Audio overhaul for my S-10.

[DonJuan692006]

I've got a 2000 Chevy S-10 extended cab that I'm looking to replace the stock speakers in. I listen to a wide range of music so I'm not looking for anything to suite a specific genre. I think I would be good with replacing them with some decent component speakers.

Per Wikipedia here I've got 6.5" speakers in the door's and 4x10's in the back pillars.

Click to read more...

 

[UMWDawg92 10+ year member]

do you have an amp for the speakers? If not you should invest in one otherwise your components won't run anywhere near their potential

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

agreed, without an amp you'll have a lower listening volume and higher distortion with the head unit.

in that price range, it's good to find local shops and listen. even big box stores like Best Buy have a decent selection in that price range. Pioneer, Kenwood, JBL, Alpine, Boston Acoustics all have decent options.

Don't buy 4x10 rear speakers. waste of money.

 

[misfit138 5,000+ posts]

Hey there OP. I hope you're enjoying your stay on our fine forum.

I couldn't help but notice that you're interested in purchasing yourself some decent component speakers for your truck. I remember when I first became interested in such things. It's good that you came here, because some of the posters will offer you solid advice. Now, let's get down to some specifics. If you want to use nice component speakers in the front of your truck, you'll need amplification.....and I've got just thing. How about a JL Audio 300/2? It's decent looking & reasonably priced, and it's powerful enough to get just about any component set moving.

Just sayin'...

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

a JL 300/2 is a nice speaker amp, worth considering.

 

[misfit138 5,000+ posts]

a JL 300/2 is a nice speaker amp, worth considering.

Very much worth considering, friend. It just doesn't suit my current needs.

Maybe you'd like to have it for yourself? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[DonJuan692006]

Thanks for the replies. @misfit138, I'd be willing to pick it up however this is something I'm not going to be doing for a few months so not looking to buy right now. What size amp should I be looking at getting? I know my Sony HU has 52W pre-amped channels, would it not be good enough? Roger on the 4x10's, there's opening's in the dash for 4x6's so maybe I could use those. Not sure if the truck didn't come with them and it's just got a standard dash for all S-10/Blazer models, if the owner before me sold them, or what. I was hoping to run across someone with an extended cab S-10 that's already swapped out their speakers and could offer advise from their experience, however, I'll take any advice I can get.

On a side note, I used to frequent these forum's quite often back around '05 and '06 when I first started messing around with my first '95 S-10. I kind of fell out when I joined the Navy back in the summer of '06, but I'm looking to get my new truck sounding good. So, I remembered this website and figured it helped me out a good deal back then and could help even more now.

 

[misfit138 5,000+ posts]

You should consider a nice pair of 6.5" 2-way components in the front doors and a subwoofer. That's really all the speakers you'll need. As far as amplifiers, you'd need a 2 channel for your components and a monoblock for the sub.....or a nice big 4 channel that can handle everything.

And no, your cd player's built in amplifier isn't as good as you think. It's not doing anything near 52 watts per channel in reality. In fact, it's probably significantly less than 20 watts rms per channel.

 

[DonJuan692006]

Alright, I honestly figured that's what I would hear about the HU, but figured I'd ask anyways. I think I may take ya'lls word for it and just replace the 6.5", add the sub, and just disconnect the 4x10's. Worse case scenario, I could just replace the 4x10's after if I'm not satisfied.

EDIT: I also was wondering about any suggestions for getting the speakers installed. I know Best Buy does it, but I don't think it's worth it since for $70 all they do is swap the speakers out. I could easily do that myself, however, I would like to see some deadening material added. Would I be better off just looking for a local audio shop?

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

yes, a local independent is a better bet. however, there are lazy bastages everywhere you go. this week i'm correcting an awful, non-working audio/video install from a shop in Cali.

ask to see a photo book of installs. ask to talk to the installer directly, so you both are on the same page with what you want, what they have experience with, and what they are willing to do. custom work may be hourly, may be not-to-exceed, may be a flat rate. all of this is somewhat negotiable depending on what you want to do.

shops usually won't warranty the installation of equipment purchased elsewhere. so if it doesn't work when they get done - it's on you to get it replaced and pay for any additional installation work. something to consider and it is usually cheaper for the shop that installs the gear to also supply it. I can get better prices on some Hertz product locally compared to online. But Alpine can be had for next to nothing online.

one thing to do is take in pictures of a build log that you like. this is a recent door speaker baffle install:

http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1805987&page=1#Post1805987

thanks for the offer Misfit - JL amps aren't my personal style, even though they are good stuff. I have a couple extra xtant amps to play with, above and beyond what's already installed //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif if you PM me a price I may be able to move it for ya though.

 

[jsmitty 10+ year member]

When I had my S-10, I stumbled upon an Oldsmobile Bravada in a junkyared that had factory tweeter plates in place of the 4x6s. I bought those, popped the factory tweeters out, and my Type R tweets fit like a glove. Just a little something to look into... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Best bang for the buck: HYBRID AUDIO TECHNOLOGIES IMAGINE™ I6-2 SPEAKER SYSTEM

Like somebody else said, don't buy rear speakers. It's a waste of money.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

And Type-R tweeters are extremely bright.