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Randal Johnson

Randal's 2007 Chevy Avalanche

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i think youll dig that HELIX unit. I know a few that LOVE theirs... best of luck mate. 

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That Helix is fucking awesome my brother !!! 

It’s also amazing what Dynamat and mattress foam/material can do for your midbass !!! Doors came alive !!! I had a pair of 8s waiting for the truck, but I would have had to cut metal to get them to fit. Didn’t want to move up higher than “MECA Street Class” so I went back in with the same ole 6.5” drivers I had in ole White Lightning. I’m loving it So Far !!! Everything is blending together as planned. If I known then what I know now, I’d have bought me an Avalanche a LONG Time ago !!!

thanks for posting my brother. Show us some pics of your new whip over here pecker head ...

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On 2/14/2019 at 6:12 PM, Kylar96 said:

i think youll dig that HELIX unit. I know a few that LOVE theirs... best of luck mate. 

Personally, I can not tell the difference between 2 way passive and 2 way active. Going active made me use 2 amplifiers with no major difference with stage and image. Shows how good my speakers are installed I guess. 

Think i’m Going back to passive and get my sub back on one of my  2150s for now. 2150s have the best left and right separation Qualities so I should be good there. Hopefully, I can get this done this weekend.

As for the Helix, love the EQ capabilities !!! 32 bands on the left and 32 on the right !!! And time alignment is WAY easier to tune than on the Kenwood. 

Not spending the money on a sub amplifier will help me get closer to the new Kenwood head unit !!!

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Night out with the wife at the car wash. Yes, our life is that exciting !!!

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My Avalanche FINALLY came back to me on the Roll Back !!!

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"Cat Back" Duals Done !!! Dude hooked me up with a Flow Master Muffler and Kick ASS Chrome Tips !!!

Tucked them in Real Nice !!! He's done the exhaust work on every truck I've owned so far !!!

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Now my Avalanche sounds like she has a LARGE pair of Grape Fruits !!!

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Nice.

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7 hours ago, Aaron Clinton said:

Nice.

Thank You Sir 

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Ok ... Just found out that there’s a Local MECA 1x Event on June 1st. 

Think I’m gonna shine the ole Avalanche up, tune up the ole system, and enter her in SQL Street Class.

Get me a reference score sheet to see what’s needed to be done to kick ass at World Finals ... LOL

See what happens !!!

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Dang, I need to update this thread.

But for now, I just had to show you guys and gals what was waiting on my when I got home off of a LONG run.

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More details later, I'm going to bed !!!

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Two MECA Events down and both scores a 77.5. Not complaining, but I was hoping for better. Local judge not “bias” or “subjective” just more of a rookie and primarily a SPL guy. I trust him. 

Next weekend, I’m going to a triple point event in Montgomery Al. There should be more than one judge which would tell me what I need to know. This should also help me get those much needed points to qualify for World Finals.

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I understand that I wanted to stay in lower classes with this truck, but I feel that to get any higher than an 80 ... I will need to redo my A-pillars.

Stage Width just will not go beyond the pillars. Best place that I can move the tweeters is to the Sail Panels. However, I'm scared I will loose Stage height and depth ...

If they go anywhere else, it will bump me up into Mod Street Class and this whole year in Street Class will be a waste ...

You know what ??? Fuck it !!! I just emailed a friend to get some Fiberglass work done to the Avalanche ...

I've always said that the midrange drivers is the heart of an Audiophile system. So this is what I want ...

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Or for the most part, moving the tweeters to the sail panels and going more like this ...

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Moving the 5.25" driver closer to the sail panels to match the tweeter location ...

If I use a 4" driver, I will move into MECA Moddex. The 5.25" driver will move me into Extreme Class, but Fuck it. I have the drivers and the ability to use them ...

What you guys think ???

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I hated like hell taking my A-Pilars apart, but I kinda figured they were temporary anyways ...

Installing a 4" driver or a 5.25" driver, tweeters would need to be moved.

So This is where I think they should be ... Keep in mind there will be no final product until the mid range drivers are installed ...

My apologies for the night pics, my time is very limited and I have no shop to work on my shit ...

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According to my tired measuring tape, they don't look it, but are level across the vehicle ... If not, I have a spare set of A-Pilars on the shelf.

Tweeters are connected to the A-Pilars, not the Sail Panels ... My little problem with the Stage Width is definitely a thing of the past now ...

I think, but I am not positive, that this might be able to Stay in MECA Street class ...

I will Find out Saturday at the local Bass Wars Event. Both Mississippi qualified judges should be there promoting their favorite Bass Head vehicles !!!

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I don't like the 5's up high.  Can't imagine you can get enough volume enclosure wise to make the extra cone area a benefit.  

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10 hours ago, ///M5 said:

I don't like the 5's up high.  Can't imagine you can get enough volume enclosure wise to make the extra cone area a benefit.  

I don’t either. Thanks for posting brother. Not necessarily for the air space, but for the actual bulky-ness of the driver. 

I could vent through the dash and out to the inner fire wall where the water drains are to get air space if need be, just too much work for what I’m trying to accomplish. If I do add a midrange driver, it will most likely be a 4” driver. 

If I remember correctly, you have a vehicle similar. I’m all open for suggestions. 

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Even with crazy venting 5's are HUGE on that dash.  My original plan with my Escalade was a pair of 3's up high with 8's in the doors and no tweeter.  Do realize, I set my car up solely for me and could care less about competition.  I also listen nearly exclusively to live recordings and/or musicians that fundamentally play live even when they record.  Being a guitarist and bass player accurate reproduction is paramount to me and I will forego coloration even if it would be judged higher.

That all being said, the dash on my truck and aiming made me feel like it wasn't worth the battle.  Have to say I spent a lot more time with my Silverado experimenting and it naturally soured my expectations here so diligence wasn't as good.  I also had children by this point while when I had my other cars that was not the case...outside of the ML63 which I left stock as it was leased and warrantied...so I could drive it like I stole it everyday.

I draw no conclusions for you.  My problem with your truck (or mine) though is that I don't think a dash install is ideal, personally I am also not a fan of kicks (realize I am 6'7" if I were 5'8" then space considerations would be way easier), which doesn't leave many options in the truck.  Not trying to be discouraging, but hey it's car audio everything is a compromise.  That being said, if I were in your shoes and really felt like getting the mid up is ideal I would a single driver that can play as much of the audio spectrum as possible.  Most likely that would be a 3 or 4 sealed on axis, but chosen specifically for it's FR.  The challenge there is the dash hump and keeping the driver low.  Based on the space in mine I am not sure I can even see a 4 fitting.  I expect you will stretch that the other way though and deal with less of a direct response and compensate with other drivers for not being able to get the mid positioned right.  Personally I wouldn't.  Of course that means you won't be running a Blues mid if you choose my route as it would be self defeating.

Either way.  Throw out all bias's, competition desires, and instead truly focus on what is important to you.  What do you need your stereo to do for you.  Then build it to do that.  Just don't cheat yourself into compromising because you have something.  That to me is the biggest mistake I have made over and over and over in my life.  Of course to compensate a while back I just bought one of everything which I realize everyone doesn't have the budget to do.  For me, I didn't have the time not to.  Once you truly nail that desire down things will be easier to decide.

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Now that I’ve had a few days to listen to my system with the tweeters in their new location, I am Really impressed !!! The only thing that changed (that I can personally tell) is my stage width went out to my mirrors !!! 

With minor changes in the Helix, I really don’t see a need to upgrade to a midrange driver. 

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21 hours ago, ///M5 said:

Either way.  Throw out all bias's, competition desires, and instead truly focus on what is important to you.  What do you need your stereo to do for you.  Then build it to do that.  Just don't cheat yourself into compromising because you have something.  That to me is the biggest mistake I have made over and over and over in my life.  Of course to compensate a while back I just bought one of everything which I realize everyone doesn't have the budget to do.  For me, I didn't have the time not to.  Once you truly nail that desire down things will be easier to decide.

My primary Goal with this Avalanche is to be a MECA SQL World Champion. Plain and Simple.

My kids are grown and gone so I can get back on my projects and goals. I truly believe This Avalanche is in the ball park of a world champ if I can get things optimized and tuned correctly. Just a lot of work and patience. Atleast this will give me something to look forward to instead of just growing old and working my life away !!! Again, thanks for posting !!!

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Then I'd pick drivers that are ideal in the tonality ranges and go from there.   Screams sealed or ported 3" to me although if you really spend time you could tuck in a 4.  I can't imagine the sails will do what you want except widen the width.   

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45 minutes ago, ///M5 said:

Then I'd pick drivers that are ideal in the tonality ranges and go from there.   Screams sealed or ported 3" to me although if you really spend time you could tuck in a 4.  I can't imagine the sails will do what you want except widen the width.   

I'm basically talking myself out of adding a midrange driver. I have a pair of 4" drivers and a pair of 8" drivers if I need them brand new in their boxes. I like my dash look stock as possible with it's dash cover. The tweet's new locations help tremendously with stage and image and They are more stealthy. Once the A-Pilars are done, They will definitely be in MECA Regulation with Street Class.

I’m using the exact same 6.5 & tweet set and a pair of Amplifiers that I bought 10 years ago that went in White Lightning. The only major difference is that this application is fully active with the Helix. I don’t have the amplifier for another 2 channels and I’m not buying any more drivers if I don’t have to.

What I Really need to do is get a mic for the Helix so I can get the RTA application working.

Edited by Randal Johnson

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RTA and cheap mic is complete meh

 

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On ‎8‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 10:41 PM, ///M5 said:

RTA and cheap mic is complete meh

 

I agree, no need to waste my money at this time.

Finally got some free time this afternoon to get out my spare A-Pilars out of the storage room and get my tweeter pods hooked up to them. Think they turned out really nice and stealthy. The way they are set, I will stay in MECA Street to finish out this year season and hopefully that MS state championship. If it scores as good as I hope, I will have the A-Pilars glassed and covered. Later if I decide to add a 4" driver, there will be no issues, just build a dash pod that rest on the A-Pilar. Finished up too late to take pics. Sorry.  

Pics !!!

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Edited by Randal Johnson

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Got a new sub to try out in the Avalanche, it’s a custom built 18 with a suspension you can actually push by hand. Should be much better with driver control. 

I will get pics posted up soon. At the Casino with the wife enjoying a night off. 

 

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Edited by Randal Johnson

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