Complete Audio Setup for the Sorento

**MrGunn** · January 14th, 2012 12:55 AM

I recently had my Sorento's audio upgraded care of Jedi's Tsikotshop. This thread will show details of the step by step process of the install. I availed of Jedi's Firland Audio Package since I wanted clear sound quality even at high volumes with a moderate amount of bass for the occasional boom boom moods. My budget for the whole install is 50K. For that budget level, I was able to get what I wanted with the Firland Audio package.

My Sorento is the 5-seater variant hence I have a huge space under my trunk where the 3rd row should be. This space opened up the possibility for me to have a good "show quality" install without compromising trunk space.

My requirements:
- Must still have usable trunk space that can fit two golf bags or a full size maleta
- Must have crisp, clean sound quality even at high volume levels.
- Must have good, punchy bass.
- Must be designed to impress.

The whole process took a total of 3 days to complete. The first day, I went to the shop to discuss my preferences and to have the initial measurements taken. In this meeting, jedi and I decided to go for the following components:

EV-612 Component Speakers
EV-602 Coaxial Speakers
XA 480 4channel amplifier
FA1200watt monoamp
1280 600 watt subwoofer
Sound deadening for all 4 doors
Firland Audio Pure copper wiring kit

On the 2nd day, Jon aka tsikotshop started building my sub enclosure. The speakers were also ordered as well

As you can see, my trunk has a good amount of 3rd row space.

The sub enclosure was designed to be a 2-step box to be able to accomodate the amp rack

Testing for depth of the amp if the cover will be fully flat... It is.

Next post, Day 3 and the actual install...

**MrGunn** · January 14th, 2012 01:05 AM

Day 3, I arrived at around 820AM to have the whole set up installed. Jon already finished the cover of the sub enclosure, as well as the box.

A sneak peek of the cover:

The first step was to dismantle the doors. This is my front door before the dismantle:

And this is how it looks after the screws have been removed

As you can see, the stock speakers are mounted on plastic housings that provide a bit more depth for the speaker. The stock speakers are mounted on this and will have to be destroyed to be removed.

Destroying the stock speaker

As you can see, the stock speaker has a tiny magnet and is only rated for 20 watts RMS.

Comparing the stock speaker magnet vs the Firland Audio EV-612 Component speaker

Next is the application of sound deadening material...

**MrGunn** · January 14th, 2012 01:08 AM

Applying sound deadener to the door. Deadening material was also placed inside the door panel, right behind the speaker magnet

New speaker installed

Comparing the old tweeter with the Firland Audio tweeters

Here my flooring and my rear seats are being removed for wiring install...

Fitting the subwoofer enclosure into the trunk's false bottom..

Installing the wiring for the enclosure...

Powering up the LED Lights...

**MrGunn** · January 14th, 2012 01:13 AM

Finally, after a full day of installing the system, at around 530PM, my audio set up is complete. Here are the pics of the completed rear trunk set up...

The Plexiglass covering the amps can sustain loads since its wuite thick, so the only space sacrifice I had to do was the space around the sub, which is very small. The cover is black leather which is the same material as my leather seats, and the red LEDs complement the mood lights of the Sorento.

Overall, the sound quality is very nice, and I now find it difficult to leave my car and often find excuses just to be able to drive around, rocking to the tunes.

**sparcom** · January 14th, 2012 08:43 AM

Mrgunn, san niyo pinalagay yung bagong tweeter?

**jhnkvn** · January 14th, 2012 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by sparcom

Mrgunn, san niyo pinalagay yung bagong tweeter?

I think it's the stock tweeter location. Very nice job on the work!

**IceT** · January 14th, 2012 12:54 PM

Pogi points! I'm sure the 3 days wait was worth it. I just have two question. It's hard for me to accept this information, but did they really need to "destroy" the stock speakers? Sayang eh. I'm just thinking that they know that there's a lot to be done and nagmamadali, kaya sinira na lang(I'm just looking for enlightenment and I do hope I'm wrong) para mabilis. The other one is the spare tire location. I assume it's under the sub and amp. How do you access it? TIA.

**ratchet23** · January 14th, 2012 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by IceT

Pogi points! I'm sure the 3 days wait was worth it. I just have two question. It's hard for me to accept this information, but did they really need to "destroy" the stock speakers? Sayang eh. I'm just thinking that they know that there's a lot to be done and nagmamadali, kaya sinira na lang(I'm just looking for enlightenment and I do hope I'm wrong) para mabilis. The other one is the spare tire location. I assume it's under the sub and amp. How do you access it? TIA.

for the sorento, spare tire is under the car. that space is for the third row seats.

**MrGunn** · January 15th, 2012 12:33 AM

Originally Posted by IceT

Pogi points! I'm sure the 3 days wait was worth it. I just have two question. It's hard for me to accept this information, but did they really need to "destroy" the stock speakers? Sayang eh. I'm just thinking that they know that there's a lot to be done and nagmamadali, kaya sinira na lang(I'm just looking for enlightenment and I do hope I'm wrong) para mabilis. The other one is the spare tire location. I assume it's under the sub and amp. How do you access it? TIA.

The waiting was difficult, lots of sleepless nights, haha... Re: the stock speakers, they were mounted with plastic brackets on the housing, which were not screwed on. The plastic mounts were connected directly to the speaker itself, so the option was to remove the stock housing and replace with a modified one or to use the old housing and destroy the stock speakers. I chose the 2nd option.

Tama si bro jhnkvn, tweeters were placed in the stock housing at the A-pillars, so the front sound stage has that sleeper look. No mods were made within the passenger cabin to preserve the "cleanness" of the interior.

The set up feels like a concert hall, where I have the front row seats. There is a distinct separation of the trebles, mid bass, and sub bass and the tuning mix is very good, since the 3 don't overpower each other. Very very good SQ set up from Firland Audio. Makes me proud knowing that its a Filipino owned brand.