Coming up with a decent single cab sound system! Need opinions!

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Ok So with the very limited space and upgrade possibilities of a 1999 Ford F-150 I have created a concept on how I am going to design this new system; although I'm a novice at anything car audio. I am almost overhauling every aspect of the truck and I was interested in implementing a decent sound system with a large amount of bass unusually found in single cab trucks without doing custom body modification to the bed of the truck to allow it.

So I am using the standard size headunit, the four provided 6x8 speaker slots for the basic speakers and this much space(Roughly 55"L 26"H and 10-12"W) for the housing of my subwoofers.

Well my current system is Sony CDX-FW700 CD Player with 2x Pioneer 3-Way 6x8 240watt speakers in the door wired to the CD Reciever. Im selling my old subwoofers(Crappy Sony Xplode 10"'s/Lightning Audio 450w Amp/MTX 200w Amp) and I removed all the wiring that was professionally installed. I am interested in keeping the two Pioneer 3-Way 6x8 240watt speakers in the door.

My basic plan is the following:

PANASONIC CQ-C8303U CD/MP3 CAR RECEIVER CQC8303U

URL: http://tinyurl.com/3cqjuw

Price: 129.95(Not Including Taxes)

Shipping Cost: 24.95

Pioneer TS-A6881R 6"x8" 4-way car speakers(Behind the door speaker slots.)

URL: http://tinyurl.com/2ugqam

Price: 59.99(Not Including Taxes)

Shipping Cost: Free

PLANET AUDIO 1250 WATT CLASS D MONOBLOCK AMPLIFIER(Subwoofer Amp)

URL: http://tinyurl.com/ytujoj

Price: $149.50(Not Including Taxes)

Shipping Cost: 17.00

2x Kicker TCVT122 Shallow 12"

URL: http://tinyurl.com/2a9brv

Price: $243.90(Not Including Taxes)

Shipping Price: 28.95

Kicker 05PKD1 1/0 Gauge Dual Amplifier Power kit

URL: http://tinyurl.com/2weqr5

Price: 85.00(Not Including Taxes)

Shipping Cost: Free

My actual concerns at the moment is that I have found that I would rather use a 4-Channel amplifier to better power the Pioneer speakers and increase quality rather than wire them directly to the CD Reciever as before but I am not sure how I would be able to wire Mono Amplifier and a 4-Channel Amplifier to the same reciever or if I would have to combine the amplifiers somewhat, like I said...Im a noob at this.

I will also be wiring the subwoofers so they present a 2-ohm load to the amplifier which will channel 700watts per subwoofer giving it nearly its maximum amount of juice. If you if there are better options as far as concerning my lack of space for subwoofers then go ahead and tell me.

Any recommendations on 4-Channel amplifiers or any tips on the current setup are welcomed.

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[twisztdauthorit 10+ year member]

you shouldnt need an extra battery with that system, save yourself the $ or spend it on higher quality speakers

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

you shouldnt need an extra battery with that system, save yourself the $ or spend it on higher quality speakers

Sounds good to me.

 

[Max_Power 10+ year member]

you shouldnt need an extra battery with that system, save yourself the $ or spend it on higher quality speakers

x2

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised on how good thoes CVT's sound. just be sure to give them enough space.

Nice choice on HU. I like all panasonics, and have had no problems with them at all.

 

[SEVEN_ELEVEN 10+ year member]

Yeah I wouldnt worry about the battery. The sub choice....idk. Those 97-03 f150's have quite a bit of room back there. You could probably not loose too much leg room and get a couple non-shallow 12's back there. But if your tall and cant afford to loose the room those are prolly the best affordable shallow mounts out right now.

 

[sandbags 10+ year member]

i can sell you a set of MMATS P2.5 12s for 225 shipped and they dont need nearly as much space as you have so you could save even more room...

 

[tru_44 10+ year member]

should be an ok setup

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Yeah I wouldnt worry about the battery. The sub choice....idk. Those 97-03 f150's have quite a bit of room back there. You could probably not loose too much leg room and get a couple non-shallow 12's back there. But if your tall and cant afford to loose the room those are prolly the best affordable shallow mounts out right now.

Wouldn't that require a custom fit box because most truck enclosures even for 12" subwoofers do not provide the mounting depth or sufficient space to reproduce the low bass sounds.

I have a friend who is operating with two dual 4-ohm kicker 07 CompVR 12inch out of this box approx: 2.50 cubic feet in size and I really enjoy the sound of his subwoofer in that enclosure but I highly doubt that I would be able equal that sound with my limited space.

Also, how do the CompVT's and CompVR's compare?

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

Honestly with a single cab truck there is no need to have rear speakers. I am one of the few people on here who likes rear fill, but that is in a big car like my buick. In your truck you would be better off spending more money on a set of components up front and amping them and forget about rear speakers. Anyway it looks like your sub box will have to block the rear speakers anyway.

Get a set of these and make MDF baffles to fit them PG RSD 6.5 Comps

and get this amp

And get yourself an amp kit from knukonceptz.com

Also since that sub amp is a refurbished model, I would consider something with a warrantee and that is new. Something like this which would overpower your subs a little but would work well. it doesn't cost much more either, or you could go something more like this amp that is cheaper but also less power.

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

Honestly with a single cab truck there is no need to have rear speakers. I am one of the few people on here who likes rear fill, but that is in a big car like my buick. In your truck you would be better off spending more money on a set of components up front and amping them and forget about rear speakers. Anyway it looks like your sub box will have to block the rear speakers anyway.
Get a set of these and make MDF baffles to fit them PG RSD 6.5 Comps

and get this amp

And get yourself an amp kit from knukonceptz.com

Also since that sub amp is a refurbished model, I would consider something with a warrantee and that is new. Something like this which would overpower your subs a little but would work well. it doesn't cost much more either, or you could go something more like this amp that is cheaper but also less power.

I have no real experience with component systems and I rather fill the remaining two stock speaker slots before I consider adding speakers to the system. I also do not know where I would mount them but thanks for the information, I may consider it.

I was wondering if I could custom build a box that could successfully house three 12" subwoofers(Shallow 12" CompVT's) and reproduce the bass signals as a traditional size 12" subwoofer would do so in a more squarish box; using around 26"H x 55"L x 10-12" D

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

My actual concerns at the moment is that I have found that I would rather use a 4-Channel amplifier to better power the Pioneer speakers and increase quality rather than wire them directly to the CD Reciever as before but I am not sure how I would be able to wire Mono Amplifier and a 4-Channel Amplifier to the same reciever or if I would have to combine the amplifiers somewhat, like I said...Im a noob at this.

This isn't actually all that hard to do. The reciever you selected has 3 levels of RCA outputs. This will give you full fading capacity if you use all 3 outputs. Basically run 2 RCA cables to your 4 channel amp (1 for front speakers and 1 for rear speakers) Then when you run the speaker wire from the amp to the speakers just be careful with the manual and have them correspond with the right outputs on the amp and you can fade front to back your amped speakers via the headunit. Then for the mono amp just run a single RCA set from the sub output to the mono amp and this will give you everything seperated. Uses a little more cable but better then daisy chaining the amps and making them all play the same signal.

I will also be wiring the subwoofers so they present a 2-ohm load to the amplifier which will channel 700watts per subwoofer giving it nearly its maximum amount of juice. If you if there are better options as far as concerning my lack of space for subwoofers then go ahead and tell me.
Any recommendations on 4-Channel amplifiers or any tips on the current setup are welcomed.

I don't know if I am reading this wrong but when looking at the specs of the amp I think you will be feeding 700w to the pair of subs, rated at 400w apiece or a combined value of 800w. The RMS is the key to look at, try and match it up from the amp to the subs or speakers and you should be good.

The pioneer speakers look to be rated at 50w RMS, and with 4 of them maybe something like this would work nice http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=13124

I haven't personally used Hifonics but I haven't heard anything bad about them. Of course you could find something cheaper somewhere most likely but anything that will do a clean 40-50w RMS should be a good choice to power your door speakers and rear speakers.

I personally would also recommend components in the doors, or at the least just skipping out on the rear speakers. They are not terrible necessary and will most likely be nearly completely blocked/drowned out, but the sub box.

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

took about 5 minutes and with your overall dimensions came up with a simple box. I'm assuming that the 10-12" measurement for depth is at the bottom of the seat. They usually taper back so I used 6" at the top which even then may be quite too much at 26" high. But this setup gives you about 5 cubes before sub displacement and assuming 3/4" wood. and over 8" of mounting depth (which could be increased slightly, or less depending on the size of the magnet on the sub) So you are most likely not limited to shallow mount subs, doesn't mean you can't use em, and I hear good things about those kickers.

You definitly have more room in those 97+ trucks. This was my old (and first ever setup) in my 83 F250.

 

[skmfkr 5,000+ posts]

stuff you picked out doesnt look bad at all, but you need two dual 4ohms subs to get a 1ohm load. those subs are single 4ohm

id go with knukonceptz wires also

and dont waste your time/money on rear speakers most likely the box is gonna block them anyways

you should be fine with any pair of subs under 6inches deep which gives you a good bit of options if you go with a pair of 10s

http://cgi.ebay.com/Massive-Audio-CW10-Car-Audio-Stage2-SPL-Competition-10_W0QQitemZ200088681007QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

took about 5 minutes and with your overall dimensions came up with a simple box. I'm assuming that the 10-12" measurement for depth is at the bottom of the seat. They usually taper back so I used 6" at the top which even then may be quite too much at 26" high. But this setup gives you about 5 cubes before sub displacement and assuming 3/4" wood. and over 8" of mounting depth (which could be increased slightly, or less depending on the size of the magnet on the sub) So you are most likely not limited to shallow mount subs, doesn't mean you can't use em, and I hear good things about those kickers.

You definitly have more room in those 97+ trucks. This was my old (and first ever setup) in my 83 F250.

What is the possibility of mounting three shallow mounted Kicker CompVT's in the box and what would be an idea amplifier and wiring setup to make sure the subwoofer get the maximum amount of power they would need?

Thank you all a ton for your input. I decided to forget about using any rear speakers and decided that I would rather just keep the basic Pioneer 3-Ways that are currently in the door.

 

[Trepkos 10+ year member]

I don't know if I am reading this wrong but when looking at the specs of the amp I think you will be feeding 700w to the pair of subs, rated at 400w apiece or a combined value of 800w. The RMS is the key to look at, try and match it up from the amp to the subs or speakers and you should be good.

Ok. Well actually the Kicker subwoofers are rated at 400w RMS a piece but their peak wattage is 800w and they should be able to handle 700watts.

I was recommended the Planet Audio Amplifier for the main purpose that it would benefit those subwoofers fairly well. This is the current plan:

PANASONIC CQ-C8303U CD/MP3 CAR RECEIVER CQC8303U

URL: http://tinyurl.com/3cqjuw

Price: 129.95(Not Including Taxes)

Shipping Cost: 24.95

PLANET AUDIO 1250 WATT CLASS D MONOBLOCK AMPLIFIER

URL: http://tinyurl.com/ytujoj

Price: $149.50(Not Including Taxes)

Shipping Cost: 17.00

2x Kicker TCVT122

URL: http://tinyurl.com/2a9brv

Price: $243.90(Not Including Taxes)

Shipping Price: 28.95

Complete 4 Gauge Amplifier Installation Kit

URL: http://tinyurl.com/3ydc9k

Price: 42.99(Not Including Taxes)

Shipping Cost: Unknown

I ditched the rear speaker/spare battery/kicker dual amp wiring kit. I feel this should be enough for a decent sound system but I still fear for the bass and if there is possibly a way to gain more bass in my system. Other than that, in the doors there is a small panel covering the door speakers and I was wondering if any major changes would occur if I removed that.

My previous 10" subwoofers(2 of them) were placed in these following boxes.

Ok I re-measured it a bit with the seat pulled up to a slightly comfortable position(Not too far up) and its currently 55"L x 26"H x 16"Bottom Depth and 8" Top Depth, so the length between the bottom of the seat and the top of the seat slowly decreases in depth.