Basic system installation (continued) – Hybrid Audio Technologies Mirus Series User Manual

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Section I • Getting Started

Basic System Installation (Continued)

In a basic system, the Mirus speakers were designed to be installed in the original factory
speaker locations, most often in the vehicle’s doors, b-pillars, or rear parcel shelf, or in the
event of motorcycle or ATV installation, in the fairing. The Mirus coaxials 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 Mirus coaxials 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
motorcycle fairing, improves spectral response and power response variation between high
and low frequencies.

Hybrid Audio Technologies designed the Mirus-series to be used as a permanent coaxial.
Do not attempt to remove and remotely-mount the tweeter from the midbass driver, as this
will damage the driver and will void your warranty. If you are interested in a convertible
coaxial system that offers the option of remotely mounting the tweeter, please inquire
with your Hybrid Audio Technologies dealer about the Imagine-series convertible coaxial
systems, or any one of our various component set options form the Unity, Clarus, Legatia, or
Legatia SE series.

Once you have determined the mounting locations for the Mirus coaxials, and have
evaluated the circumstances by which the Mirus speakers will need to be installed, it is time
to dismantle the vehicle to access the old speakers. Most dashboard-mounted speakers are
easily accessed by removing their grilles, which are usually attached to the dashboard with
screws or retaining clips. A-pillars are usually accessed by pulling firmly at a right angle to
the panel. Door speakers are usually easy to access as well, either from the front by prying
off the OEM grille, or by physically removing the entire door panel.

Section I • Getting Started

Basic System Installation (Continued)

In all cases, it may be prudent to reference your vehicle’s factory service manual. If you
don’t have a factory service manual, you can go to the Installation Excellence website for
downloadable resources with respect to not only wiring but disassembly of your vehicle,
and the procedures to access your OEM speakers.

With the OEM speakers removed, we HIGHLY recommend the use of a self-adhesive
damping product, such as brand names Dynamat®, B-Quiet®, RAAMmat®, and others. The
reason for the use of damping material is to quiet buzzes and rattles that will be exposed by
the high-performance Mirus speakers, but more importantly to seal up door accesses and
cavities, thereby creating a pseudo “enclosure” for the Mirus coaxials. If the Mirus speakers
are installed immediately adjacent to a large access hole or opening in the door metal,
there will be an acoustic “short circuit” where the front and back waves of the speaker meet,
and cancellation will occur, seriously affecting midbass output. The use of a good damping
product is the single-biggest installation-related improvement you can do to enhance the
performance of your Mirus audio system. And since the Mirus coaxials require an “infinite
baffle”, it is intuitive to seal up the mounting area as best as possible, such as in the door,
allowing the speaker to “see” a large enclosure in the door cavity, kick panel, dashboard, or
wherever you decide to mount the Mirus coaxials.

If you plan to use the OEM speaker wiring, you will likely need to cut off the OEM speaker
plug, and strip back approximately 3/8” (10mm) of insulation to expose the bare wire. It is
recommended that you then install slide-style terminals on the wire, for easy connection to
the Mirus coaxials.

In a basic installation, the Mirus coaxials were designed to install directly into the factory-
supplied speaker baffles or speaker openings. The speaker should fit snug to the baffle
without air gaps; do not force the speaker into a baffle that is too small, as this will damage
the speakers. If the factory-supplied mounting baffle is too small, you will need to build or
purchase an adapter plate/baffle (available at many places on-line or via your local Hybrid
Audio dealer). When tightening your speakers to the baffle, alternate the tightening of the
screws, just as if you were changing a tire on your vehicle, by alternating in a pattern around
the speaker until all screws are hand-tight. DO NOT INSTALL THE SPEAKERS WITH A DRILL
OR DRILL-DRIVER, as the drill-drive will put considerably more torque on the speaker basket
than what is required, and can easily damage the frame of the speaker.