes are running.
there is a lot of intrinsic value to it though, not having to change out the factory head unit and the maximization of space in the design. :cheers:
Any news on this? The
Cayman
didn't appear to be on the JL Audio website, is there some other way to get info?
I followed a couple threads during this audio conversion, and was under the impression that JL audio was going to have kits available by now. However, I haven't been able to find any information about it.
Any chance you can get an update on when the official release is going to be?
Thank you for a great post! Have you had any problems with excessive rattle or vibration noise associated with the subwoofer? Did they put any sound dampening material in the trunk area? If so, where? Any pictures?
Sold my CS and now looking to sell my Stealth Box. Item is in the classifieds. Thanks!
Sold!
Thanks for the box Justin! I hooked it up in my
S2000
last night for a test run. The 13TW5 in the Stealthbox plays much deeper than the 12w3v3 that normally rides in that car. Really looking forward to getting it hooked up in the
Cayman
.
I'm glad you bought it because I was leaning toward pulling the trigger on it. Was a great price, but I really should be putting my money elsewhere. I already bought an amp and some components that have been awaiting install forever. Good luck with the new box
