Double DIN JDM - painting it?

[Talkiet]

I have just acquired a 2004 GT-B with McIntosh stereo, and I am trying to decide whether or not to replace the head unit with something a little more MP3 (or AUX in) friendly.

I happened across a second hand a bit scuffed JDM Duoble DIN fascia / Climate control, and figured I could paint it to match the dark finish of the existing dash...

A pic of my dash is here:



And a pic of the Double DIN panel I bought is here:



I have posted this on legacygt.com as well - but after discovering this forum, it's apparent there's a lot more RHD and McIntosh discussion / knowledge here.

So I guess I have a couple of specific questions....

1) Has anyone discovered a magical, not ultra expensive way to add a line in to the McIntosh (without the Clarion 1155b unobtanium model, or the 1251 + extra cable expensive option)?

2) Any suggestions on exact paint match for the black fascia would be hugely appreciated - along with any tips for painting... I got some decent feedback for this specific Q on lgt.com but more is always better - especially since it's such a focal point.

I do have a local car audio shop confident they can add a line in to my current McIntosh and they are going to have a look in the next couple of days... If they can then I might want to sell the fascia - I see there's a Buysell board here so I'll probably offer it up there before ebaying it... Any idea what it's worth? (NZ New price is $890NZD and new from Japan seems to be about $310USD before shipping!)

It's a bit scuffed, and even if you have the matching silver fascia, it would probably want a repaint.

Cheers - Neil G
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[wassell2381]

Hey

http://forum.liberty.asn.au/viewtopic.php?t=3975

Here's a post of what loweart did with his system. He removed the McIntosh and put in the same av panel as what you have. It looks great.

It would be easier to paint the other dash panels to match the silver colour as it would be hard to paint the silver buttons and climate control.

Anyways keep us updated on how it turns out!!

Cheers
Dan

[Talkiet]

Hey

http://forum.liberty.asn.au/viewtopic.php?t=3975

Here's a post of what loweart did with his system. He removed the McIntosh and put in the same av panel as what you have. It looks great.

It would be easier to paint the other dash panels to match the silver colour as it would be hard to paint the silver buttons and climate control.

Anyways keep us updated on how it turns out!!

Cheers
Dan

I had seen that thread - it looks damn nice...

Bother - I was hoping the McIntosh fascia was separate from the climate panel like it is on the replacement double din one I have... (The double DIN is a separate bit from the Climate panel)

I'm really keen on keeping the black to match the rest of the interior which is dark... I would probably get the Mcintosh Fascia professionally separated from the Climate if they are actually joined - and paint just the Double DIN fascia I have now to match.

I'm really still hoping that I can get away with keeping the McIntosh and getting a Line in, as the more I look into replacing it, the more problems I find...

Just off the top of my head right now...

1) Physical mounting - fascia, painting etc
2) Plug from new head unit to Mc Amp (if possible) to be made
3) If Mc Amp would work with new head unit (needs balanced?!), then I can either drive speakers from hew HU (can it drive all 11ish speakers?) or add new amp (more expense)

Ultimately I love stuff that looks stock, but a really nice Double DIN like Loweart would be awesome, but to do it right won't be anything like inexpensive.

Cheers - N

[NoOzL47]

honestly mate wouldnt bother.

I have the same facia as that one (the silver facia) in my lib with the black dashboard, and no one actually notices thats it out of place. The silver and the black actually contrasts really well

[cpitts]

Hey Neil,

Like you, I'm heading down the 'full replacement, but looks stock' route. And like you, I've hit the fascia as my biggest issue. Having a MY07, the fascia is an even bigger issue as it is a big single monolith of a thing.

As far as line in/line outs from the HU, I believe you have access to some pins on the back for line in (hence the Aux In plug you can get) so it may be as simple as finding out what those pins are and just wiring up the +/- to an RCA jack and away you go!

Line outs need to be soldered onto the board as far as I know, MIND YOU, there's a DIN cable that goes to the amp under pass seat that has those exact pins in it which you should be able to splice out of. Again, replacement cable cost is horrendous, so it's kind of irreversible for a sensible price.

Also worth noting that line outs are BALANCED, not standard RCA unbalanced signal, so any amp you hook to it needs to be able to handle balanced inputs, so far that's lead me to $AU1000+ amps from companies like JL, etc.

So from my own work and experience, I've found the following is required to get an integrated MAC solution:
(all in $AU for you)

$1200 - Balanced Amp (4 ch in (balanced), 5 ch out (FL, FR, RR, RL, Sub))
(more if you do the sub amp separately)
$ 350 - McIntosh DIN cable to cut up
$ 150 - Recable the front, rear doors and sub
$ 400 - Sub
$ 400 - Rear speakers
$1700 - Front 3 way speakers
$ 300 - Sound deadening
$ 50 - MDF + timber for speaker mounts
$ 50 - misc rubber trim, adhesive foams, knifes, speaker cloth, glues
$heaps if you don't install it yourself.

AND if you replace the HU
$ 400 - Fascia
$ 1-2000 - SQ Head Unit
$ 700 - Now you need the Sub amp
$ 100 - RCA's (3 or 4 pairs)

Grand total:
Not cheap.

Nett result:
Well, it's a few notches above the McIntosh in SQ, SPL and any other aspect you're chasing.

[wassell2381]

Most head units these days come with an unbalanced RCA preout and a balanced cable output, so cant ya just splice the existing connector goin from the McIntosh to the factory amp and get the signal wires from that.

this is a pic of the wiring diagram for the connection in the McIntosh

[cpitts]

Most head units these days come with an unbalanced RCA preout and a balanced cable output, so cant ya just splice the existing connector goin from the McIntosh to the factory amp and get the signal wires from that.

In short - No, you can't just splice the existing cable to get unbalanced output. You need to convert from Balanced to Unbalance OR get an amp that accepts balanced inputs.

That schematic was provided to me by Clarion locally when I contacted them about this exact issue. Their comment was basically, here's the schematic and pinouts for the amp, good luck.

[wassell2381]

could ya maybe use a line output covertor to balance the signals?

[cpitts]

Yep you can but that'd be on the amp outputs where the speakers plug into the loom with the std Subaru/Clarion plug. Just be aware that you've got 6 line outs there:
- FR, FL, RR, RL, Front Centre and sub

[wassell2381]

Ye tru, wouldnt ya prob just use the 4 (FL FR RL RR) as they are the main ones. With a line output converter you wanna make sure ya get a good one. Some of the cheepies have bad distortion. Stick to the brands!

[cpitts]

You could always just RCA out the fronts and the sub channel and then leave the factory rears off the factory amp. That'd give you sensible sound to the rear doors (typically fill) and greatly improved power to the front and the sub.