Stereo Upgrade phase one complete!

Over the weekend I was in Porsche mechanic heaven..lol...replaced the parking brake sensor, replaced the lip spoiler on my TT bumper and then I decided to jump into my Audison/Focal stereo upgrade. I have the Kenwood DDX7015 touchscreen double DIN head unit with Nav/iPod/Sirius/etc...I love it and it sounds great too....Problem, stock speakers and amp are the achilles heal of the system. After being in a Hyundai Sonata rental with a decent system, my car sounded like crap. So I pulled out my upper center console, to make running wires easier, and started running wires from the trunk to the dash. Monster RCA cables, Monstar speaker cables for the dash seperates...2 sets. I used the existing wiring for the rear speakers and the door subs. I pulled the dash pods out and looked at the Focal 165 V3E 3 way seperates and saw it was going to need some work to fit....I actually had to cut the old speacker and use it to make a custom holder for the new mid driver as its slightly smaller than the factory one...sealed it with silicone...Same with the tweeters, dremel tool to cut the underside of the grill and notched it so the new tweeter fit flust and then sealed it in place with silicone. Yanked out the 6x40 watt amp, and used that location for my crossovers. Then used the Monster amp wiring kit with 8 gauge power cables, fuses, ground cables and remote line. Put all this is the trunk area. I wired up the Focals in the dash to the crossovers, then to the Audison LRX 4.300. I used the factory door subs for now...running out of time...Wired the rear speakers directly to the head unit, using its 50x4 power. Tested it out..had HORRIBLE engine whine throught the front system...checked all grounds, all power cables....BAD AMP....ugh....I could test it all with the car off....I swapped the amp this morning and all was good...I have a slight whine every now and then, which is the head unit ground which I think is suspect....but the sound is AMAZING....The crispness and imaging is awesome. Even with the stock door subs, the low end is MUCH better than before. This weekend I'll go in the doors and work on getting the 6.5" speakers in there. That will most definately sound MUCH better than the stock speakers, and then my footwell sub which wil round off the bottom end. I am hearing things in songs I have never heard before and these are songs I have listened to for years....very happy with this mod...and from the inside, its invisible. Nothing changed. In my trunk, is an amp. Other than that all the speakers are in the stock location.

did you take any pics?? I have been thinking about taking car of the louzy sound...but the huge mod..kind of holds me back!

no pics....I was too busy working...lol....it was a huge undertaking, but i am happy...thats why I am doing it in phases....get the amp and dash speakers in, then to the door pods, then sub.

I think I'll just keep listening to my sport exhaust....and wind noise....until I get the itch (mod itch!)

lol...thats GREAT music.....

Keep the power and ground wires away from the audio cables and you'll get rid of the engine whine.

thx...i will do that....

I was thinking of getting the same system you are putting in. Have you also put int the Bluetooth module for the Kenwood head unit? If so how does it work? Looking forward to the pics. I love listening to great sounding music while driving, even with the PSE! Kris

have not done the bluetooth module.....i may look into that...i just try not to use my phone while driving, unlike everyone else in california...so it seems....

i just put in the Kenwood DDX 6019 with Nav and sirius, new amp, and new speakers, and I am loving it. I am also getting a little hum out of the speakers. i need to take it back to the shop where I had it installed to have them look at the wires. Any suggestions as to where I should have them route the wires or what to look for? i am going to have this looked at when i return to California. I am presently half way done on my summer vacation - a trip across the country to florida in the P-car! what a blast it has been!! the sirius radio has made the diference in the trip.

where do you guys place the audio wires so that it's away from the power and ground wires so you don't get that WHINE...... do you have any pics Please? it's killing me.....

newport, congrats on the upgrade. How hard was it to remove all the stock wiring from the stock system?

PICS HERE When running the lines through the grommets make a notch in the top and one in the bottom - run audio lines through one and power through the other.

thanks rob... i've been reading and looking at your pics for the past day and a half already. but what grommets are you talking about? and if you run one on top and the other on the bottom, aren't the wires still close enough proximity to get that whine still? and my light in the door sill is always on..... do you know why?

I circled the grommets in red. I still get a little whine, but's barely audible - not a nuisance at all. I don't know about the light in your door. It sounds like firehawk has a good suggestion in the other thread about the microswitch.

rob .... thanks.... i really appreiciate it... so at the two gromets that you have circled in red, top wil be the power and the bottom witll be the audible for both? even if i separate them, where would i run it so it doesn't run along side of each other....? yeah i read my other post... i'm going to opening up the door again and take a look..... sounds pretty wierd to me though..... by the way, i love the focals........ only when i am parked so i don't hear the whine..... i'll post pics once this hoopla is done.....

It doesn't matter which is where as long they're on opposite sides. The grommets are the most difficult place to separate them, after that it should be cake. You can see in this pic: How I ran them on either side of the battery tray.

i'll give it a try rob.....thanks again

No problem, good luck.