help build me a new stereo

[michael hurd]

Do you want to keep the factory tool box under the rear seat, and be actually able to fold up the rear seat all the way? If you say yes, then I would go for smaller amps that you can mount under the seats. I picked Alpine amps, as all the connections are on one end, and they have quick detach plugs for the wiring. It's tight, but they will fit under the buckets, unless you have power bases.

 

[df2x4]

I'm not going to get in a pissing match over the virtues of rear speakers (been there, done that, been told I don't know what I'm doing since I don't do it to the liking of somebody else). I like the way it rounds out the sound, but I do use the fader to favor the front speakers and the rears are used for "fill" in my case. They are more efficient at some frequencies and I can distinctly hear different instruments coming from them that may not have been picked up from just my component speakers in the doors. I do have the tweeters mounted at the top of the door and angled towards the occupants.

Some that into the SQ competition stuff (and high dollar setups) will not get over the fact that they can't get the proper "sound stage" sound using rears. I went round and round in a thread about that once. Talked about what I had and what I liked and was told just how wrong I was. It's amazing when you are told you are wrong about what you like. Different strokes.

I consider myself fairly into SQ, and I agree with this statement 100%. In my house, my main stereo is front only. In my trucks, I'm going to use every speaker location I can. Fading properly isn't hard to do and I prefer the fill as well. A second set of component tweeters is always nice, too.

Im with you on this, i will use the factory speaker locations and just replace with quality speakers. I like it simple, and I do think they sound good where they are located no need to rearrange my speakers... I'm only in my truck about an hour a day, I do want good sound but I'm not willing to break the bank for it...

This is a good call IMO. I love my stereos but I wouldn't ever hack up my interior to use a different speaker size.

Do you want to keep the factory tool box under the rear seat, and be actually able to fold up the rear seat all the way? If you say yes, then I would go for smaller amps that you can mount under the seats. I picked Alpine amps, as all the connections are on one end, and they have quick detach plugs for the wiring. It's tight, but they will fit under the buckets, unless you have power bases.

Mounting amps under the front seats does work very well, I have one old school Denon under each of the buckets in my truck. Just make sure you remember to adjust your gain and other amp settings before you put the seats back in, ask me how I know. Good call on Alpine as well, I haven't owned any of their stuff in a long time and I didn't realize that their amps were so small these days. Pretty nice specs too all things considered.

 

[ccreddell]

A few things I've learned over the years....First of all, unless you do all the sound deadening and all that, you're really not going to notice a slightly inferior head unit unless you're parked and setting still with the motor off. And, honestly, there are a significant number of the population that still wouldn't be able to tell. A good midrange Kenwood would work fine. I despise Pioneer personally (and actually don't know why), but I'm sure a midrange deck from them (or anybody else), would work fine also in a commuter truck. As for speakers, get a good name brand with high sensitivity to maximize your amp choice. I prefer Memphis, but there are plenty of good clear sensitive speakers out there. As for amps, I would go midrange here too. But remember that the less expensive an amp is, the higher wattage you'll want to get so that you aren't pushing them too hard. That being said, you'll find that a lower end amp in the higher wattage range you need to keep it playing clean will most likely cost as much as a higher end amp in a lower wattage that you can push to it's limits without distorting. I've built a few systems with lower end stuff that sounded pretty good because I was using only half their (claimed) ability. Of course, if I pushed them past that point, they didn't sound near as good. It's all a trade off....

 

[Steve's Chevy]

As far as the head unit, I just want one that has blue tooth and I really want sirius radio built in but I can always get an adapter or whatever it takes I guess. I do want good speakers and quality amp to push them... as for the subs I'm still debating on one or two under the rear seat.. I'm going to take vacation sometime after the first, and want to get ALL my shiat together so I'm ready to go. I will be doing a stereo install, door pins, striker and latches and probably add a Lil more lift to her... so I'm gonna be busy as fawk!!


And as far as Pioneer, I will never buy them........Ever....

 

[df2x4]

You guys hating on Pioneer, may I ask why? I've run them almost exclusively for over 10 years and never had a problem. Then again, I don't buy entry level units either.

EDIT - To clarify, I'm mainly talking about head units. I've never bought a Pioneer speaker or amp.

 

[Steve's Chevy]

You guys hating on Pioneer, may I ask why? I've run them almost exclusively for over 10 years and never had a problem. Then again, I don't buy entry level units either.

EDIT - To clarify, I'm mainly talking about head units. I've never bought a Pioneer speaker or amp.

In my opinion the Pioneer speakers and amps have always fallen short to me when I hear them, the H/U are probably just as good as the rest of the same priced units.

I bought a set of 6x9 pioneer speakers in high school, they didn't help me get laid!

But after installing my Rockfords...... it was on.... so maybe that's why lol


J/K

 

[superdave]

I bought a set of 6x9 pioneer speakers in high school, they didn't help me get laid!

But after installing my Rockfords...... it was on.... so maybe that's why lol
J/K

That's as good a reason as any

 

[df2x4]

In my opinion the Pioneer speakers and amps have always fallen short to me when I hear them, the H/U are probably just as good as the rest of the same priced units.

I bought a set of 6x9 pioneer speakers in high school, they didn't help me get laid!

But after installing my Rockfords...... it was on.... so maybe that's why lol


J/K

Fair enough. Honestly I'm inclined to agree about the speakers. I've never heard a pair of Pioneer speakers sound better than anything else in a side by side comparison. I'm sure their Stage 4 are probably very nice, but for that kind of money I'd rather just buy Focal. In my C1500 I actually run a company called DLS out of Sweden. Not very common over here but I bought them because they were better on paper than anything else in the price range, and I must say I'm glad I did.

 

[ccreddell]

My personal problem with Pioneer most likely stems from when I was a kid (back in the 70s) and Pioneer was not considered high end at all. When I started getting into stereos and building my own in the late 80s/early 90s they looked too plasticky to me-that, and I had discovered a couple Kenwood decks that I liked a lot. Now, in the 21st century, I find that Pioneer decks are not intuitive (to me) to navigate, and up until lately, still looked pretty cheap. Almost all of their decks require you to buy extra modules to get features that come built in with most medium value decks and for that alone, I become disinterested. Their speakers have always had inflated specs, so Ive never really considered them anything other than stock replacements in low dollar cars. I would try their shallow subs, as long as I could give them back when they didnt live up to their hype.