355 355 Component speakers project from Scuderia Audio

I had initially though of asking a mod if I could add "and 355" to my "348 Component speakers project from Scuderia Audio" thread, but I realized that posting 348 and 355 posts together would just create confusion.

Here are the initial renderings of the 355 hyper directional tweeter pods. Since the original material is metal, we made the entire 3D printed plastic piece quite a bit thicker except for the front edge (that interfaces with the rubber door gasket).

I will be spending all day next Tuesday designing some hardware to mount high end 6 1/2" speakers in the doors.


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If the tweeter was installed flush with the face of the decorative triangle, the sound would shoot straight across the car and hit the other tweeter (like the 360/430/488 factory tweeters). At that angle, the stereo imaging is horrible. Angling the tweeters so that the sound hits the occupants right square in the face produces perfect stereo imaging. This is an old IASCA trick (International Sound Competition). The reason the tweeter mounting area is not more recessed like our 360/430 pods is because there is no room behind the surface of the triangles on both the 348 and the 355. Form follows function.

 

I appreciate your input.
In this application, the tweeters take up a good deal of room behind the front surface of the triangle. We do the same thing for the 360/430 triangles where there is also room. With the 348 and 355, there is no room for this. We could use a smaller tweeter, but we don't want to sacrifice performance.

 

Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way with our Ferrari 456 design. If I had a brain cell in my head, I would have double checked the clearance first.

 

Yes.
This same speaker is used in both the 348 and 355 models. We already have OEM style electrical connectors for these cars so you won't have to cut off your stock speaker connectors to hook up the aftermarket replacement speakers. We're the only outfit on the planet that has these connectors. We just need to see if there is clearance for the same sized speaker but with larger magnets.

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I made this short video to demonstrate the OEM style connectors we have for the 360 and 430 models, but the connector is exactly the same for the 348 and 355.

 

We pulled a 355 door, inner door framework and door panel from inventory (Ferrari auto wrecker) for some test fitting. Although the attached images are those of a base model Focal 6 1/2" driver, this speaker will not work for this application. The sheet metal extends completely around the back of the speaker, leaving not enough depth for the Focal. Specifically, the speaker is about 3/4" too deep. The only reason it fits here is that someone had modified this particular inner door framework by cutting out the middle section. Additionally, the door panel will not properly mate to the door at the bottom because the cast aluminum speaker housing is too thick.
I'm pretty sure the Audison APK 165 speaker will work here. This is the driver I use for the Ferrari 360 models. I will verify this in a few days.


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The Audison speaker fits perfectly. There is appx. 1/16" of clearance between the bottom of the magnet and the rear speaker housing in the door frame. And the speaker basket is thin enough not to impede upon the door panel. We are currently retooling the tweeter pods as we originally designed them for the Focal tweeters. Kits should be on my website and available in about two weeks. The 348 uses the same factory speaker as well as the same middle door frame, so this all works with the 348 as well (we verified this with actual parts).


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The Audison version of the hyper directional tweeter pods are being 3D printed as I write this. Since the Audison tweeters are not as deep as the Focals, the tweeter housing on the triangle doesn't stick out as much as the Focal version.

 

I have received the new Audison tweeter pods. They look good. However, we are not convinced that the tweeter angle is perfect. It is close, but I could use a little help.
I need a generous F Chatter with a 355 to set their phone on each of the two white lines (with an angle finder app running) and tell me these two angles. You do not need to remove your triangle.
Thanks guys.

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Good idea. Much appreciated!!

 

I imagine that one can design a bracket that would allow you to retrofit the Audison tweeters in the dash, but that wouldn't be me. The is probably the second worst location for a tweeter in a car. Ferrari realized this and moved the tweeters to the A pillar triangles in the 360 and 430 models. I'm basically doing the same thing for a 348/355. The only difference is that I am determined to have the tweeter at the correct angle to fire the sound right straight at the occupants for perfect stereo imaging.
The Audison midrange drivers need no crossover. The tweeters do need a high pass filter. Fortunately, all you need is the right sized capacitor soldered inline. I do this for all the Audison kits I sell.

Regarding an amp, remember that a high quality amp with so so speakers will always sound much better than a so so amp with high quality speakers. After all of the marketing hype, a speaker is just a dumb, round thing that moves exactly how you tell it. And only a high quality, high powered amplifier can tell the speaker to move correctly at high volume. If you do not plan to add a subwoofer, you don't need much power. 50 Watts per channel would suffice.

 

Thanks to @193six4, we were able to modify the design to the correct angles. With just one quick glance at the initial rendering, I can tell right away that this angle is much better. The first set are being 3D printed as I write this. @193six4 reserves the right to claim this first set for free if he or she wishes.


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The new tweeter pods were delivered to my North San Jose home. Now I have to get someone to ship them to my new home here in Scottsdale. I should have pictures soon.