Gear gets old, but a great install design doesn’t age, as is evidenced here with this amazingly sophisticated system by top installer Calvin Thomas from a while ago. We saw a lot of bad custom cars for celebrities over the years on the magazine. And we unfortunately even ran a few (or perhaps more than a few!). This is definitely NOT one of them. The car may be owned by Jermaine Dupri, but stands as a testament to the talents of another type of artist, the kind that turns a ride into more than a mode of transportation. I think it’s safe to say that had Calvin had an opportunity to work on a major build like a lot of the “Best Customizers”, he would’ve been on that list. —Ben Oh
When you don’t come home “‘til 8 in the mornin’” you need a smooth ride that provides sound quality rivaling your studio. Jermaine Dupri has been a music powerhouse since the early nineties when he introduced Kriss Kross to the world (we won’t blame him for the unfortunate fashion side-effects). As the founder of Atlanta’s So-So-Def Recordings, Dupri has worked with such acclaimed artists as: Jagged Edge, Usher, Mariah Carey, Bow Wow, Da Brat, Xscape and countless other popular Rap and R&B musicians. At the ripe, young age of 19, Dupri turned his fancy to automobiles and with a bank account to support his automotive creative urges, and began his association with Car Tunes of Atlanta. Over a decade and 25 cars later, the team has produced yet another hit single, the 2000 Mercedes Benz S500 featured in Car Audio magazine.
As the owner of countless top of the line automobiles, music producer Jermaine Dupri had little use for this 2000 Mercedes and decided to offer it as a dare to his friends at Car Tunes. With little instructions, and even fewer limitations (remember the song “Money Ain’t a Thing”), the team at Car Tunes was challenged to “make [Dupri] want to keep it”. Car Tunes faced the pressure of not only of pleasing Dupri’s discerning ear, but integrating a fine audio system into a visually pleasing package to ensure that Dupri’s comrades feel at home (read: add lots of sophisticated bling). Lead Installer Calvin Thomas and store manager Jeff Smith, both IASCA competitors, corroborated to provide Dupris’ 2000 model with 2004 technology in a seamless install. The system is not overly showy, blending with the Mercedes’ subtly luxurious interior, but the sound divulges the time, energy and talent the dynamic duo invested in the car.
Up Front
The factory bezel which once housed the factory A/C controls and radio were removed to make room for a new custom bezel fabricated out of body filler, that was sanded smooth and painted silver to match the car’s exterior. This bezel is the new home of Alpine’s flagship CD Player, the CDA-7990 along with an Alpine 6.5-inch LCD monitor. The monitor provides Dupri with directions to the nearest Cartier store and allows him to enjoy a DVD en route (Poetic Justice, perhaps?). The brain for the navigation, the Alpine NVE-852A is discreetly located underneath the passenger seat. Inside the glovebox, Dupri has the option of loading six audio or video discs into the Alpine DHA-S680 6-disc changer controlled through the Alpine 7990. When Dupri runs out of fresh cuts in the changer and tires of local radio commercials, the Alpine TUA020M XM Radio with XMAT RF controller gives him over 100 channels of digital satellite broadcasts. The XM antenna TERK XM3 is mounted on the exterior of the car and painted to match the Benz’s silver paint.
Big Beatz
Since Dupri usually cuts a CD in the studio and then takes it to his ride to demo, MB Quart (Microphone Builder Quarternote) speakers were installed throughout the Benz. In the front doors of the car, the MB Quart QSD 164 6.5” midbass and QSD 210 4” midrange are installed in custom baffles. The bottom of the door panel was removed to fabricate baffles for these drivers out of MDF and fiberglass which was later rewrapped in vinyl to ensure the interior maintains a seamless appearance.
In the A-pillars of the Benz, Calvin Thomas with the help of installer, Brandon Shane, mounted MB Quart 1” tweeters that he integrated using body filler then rewrapped in gray suede. The tweeters are located in the A-pillars to maximize the width and height of the audio soundstage presence. The rear doors are accompanied with a MB Quart QSD 210 4” midrange and a MB Quart 1” tweeter. All of the grills were sanded smooth and painted silver.
When Dupri switches his system source to DVD format, a 5th channel of audio appears from the center of his dash. This center channel is a custom-built pod painted to match the car and home to a single MB Quart QSD 213 5 1⁄4” midrange and 1” tweet.
Back that Thang Up
Opening the custom-embroidered trunk lid reveals four logos well-known throughout the audio industries: SoSoDef Recording, Alpine, JL Audio and MB Quart. Because this ride sees a lot of time on the street, trunk space is premium. The spare tire was removed and a custom fiberglass enclosure was built in the wheel well to house four of the inverted surround MB Quart PWE 254 10” dual voice coil subwoofers with titanium coating. These subwoofers display true German engineering and incorporate the latest technology to provide competition-grade sound quality with street credible sound-pressure levels. Being a celebrity does have its perks as Car Tunes of Atlanta laced Jermaine’s ride with the first production shipment of these subs to Georgia. To protect these four works of art, Calvin made an acrylic cover: you can look, but don’t touch.
In each side panel of the trunk resides a JL Audio amplifier. Calvin chose these amplifiers because “The JL Audio amplifiers have plenty of power allowing us to use two amplifiers to power the entire system rather than three or four. These amplifiers gave us the ability to keep the trunk symmetrical on both sides.” On the left side lies a JL Audio 450/4 “The Big Block” which provides 2×150 watts of raw power to the front doors and 2×75 watts to the rear doors. The JL Audio amplifier is the 1000/1 model providing 1000 watts to the subwoofers. Both of the amplifiers were installed in fiberglass tubs that were sanded and painted to match the color of the car’s exterior.
In the deepest part of the trunk rests the heart and soul of the system, the Alpine F#1 Status PXA-H900 processor. This processor was Car Tunes’ weapon of choice to tame this audio beast due to its powerful DSP processing and level of flexibility. The processor receives the digital audio signal from the CDA-7990 then performs all of the digital sound processing that was programmed by Jeff Smith before sending the analog signal to the amplifiers via IXOS 700 series RCAs. IXOS 1 gauge power wire feeds the pacemaker-like Alumapro 5 Farad Capacitor outputting power via (2) IXOS 4 gauge wires. The 4 gauge wires then feed two of installer-friendly IXOS FB840 Mini ATC distribution blocks that straddle each side of the processor.
David Kinard of Car Tunes also laced the Benz with aftermarket performance mods as well (what can’t these guys do). He first outfitted Dupri’s ride with new shoes, 20” Lowenhart LD1 with Bridgestone Potenza SO-3 tires with custom painted inlets. To make the car even more intimidating he equipped the ride with a mean Lorinser body kit.
With all the audio equipment installed along with 48 sq. feet of Dynamat Extreme, a Lorinser exhaust was then bolted on. Combined with a Renntech CPU chip upgrade and air intake they give the Benz some of its horsepower back that the audio system’s weight has taken away. With a system of this quality, Dupri is set to find the next platinum hit while tearing up A-town’s streets.
Car Audio and Electronics
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