About the Rockford Fosgate Upgrade. Did you Know... - Page 6

virnoche · 07-21-2004, 06:58 PM

Well I also have some news.............
After ringing out the whole sound system I have come to following conclusion.

The Midline and RF headunits have exactly the same internals and the difference lies in the harness. After purchasing the NN03, and NN03R wiring kits and ringing them out to be sure I noticed that there are pins and wires on the radio that do not have pins in the factory harness! This was nice because it made it really easy to do remote turn on, and have a common grounding link from headunit to seperate amplifier.

I recently installed a MTX PRO400X5 amp and let me tell it made a huge difference. I may not even add any subs! Bt reversing the front to rears on the amp only I was able to utilize the boost in the low end and so far the factory 6x9's in the doors sound very nice. All HU controls work like they should and anyone that has heard it says it sounds like there are subs under the dash!

The RF thing is a sham in my opinion and I am glad I opted out of it and got the midline. Right now with only about $300 bucks my midline system makes the RF sound like a cheap boombox

bestatchess · 07-21-2004, 08:28 PM

Good to hear, I bought a NN03RB to connect to the RF head unit in order to use after market amps via a LOC. Sounds like the NN03RB will plug into the RF HU, right? Also, I assume you are talking about boosting the low end via the controls in the amp, right?

Let's keep this RF sham thing on the down low, my resale value is dropping fast enough!

BTW, I posted a pic of the back of the RF HU here:

Clarion or Panasonic Head Unit ???

Nuckle · 07-21-2004, 08:43 PM

I think it would have been a tall order for me to get a titan LE with DVD, Nav, rear parking sensors, 4X4, heated seats, locking diff, tow and a sunroof and not get the RF stereo. I will be happy with it when they fix the reception problem. It does not sound any different than my wifes bose in her G35.

Nuck

virnoche · 07-22-2004, 09:20 AM

Bestaches-

Do yourself a favor and order the PAC OEM 2 active line to RCA converter. It costs about 30-40 bucks but does a much nicer job converting the speaker level...OR...low level signals.

I have added a 5 channel amp to the system to perk things up a little bit and was quite surprised at just how good it turned out. What I did was this:

Out of head unit to the PAC OEM2 via a NN03R. RCA's from the PAC to the MTX power amp mounted on back wall. Out of the MTX amp back in a NN03 and into the factory speaker wiring. The only addition to the factory speakers is going to be some really good tweeters mounted in the 'A' pillar. I have auditioned some subs and it looks like it will be a pair of JL Audio 6WO's again. These little buggers HAMMER big time. I compared them to the new pioneer sahllow mount 12 and they absolutely BLOW it away!

I post updsates as I build.

eakes · 07-22-2004, 09:34 AM

Just a note to anyone who may be following this as a guideline for your radio mod:

There is one major difference between the Mid and RF headunit - the final amp for the Mid is located in the HU but the RF system has an external amp.
Virnoche wired out of the Mid HU to his new amp then out of the new amp back to the factory wiring connector to gain access to the in-place speaker wiring. This works without a problem if you have the Mid HU (or the 'stock' HU). If you have the RF HU his method will work but you must disconnect the plug to the external RF amp and jumper accross appropriate pins on that plug to pick up the speaker wiring

bestatchess · 07-22-2004, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by virnoche

Bestaches-

Do yourself a favor and order the PAC OEM 2 active line to RCA converter. It costs about 30-40 bucks but does a much nicer job converting the speaker level...OR...low level signals.

I think I have something equivalent:

http://www.davidnavone.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=N-774V

bestatchess · 07-22-2004, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eakes

Just a note to anyone who may be following this as a guideline for your radio mod:

There is one major difference between the Mid and RF headunit - the final amp for the Mid is located in the HU but the RF system has an external amp.
Virnoche wired out of the Mid HU to his new amp then out of the new amp back to the factory wiring connector to gain access to the in-place speaker wiring. This works without a problem if you have the Mid HU (or the 'stock' HU). If you have the RF HU his method will work but you must disconnect the plug to the external RF amp and jumper accross appropriate pins on that plug to pick up the speaker wiring

I think I am going to just disconnect the RF amp and factory speaker wires and run new 12 gage speaker wire from my new amps. I know it is going to be a PITA disconnecting the RF amp.

eakes · 07-22-2004, 01:41 PM

To disconnect the RF amp you need a flashlight, a 12-inch long flat blade screwdriver and a third hand. One hand puts tension on the plug to pull it out of the socket, another holds the flashlight and the third uses the screwdriver to release the locking tab.
I would try to use the factory wiring to the in-door speakers, especially the front doors. It is a real chore to get additional wiring through the door grommets. It will be a lot more difficult getting new wires in the doors than getting the RF amp unplugged.

bestatchess · 07-22-2004, 01:55 PM

Thanks for the tip on unplugging the amp. So the door grommets are already full? Can I drill a hole and use a new grommet?

eakes · 07-22-2004, 02:13 PM

The problem is that it is really two grommets connected by a 'rubber' tube. Go open one of the front doors and you will see what I mean. One grommet is in the frame, the wiring enters there goes through a tube several inches long to the grommet in the door. Everything is sealed to keep out moisture. You can, of course, cut the tube to facilitate getting new wiring in, but that destroys the seal.

bestatchess · 07-22-2004, 02:26 PM

O.K., I get the concept. What about this type of approach:

http://www.mitsubishi-fto.org/pdf/door_grommets.pdf

eakes · 07-22-2004, 04:18 PM

That will certainly work - if you can gain the necessary access in the kick panel and door. Personally, I would just use the factory wiring, but to each his own.

smoketitan · 07-23-2004, 12:21 AM

there is almost no way to run new wire to the front doors without pulling out the dash-the rear door are not that bad--just use a hangar to run the wire through the grommet I highly recommend just splice into those lines at the exit of the amp under the dash (as it will save a ton of time now,and when and if you ever have to trade the car in--hanign to pull all that wire out of the door) ran the wire from the rear to near the HU and just splice right into the correspondent color

getting that amp out is a real pain--trust me,and if you able to get it out---re installing the four screws becasue of the angle you have to buy one of those flexible ratchet attachments--and if you dont screw them in tight--which is harder than it seems--the they rattle to all heck--VERY BAD DESIGN NISSAN. just pulling the harness that plugs into amp is the friggin worst took me 1-2 hrs just to get the thing out

Tackle the harness--if you value your sanity and back dont try and take the whole amp out it is just a pain in the rear if you ask me

bestatchess · 07-23-2004, 05:17 AM

I had the amp out for XM installation, and I would agree that the amp mounting design won't be winning any awards. I am going to try eakes' method to just unplug it and leave it abandoned.

smoketitan · 07-23-2004, 09:10 AM

oh yeah the navone LOC is way better quality,and will give you a much stronger output (up to 10V--which compares to a excellent aftermarket stereo) than the PAC model. Your sound will be much more clear and the amp will be les likely to blow as it wont have to work as hard