Car Stereo Advice

The stock stereo in my F150 blows donkey balls. I turn it up all the way and I could still have a conversation with the person next to me. Not too cool. I have never cared to mess with stereo stuff, b/c it has always been satisfactory, until now.

From looking through Crutchfield, and talking to some shops, it seems like the best place to start would be an amplifier for the stock setup. I have been told that stock speakers can handle alot more. Is this true?

What brands of amp would you guys recommend? How many watts do I need to go to each speaker? I eventually want to replace the stock speakers with better ones (components?) and a good head unit (I like the Kenwood ddx7015)

I am also anal and would like all the components of the system(amp, speakers, head unit) to be from the same brand.

Suggestions?

I would replace the actual stereo first. You would be suprised at how much better stock speakers sound when they actually have enough power supplied to them.

I like crossfire amps and speakers.

i would update the head unit first too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aggieblazer07

I would replace the actual stereo first. You would be suprised at how much better stock speakers sound when they actually have enough power supplied to them.

---

I agree. With my high quality $9.99 wallyworld speakers and an old beat to hell radio I had to have it cranked up all the way to try to hear it going down the highway. Now with a blingity new stereo I can crank it up half way and hear it fine hauling down the road with the dump open. Also has better bass to loosen up the rust :gigem:

yea i would replace the head unit first as well. with a decent one, you will be able to get around 50x4 watts max to each speaker which is alot better than what the stock radio can put out. then once u get tired or blow the stock speakers, u can replace those with some aftermarket ones. i bought a panasonic head unit from crutchfield that has lasted me 6 years with no problems yet. i also replaced all my stock speakers with polk audio also from crutchfield. they arent the best but crutchfield had a buy one get one free deal going so i did it and havent had any problems yet.

just like everything else it depends on how bread ur willing to spend, for the money pioneer and infinity are good component speakers and u should use a 400x4 amp and thats gonna be all the mids and highs u can handle, now as for subs the JL w3 is ur best bet and run like 500w to that and ur truck willl sound badass

400w x 4?? Damn I can not find an amp more than 125x4

I just bought a head unit out of a Lariat, so it has mp3 and 6 disc. I'll replace the head unit eventually, but if I was looking for an amp for the speakers, preferably small in size and self cooled, what might I look for?

I like Infinity. They have a 111w x4 and a 56w x4 for $300-400

JL has a 75x4. Does JL make quality amps?

JL amps are the best in my eyes, also PPI and Pheonix Gold JL makes a 400x4 so does mtx and kicker

i have a precision power 4x80 and am happy with it so far. as for the subs, i just bought the new jl audio 12w1v2, it is a higher end w0 and it slams really hard. i have 2 in a single cab chevy with a 320 watt amp and its all i need.

just get a decent 4 channel amp (25~30watt per channel). you may pull the speakers and take a look at the ohm rating. I know GM's Bose systems have whacked out ohm ratings. Some are in the neighborhood of 32 ohms. Don't have any experience w/ ford stuff. Make sure the amp has a built in crossover. This will go a long way if you can control the gain and the frequencies going to the speakers. You then can get that clean sound at high volume levels. Also check out the amps Thd rating. the lower the better..cleaner sound. You want to look at RMS ratings as well. Peak watts are just that, Peak.
I have an Alpine V12 amp in my suburban that was in it when I bought it. Seems to be a pretty high-end amp. I think it is around 75 watts per channel. I have JL audio 6.5" drivers in the rear door w/ crossovers and component JL's in the front doors. Some kind of Kenwood MP3 head unit. It thumps pretty good for only having 6.5" speakers, even better now that I tuned it. I believe the guy before had a sub and was filtering out all the lows. This will all change when I Daisy chain another Alpine amp w/ the 10" Infinity sub I just bought. They are on sale at Crutchfiled for 59 bucks. What to ya'll see my kickass sub box made from 3/4" solid core Red Oak Veneer Plywood. The joys and perks of working in the hardwood business.
To some up my advice:
Buy a 4 channel amp and speakers to replace the the OEMS. Speakers are cheap for the upgrade in sound vs. dollar

This is how you are supposed to set your **** up.

Attachment 18713

bought some bang for the whip down at the local stereo shop

whats a good amp to use with these? Factory dead head receiver

I needed some 4s the other day ago and couldn't find any, made some 4x6s fit.

Looks like they're rated for 35 watts RMS. I would find a name brand amp that is 25x4 RMS and has high level inputs. You going to add a sub too?

already got a sub and amp. RF Punch 300 and Blaunpunk 12"

Flem, I have a JBL amp that would probably be perfect for those. Its yours if you want it.

Sweet. Think Shawn would do a disco headliner?

What's next? Dubs?:flipoff2:

Yes, I'm sure he would....if you take it out first. I doubt he wants to disassemble a rover.

You'd be wasting your money buying an amp for those speakers. 35 rms isnt a lot of power, and most aftermarket head units will put out at least 30 rms. Save the coin, and just run the 4's off the head unit. If you havent bought a head unit yet, try to find one with a preout for the sub so you can hook up your amp/sub combo easily. This will also give you better sound quality overall.

I like JBL a lot, I'm ordering some of their marine speakers for the bronco soon.

is a dead head unit. It needs a 4 channel amp anyway.

I've got a ****ty amped head unit in there now with the preamps out to the punch, but the factory one should be getting here soon from the rebuilder and rather than going to pick and pull and getting a factory LR amp that uses common grounds for the speakers I'd rather put something ethnic in its place.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sharpe

What's next? Dubs?:flipoff2:

---

can't find any steel twinkies in 5 on 6.5

Check Rent-A-Rim

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hot Pocket

You'd be wasting your money buying an amp for those speakers. 35 rms isnt a lot of power, and most aftermarket head units will put out at least 30 rms. Save the coin, and just run the 4's off the head unit . . . This will also give you better sound quality overall.

---

Slow down there turbo.

Flem has already explained why he needs an amp, but I feel compelled to clear the air a little further.

1 - Most aftermarket head units don't push 30 watts RMS. I would be impressed with 20, seems 14-18 is the norm.

2 - You want to run the maximum rms wattage possible to those little guys, with as litttle THD as possible, which an amp will always do better. Distortion is their biggest enemy.

3 - Funny that you reccomend a preout for sound quality, but discount the dedicated amp.

4 - 35 watts RMS is more power than most folks realize. Blame 1000 watt amps running at 1 ohm or less or THD greater than 1% with SN ratios in the 70s.

5 - The crossover on an amp will be much better (12-24 db/octave) than whatever is built in to a headunit or inline bass blockers will provide. Again, vital on a small speaker.

6 - Lastly, don't forget to pay attention to the input test voltage on equipment. Most have moved to 14.4, which is greater than what your car will be producing normally.

If you dont grab freds amp, call lance and tell him he owes you one.

get lances and i take freds! :)

Ive got a 300w amp if anyone wants it

I want it. Won't be making it up to Bryan though. Somehow I ended up with lots of subs and no amps, would like to put one in the dodge again.

I have a kicker 25i in the jeep. It is 25x2 RMS. I have had aftermarket stereos that claim greater power but none are as loud or sound as good.

Back in the day I had a Punch 150HD. Then a 300 watt Linear. When tested they both put out about 4 times their rating. Been thinking of asking Flem to fix the Linear.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by eight

Back in the day I had a Punch 150HD. Then a 300 watt Linear. When tested they both put out about 4 times their rating. Been thinking of asking Flem to fix the Linear.

---

bad idea, while reading this I thought to myself "what the hell is a linear"

besides, I don't shine shoes no more



now I've got the headliner out to get the whale foreskin applied and I'm thinking that while I'm at it I should add an XM antenna. Do any stores have those, or is that internet mail order only stuff?

The sea shepherds have really ****ed the whale foreskin market.

its really alaskan pollock, but they dye it to look like whale

this stuff gives some nasty paper cuts

Attachment 18719

Hope you never have to remove that. I have two strips in the back of the bronco that I can't get out.

XD400/4

now to figure out why the alternator is screaming over the speakers

grounding issues. Ground amp directly to body. Run power line seperate from RCAs. Ground radio seperately. Roughly in that order.

he also ran a ground all the way to the battery which could be a issue.

it was doing it even with the sub amp fuse pulled.

I messed with the grounds and not much changed. Rovers use a a single common and 4 signal wires for the pre-amp out of the head unit. The common is braided shielding wire and it got a little better when that was grounded. I pulled all of the input RCAs out of the headunit and plugged a 3.5mm to RCA wire and threw the ipod on. It sounded great, no whine.

Tomorrow after work I'll probably kluge some female RCAs on to the Rover harness and buy new shielded RCA cable instead of the home made speaker wire and radio shack terminals its got now.

Tonight I lopped off the end of the speaker harness and added RCA jacks, ran some shielded 6' radio shack wire behind the dash to the amp.

The result sounds great, all of the alternator whine is gone. I now own the car stereo I wanted when I was 16 :gigem:

http://www.flemcodesign.com/pics/harness.jpg

Someone school me on adding a sub or two in my suburban. I have to replace the component speakers that I killed and might as well add a sub or two. I don't want anything that's going to rattle it to pieces, just enough for some good bass with the music. I got a gift card to Custom Sounds and they carry stuff like Rockford Fosgate, JL Audio, Alpine, and Kenwood, but I have no idea how to decide what to buy. I get all sorts of confused when people start talking about ohms and all the other dick measuring specs they say you need in a sub and amp combo.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sparling

Someone school me on adding a sub or two in my suburban. I have to replace the component speakers that I killed and might as well add a sub or two. I don't want anything that's going to rattle it to pieces, just enough for some good bass with the music. I got a gift card to Custom Sounds and they carry stuff like Rockford Fosgate, JL Audio, Alpine, and Kenwood, but I have no idea how to decide what to buy. I get all sorts of confused when people start talking about ohms and all the other dick measuring specs they say you need in a sub and amp combo.

---

Who are you?

If Tommy still has my sub, I have a sub/amp combo that I'll let go real cheap.