When I mounted the Laser Interceptor control box, I mounted it under the dash for easy accessibility and to keep it hidden. I was a bit concerned about not being able to hear it b/c of the mounting location, but after testing it w/the volume on the unit turned all the way up, I thought it was fine. Fast forward to driving the car with the windows down and the stereo blaring.....not so good at all. I couldn't hear it at all. I didn't want to move the control unit, as there was no place I felt like I could mount it and keep it hidden. My first thought was to hook up an external speaker, so I was going to disconnect the internal speaker and run two outside wires to accomplish this. Glad I like to read install manuals, b/c I found out there's a jumper inside the unit that you can utilize to switch to an external speaker setup, as well as +/- leads on the harness. I switched the jumper and went looking for a speaker. I found this @ Parts-Express:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=280-002
My thought was that I could integrate it into my little control pod w/out too much trouble b/c it is tiny. I wasn't sure about how powerful it would be, and thought I should pick up a mini-amp, so I purchased this as well:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=320-551
My thought was that if I needed the amp, I would have it on hand so that I wouldn't have to a) wait more time and b) I could combine shipping.
After adding the V1 remote, there was just no way I could fit the speaker in the pod and have the setup look clean. I spent quite a bit of time trying to ascertain the best fitment method, and finally resigned to the fact that I was going to have to mount the speaker elsewhere. My mounting criteria follows all cabin-located mods I put in place: it has to be easily reversible, no modifications of anything permanent, and it has to be invisible. After spending another good bit of time trying to figure it out, I found a perfect place: the headliner. I opened the sunroof, then pulled the gaskets from around the sunroof and the door frame.
The speaker mounts *perfectly* in the channel between the sunvisor and the sunroof.
I ran the wires down the pillar, and soldered them to the control box. I was mindful of the fact that there's an airbag there, so I made sure to run it in the channel that's available when the gasket comes off.
It is *quite* a bit louder than it was before, and the headliner, being a mix of fiberglass and foam, is very transparent in regards to the passing of sound. The car is down right now due to some other work I'm doing, so I'll test while driving when I'm done. If I have to wire in the amp, that'll be done, but honestly, it's quite loud now, and easily discernible over the music.