Aftermarket stereo

[Ford428CJ]

I have a few grand in my stereo. I run a Alpine Head with a DSP, Set of 6.5", 4", 1" Cantons Pullman RS3 , (2) 12" Kickers Solo-baric D's and a Phoenix Gold ZX500 (for subs) and Another Phoenix Gold Xenon 100.4 for my mids/highs! I think you can tell that I love my music like I love my Ford's .

 

[riotwarrior]

Well at this point I have Dual 6.5"s in the doors and Dual 6x9's in the rear sides custom made of MDF. Dual is the brand name....like the really nice old belt driven turn tables!

Currently the factory head unit is in the dash but in time that will be replaced with either a CD, or DVD not sure which at this point.

I use XTC speaker buckets in the door to help ward off some damage from water leaking in from the outside.

I have a 10" sub that will be mounted in once I remove the internal spare!

At this point I plan a good single channel amp for my sub and 4 channel for the other two pairs of speakers.

I'll use a kit to patch the head unit into the factory harness. It only cost about 14 bucks.

I just purchase bulk 4GA wire to run power to amps. There is already a fused 4Ga power into the cabin along with a ground wire. I have splitters so I can pull off power and grounds for my amateur radio and scanner and other accessories.

At this point I am picking up to much intermodulation from the freaking computer so I'll be so pleased once it's yanked as the diesel wont be needing it.

 

[redneckaggie]

razorback i didn't catch what model you had but my friends mid 80's 6.9 had to have a constant ran because there were no programable channels and clock. The constant wire powers the radio and memory, the ignition or remote whichever you want to call it just swithes a relay inside the radio to turn it on, the power ant is not needed, if you install an amp just power the remote wire for the amp off of the ignition, the 12v + HAS to be ran to the battery and do yourself a favor and buy a wiring kit if you don't then make sure you put a fuse on the 12v+. The rca cables are simple- R to R and L to L. I have two 12" speakers behind my seat with a 1000 watt amp. I am about to go to one 12 with 1600- 2500 watts- i'm not sure which. Why one instead of two? well you have to match the speakers to the volume of your box, I have 1.75 cu ft of box space and the 12 that i want to go to requires at least 1.5 cu ft of space. Also use an ohm meter to match your ohm ratings on the amp and speakers. don't run maximum power rating to a sub if anything run a little over rms.

I am 18 years old and have been doing audio and video systems since i was 15 I have spent a lot of time reading and listening to audio experts in my area. Only 15 % of the quality of an audio system is the equipment used(head units, speakers, amps) the rest is quality sound proofing, wiring and speaker enclosures. okay i think i'm done ranting but i love audio as much as i love mechanics.

I'm excited man, for once there is something on here that i can give quality info on

 

[razorback]

mine is an 87, so im just going to have to run another wire from the battery to the radio and throw in a fuse between there?

 

[redneckaggie]

thats what i would do say a 15 amp fuse and move up from there if it blows right away

 

[razorback]

ok thanks, ill have to try that.

 

[89Firebird2.8]

That's what I had to do in my car.

 

[razorback]

ok. ran the wire from the battery with a fuse, the pioneer woudlnt work.. kept trying..nothings. finally got another stereo and hooked that up..came right on..then i tried to wire it to the truck itself..it worked..so my radio was bad. thanks for the help guys.

 

[cleithau]

Off the subject of capacitors, I like the headliner thing Mel is using. I made my own out of finish grade 1/4" oak. Looks good but not professional. In winter time when I had my stereo in the dash and I had the heat going for a long time and the music up loud (the door speakers were still powered by the head unit) the CD play would overheat and would stop playing till I gave it a break. You can feel in the dash with the stereo removed it get very hot in there. Just wondering if anyone else had this problem. Once I move it out of there I have never had the problem since.

 

[Ford428CJ]

I am 18 years old and have been doing audio and video systems since i was 15 I have spent a lot of time reading and listening to audio experts in my area. Only 15 % of the quality of an audio system is the equipment used(head units, speakers, amps) the rest is quality sound proofing, wiring and speaker enclosures. okay i think i'm done ranting but i love audio as much as i love mechanics.

I'm excited man, for once there is something on here that i can give quality info on

Not quite true in the car audio world! You get for what you pay for...... I was like you when I started out and now about ready to turn 34. And then I did it professionally for a while. I would say that good quality components are a good part of it. I would say 80% and 20% for the wiring. Granite that you are using the right gauge stuff. Sorry but audiovox doesn't compete with Cantons, Eclipse, MB Quarts or Phoenix Gold and so on. Big difference.....

 

[tractorman86]

like mentioned in my sig i have a set of three JL 10w1's which are cheep but put out exelent sound when pushed by a Rockford Fosgate power 1001BD backed up by a Rockford Fosgate 1000farad capacitor which is hooked to a Alpine deck(can't remember the model but it was $700 when new) oh and Alpime Type-X 5 1/4" component speackers. yes using the right size wire and good connectors are the key!

 

[riotwarrior]

Not quite true in the car audio world! You get for what you pay for...... I was like you when I started out and now about ready to turn 34. And then I did it professionally for a while. I would say that good quality components are a good part of it. I would say 80% and 20% for the wiring. Granite that you are using the right gauge stuff. Sorry but audiovox doesn't compete with Cantons, Eclipse, MB Quarts or Phoenix Gold and so on. Big difference.....

Ya I tend to agree with Ford428CJ as a Rockford Fosgate certified installer since the early 90's I would say you need to put more faith in equipment for good sound.....

Having the pleasure of installing some nice equipment Orion, Fosgate, Denon, Kenwood, Pheonix Gold, MB Quart, Carver, Infinity for a about 3 years I would say that the equipment is the biggest percentage of what makes a quality sound system.

Of course one needs to realy understand the basics of math to build quality sub enclosures matched to the driver. There is so many variables to consider that affect the overall image of the sound.

Amps, head units, EQ's and X-Overs all play into it along with the wiring as well. Proper installation is key as well....making the most of the stock locations by using sound board behind the speakers in doors really improves the tonal quality for ex.

Hope this can help to clear up a slight misconception.



JM2CW

 

[tractorman86]

Ya I tend to agree with Ford428CJ as a Rockford Fosgate certified installer since the early 90's I would say you need to put more faith in equipment for good sound.....

Having the pleasure of installing some nice equipment Orion, Fosgate, Denon, Kenwood, Pheonix Gold, MB Quart, Carver, Infinity for a about 3 years I would say that the equipment is the biggest percentage of what makes a quality sound system.

Of course one needs to realy understand the basics of math to build quality sub enclosures matched to the driver. There is so many variables to consider that affect the overall image of the sound.

Amps, head units, EQ's and X-Overs all play into it along with the wiring as well. Proper installation is key as well....making the most of the stock locations by using sound board behind the speakers in doors really improves the tonal quality for ex.

Hope this can help to clear up a slight misconception.



JM2CW

that's a big +2