The exhaust is the greatest sound ever
Very nice, but that wouldn't work in my car with the glovebox location--BTW--I like those seatbelt pads!!!
First, let me state that I am NOT an audio tech, nor an "expert" in car audio. That said, to the best of my knowledge, the company that made the original SST Audio System which was designed specifically for the F355 (by Reus Audio, I believe) utilized a 10 inch woofer/subwoofer (which had the ability to get down into the sub-sonic frequency ranges) in a removable cabinet mounted in the front storage area ("boot") the woofer/subwoofer faced inwards (i.e., against the rear wall of the front storage compartment facing towards the interior of the passenger compartment. The air vent was placed in the rear of the cabinet. The cabinet was covered with a felt-like material similar to that utilized in the boot area. Remember, bass (especially sub-sonic frequencies) is rather non-directional in nature and also possesses the ability to"penetrate" through walls. In addition, the depth of the cabinet doesn't need to be much deeper than the magnet depth of the speaker, as the front compartment acts like a resonance chamber to augment the bass response. Moreover, with Monster Cable quick-disconnects the entire woofer/subwoofer cabinet can be removed in about 30 seconds to provide extra room in the front boot. A reasonable amp (i.e., 100-200 watts per channel, Maximum) could be mounted on a thin board covered with a felt-like material similar to that found in the front boot. The mounted amp could then be mounted along one of the side walls of the front compartment. This way no permanent modifications have to be made to the car. Do not let those "audiophiles" at the car stereo store tell you that you need 500+ watts per channel (pure B.S.)! The SST Audio System originally used a McIntosh amp, which was later changed to a proprietary in-house amp. McIntosh is way too expensive and not really worth the money. There are a number of really good amps out there. Let me do a little research and I might be able to make a god recommendation. Also, don't let them try to convince you to get rid of the factory woofers in the door and the tweeters in the dash near the AC vents. The Ferrari OEM speakers are really quite good, and were specifically designed to give good frequency response with extremely limited magnet depth. I'll try to augment this post in the near future.
Sorry, I just re-read your post and I saw you had already changed the Ferrari OEM speakers to JL Audio. They make very good speakers and a really renowned for their subwoofers. Also, you may have to get the audio tech to construct a set of cross-overs for you. These are often overlooked but are highly important in the overall sound from the system. I mean you can go "crazy" and have the interior of your car analyzed with microphones and pink-noise. I think I read that they spent over 500 hours just analyzing the various frequency responses in the interior of the F355 when designing the SST Audio System. IMHO, the Ferrari engine is so loud (but wonderful) a really high-tech and expensive system is really not worth the time, expense and trouble.
Scott---What's up? Looking forward to getting your HVAC panel!! Anyway do you have a link for this SST system? Anywhere I can look? I did find the website for Reus Audio, I will call them tomorrow. After looking again behind the passenger seat I do not think there is enough room to do anything decent back there. I have had several guys recommend doing something in the front bonnet. They told me I would have no problems hearing the bass because of the way the low frequencies travel just like you said. Does anyone know how difficult it is to feed wires and cables thru the firewall??
Yes, I agree----I am not looking for $$$$$$ system. I have a nice head unit and nice JL speakers. Just looking for a little bass to add to it..Nothing insane or too fancy...
Hi Robbie: The HVAC Control Unit and AC vent are being mailed out this morning. THANK YOU!!! Back to audio. Just for background, the SST Audio System was a Ferrari dealer option in later (1997-on, I think) F355s. I also believe it was a $12-14K option! They originally mounted the amp in the front compartment in a manner similar to that suggested by 355Dreamer, but with no cover, so one could see the big, blue analog McIntosh power meters and logo sign. However, they later changed to a side-wall mount due to over heating problems and owner complaints over the dramatic decrease in front compartment depth. You could probably utilize a 3 channel amp - 2 channels to drive the stereo woofers/tweeters in the car interior and the third mono channel to drive the subwoofer in the front compartment. The number I have for Reus Audio is (800) 276-8865. FYI, I can almost guarantee you that will NOT sell you any individual components they may still have in NOS. However, any good audio shop experienced in exotic installations will be able to fabricate a subwoofer cabinet exactly the same dimensions as the front wall of the compartment, and cover it with a reasonably close material. As I stated before, probably the most important component of the system will be the cross-overs - so you can get the proper frequency roll-over to the individual speakers. I'll get back to you regarding amps. All the best, Scott
Sorry Robbie, I have just remembered about this thread, I will get some photo's from my car Asap for you.
