2003 Chevrolet Silverado gets a Hertz/Audison audio overhaul!

Any time that we have the opportunity to truly exceed a customer’s expectations of what car audio can be, we absolutely love it.  Nothing like a challenge right?  The owner of the vehicle knew he needed some upgrades to his entertainment system, but was new to the world of aftermarket car audio.  After having a listen to our demo vehicle, he saw just how incredible it could be, but thought that since he could not sacrifice much space then he may have to sacrifice some of the sound.  Well, if there is one thing we are known for in the Valley, it is bringing excellent sound quality to vehicle while maintaining stock appearance!

Every system we design is comprised of three basic building blocks; sound deadening to control unwanted noises, amplifiers to give the speakers the power they need to represent the music the way the artist intended it to be and sound processing to equalize the sound and overcome the ill effects the vehicles various surfaces have on audio reproduction.  This one had all of that and some of our top selling Hertz speakers and subwoofer as icing on the cake!

We started off by applying sound deadening material to the floors, doors, back wall and roof of the truck.  This material adds mass to the sheet metal panels to prevent them from rattling and creating road noise.  The treatment on the floor helps to block airborne noises such as the sound of the engine or the sound of the tires on the road.  To get the customer able to listen to his own music in his truck, we added a Media Gateway device which allows him to play his iPod in his truck and take phone calls hands-free!  For the front speakers, we used a set of Hertz Hi Energy 6 1/2″ components ran in active mode so that we could have control over the volume of the tweeter in relation to the midrange for a more enjoyable listening experience.  Low frequency duties were handled by a Hertz 8″ subwoofer in a custom built downfiring enclosure that fits right inside the factory center jumpseat.  We powered up the whole system with a new Hertz HDP5 amplifier and an Audison Bit Ten handled the audio processing duties.  Thanks to the EQ and Time Alignment features of the Bit Ten we were able to make it sound like the speakers we installed were up high in the door, even though they were in factory locations down low, and the separation of sounds and imaging would rival most home theater systems!  Don’t believe me?  Come on in and take a listen!

Here you can see the factory center console/jumpseat.

Once the fabric is removed, the foam is exposed.

We removed most of the foam and built a downfiring enclosure identical in shape to take it’s place.

We then rewrapped the enclosure in the factory material.

From the underside, you can see the Hertz 8″ subwoofer, the terminal cup and the six mounting points for the enclosure. This jump seat is more sturdy than it was when we started!

With the jumpseat re-installed into the vehicle, you can see how it fires toward the floor for increased impact.

We applied Stinger sound deadening to the outer and inner skins of the truck’s four doors to cust down on road noise and improve the response of the speaker.

We also lined the front door panels with Stinger Overkill, a foam material that is designed to silence vibrations in the door panel by making it fit very snug.

We applied sound deadening material from Stinger to the rear wall of the truck to silence vibrations from the road.

We also applied deadening to the roof. This really makes a big difference because the roof is such a large flat piece of metal with insufficient bracing.

Here you can see the Hertz HDP5 amplifier that powers the front speakers and the subwoofer, as well as the Bit Ten processor from Audison that gives us total control over the sound reproduction.