Posted by: CMU
Lotus Elise S1 Empeg Install - 05/12/2004 15:56
Could this be the first Empeg-equipped Lotus Elise? Ok, it's a very silly car to build any kind of audio equipment at all into, but I do quite a lot of miles and need my music! My home-made car HDD MP3 player recently suffered a fatal flaw after some 4 years of reliable service. An Empeg was the only way to go of course.
Usually, doing my own work on the Elise is either trivially easy, or absurdly impossible. It is built like virtually no other cars in existance and although it is very simplistic, some jobs are just horrible. Luckily the Empeg install went very smoothly (thanks in no small part to Gavin - gbsallery on here).
I'd found a nice small light cheap amp. I have no real need for decent sounding audio kit since the Elise is an acoustic nightmare anyway. It slotted easily into a vast empty space discovered behind the dash. The ISO connector on the car and the amp practically worked straight out of the box - minor modification required for RCA leads and to switch the amp on/off more intelligently. The Empeg sled fitted in perfectly, and the Empeg itself booted and played music (even with left/right wired correctly) first time! Just took a couple of hours easyish work, and not even a tiny electrical fire! How pleased was I?
The Empeg fascia even matches the dashboard of the car perfectly. I could use a new handle - the current one was broken by the previous owner. I think I may also need to get an amber lens to match the Elise's amber clocks, but other than that it's all worked out perfectly.
Usually, doing my own work on the Elise is either trivially easy, or absurdly impossible. It is built like virtually no other cars in existance and although it is very simplistic, some jobs are just horrible. Luckily the Empeg install went very smoothly (thanks in no small part to Gavin - gbsallery on here).
I'd found a nice small light cheap amp. I have no real need for decent sounding audio kit since the Elise is an acoustic nightmare anyway. It slotted easily into a vast empty space discovered behind the dash. The ISO connector on the car and the amp practically worked straight out of the box - minor modification required for RCA leads and to switch the amp on/off more intelligently. The Empeg sled fitted in perfectly, and the Empeg itself booted and played music (even with left/right wired correctly) first time! Just took a couple of hours easyish work, and not even a tiny electrical fire! How pleased was I?
The Empeg fascia even matches the dashboard of the car perfectly. I could use a new handle - the current one was broken by the previous owner. I think I may also need to get an amber lens to match the Elise's amber clocks, but other than that it's all worked out perfectly.
Be sure to check out the lenses link above to get an amber lens! I am extremely happy with my lenses from Filener!
