Black Beauty with a Powerful Kick
As a teenager, Anthony Hopper went to see his friend, a drummer, rehearse. It was the first time he had stood in the same space as a mic’d up drum kit and he was overwhelmed at the sheer power of the bass drum. So much so, that he dreamed of replicating the same feeling in his car.
After a number of typical false starts caused by purchasing cheap subs and amps which fell extremely short of achieving anything like the effect he was looking for, Anthony finally got wise and sought out his local FOUR MASTER, Accutek near Winchester. He was soon given a reality check and was convinced that a proper job was going to take a bit more money and expertise than he had previously dedicated to his dream. This set Anthony on an upgrade programme where he saved and then spent in stages whilst keeping his eyes fixed firmly on his goal. Some months and £1500 later, Anthony is already enjoying a well balanced and versatile system which provides him with the excitement from his CD collection that he was looking for.
Anthony’s Peugeot 207 has been given a facelift along the way and the dramatic yellow trim and detail fit perfectly with the image Anthony wants to portray. As an avid member of a Peugeot car club, the colour scheme was chosen; as it looked very different from anything else he had seen which suited Anthony’s search for individualism.
The upgrade began with a change of head unit. It is well known in the car audio industry that the standard head unit in the Peugeot 207 is underpowered and not very sophisticated. Anthony upgraded to a Pioneer unit, which is tastefully integrated into the dashboard and looks like it belongs there. A Hertz HDP 4 Amplifier lies at the heart of the system. This is a versatile amplifier, which has a lot of power for its size and price and being Hertz of course, runs free of distortion. A 4-channel amplifier provides the perfect starting point for a powered system and in this particular case, the front left and right channels are used to drive a pair of Hertz Energy ESK 165 2-way component speakers mounted in the stock positions at the front of the car. The rear left and right channels are ‘bridged’ which effectively doubles the power sent to two Hertz Energy ES250 12” subwoofers.
The front doors have been treated with Skinz sound treatment including damping, wave diffuser and moisture guard which when combined help to project more sound into the car with less lost in the voids behind the mounting positions as well as attenuating road noise while also increasing the life expectancy of the speakers. Connection Best grade cable, connectors and interconnects were used to help keep system losses to a minimum so that amplifier power is heard and not wasted in heating up the cables as can be the case with cheap wiring!
Anthony is delighted with the results to date and describes the sound as crisp and clear at the top end with plenty of deep bass at the bottom – a combination he particularly enjoys. This said, Anthony has ambitions to improve the system and is currently saving up for some serious system upgrades. His activities with the Peugeot owners club have given him an interest in attending more car shows and for this he wants more of everything, he is planning to add an additional amplifier, a Hertz HDP 1 which is a mighty 1000 Watt into 2 Ohms monoblock designed to drive power hungry subwoofers. To balance this he wants to add some door builds at the front, which will accommodate a further pair of full-range speakers running actively providing better frequency separation and control. Speakers always perform better when housed in enclosures of a specific size determined by their specification (Thiele Small Parameters) Anthony also plans further visual upgrades to the vehicle including a new set of wheels. However, being a level headed chap, Anthony has been keen to ensure that the audio could be removed and the car returned to near stock condition if he ever decided to change cars. This can currently be achieved for just £200 and would leave Anthony with all the equipment he needs for his next motor. For the meantime however, he is happy with both his car and this fantastic Audio Heaven system.
Music for Driving
Recommended by Anthony
Mt. Eden – Sierra Leone
Nero – Promises
Example – Stay Awake
Yelawolf – The Hardest Love Song in the World
Bassment Jaxx – Raindrops
Equipment List
Hertz HDP 4 Amplifier
Hertz Energy ESK 165 2-way component speakers
2 x Hertz Energy ES 250 Subwoofer
Connection Best cables connectors and interconnects
Pioneer head unit
Approximate cost of entire system including labour £1500
Our thanks go to Accutek, Winchester for allowing us to shoot the car in their wonderful workshop www.accutek.co.uk
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