Attempt at 5.1 iRv66 installation

ace911 · 12-06-2018, 12:38 PM

So with my last trailer I had reasonable sound out of two Polk 4.5 ceiling speakers and two polk 6in shallow mounts for the outside. i also used the whopping 20watts of power from the sub woofer output on the Genesis 2.0 to power a cheap Pyle 8in sub woofer in a box I made under the dinette table.
Problem is the outdoor speakers still are too low in volume while the inside is rockin loud. So I figured in the new 2509S i would take the plunge and install the iRV66 with a subwoofer and center channel. I havent seen anyone cover this online anywhere, and Im sure its good reason--the iRv66 is pretty crappy for $300 and the inside of a rv will never properly produce 5.1 surround.
I get it--and Im gonna do it anyway.Stupid is what stupid does- I got the mod bug.
First shot of the location because Im 5ft 4in tall and the location above the fridge is too small and waaay too high.The location is below the kitchen sink on the l shaped that sticks out into the trailer. When you walk in the front door its on the left.

ace911 · 12-06-2018, 12:45 PM

Second shot of the hole I cut and from behind I braced it with 3/4x1 hem fir.
After looking at this location for 3 weeks I was stuck on where to locate this. The radio is 5 inches deep and would not fit behind the drawers it and i would have to re route the water line. I looked at this for several days. Well right after I mounted it I reached down and noticed it was just a little low. No kidding right? Then I noticed that if I would have just relocated the high voltage outlet below and the radio up level with the control panel is would have just barely fit.
But it would have fit. Dont make my mistake, after all the careful planning and figuring I really screwed the pooch on that one. The higher location would have been sooo much better. Ohh well---second mistake. lol

ace911 · 12-06-2018, 12:49 PM

Here is a shot of the radio installed in its new home. Now I removed the stove/oven and the microwave to get to the wiring. 6 speaker wires coming from above, going behind stove, over to radio. Then the hdmi, rca, optical coming from tv to radio. All these I ordered 15ft long and will use every bit of length Im sure. I got sh*t everywhere now and its starting to look like fun.

ace911 · 12-06-2018, 12:58 PM

So when I traced the power from the converter to the stereo it went to the stove exhaust fan first. Then I lifted up the panel to find this little gem. Great idea guys- tie the power source to a noise source then install a noise filter--sheesh. After the noise filter it went back to the radio. So I ran new 10awg from the converter over to the radio location. I cut the wires loose but left the filter in place.

ace911 · 12-06-2018, 01:18 PM

Here is the 10 inch Pyle sub I went with. I couldnt build the box for cheaper so Amazon it was for $34 bucks. Shallow box at 6inches to fit under couch

Lloydg · 12-06-2018, 04:25 PM

It looks like you're doing a real nice job with you're sound system. I just hope that with all the power you're looking to have, that you are courteous to your camping neighbors so they don't have to listen to other peoples music when they are trying to rest, visit, read a book, listen to nature or so many other activities that require a reasonable amount of quiet. Thank you.

ace911 · 12-06-2018, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloydg

It looks like you're doing a real nice job with you're sound system. I just hope that with all the power you're looking to have, that you are courteous to your camping neighbors so they don't have to listen to other peoples music when they are trying to rest, visit, read a book, listen to nature or so many other activities that require a reasonable amount of quiet. Thank you.

Thanks for your kind words. I expected at least a few people to comment on being a noisy neighbor. We usually camp on the beach somewhere, the sound of the ocean is what drowns out those pitiful stock speakers. I keep it so I can hear it while barbecuing mostly. At these same campsites the sounds of everyone's generators drowns out everything else. Folks in the bigger coaches tend to run their gennys all day long. When Im in the mountains its kinda the same thing. The sound of the river drowns out the stock speakers. so I keep them low outside just enough to hear. Im still entertaining the thought of an external subwoofer, but not so sure that would work on not. The sound from the sub would travel farther and could be more of a nuisance even at low volumes. Yeah, but thanks again- I get it- been parked next to plenty of loud mouths with blasting radios to know how that ruins everyone's day.
Tell you a story: Once while camping in the mountains- we pulled into our space only to find a bunch of teenagers drinking and blasting some very colorfull music next to us-they were from a local church-a boys and girls camp if you will. My youngest son who was 12 at the time- is pretty sensitive to vulgar language and asked how long it might go on--I told him the kids are having a little fun--lets give it an 30 min or so before we ask the ranger to shut them down. Well after about 30 min he started crying--he was so disturbed by it. I felt sooo bad for him. Just as I was going out to get the ranger the chaperons came back to the camp site--well they got shut down--no more music. My little buddy was so happy. Never forget that. Some folks can be very sensitive to loud music and I think some people just dont get it.
Thanks again!

**Flybob** · 12-06-2018, 05:10 PM

After looking at the photos, you may have to rename this thread "My 2509S Rebuild"

MCTroy · 12-06-2018, 07:23 PM

Ace911, of we ever happen to camp side by side, put on some classic rock or good country and crank it up! Your system looks great. I am jealous. We have the irv66 but limited modification skills. Good luck!

CurtPutnam · 12-06-2018, 08:05 PM

I would think with all the noise generated by the ocean breakers and the babbling brooks in the mountains that Bluetooth into a good set of earphones would produce superior sound, at less cost and with less chance of annoying neighbors. I know I use headphones for critical listening at home, speakers for background stuff.

That said, I commend you for a nice clean installation and for at least thinking of others. Last year, one of two trips was pretty much ruined by a guy who played the same CD for 2 days = just loudly enough to be annoying to me, his neighbor.

ace911 · 12-07-2018, 12:38 AM

Here are the Polk speakers I used with the 1 inch spacers. I painted the set up but didnt bother to paint the center where the tweeter is. coulda woulda shoulda.
Yeah and its upside down. lol

ace911 · 12-07-2018, 12:41 AM

Here are more just general shots of where the wiring is ran, and how its attached-moslty zip ties. The area behind the stove was perfect for all the wiring to go through.

ace911 · 12-07-2018, 12:46 AM

picts are sideways---I fished the wires down the side of the refer with a fiberglass pole. They came out underneath the refer behind the converter and went behind the stove in previous photos. Thats 7 channels of speaker wire, along with 2 HDMI cables and one Optical cable. That should cover it. I tested the system through just two front channels and used the HDMI in the ARC position on the radio which worked well. Then used the optical for sound from the tv-for when streaming netflix/amazon prime etc- worked pretty well. Hope it all comes together in 5.1 when all the speakers are running.

ace911 · 12-07-2018, 12:48 AM

More mod carnage inside the trailer. And I couldnt believe it but used 200 + feet of 16 awg speaker wire. ran 7 channels and two subwoofer channels for a total of 9. All in that small trailer. Thats alot of wire for a 20 watt stereo system. lol!
Tomorrows another day.....

ace911 · 12-08-2018, 12:46 PM

Removed the stock speakers and used the Retro pods for the outside speakers. I painted them with the Rustoleum primer spray paint. Well I can verify it aint much of a primer! its already flaking off in a couple spots. This is the second pair I have painted, the other pair was white so I primered them first with no problems. If you paint these, make sure to use a good primer. These primer/paints are a gimmick. Dont skip that first step.
Anyway mounted the Retro pods and sealed them up from the inside. Then ran a bead of black caulking on the outside since the pods were black-second mistake- dont ever use black caulking on the side of a trailer-what a sh*t show that was. They came out pretty good, sound just decent with the stock head unit. They are missing the low end, and sound tinny and empty. When the indoor sub is playing, it sounds soooo much better. Even though the indoor sub is only being powered by 20 watts. The Polk db651S are marine rated, shallow mounts, but the best part is they have a Sensitivity of 92db which makes them super efficient with the low power of the head unit. (They are a couple years old because i took them off my other trailer. These have since be replaced with a newer model) The 10 inch Pyle marine subwoofer also has a very high sensitivity rating of 93 db.

ace911 · 12-10-2018, 11:34 AM

The center channel was one of the unknowns when I was designing this system.
I couldnt find a decent quality 4ohm center channel. Furrion makes a sound bar you can mount under the tv, but the quality is lacking. So I new I would be building a box for the center channel. Here is the mock up.

ace911 · 12-10-2018, 11:40 AM

Spray painted them flat black for the mock up and bent the speaker mounting bracket so that it would hold the speaker at the right spot.

ace911 · 12-10-2018, 11:45 AM

After mounting the tv up I didnt like the speaker box. It was too big. I was trying to keep some volume in the box for the 4x6 speaker to work with. After listening for a couple hrs I figured its such a low power system that cutting the box down a little wouldnt hurt. I could always stuff it with some poly fill if needed.

ace911 · 12-10-2018, 11:50 AM

I painted it gloss black because thats what i had, but its too shiny.lol. It will be finished in satin black. Here is the gloss black version.

ace911 · 12-12-2018, 01:33 PM

So after spending a couple days listening and watching various sound/tv inputs, I think the new system was worth the extra effort. I really had my doubts going into this. I have built systems for houses, cars, boats etc. The irv66 is the weak link, and the system is under powered. Besides the tv and center channel being off to the left and not centered between the two front channels, it still works pretty well. It does not have the sound stage front and center because of that issue. So withing the confines of a rv it does work pretty well. There is plenty of volume for movies and it can get quite loud. The sub woofer under the couch works great. Although when walking around the rv, you lose the sub woofer standing towards the front speakers, away from the couch. It seems the couch is not letting the energy out into the rv.
Hoping to keep this trailer for at least 10yrs after all this work!

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