I'm lucky enough to be the owner of the MR2 that the folks at Empeg are using as one of their test cars. And no, despite PaulH's insinuations I'm not a hairdresser! :)
The MR2 is the GT T-Bar model which means that the stereo system is uprated compared with non-GT T-Bar models. As it comes "out of the box" as it were, there are 8 speakers; tweeters high up on the doors, mids low down in the doors, mids on the door pillars behind your head, and powered subs behind each seat low down. There are two DIN slots in the dashboard.
I have a 4Gb blue-front empeg unit in the lower of the two slots and a Philips Carin 440 Navigation Radio in the upper slot. The Carin is powering the speakers itself with it's 4 x 35W out, i.e. there are no external amps in my system. I'm using the front pair of high level (4V) outputs from the Empeg (which appear as a pair of phono sockets on the docking cradle's wiring loom) to feed the aux inputs on the Carin (which appear as a pair of phono sockets on the Carin's wiring loom). Connecting the two is a high quality pair of phono leads. The Empeg unit is powered from a relay switched permanent live supply, with the relay switched by the aux power out lead (designed for switching external amps I think) of the Carin. The Empeg is wired like this rather than to the car's accessory live for two reasons; first the Empeg relies on the Carin for amp and speakers so there's no point in it being on unless the Carin is, and second the Carin can be switched on independent of the ignition switch so the Empeg needed to follow suit. The Carin unit has a feature called SDVC (Speed Dependent Volume Control) where it increases the audio volume as road speed increases, a *very* handy feature in a car with the engine just behind your head!
The only real problem found during the installation was that the Empeg's outputs and the Carin's inputs both had a floating ground. This was fixed short term by connecting a piece of wire between the outer of one of the phone leads at the Carin end and a suitable bolthead on the car body. Longer term this will be fixed by using one of the leads that Hugo has mentioned are being made. There will be no functional difference once I switch to the new lead, but it will look neater. The MR2 gives a very sporty/hard ride and lets you feel every tiny bump in the road, yet even with some enthusiastic driving (all in the name of testing the Empeg unit of course) I've not managed to make the unit jump or noticed any problems at all. The local council is currently resurfacing the roads in my village so I have about a mile of "washboard" style road to play with and the Empeg copes fine.
I think that's about it as far as the installation goes. Not much to say really except that it is very similar to an ordinary car radio install except that you need an external amp (the Carin in my case) and you have to be aware of the floating ground issue.
I'm very pleased with the quality of the unit, the install, and the audio it produces. The sound isn't quite as nice as in Hugo's A-Class (which I had a listen to earlier this week) but then he does have the advantage of a very nice speaker system. I may consider uprating the MR2 speakers later, and would probably choose Inifity Kappa as that's what I have in my other car. I won't go into details about the unit itself on this post as that would probably be better in the reviews forum. Though I've had the unit for almost 2 weeks now, it has only been installed and working in the car for a few days and I'd like to use it a bit more before commenting on it. So far so good though. :)
This install was done by Dominic at Cambridge Car Audio, who have done audio and security installs in both my cars. If you're anywhere near Cambridge and would prefer someone else to fit your Empeg unit rather than do it yourself then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend CCA. I have no connection with them except as a happy customer. As Hugo mentioned, they installed the Empeg A-Class too, so they're without a doubt the worlds most experience Empeg installers so far. :)
If anyone has any specific questions on the install, please feel free to ask. I'd suggest asking on this board rather than by email so that everyone can see.
I'll try to get some pictures of the install and stick them on the web somewhere.
Cheers,
Mark.
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