Audio System Upgrade Thread 04 Tahoe

[YukonXL04]

Cool! Congrats, the big 3 definitely helps with the voltage drops. did you ever figure out which amplifier setup you were going to run?

 

[04whitetahoe]

Rockford Fosgate R600-4D and likely Rockford Fosgate R500X1D

which amplifier setup you were going to run?

Hey Shawn,

The Rockford Fosgate R600-4D puts out 100 watts RMS x 4 @ 4ohm (600 watt RMS peak), making it a great match for my Alpine SPR 60 speakers, which are 100 watt ea. RMS – so I’m planning to stay with that Amp for my door speakers.

For my sub-woofer, I first planned to do a powered sub, but I’m now looking at a Rockford Fosgate R500X1D amplifier to drive a 12” speaker in a ported enclosure.

500 Watts driving a 10” or 12” speaker should be all the punch I would need.

I haven’t narrowed down my sub setup yet, but that’s my latest thoughts on the subject. I need to find out more regarding the pros and cons of ported/non-ported enclosures for subs – as well as the need/desire for a 12” versus a 10” speaker.

If you or anyone else has thoughts about sub-woofers, please feel free to chime in!

Joe

 

[YukonXL04]

It really all depends on your wants. I say go with the biggest you can afford. I can't count how many times I have installed subs, then replaced it 2 or 3 times for people because they end up wanting more. You can always turn it down, but you can only turn the up to the limits of components.

 

[1/4milecrazy]

I'm sorry but I totally slacked on getting pics, although I still have not finished everything up so I will try to remember when I start putting things back together. I finally have everything all wired up but I got a slight alternator whine, so I have to figure that out too. I started doing a "big 3" but I have to look into what others are doing. I did the alternator to the battery so far.

I also want to look into getting the speaker box recovered with a matching tan carpet. The old school grey speaker box carpet looks horrible in the tan interior.

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

big three upgrade is basically changing out yer batterys ground wires with zero guage wires and adding an extra zero guage power wire off yer alt. i was pretty impressed i get no voltage drop between teh battery and amp now wich is good

 

[04whitetahoe]

Speaking of the Big 3 Upgrade.........

started doing a "big 3" but I have to look

big three upgrade

Speaking of the Big 3 Upgrade, I got my stuff in the mail:

And...... Santa asked what I want for Christmas, so chose my head unit and compatibility harness:



Pioneer AVH X5500BHS

CRUX SOOGM-15

Next, I'll go looking for wire loom materials to do the Big 3!

Now if only one of the elves would find some amplifiers, a sub-woofer and some wiring laying around Santa's workshop.

 

[04whitetahoe]

Big "3+1" Complete

Got "The Big 4" upgrade done today. It wasn't too bad to do once you have all of the materials gathered. Learning how much heat to put to the wire to get solder to melt was a bit of a learning process - glad I bought a couple extra lugs and extra length of wire!



Alternator connection finished:

Here's my chassis to alt bracket cable with soldered lugs:

3 Ground wire runs: 1 from alt bracket to chassis, 1 from batt to alt bracket, 1 from batt to bumper bracket.

Chassis connection:

Knu Koncepts connections to battery:

Decent photo of all of the wiring:

Time to get serious about some sound.

I think my next step is to decide where to mount my amps and how to get power to them.

 

[04whitetahoe]

Hey Shawn - Went for the 750!

YEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWW

Ordered my Amps today:

Door Speaker Amp -- Rockford Fosgate Prime R600-4D, 4-channel car amplifier — 100 watts RMS x 4

Sub Amp -- Rockford Fosgate R750-1D, 750W RMS Class D Monoblock Prime Series Car Audio Amplifier

I'll next need to order my KnuKonceptz wiring and find a sub. My sound system is getting there!!

Joe

 

[YukonXL04]

Awesome man. Looks like it should be a nice system when done. Got a love buying one part per paycheck lol.. Whatever it takes man! So which sub were you thinking about using? Gonna go alpine or Rockford to keep with the brands? Lol

 

[HortonHiresAHoe]

Hey Shawn,

The Rockford Fosgate R600-4D puts out 100 watts RMS x 4 @ 4ohm (600 watt RMS peak), making it a great match for my Alpine SPR 60 speakers, which are 100 watt ea. RMS – so I’m planning to stay with that Amp for my door speakers.

For my sub-woofer, I first planned to do a powered sub, but I’m now looking at a Rockford Fosgate R500X1D amplifier to drive a 12” speaker in a ported enclosure.

500 Watts driving a 10” or 12” speaker should be all the punch I would need.

I haven’t narrowed down my sub setup yet, but that’s my latest thoughts on the subject. I need to find out more regarding the pros and cons of ported/non-ported enclosures for subs – as well as the need/desire for a 12” versus a 10” speaker.

If you or anyone else has thoughts about sub-woofers, please feel free to chime in!

Joe

New guy here, but thought I'd chime in. I have been through the same thing as far as contemplating sub/amp choices (good choice on amp btw). IMHO, I'd suggest going with a non-mainstream sub such as Incriminator, SSA, DD, Sundown, etc... These companies offer a much better driver for significantly lower prices because they do not pour millions of $$$ per year into advertising. For instance, a 1000W Incriminator LI retails for around $275

That 750 would push an Incriminator Lethal Injection series, DD 2500 series, of a SSA GCON very nicely.

As far as sealed vs ported goes... These trucks don't lend themselves well to a ported application if you want to retain your cargo area. Whatever route you decide, make sure that you have a nice enclosure. Proper box building gets a little over my head when trying to keep them a small as possible while maximizing output. Steve cook w/ Audio X is currently doing an install for me for a dual 10" or single 12" setup. My main goal is to keep it as clean and tight as possible as I still plan on using my cargo area. I know mine is a different model, but you can follow this build thread if you're looking for enclosure ideas.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...y/159125-audio-x-inc-project-black-build.html

 

[04whitetahoe]

....a 1000W Incriminator LI retails for around $275

That 750 would push an Incriminator Lethal Injection series, DD 2500 series, of a SSA GCON very nicely.

As far as sealed vs ported goes...
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...y/159125-audio-x-inc-project-black-build.html

Hey Daniel, Thanks for the suggestions regarding the Subwoofer. I've decided to go non-ported enclosure, but have not yet decided on a Sub, so this will be helpful as I research what I will get.

Joe

 

[HortonHiresAHoe]

No problem. Below are some great resources, but be very careful... that's a rabbit hole that's hard to come back from I started off wanting a simple 10" kicker CVR in a console powered by a zx400.1 that I already had, but quickly spiraled outta control! The components alone are twice as much as I intended to spend on the whole setup.

caraudio.com - slanted more toward spl

diymobileaudio.com - those guys are all about sq. Some of the installs in their "Build Logs & Project Install Gallery" are simply amazing. The SQ stuff is waaaaayyyyy outta my budget tho

store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/ - best pricing I've found w/ free shipping and great forum

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[04whitetahoe]

Ordered Sub Today

Just ordered my new sub:

SA-12 D2 - Sundown Audio 12" 600W Dual 2-Ohm SA Series

Now to learn about sub boxes and get the right one as well as get my order in to KnuKonceptz for my wires and I SHOULD have all I need for my sound!!!

OH YEA!!!!

 

[YukonXL04]

Sweet, Congrats man. What kind of box are you thinking?

http://www.sundownaudio.com/index.php/products/subwoofers/item/sa-series.html
Go there and download google sketchup and then download their file for the single 12, it has a 3D view of the box also has the cut sheet for each piece of wood.

Wish you were closer, I would like to hear that sucker next to my RE, curious how it sounds.

 

[HortonHiresAHoe]

Nice!! Should sound amazing.

 

[04whitetahoe]

Sub Box Suggestions???? F3 of 46Hz

Sweet, Congrats man. What kind of box are you thinking?

Hey Shawn, Don't want to build my own.

Looking at this box that is close to the speaker spec which is

Recommended Box Specs (Sealed): 1.0ft^3 (Yields F3 of 46Hz)

Any input?? At 1.1 Cu Ft, this is the closest I can find to what my speaker spec wants.

No mention of F3


http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_62462_Ground-Shaker-CP-1-12-GRAY.html

Nice!! Should sound amazing.

Thanks!

Any speaker box suggestions?

I can't seem to find any specs on pre-made speaker boxes that reference the F3 of 46Hz, only the cubic Ft. volume.

Any good boxes besides Ground Shaker?

 

[YukonXL04]

The specs are just telling you what the f3 is if used in that box size...

Honestly I would run ported

 

[04whitetahoe]

Hey Shawn,

I've read that ported is more for rap Boom Boom music and it's not "as clean" of a bass sound as sealed.

Also that and sealed is more for rock, jazz and such. I like classic rock.

Is that not true? Why do you like ported?

 

[YukonXL04]

It really depends on the sub. I have had different results with different subs, It also depends on the tuning of the box, the most common problem I would say with ported boxes is a humming sound when it hits certain higher notes. Tell ya what, Call up sundown and tell them your sub/amp and music preference and see what box they recommend.

For example I partially bought my sub to go in a sealed box, the specs show that it can be used so I went with it. When I was done I called RE's tech support and he strongly recommended me trying a ported box. He said while they show their subs can run sealed, they are meant for ported applications.

As far as the ported for rap, sealed for rock debate. It really comes down the the subwoofer, that sundown should be a great sub. I would expect good sound quality from it in a ported application.

I am running mine in a 1.0 cu.ft. after displacements ported box tuned to 34hz. For me thats a little high, my next box will be tuned to 31hz. But all in all I am extremely surprised how it sounds in a ported box. I listen to a variety of music. Rap, Country, Old rock, New rock, and some in between stuff as well, so I needed something versatile. This does it for me.

 

[HortonHiresAHoe]

SA series will sound good sealed but were really designed for ported enclosures. With a properly-built & tuned ported box, the sa will have greater efficiency with a more controlled response. The sealed for rock, ported for rap myth is just that. It's all in the box... a great sub will wound mediocre in a junk enclosure and a mediocre sub can sound great in a nice box.

You can fit a ported box for a single 12 in the quarter panel area