Greetings!

Well, my install occurred today. Wow!

Let me just start off by stating that this is my first, non-factory
car audio installation. I figured, if I was going to do something
different...

I wanted to keep my factory head unit - a CD / Tape / Tuner. Even
the people at the installer said that the factory unit had a pretty
decent sound. Relatively speaking.

My head unit was routed through a speaker to line level adapter.
This is now in use as the aux in on the empeg. Works fine.

The empeg itself then runs to a brand new Alpine MRV F357, a 4
channel amplifier with built in crossover and subwoofer support. This
is to become important later on.

The amp connects to my original factory speakers. I was specifically
warned not to go too high on the amp power (or at least to watch the
volume) lest I blow out the speakers. Not a problem - usually I listen
at fairly low volume.

The install took about 5 hours. My decision to keep the factory head
was a complication, but not a major one. As it turned out, my car (a
1998 Buick Riviera) has an ash tray and a built-in CD holder below it.
Since I don't smoke and the empeg would handle most of my bulk music
needs, both items were expendable.

The empeg was mounted in the area where the CD holder was. The trim
from the factory, including some after market wood grain, was kept.
The empeg sits slightly _below_ the level of the original CD holder.
The trim fits quite nicely over the empeg, and the space from the ash
tray. The opening left from the CD holder is big enough so that the
entire fascia is visible, but it covers the handle and the outer edge of
the player. This means that I must remove the trim cover plate to slide
the empeg out of the sleeve. I don't foresee this as a problem - with
the removal of the ash tray, the trim piece is very easy to remove and
to refit.

The result is a very clean look (I will get photos eventually...). In
fact, it is almost totally stealth - unless you know it is there, or look
very closely, you do not know the empeg is there unless you are in the car.
Even then, the edges are hidden by the wooden trim. The amp and subwoofer
are in the trunk.

Oh, yes... The subwoofer... After showing off the unit to the team that
was working on my car (two sales and three installers - all of whom were
extremely impressed by the empeg, by the way...), they decided to wire the
amp and trunk for the subwoofer, even though I was not going to buy one.
During the sound check, I sat in the car, played around, and then they
turned on / connected the subwoofer...

I know that it was said in another thread that if you really want to
improve the sound of a stock factory install, get a sub. Well, this
convinced me! I drove out with the subwoofer (Kicker SE-S12L7) in car.

All in all, I am extremely happy with the install. The look cannot be
matched!!! I have, unfortunately, some alternator whine. The installers
are not at all happy about that. We verified and tried most of the tricks
(power and audio on opposite sides of car, etc.). They have some line and
power filters on order. I hope that will improve the situation. Both the
installers and I can hear it, although my first passenger did not notice it
until it was pointed out.

My install was performed by Zippo's Car Stereo, located in Central New Jersey.
They were recommended to me by my car dealership, and are known in the area
for high end car audio and video installs. They really did a great job, and
I am very impressed by what they have done - I just hope to get rid of that
whine next week when the filters come in. If anyone needs work done in the
area, I would certainly recommend them.


Paul G.
Q# 15189
SN# 090000587 (40GB Green)