Chandler Client Comes to Handcrafted for Infiniti Q50 Audio Refresh

A few years ago, we installed an audio system in this client’s vehicle. He purchased a 2014 Infiniti Q50 sedan and an acquaintance offered to give him a deal on installing an audio system. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. Unless you have the right knowledge and tools, altering the factory Bose Centerpoint system can cause more problems than it fixes. Thankfully for the client, Handcrafted in Chandler, Arizona, has experience with these systems and we were able to undo the mess. It was time to start this Infiniti audio upgrade repair.

The Door Speaker Upgrades

Our technicians created wood templates to transfer the mounting plate shape to plastic.

Our speaker adapters were made from plastic to ensure a long life.

The Audison speaker was mounted in the factory location on the door card.

The previous shop had removed the factory woofer from the door and installed a set of 6.5-inch component speakers on a MDF adapter plate. We never, ever use wood in a door. It always gets wet, swells up and causes all sorts of problems. To remedy this, we removed the component set and made a new adapter template to fit the factory speaker mounting locations. From the template, we created an adapter for an Audison Prima AP 8 woofer. We keep, label and store all our templates to save time on future projects.

To handle the midrange and high-frequency duties, we used an Audison AV3.0 midrange from the Voce series and an AP 1 tweeter from the Prima series. We mounted both sets of drivers in the factory locations in the door.

The Audison Amplifiers

The wrong way to ground a wire is with stinger screws into metal (as shown by the previous installation photo).

Inferior wire connections were used in the previous installation.

The previous installation resulted in a mangled factory amplifier harness.

When we were done at the factory amplifier, the result was a clean and neat harness.

All our connections are soldered and protected with heat shrink tubing.

We were able to fit both the amplifiers under the rear deck on an aluminum mounting plate.

When the client arrived at Handcrafted, the previous shop had installed a Rockford Fosgate amplifier under the rear deck. The methods and locations where they made their power and signal connections simply weren’t reliable, nor did they result in the kind of audio performance the client expected. We removed all their wiring and tidied up the signal connections. All of our connections are soldered and protected with heat shrink tubing.

We created an amp rack for a pair of Audison Prima amplifiers. An AP8.9 bit powers the front speakers, and an AP1 D mono amp was called on to power the subwoofer. We created an aluminum mounting bracket for the amplifiers. We the rounded the edges of the amp plate to give it a clean, finished look.

The Subwoofer Enclosure

The client arrived with a JL Audio truck box in his trunk. While this is a nice enclosure, it isn’t the right solution for this car. We created a fiberglass enclosure in the right rear corner of the trunk. The enclosure is molded perfectly to the vehicle to make the most of the available space. We mounted the JL Audio 12TW3 subwoofer in our new enclosure. This sub plays nice and low in this relatively small airspace.

Integration and Design

To source an audio signal from the factory Bose system, we need to sum several signals together. The AP 8.9 bit includes signal summing capabilities, as well as the ability to undo factory signal equalization. Once we had a clean signal, it was time to divide it amongst the speakers in the system. We configured the eight-channel Prima amp as a six-channel. Channels one and two run the woofer in the left door, channels three and four run the woofer in the right door. Channels five and six power the midrange drivers and channels seven and eight power the tweeters. The AP8.9 bit has a mono output for the AP 1D subwoofer amplifier.

We started tuning the system using our Audison Bit Tune processor. This device allows us to take frequency response and phase measurements from several locations around the listening position. Once we have the measurements, we can send them to the AP8.9 bit amplifier. Accurate measurements are critical to tuning a system, but so is a critical listening session. We ran through our standard suite of test tracks and made a few final adjustments to the audio system before it was ready to hand back to the client.

Infiniti Q50 Audio Upgrade Status: Complete!

The client returned to Handcrafted to pick up his car. He jumped in for a listen and was immediately impressed with the results. The sound was clear, detailed and focused with all musical genres. He loved having all his trunk space back and was stunned at how beautifully integrated everything looked. If your factory audio system isn’t cutting it, drop into Handcrafted and let us help. You can use our contact form by clicking here.