For a car audio manufacturer, a demo vehicle represents an opportunity to highlight and display its product line in a creative manner that will captivate onlookers with the sharpest of visual images and provide them with an earful of audible perfection. While accuracy and clarity are obvious goals when creating an audio/video system for demonstration purposes, Xtant's installation team would agree that a real crowd pleaser should also be able to crank out enough bone-jarring bass to rattle windows from three blocks away. Behold the best of both worlds in the form of Xtant's 2002 Saturn Vue.
The project started in 2002 when the Xtant team, fronted by Jason Plank, acquired the Midnight Blue Saturn Vue you see here. The team obtained a pre-production model before the Vue went on sale to the public, which added to the, "What the heck is that?" factor. The mid-size Vue offered the design team an opportunity to display its unique product line in an equally unique vehicle. The entire installation was completed in three weeks at the Mitek facility located in Clarksville, TN.
While the stock appearance of the Vue may be good enough for your average soccer mom, the Xtant team decided to spice things up a bit. It was first given an altitude adjustment by way of Suspension Technique's 3-inch lowering springs, front and rear. Once the Vue was out of the nosebleed section, the obvious upgrade was a set of chrome 20-inch Konig Arrive Radianzz rims wrapped in 245/40/ZR20 BF Goodrich G-Force TA rubber. With the ride height and rims in check, the team then applied a set of custom silver and blue vinyl graphics to complement the flashy rolling stock. The Xtant logo, and those of the additional contributors to the project, are proudly displayed and incorporated into the graphics design that spans the length of the Vue. Finally, the windows were tinted and a full set of blue Street Glow neon and strategically placed strobes were installed under the vehicle. The combination of all of the exterior upgrades creates a visually striking, rolling showcase for the Xtant product line. The, "What the heck is that?" comments from onlookers most certainly are now more like, "Wow, I still don't know what that is, but I sure want one."
The Vue, having undergone a radical transformation of its outward appearance, was now ready for the installation of an equally radical audio/video system. The team began by completely gutting the interior and applying a layer of Noise Killer Extreme to all of the exposed sheet metal from top to bottom. This type of sound deadening is an absolute must when installing a system of this magnitude. After all, who wants to be heard from three blocks away if the bass notes sound like marbles being shaken in a steel trashcan? With the sound deadening in place, the next task was the routing of the Street Wires power cable, 12-gauge speaker wiring, and ZN6 audio/video interconnects to their respective locations, soon to be occupied by a host of Xtant and Kenwood equipment. At this time, the installation team also added five additional SVR 80 batteries in the cargo area of the Vue to provide ample voltage for the soon-to-be-spectacular audio system. StreetWires strands, in the 1/0- and 8-gauge varieties, were used for both power and grounding duties. With the copper framework of the audio system in place, the team then began the daunting task of reassembling the vehicle's interior and fabricating the intricate structures to house the multitude of high-end audio/video equipment.
The entertainment starts with a Kenwood Excelon KVT-910DVD, CD/DVD player/tuner that features a 6-inch motorized foldout monitor, and also supplies the video signal to the other two monitors in the rear of the vehicle. Rather than simply stuff the unit in the gaping DIN-and-a-half opening in the dash with a standard dash kit, the Xtant installers molded the factory dash bezel to fit the new DIN-sized unit with fiberglass mat and resin. At the same time, the bezel was modified to accommodate a center channel by removing the factory AC vents and fabricating a recessed mount that aims the single Xtant XIS2.6 driver towards the dome light. Once the fit and finish was confirmed, the bezel was then sanded smooth and color matched to the Vue's exterior. Complementing the source unit is the Kenwood 5.1 processor mounted underneath the driver's seat. The processor is controlled entirely by the source unit, which made the hidden install a possibility. The team opted to utilize only the 11-band parametric equalizer built into the source unit because of its flexibility and ease of operation, thus eliminating the need for additional processors or crossover networks. The audio signal from the 5.1 is then fed directly to the six Xtant amplifiers.
A total of 2400 watts of surround sound generated by the amplifiers is more than enough power to duplicate, if not surpass, the aural experience (that means your ears, pervert) that we are accustomed to having only at the movie theater. Three Xtant A Series Titanium 4004 amplifiers are used to drive front and rear stages, the center channel, and the rear-facing demo speakers. For the low end, three Xtant A Series Titanium 6001 amplifiers each drive one pair of the subs. As mentioned earlier, no additional processors or crossover networks were used in the system. Instead, the installers chose to utilize the crossovers built into the amplifiers themselves to illustrate the flexibility and features of their products. This decision freed up more real estate in the back of the Vue to display the multiple amplifiers in a very clean, yet trick fashion. The factory panels on each side of the cargo area were replaced with custom fabricated fiberglass units that cover the rear window and provide the mounting points for four of the amplifiers. The other two amplifiers were mounted to separate fiberglass panels on either side of the subwoofer enclosure in the area formerly occupied by the rear seats. All six amplifiers were mounted to acrylic panels that are backlit with neon.
Fortunately for the installation team, the front doors of the Vue already had factory speaker locations, so only minor trimming of the sheet metal was required to accommodate the Xtant XIS2.6 drivers. Prior to installing the speakers, Noise Killer Extreme matting was applied to the door inside and out. With the door panel reinstalled, the front stage drivers are completely concealed behind the factory grilles. While the front stage maintains its factory appearance, the rear stage features a much more elaborate installation. As you work your way back to what was formerly the cargo area of the Vue, you will notice that the rear stage is housed in a V-shaped bridge fabricated out of MDF and fiberglass that extends down from the top of the side panels and spans the gap above the sub enclosure. This slick creation houses not only a pair of forward-facing Xtant XIS2.6 drivers and an 8-inch Icon monitor, but also contains the identical drivers and monitor aimed to the rear of the vehicle for demo purposes. All of the drivers are flush-mounted towards the outside of the bridge, while each of the monitors are back-loaded into the hexagonal-shaped pod in the center of the bridge. This blends well with the six hexagonal-shaped subs that reside directly below.
Perhaps the most prominent feature of this installation is the diamond-shaped subwoofer enclosure that occupies the majority of the cargo area and extends forward into the former rear seating location. The basic structure of the 7-cubic-foot enclosure is MDF, while the fluid-like top portion of the enclosure is comprised of fiberglass laid over stretched fleece coated with resin. The shape of the enclosure fires three of the six Xtant X124 12-inch subs toward the front of the cabin, while the other three are aimed back towards the rear window, with the last sub to the rear inverted to display the impressive magnet structure. The two triads of subs appear to be melting into the enclosure, which is molded in with the other custom-made panels that occupy the rear of the vehicle. The only other components in the rear of the Vue besides the subs and amps are the two Street Wires stiffening capacitors mounted in their own custom fabricated fiberglass panels behind the subwoofer enclosure. All of the fiberglass panels have been smoothed, color matched to the exterior of the vehicle, and trimmed with tan vinyl to match the rest of the interior. The end result is a remarkable amprack/sub enclosure that seems to have been molded into the vehicle all in one piece. It both compliments and displays the Xtant equipment beautifully. The attention to detail on this focal point of the installation is truly indicative of the skills possessed by the Xtant installation team.
The completed audio/video installation was complemented by color matching additional interior components such as the gauge cluster bezel and the center console. And just in case you didn't catch who the manufacturer of nearly every component in the vehicle is, custom-embroidered floor mats emblazoned with the familiar Xtant logo adorn both the driver and passenger footwells. To see more of the Xtant Vue, you can catch it on tour this year at various dealer events and mobile electronics shows across the country. The Xtant team would like to extend special thanks to all of the contributors to this project, including BF Goodrich, Konig, Street Glow, V-racing, Icon-TV, Suspension Techniques, and Matworks.
Shop Box
xtant R&D Facility
Jason Plank
Phoenix, AZ
www.xtant.com