[rockwarrior985]

Ok so I am ready to get the ball rollin on the sound system. I have my mind made up on running one 12" shallow mount sub under the backseat. I will swap out all factory speakers and add 2 tiny tweeters as well. All I need to know is what kind of amp I need to get sufficient power to everything. I only want to run one amp. So tell me how many watts and channels I need to do this. Thanks in advance!

 

[Hyperguy]

Ok so I am ready to get the ball rollin on the sound system. I have my mind made up on running one 12" shallow mount sub under the backseat. I will swap out all factory speakers and add 2 tiny tweeters as well. All I need to know is what kind of amp I need to get sufficient power to everything. I only want to run one amp. So tell me how many watts and channels I need to do this. Thanks in advance!

I did pretty much what you're trying to do in my DC. If you're interested, you can see what I did here.

http://www.tundratalk.net/forums/tundra-audio-visual-discussion/101613-07-double-cab-sub-options.html


Look in to a good 5 channel amp. Crutchfield has all the specs on their site.

5-channel Amplifiers at Crutchfield.com

 

[Kylebechtold]

If you are going to change out the back door speakers as well I would do a a 5 channel. I would recommend just spending the money on some better front speakers and then get a good 4 channel. Use the 2 front channels for the front speakers and bridge the 3 and 4 channels for the sub. try to find around 100 x 4 amp that will give you all the sound you need.

 

[JasonH]

It depends,of course, on how loud you want it and what speakers you choose. You'll need more power for less efficient speakers. Caution: not all amps have bridgeable outputs. Also, it is better to have more power than you need, than to underpower your speakers. A good audio store associate should be able to help you match up amp to speakers. I would recommend about 4x100W channel (2 for front, 2 for rear - be sure to add high-pass capacitors in series with them additional tweeters you add, which you'll connect in parallel with your other front speakers) plus a dedicated amp for your sub (at least 200W)

 

[rockwarrior985]

thanks fellas

 

[hero913]

1. Excellent set of component 6.5 for the front

2. Some 5.25 / 6.5 for the rear (I'm gonna install components in the rear too this weekend)

3. Shallow mount sub

5. 5 Channel amp

6. A nice stereo with various EQ settings (5 band/level minimum) and has 3 pairs of RCA pre-outs




Crutchfield isn't your only source. If you're trying to do this on a budget, find out what you like on Crutchfield (they usually weed out garbage brand items) and search for them on the net. Crutchfield sells most of their stuff at MSRP but once in a while you can snag come great clearance deals and don't be afraid to ask the salesman if they can do anything to drop the price, sometimes they have coupon codes they can apply to your transaction. amazon is a great source!!

I was on an Ultra low budget but I bought high end stuff by shopping around (google will become your dearest friend). (JBL 5 channel GT amp, JBL 6.5" component system, MB Quart 6.5" component system for the rear, rockford fosgate punch p3 shallow mount sub, etc...)

 

[loknload]

1. Excellent set of component 6.5 for the front

2. Some 5.25 / 6.5 for the rear (I'm gonna install components in the rear too this weekend)

3. Shallow mount sub

5. 5 Channel amp

6. A nice stereo with various EQ settings (5 band/level minimum) and has 3 pairs of RCA pre-outs




Crutchfield isn't your only source. If you're trying to do this on a budget, find out what you like on Crutchfield (they usually weed out garbage brand items) and search for them on the net. Crutchfield sells most of their stuff at MSRP but once in a while you can snag come great clearance deals and don't be afraid to ask the salesman if they can do anything to drop the price, sometimes they have coupon codes they can apply to your transaction. amazon is a great source!!

I was on an Ultra low budget but I bought high end stuff by shopping around (google will become your dearest friend). (JBL 5 channel GT amp, JBL 6.5" component system, MB Quart 6.5" component system for the rear, rockford fosgate punch p3 shallow mount sub, etc...)

Why are you going to install components in the rear? Rear speakers are only there for fill and, most of the time, should be turned off or down very low. If you leave equal fade between front and rear all it does is puul your soundstage back and down instead of leaving it up and in front in the middle of your dash board. I have a $600 set of CDT components up front running off of a $600 Boston Acoustics reference amp along with a Pioneer 5500 head unit and two 10's in a ported enclosure and, until recently, stock rear speakers. Unfortunately, I forgot I had faded the rear speakers in when my kids were in the truck and didn't fade back to the front after the kids got out. The first time I cranked up the volume I lost one of my stockers. So, I went out and bought a set of Alpine SPS-610's for a whopping $50 and put them in. My point is that I think you are spending money that could be put toward upgrading something else in your system on speakers that should be inaudible most of the time. Some people think their system will be louder if they put more expensive or higher wattage speakers in the rear. In some cases this might be true, but in most cases it is not. Plus with the stockers or a cheap set of coaxials you don't have to mess with running more wiring and finding a place for crossovers and then mounting a tweeter.

 

[hero913]

Why are you going to install components in the rear? Rear speakers are only there for fill and, most of the time, should be turned off or down very low. If you leave equal fade between front and rear all it does is puul your soundstage back and down instead of leaving it up and in front in the middle of your dash board. I have a $600 set of CDT components up front running off of a $600 Boston Acoustics reference amp along with a Pioneer 5500 head unit and two 10's in a ported enclosure and, until recently, stock rear speakers. Unfortunately, I forgot I had faded the rear speakers in when my kids were in the truck and didn't fade back to the front after the kids got out. The first time I cranked up the volume I lost one of my stockers. So, I went out and bought a set of Alpine SPS-610's for a whopping $50 and put them in. My point is that I think you are spending money that could be put toward upgrading something else in your system on speakers that should be inaudible most of the time. Some people think their system will be louder if they put more expensive or higher wattage speakers in the rear. In some cases this might be true, but in most cases it is not. Plus with the stockers or a cheap set of coaxials you don't have to mess with running more wiring and finding a place for crossovers and then mounting a tweeter.

All great points, however I really like my sound stage to have a 360 degree presence. As far as the cost goes, I was able to snag those MB Quart components for rear, for a whopping $30 (brand new!!)

1. Crossovers will be mounted on my amp rack
2. The MB Quart system actually comes with a very efficient crossover so I can mount that ANYWHERE... I am planning to place the tweeter from this component nice and high, shooting downwards to fill the cabin. I'm gonna mount is w/out tearing up the fabric or anything. I don't care about that one being flush or not.
3. The JBL amp I bought is more than capable of handling all this stuff that I throw at it.
4. I'm already doing the work to run speaker wire, might as well run it to the rear while I'm doing all of this. At least this way, if I decide against components, I can at least run some alpines like yours or JBL/Infinity coaxs in the rear and hit their true potential by powering them with an amp!

In the end, this is all experimental for everyone right?

We all have different "needs" from our sound systems. We just need to make sure we're truly achieving what we are looking for and not just throwing away resources and getting nothing out of them.


I will say one thing though, After I replaced my HU my stock speakers sounded really good. Then I got the itch to change the speakers. Ended up buying some cheapo Boss for $30 total for front and rear (both 4 way speakers) and I gotta tell you, I did love the detailed sound presentation from the front and rear. What I did miss was the bass. That's when I decided to get an amp and sub. But once I decided to throw an amp in there, I decided what the hell, just get a 5 channel amp (since there wasn't a dramatic price difference). After that, I shopped around and picked up all my gear one by one (painstakingly, trolling websites for the lowest possible prices)

 

[loknload]

Fair enough. I would've probably thrown down the $30 for them too. It sounds like you know what to expect. I see a lot of people throw money into rear components and then wonder why they can't get their system to stage correctly. Once they shut off the rear speakers or fade mostly to the fron, the sound stage jumps right back up on the dash where they wanted it and the money that they spent on rear components goes mostly unused unless there are more than 2 people in the truck.

 

[hero913]

Fair enough. I would've probably thrown down the $30 for them too. It sounds like you know what to expect. I see a lot of people throw money into rear components and then wonder why they can't get their system to stage correctly. Once they shut off the rear speakers or fade mostly to the fron, the sound stage jumps right back up on the dash where they wanted it and the money that they spent on rear components goes mostly unused unless there are more than 2 people in the truck.

By all means, I always welcome suggestions!!

But yeah, I completely understand where you're coming from.

Unfortunate folks who haven't done their homework think:

1. If I throw money at this, I will attain a bad ass system.
2. Cheap companies = bad product & Expensive = good product
3. Expensive Coax is just better than a cheap set of components
4. Huge power numbers = louder music


About the rears, to be honest, I was gonna leave the stock one's in for bass but once I realized I was getting an amp and a sub, I decided to upgrade it to better speaker. I was in the market for some coax for the rear but it was hard turning away $30 price tag for a component set made in Germany...(shame on all the big name brands having their products come from China [jbl/RF/some of alpines/kenwood/etc...])

 

[mossman77]

Components in rear--definite no-no. You don't need series capacitors because your components will come with crossovers. If you want awesome sound staging, install your front speakers in kick panel enclosures or tear out your center vents and install a center channel. I suppose your foot brake would get in the way though so maybe that isn't an option.