Amp purchase

Amp Purchase

So with the replacement of the stock dash and deck speakers, I decided to replace the amp. This was a bit tricky because of the nature of the Saab audio system, but I finally figured it out.

I purchased a JL Audio a6450 (6ch x 45w @4ohm RMS amp) that allows me to do exactly what I need. I will be passing ch 1/2 to the dash speakers on a high pass filter, ch 3/4 to the rear deck with a high pass and then using the combined signals (pre-high pass) to send to ch5/6 where I will most likely sum them and send them to the 6.5" door speakers as a mono channel with a low-pass.

Door Speakers

I am going to replace the 2ohm door 6.5" speakers with some 4ohm 6/5" mid-bass drivers. I am looking at the Phoenix Gold ti-6 which are supposedly decent speakers and affordable ($140US for the pair).

Mounting the amp

The a6450 will be mounted in a false floor in my trunk. I haven't decided if this floor is going to be full floor or only half and have a 'step up'. The only reason for this is because I would like to keep access to the spare tire.

I plan on leaving a second amp 'chamber' for an additional sub amp that will power a single 8"or 10" JL w3v3. I haven't decided on the amp or sub yet. I think I will use a JL a1400 (500w class D) or a JL a1200 (300w class A/B).

Sub

The sub will be mounted in a custom fiberglass enclosure on the passenger side of the trunk. There is currently a small area which is apparently for golf clubs cut out in the side, which if I take off the panel, leaves a nice sized chamber for a single sub. I will hopefully render both the floor and the sub enclosure soon

Speaker Upgrade

First step in getting a better multimedia experience would logically be to replace the speakers. So this was my first step. Thanks to the tutorials from some other guys on the forums at SaabCentral.com (thanks Wulf), I was able to replace the dash speakers easily with some boston acoustic s35's. I then went a little bit more on my own as there isnt a tutorial for the rear deck to replace the rear 4" speakers with some boston acoustic s45's. This was MUCH easier than the front speaker replacement.

Seeing as that there are already tutorials for upgrading the dash speakers available on saabcentral forums, I decided I would simply document the rear speaker upgrade.



First off, I had to think about how I wanted them wired. I went down to radio shack and bought some wire splicers, but then when I got home a light bulb turned on over my head. Here's what I did.







I got some red U hooks or whatever they are called and I snipped off one side of it. I needed two for each speaker. Hence the four I cut.











Then I crimped them onto the cables and hooked them up to my speakers, very easy to do. (sorry about the poor pictures, I'm terrible at taking these close ups while trying to do the work also. haha.









My next step was to get the shelving off the rear deck. this proved to be MUCH easier than anticipated. Fold down the rear seats, this will expose three black interior pins. If you have a pin removal tool, congrats. If youre like me and couldnt find it, just use two small screwdrivers and place on either side of the pin, and pull up together. They should pop right out. do this to all three.

Then lift up just a tad bit to get some leverage and pull back. There are 2 squeeze type connectors that just need to be yanked on a little. Here is a pic of my shelf on my roof.You can't see the squeeze connectors, but oh well. It was very easy to do. Just be sure that they snap back in upon reassembly.

Then use a torx, I'm pretty sure it was a T-25 to get the speakers out. I then disconnected them and just plopped in the BA's. The tabs end up getting bent down a bit, might have been better to get some rubber spacers but oh well.








I apologize for the bad picture taking again, but here is what my connectors look like in the stock harness. I wrapped both of them in heat shrink tubing and then taped them so they wouldnt touch and short out.



So that is the install for the rear deck speakers.