///Audience's Build Log - Audio focused

I just purchased my 2013 GTI Autobahn DSG in September and damn, the mod bug hit hard. I searched nation wide and found a killer deal on the exact configuration i wanted with 244 miles on it in California. Had it shipped to my door for about $7k under sticker price.

Heres how it sat the day I bought it.



About 2 hours after owning it, I installed my LED tails and removed Soundaktor. A few days after, I plastidipped the wheels with 4 coats of matte black and 2 light coats of gold metallic. I really like how this came out. We also stripped the old tint off and applied Madico WINCOS film to every piece of glass including the windshield.

Also went Unitronic Stage 1+




In October, added H&R Front/Rear sway bars and DG MT Springs.




Added some custom powdercoated Yakima Whispbars




Finally decided to start on the very long road to high fidelity SQ. This car will be my IASCA competition car and the goal will be optimal sound quality.

Equipment used will consist of:

iPad mini connected to Pure i20 for optical output.
Alpine H800/C800 processor and controller
Illusion Audio C6 components
Illusion C12
JL Audio HD900/5
JL Audio HD600/4
Stinger Battery.

Here is the current progress. I made a very temporary amp rack simply to hold the equipment until we could do a full overhaul of the back end. This will all be cleaned up and hidden under covers in the near future.





Here is a shot of the C800 controller. This allows me to fully control my external processor which allows independet control of each speaker with active crossovers, time alignment, and EQ





Now for the fun part. My original plan was to install an Alpine S928 8" touch screen but after consideration, ive decided to mod an iPad mini into the dash. This will be fed optically right into my processor for the cleanest possible sound. I will be able to retain OEM Steering wheel controls and bluetooth as well.

Here is the unit that will help me extract a purely digital signal.


Some custom modification to slim it down and help it to fit behind my dash, as well as convert to a lightening connector.




Taking some frequency response measurements of the cabin to help with the tuning process. Running a Dayton EMM-6 through my Scarlett 2.2i interface onto my macbook Pro. Software used is Fuzzmeasure. Neadless to say, the FR looks like a roller coaster right now.




And the soon to be GTI radio

reserved

Went stage 2 Uni today with an SPM Street downpipe. I was very worried about noise issues but this thing is DEAD SILENT unless accelerating. Im very picky about noise and this thing is completely stealth while cruising at any speed.

Picked these up from a local member for an unbeatable price

Heres about 2.5 hours into my dash modification.

///Audience said:

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Man that looks killer! You should go to the next Cobb meet because I want to see this! haha. :thumbsup:

This interests me

group buy on iPad mini integration kits made by ///Audience anybody?

Sure doesn't look like a mini... Did you end up using the iPad Air?

Subbed. This looks awesome!

this looks like it would be wildly expensive to have done for anyone who doesnt work at a shop! nice work though, I really love the progress.

in

GoliathRage said:

Man that looks killer! You should go to the next Cobb meet because I want to see this! haha. :thumbsup:

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Thanks man! When is the meet?

2010GTI4me said:

Sure doesn't look like a mini... Did you end up using the iPad Air?

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Yup, iPad mini 1st gen. 32gb LTE. Im considering ditching the LTE in favor of a verizon wifi hotspot mounted in the glove box so I can have full in car connectivity.

lilfleck said:

this looks like it would be wildly expensive to have done for anyone who doesnt work at a shop! nice work though, I really love the progress.

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I would likely quote a customer $1200+ for something like this. Most simply because of the risk and permanence. With most installs that I do, it can always be easily reverted back to factory. To fit the ipad required very extensive modifications of not only the trim panels, but the mounting tabs and dash support structures. These pictures reflect my progress with 12.5 hours into the dash build. Keep in mind this also counts wait time while bondo/glass dried ( i used this time to route my fiber optic cables) as well as pulling the back seat out (major bitch) and acoustically damping the back.

I still have a bit of body work to do but it was 3:30 am and i needed sleep. Heres where it sits as of now.




Here is the modified Pure i20 and step down transformer attached in the huge opening left where the factory radio was. These pieces were both velcro'd down to allow easy removal. Notice I ran a second optical cable? The plan is to use the next generation bluetooth software (followup for A2DP) to allow 24bit/96khz resolution bluetooth audio! This is a piece I will be getting to demo for Nav-Tv. With this piece, we will be able to pull the ipad from the dash without interrupting the high quality music stream. The unit will also be able to convert my steering wheel control signal into a bluetooth format which will allow them to control the ipad while in dash. More on this later.





Testing fitment and sound





Overall im pretty happy with the results. The main goal here is sound quality and I was fed up with the awful DAC built into the RNS315. Even though I do miss my gauge cluster nav display, I would say this is a huge leap in functionality. I just need to figure out a way to enlarge the text size as its very difficult for me to navigate my music while driving.