It has been quite a long time since ABTEC4 has had a mention on here (Since 2012 if I remember correctly), so when Ashley mentioned that it was time to upgrade the Car Audio in the little Toyota bB I thought it would be a good time to do a little write up on it!
Since starting with ABTEC I have seen a few changes happen to the company vehicles, some of this may or may not have had something to do with me but of late we have had a few discussions of the direction of ABTEC4.
Since ABTEC1 had become a Demo-Machine with a DD-Z21 and DD-VO all round, ABTEC2 is our mobile movie theatre and ABTEC3 is used for SPL and Demo’s with the DD-Z18 and DD-A Series Components it made sense that ABTEC4 went down a more subtle Sound Quality route.
When George was given some choices on speaker selection I was very surprised as he wanted to get some Focal but was looking at the entry level side of things. As the day went on Ashley convinced George to look at the Focal PS 165 FX for the fronts and Focal PS 165 F for the rear.
Now that the Speakers had been chosen for the little Toyota bB it was time sort out an Amplifier to push the Focal PS 165 FX/F! Choosing an Amplifier was an easy feat considering we have a store room full of them and Ashley had already pulled aside an Alpine MRP-F550 4-Channel Amplifier for the job.
When it came to choosing a Subwoofer and Mono-block for ABTEC4 it was an even easier task as for the last several months George had been trying different Subwoofers in different Subwoofer Enclosures till he had found a combo that gave him the sound & bass response he was after. What he ended up with was a Digital Designs DD-712-D2 in a Horn Subwoofer Enclosure being powered by a Digital Designs M1a.
Now it was time for the install to start and this time round it looks like pretty much everyone got involved except myself as I was busy writing a blog (This one in fact) at the time. From what I saw and have been told Darryl attacked the front doors like a madman with Dynamat while the rest of the team worked on other parts of the install, I must say the doors on the bB feel a lot heavier and this is a good thing as the more Dynamat you apply the nicer the speakers on the door generally will sound.
Once everything was installed George drove around for a good week letting the Focal Speakers run in, once this was done Ashley asked him his opinion of the setup and George replied that its the closest he has had to his old Boston setup that he had years ago and since George is a massive Boston fan I would class that as a huge compliment.
As you can see, a good amount of effort has gone into getting the Toyota bB just right and not to over the top at the same time. Combining great equipment with a good amount of team work has left ABTEC4 ending up Sounding Alive!
I’d like to thank Ashley for his commitment for making sure everyone involved with ABTEC gets their Demo Vehicles sorted with not only a personal touch but also to levels worthy enough to be used as a Demo Vehicle be it at a show, competition or even daily outside the shop!