© Hybrid Audio Technologies, 2010
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Section I - Getting Started – Basic System Installation
Now that you have unpacked the Imagine box and have verified that all of the parts are
included, it is time to evaluate the vehicle for the impending installation. If you feel the least
bit uncomfortable about the installation, have the Imagine speakers installed by an authorized
Hybrid Audio Technologies dealer.
The Imagine speakers are an incredible high-end speaker
system, but will only be as good as the installation; a poor installation can negatively affect the
performance of the Imagine speakers.
Should you decide that you can handle the installation yourself and feel confident that the end
result will be adequate to reap the performance benefits of the Imagine component system,
you will need to have certain hand tools available to you for the installation. These include,
but may not be limited to:
•
Cordless drill/driver with a 1/8” drill bit and a Phillips head and a few assorted Torx
screw driver bits with an attachment (a hand-operated screw driver and/or torx driver
will also likely work);
•
Certain vehicles may require an assortment of Allen wrenches to remove the old
speakers and/or panel screws;
•
A panel-popping tool (retaining clip removal tool) to remove panels in the vehicle (such
as door panels). In a pinch, a large flat-head screwdriver does work, but damage to
panels or retaining clips can result;
•
A wire cutter and wire stripper;
•
Electrical tape; and
•
If you plan to use the vehicle’s existing speaker wire, you will need to know which wire
is positive and which is negative at each proposed speaker location. If you’re unsure,
we highly recommend the use of
Installation Excellence
, an on-line resource for
wire colors, wire locations, fit guides, and technical support. To access the Installation
Excellence site, click your mouse on the blue-highlighted text above.
In a basic system, the Imagine midbass speakers were designed to be installed in the original
factory speaker locations, most often in the vehicle’s doors or rear deck locations (more
advanced locations that provide an additional level of performance are discussed in Section II
of this manual, if you’re interested in learning more). The Imagine midbass drivers are infinite
baffle-capable speakers, and must be mounted in a “large enclosure”, or as close to it as
possible, with unrestricted access to airspace to ensure the speaker’s ability to effectively
reproduce its wide frequency bandwidth. The reason why the speaker was designed in this
way is highly empirical. When a speaker is mounted in a small closed box, it radiates as much
energy forward of the cone as it does rearward of the cone. All speaker cones (diaphragms)
are a weak sound barrier at best, and the result of the high amount of energy being “pushed”
into a small enclosure is the energy transmitting through to the outside of the cone (an
additive phenomenon to the incidental wave). Consequently, Hybrid Audio has designed the
Imagine midbass to work well without an enclosure, and as such, should not be significantly
prone to enclosure back-pressure and sound coloration when placed infinitely baffled. The
“infinitely large” enclosure, such as one might find in a door panel or in a rear deck (rear
