Thanks to your advice guys I have now replaced all the existing ICE with a new setup in MY03 STI.
I have Infinity Kappas 60.5 components in the front, Infinity 6x9 6903i reference in the rear parcel shelf, an Audison SRx4 4 channel amp and a Pioneer head unit.
I am like a lot of others on here in so much as I didn't want a Sub in the boot and I am also from the "Old" school of having sound all around rather than just the front. I had a new parcel shelf made out of 15mm MDF using the existing shelf as the template. I then had two 15mm oval MDF spacers to raise the 6x9's so they would not foul the cut outs in the body work. The shelf was solidly bolted to the chassis using about 20mm spacers to the body work. Dynamat was applied top and bottom and then covered with the same grey fabric. The result is as though it was factory fitted. A word of warning I did buy the 6x9 Kappas which would not fit because they have a wide basket from the cone to the magnet and were too wide to go through the holes so I had to settle for the reference instead.
The Kappa components fitted straight in the front with a couple of spacers angling the speakers up so as to not foul the Door Card. The Audison amp is excellent and easy to set up.
Overall sound quality I believe is excellent with plenty of good crisp bass and a nice treble. The only slight adjustment I have to make is to fade the sound slightly to the fronts due to the 6x9 being 92db sensitivity and the Kappa components being 90db.
If anyone is interested I can post pics of the shelf build etc.

 

I'd be interested in seeing the pics, indeed.

Steve

 

Can anyone tell me how to post the pics please

 

I have posted pics here.

http://uk.msnusers.com/BestwesternITParty/scooby.msnw?Page=Last

 

Hi,
I must admit that i've been giving thought to some new stereo kit in my motor too. i also have an STi8, but i kinda wanted to maintain the original stereo unit and add an amp and speakers. Cam you give me some idea of costs involved and how did you damp the front speakers. Even with the weedy std kit the fronts do resonate a lot........

 

Audison rock

 

If you think the oem stereo sounds ok, you want to listen to a £150 stereo and you won't think so anymore. My oem speakers and head unit distorted with any reasonable volume.
I can now get loads of volume with no distortion or vibration.
My advice would be to change the stereo and front speakers as a minimum.

 

what spacers did you use on the front speakers and where did you get them from?

 

also can you confirm the front speakers you installed as I have been looking for the kappa range and can't find the 60.5 model?

 

Go to this site http://www.letsbuycaraudio.com/main/speakers/20
To find the Kappa 60.5. I think they used a standard 8 or 12 mm spacer for the fronts.

 

[Edited by Lyricman - 1/19/2004 2:27:04 PM]

 

When i fit infinity kappas in the front door I got some speaker mounts from the audio shop... If u get the corsa ones ( cant remeber which year) they will fit in and then you can drill the inner door to get them secure

I found this better than the standard MDF mounts

 

Anyone had problems with the Door Card in MY03 catching on the Speaker. There seems to be a lip on the door card, have people cut this off. My Kappas seem to be hitting it during heavy bass

 

Lyricman

Was in my local ICE shop the other day and they said that the 03 is different to the 02 and that the curve is more pronounced on the 03, meaning fewer speakers will fit.

They said all they can recommend to customers is not speakers to suit price and ear, but speakers to fit car, which may not be the same.

On a different note, I'm doing a rear shelf build this weekend and note you had to raise your 6x9's with spacers. Did you raise them above the parcel shelf or raise the height of the shelf itself as it looks like they are flush to the parcel shelf from your pics.

Steve

 

Forget that last comment - looked at your pics closer and you can just see the spacer , though it's really tough to spot.....nice job!

 

Lyricman

Can you expand on where the shelf was fixed to the chassis please?

Also on the pics from inside the boot is that the dynamat poking through the cut-out or did you silicone the shelf to the chassis at this point?

Thanks

Nathan..

 

The rear shelf was fastened using the existing fastening points but had to fit some packing under the shelf to raise it far enough to not interfere with the 6 X 9's going through the body.

The Silver showing through is the dynamat that was applied to the complete shelf.

 

Lyricman

Further question if that's OK? How did you manage to fit the shelf to the contour of the rear window. I tried this weekend and found it difficult, even with 12mm MDF. The end needs to be severely tapered to allow it to fit, and even then, I can still make out gaps around the edge where the rear window is.

The shelf can't fit any lower as it rests on the hinges for the boot - the original parcel shelf is moulded around all the gubbins rather than a flat piece of board....

Cheers

Steve

 

Cheers for the info

 

I looked at the shelf and it is tapered to match the slope of the read window.