Custom Hummer Audio System Takes Up No Cabin Space. Sounds Awesome!

Vehicle interiors are getting more spacious and comfy. The irony is, as vehicles get larger and have more cabin space, there is seemingly less and less room to hide anything aftermarket out of sight.  As custom auto sound leans more towards keeping the stock appearance of a vehicle, it takes the ever evolving creativity of a professional mobile electronics installer to finesse high-end sound into a pre-packaged shell. Take this 2005 Hummer H2 SUT for example. With our new custom fabrication shop in place, Mobile Edge’s own Advanced Certified Installer, Michael Oechsner, was up to the challenge of filling the interior with sound without filling the interior with “stuff”.

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Hummer Audio System Signal Path Testing and Planning

We started the process by first locating the factory Bose amplifier under the center console. After determining the inputs and outputs of the factory amp we used an RTA and an oscilloscope to figure out exactly how the audio signal was split up in the factory system and where the best place to interface would be. The signal in this Hummer audio system was full range on both the front and rear outputs but was heavily equalized to compensate for the short comings of the factory speakers. The practice of using lower quality speakers and “doping” the signal at the amplifier is one way that OEM manufactures save on the cost of the factory system. However, as with everything else, robbing Peter to pay Paul will eventually catch up to you and these types of systems always seem to be lacking somewhere. No highs, No lows….. must be #@$E…. Did we say that?

An Audiocontrol LCQ-1 was installed after the factory Bose amplifier. The separate front rear and sub EQ on this high quality  interface will do just the trick to balance out the signal before it gets to the new five channel Hertz Audio HDP5 amplifier. Don’t be fooled by the little chassis. This amp packs a punch and sounds amazing. The small foot print of both of these components allowed us to install the  inside the center console without taking any of the armrest storage or any other usable space. To do this, Mike welded up a steel amp rack to house the EQ and Amp and bolted the assembly in place of the Bose Subwoofer.  Our Hummer audio system upgrade was taking shape!

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Bye-Bye Bose… Hello Hertz!

Next up was a full speaker upgrade. The rear 5.25” speakers were replaced with a 6.5” Hertz High Energy series coaxial speaker. Hushmat was applied on the outside door skin and around the new speaker to damp the metal doors.  Hushmat Silencer was applied to the inner plastic door panels to eliminate rattles, and absorb wind and road noise.  This approach significantly improves the noise floor and the system’s overall sound.  In our opinion, proper sound control is a must in ANY good system.

The front speaker were upgraded to a Hertz HSK165 XL series component set. The tweeters installed in the factory Hummer A-pillar locations and the mid bass drivers replaced the factory mids in the doors. The expansive front doors were also blanketed in Hushmat and Silencer.

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Great Bass With No Loss of Space!

Our custom Hummer audio system would not be complete without great bass so, after the speakers were checked out and the doors put back together, it was back into the fabrication shop.  This time to design and build a custom enclosure for a ten inch Hertz Audio Energy series slim-line sub. It would be a tight fit but with a little math, a lot of measuring, some table saw skills, a little carpet and… Presto! A custom box that fit perfectly under the rear seat and filled the truck with an impressive amount of bass. To finish off the installation and highlight the subwoofer, a custom H2 logo was designed and frosted into a plexiglass panel.

Once the system was tuned and the truck was prepped for delivery it was time once again to call the client to “come on down”. As much as we enjoy the installation process, from design to finished product, the best part has to be the “reveal”. That grin that turns into a smile that turns in to a head-nod…. that’s the good stuff!

When you’re ready to upgrade the audio system in your Hummer, or whatever else you drive, we’re ready to show you how good it can be.  Give us a call to schedule your no-cost consultation.  We will take the time to discuss your tastes and learn what you really want.  We have the equipment in our showroom and on display so you can hear it for yourself.  In addition, we will take you on “the Tour” and show you around our installation and fabrication facility.  We believe that you will like what you hear and see!

We hope to see you soon!