New system, lots of questions, please help!!

[RonP]

Hello folks.

First let me say I am in no way a stereo person or even much of a music person so I am lost in all this stuff. I recently decided I wanted a little better sound for my 2004 3500 Dodge Ram as it had the basic 4 speaker stereo in it.

here is what I have so far and some questions on the items.

Front speakers 6x9 polk db690's

Rear speakers 6.5 polk db650's.

Bought these off recommendations from some friends. The sound pretty good and fit great. No real questions on the speakers, but I value any opinions.

I just put a new head unit in 3 days ago. again, based off some recommendations and crutchfields website, I bought the Alpine 9856. So far this combo sounds so much better than the factory system. My son loves the Ipod feature.

now some questions,

1. It has some options to chose "center freq's" for bass and treble. What is that based off of and should I leave them alone or change them? will I notice a diff in sound? and how much if so?

2. My FM reception is way worse than the factory head unit. What is up with this? anything I can do to make it better?

Now this last thing I was going to do based off some reading and a friends recommendation is to add a 4 channel amp to power the speakers. I was looking at getting the Profile AP740 or Profile AP1040. will either do or should I get the bigger amp?

will this make a big diff in my setup? any opinions or install guidance is very welcome.

I understand some if not most of this is basic stuff for you guys and gals, but I am a gear head, not a stereo person. just want better sound, not trying to win any contests.

Thanks and sorry for the very long post.

Ron

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[Max_Power 10+ year member]

Thoes polk speakers are very good, and they deserve to be amped. With reguards to the FM reception problem, I feel your pain. When I first went to aftermarket I noticed that oem HU are most of the time better at FM/AM reception. The only thing I can think of is that the manufacturers are relying on the CD sound quality to make up for it. FM brodcast quality isnt the best anyways. The profile amp in question is a strong performer, and should work great, I have heard that profile amps offer strong watts:dollar ratios, and they dont draw much power from the charging system. However I have heard that they over heat easily when pushed, but that shouldn't be a problem for just 4 speakers.

Hope it helps //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

____________________________________

Life happens while you're making other plans

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Hello folks.
First let me say I am in no way a stereo person or even much of a music person so I am lost in all this stuff. I recently decided I wanted a little better sound for my 2004 3500 Dodge Ram as it had the basic 4 speaker stereo in it.

here is what I have so far and some questions on the items.

Front speakers 6x9 polk db690's

Rear speakers 6.5 polk db650's.

Bought these off recommendations from some friends. The sound pretty good and fit great. No real questions on the speakers, but I value any opinions.

I just put a new head unit in 3 days ago. again, based off some recommendations and crutchfields website, I bought the Alpine 9856. So far this combo sounds so much better than the factory system. My son loves the Ipod feature.

now some questions,

1. It has some options to chose "center freq's" for bass and treble. What is that based off of and should I leave them alone or change them? will I notice a diff in sound? and how much if so?

2. My FM reception is way worse than the factory head unit. What is up with this? anything I can do to make it better?

Now this last thing I was going to do based off some reading and a friends recommendation is to add a 4 channel amp to power the speakers. I was looking at getting the Profile AP740 or Profile AP1040. will either do or should I get the bigger amp?

will this make a big diff in my setup? any opinions or install guidance is very welcome.

I understand some if not most of this is basic stuff for you guys and gals, but I am a gear head, not a stereo person. just want better sound, not trying to win any contests.

Thanks and sorry for the very long post.

Ron

First welcome to the hole //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

1. Not sure about the newer alpines like yours , but the ones I have the frequency centers , are the frequencies any boosting or cutting is centered around . And the boosting or cutting gradually slopes off ( quieter or louder) from this center point . A long as you don't hvae it cranked wide open , play with the different settings until you find the sound you like.

2. You can check and make sure the antennae connection is solid , and the cable isn't pinched and grounded somewhere . And the head unit itself could just have a weaker fm reception than the factory.

3. If your gonna go with an amp , might as well get the biggest your speakers can handle . More power doesn't just equal louder . //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[RonP]

Thanks for the replies. Parts were ordered today. Amp install this weekend.