4200 Sound Upgrade from stock (non-auditorium)

[Daniel Heap]

Decided to take advantage of the "mild" weather and get cracking on my audio upgrade. Working on my 2003 4200 with the stock info centre and no auditorium upgrade option.

Some cars have the 200w factory auditorium upgrade which come with fabric speakers rather than paper cones. So the basic stock option I have uses the preamp from the NIT and paper cones it probably is about 10w RMS... the set up is more at home in a fiat punto of the same era rather than a car that would have been worth > £60k back in the early 2000's (that's >90k in today's money)

The plan is to install a clarion digital mini amp under the centre console (max 300W) uprate the front and mid speakers to JL Audio speakers and disconnect the rear shelf speakers.

I already have a Bluetooth loudlink installed in the centre console but after doing the wiring for the amp there is less space so I am going to relocate it in the drivers footwell and wire in the mic on the A-pillar trim so I can actually use the hands free feature

Clarion amp install
http://www.clarion.com/gb/en/products-personal/speaker/XC1410/

Started this yesterday it only took about 3hrs with the most time consuming part being crimping the connectors. The install is quite simple following the instructions with the help of the pinout diagram explaining the purpose of each wire in the back of the NIT.

A source of much confusion is that the pinout diagram is upside down compared to the reality http://pinout.net/browse.php?catid=19&conid=378

Compare the diagram on the above pinout link to the back of the NIT you will see what I mean (fuses on the left rather than right) was lucky the speakers are the middle connector it's hard to mess that up!

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The middle plug (B) has all the speaker cables I cut this and wired the plug to the loom provided with the amp. The blue cable off the clarion amp loom splices into C6 this way I have retained the stock EQ and loudness which is greyed out on cars with auditorium. Wire in the provided connector loom to the cut speaker cables which goes to the speaker output on the amp.

Final step is power EDIT: go to post 20 for instructions http://www.sportsmaserati.co.uk/sho...on-auditorium)?p=606816&viewfull=1#post606816

The amp fit neatly velcro'd to the underside of the NIT and the centre console also went back on its mount without any squeezing

Plug B with all of the speaker cables
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Speaker output loom connected
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Blue output wire spliced to pin C6 12v switched accessory
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Edit Removed photos of power supply, will follow once I have installed battery cable: instructions on post 20 http://www.sportsmaserati.co.uk/sho...on-auditorium)?p=606816&viewfull=1#post606816

All of the new connectors
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Test prior to install. I changed the sensitivity filter to high which eliminated any interference. Cross over is set to send the full range to all speakers as I intend to wire in crossovers for the front components
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Velcro in void under NIT cradle
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No more room for loudlink due to extra wiring
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Final bit of rambling am I happy with it? Other than my poor choice of power source causing some interference it is a very good upgrade. Notice the extra punch immediately I would say it is at least 4x as loud with a lot of the missing frequencies being filled in from before the install (much fuller sound) and hence doing a much better job at drowning out road noise can't wait to install the speakers as the standard paper cones are struggling!

Anyway in case you haven't noticed I'm not so great with electrics so I think the fact that it works is a great success. Will appreciate any help with sourcing a more appropriate power source and ground... I have already ruled out the 12v to the ciggerette lighter. If nothing suitable in that area I guess it's a back seats out job to wire in a new 8 gauge cable with 60a fuse to the battery

Hi,

Thank you for posting this. It’s really helpful. I putting together an upgrade on my 4200. The stock system is awful!
One question in relation to the line out to your the amp did you use the C2 connection, do you have any pics or can you explain how you got the line out to amp?

 

[TKoos]

There is no room in the speaker void which is fairly obvious i guess but I am pretty sure it will fit under the parcel shelf towards the rear where it undulates back up again for the break light - there are however no grills for the displaced air to escape back there so as Matt said it could get a bit rattly

Cut my knuckles up a treat getting that speaker cradle out, I don't think it is technically possible but I have a super low profile stubby ratchet screwdriver that did the job with a smattering of determination

Silver lining... I found the source of an interior rattle (believed to be a suspension rattle until it was all checked over by Voicey during the recent annual service)... I always thought it sounded like it was coming from the parcel shelf, it is but not quite... the top panel that runs at the top of the rear right hand seat and runs back down to pillar where the rear glass is has a fixing below the parcel shelf which is completely loose. I only noticed it by accident but makes a racket when it's poked at... the fixing is at the rear left of the following photo showing the void under the parcel shelf with the rear right cradle removed - should be able to get a screwdriver to it

View attachment 48568

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I just wanted to say that as I had the parcel shelf removed this weekend I checked that screw and it was all loose for me too. The opposite to the left (right hand side of the car) was loose too, but not as much. Always nice to secure stuff and prevent rattle. Thanks for sharing!