Need speaker help!!!

[Chris6060]

I have to agree, the headliner is about the furthest from the route I would ever choose.

A 1000w amp is almost guaranteed to be a monoblock, useless for speakers, usable for subs. If you're powering four 4x6 plates, you're going to want a small 4 channel amp for those and another small 4 channel amp to your speakers in your headliner.

Since you already have that 1000w amp, I would HEAVILY consider finding someway to install a sub in this truck, you're not going to be impressed with a bunch of 4" speakers blaring in your ears with nothing to reproduce the lower end of the audio.

I would choose Polk over Kicker in a lot of instances except for Subwoofers. And maybe their higher end speakers, I've never had experience with Polk's speakers, but the second nicest sound system I've ever heard for sound quality was utilizing two Polk Audio SR12's, 700w RMS each. That was in a '91 GMC Ext. Cab with the rear seats removed. Eclipse 4x6's in the dash and Soundstream Tarantula 6.5"s in custom Kick Panels.

The nicest sound system consisted of 2 MTX Thunder 12" 9500's (1000w EACH), powered by a 2500w Rockford amp, with 2500$ FOCAL Utopia's in the front doors of the car. Absolutely incredible.

The stock speaker size for ALL FOUR locations is 4x6.

I've looked a bit more into your flip screen situation. There are a few options on Amazon, but only one decent brand makes flip out decks, and thats Pioneer's lower end.

The other brands that make flipout decks are Power Acoustik, BOSS and Dual, all of which are cheap and kind of junky.

I'm also aware of the fact that manufacturers do make things with the purpose of reflecting off the windshield, new Chevrolet/GMC's come like that from the factory.

But you're also reflecting sound waves off of a dead solid piece of glass, and that alters the sound waves SIGNIFICANTLY.

Same reason a Silk Dome tweeter sounds world's different than an Aluminium Dome tweeter. Sound waves sound harsh when they're being reproduced from a hard material.

I prefer Silk Dome's, personally.

Also, with my comment about the soundstage, I didn't realize all four speakers in the headliner were at the rear. I figured two were up front and two were out back.

In that case I'd still just run the 6.5's and ditch the dash speakers, and the rear cab speakers... It just seems to me that you're going to be having way too much speaker going on for that tiny little cab.

 

[4x4incountryboy]

I plan on Running a sub woofer. For my set up, is there an amplifier I can use for my set up so I only need one amplifier? Also, is the head unit I found the only flip down one on the market? I kinda wanted to route everything into one. I just want it to sound and look good that's why I went with the headliner. Because it is different.

 

[df2x4]

For my set up, is there an amplifier I can use for my set up so I only need one amplifier?

Someone may correct me here, but honestly my gut instinct says no. There's a couple of issues with that approach. First, you're trying to run eight (nine with a subwoofer) speakers which in an ideal situation would mean 8 channels of amplification. (At least, depending on active vs passive crossover setups and such) You could wire the speakers together in either series or parallel (depending on your amp's abilities and your speaker's impedance) on a four channel amp and split them up that way. This would also change the impedance that your amp sees so you would have to do some calculation and make sure that all of your speakers are the same impedance to start with, and that your amp could handle the different impedance. Another option could be running one four channel amp in a one speaker per channel setup and running the other four speakers off of the head unit's built in amp. Personally I've never tried mixing and matching power sources like this, either all external amplification or all head unit. Not sure how that would affect adjusting them in the unit's settings. Once again, my gut instinct says "bad idea," but someone else may have experience with that situation to prove me wrong. Still have no idea how you would properly adjust fade in either situation.

That still leaves the issue of the sub, which will require another dedicated amp and most likely another dedicated set of RCA pre-outs from your head unit (which that China unit does not have) if you want to use your existing Sony amp. I'd say you'll be running two external amps at minimum, and that might still be a little weird.

Also, is the head unit I found the only flip down one on the market?

No, there are others. None of them are great in my opinion, SoundStream and Power Acoustik make a few I think. Personally I hate those brands, but if I had a gun to my head and had to choose between a SoundStream or that random Chinese no-name one on eBay, I'd pick the SoundStream. At least maybe you might have a chance on a warranty if it died. Here's an example from SS.

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_28072_Soundstream_SNX-731.aspx?gclid=CJSE7ZySu8QCFQ-saQod1w8AvA

This one also has six RCA pre-outs with a dedicated set for subs and is generally set up better for what you're trying to do I think.

 

[df2x4]

I'm also aware of the fact that manufacturers do make things with the purpose of reflecting off the windshield, new Chevrolet/GMC's come like that from the factory.

But you're also reflecting sound waves off of a dead solid piece of glass, and that alters the sound waves SIGNIFICANTLY.

Like I said it's not just OEM systems, CLT offers setups like this and they've been in the high end car audio business for a while. Your opinion may be different than mine but speaking from experience it's really not that bad if done properly.

Same reason a Silk Dome tweeter sounds world's different than an Aluminium Dome tweeter. Sound waves sound harsh when they're being reproduced from a hard material.

I prefer Silk Dome's, personally.

For the record I agree with this statement and also prefer silk domes in car audio, but if that's your preference then why in the world are you saying you're a big Rockford fan and running those Rockford Power series coaxials? Those things use some of the harshest sounding aluminum tweeters I've ever heard.

 

[4x4incountryboy]

Would I be better off running the 4 stock speakers off the head unit itself and then using my amp for the ones by your head or should I do it vise versa? I have 2 subs that are collecting dust although they are 12 inch ones, they sound pretty good and can float paper. Those are polks. I am having a hard time setting this system up... I know it can be done but just having a hard time getting an idea to flow into actually working. OR should I buy who smaller say 400 watt amps and run that amp add on kit and then I could do it that way (I don't know much about the add on kits and how they work)? or should I go with 2 small ones and use one for stocks and one for the 4 in the headliner? If I ran them that way where both were separate amps, could I then act as a bridge and use one wire on one amp and the opposite wire on the second amp to power the subwoofer? or is that a bad idea....I have never done a system this large. Most I have ever done was stock amount of speakers and 2 subs.

 

[Chris6060]

Like I said it's not just OEM systems, CLT offers setups like this and they've been in the high end car audio business for a while. Your opinion may be different than mine but speaking from experience it's really not that bad if done properly.



For the record I agree with this statement and also prefer silk domes in car audio, but if that's your preference then why in the world are you saying you're a big Rockford fan and running those Rockford Power series coaxials? Those things use some of the harshest sounding aluminum tweeters I've ever heard.

I agree with the harsh sounding coaxials. I got them for 85$ (220$MSRP set of speakers) so its just what I'm running until I heal my leg up and can be making money again, haha.

 

[df2x4]

If I ran them that way where both were separate amps, could I then act as a bridge and use one wire on one amp and the opposite wire on the second amp to power the subwoofer? or is that a bad idea.....

That is definitely a very bad idea, don't do it. I like the idea of running two separate amps for the eight mid/high speakers and that's definitely what I would do if I wanted to make use of the headliner. You're still going to need a separate amp for the sub(s) though, no getting around that unless you seek out an old 6-channel or something. I'd strongly recommend finding a reputable audio shop in your area and just going in and talking with them. I can help you with specific details, but there are a lot of variables in a system this large and it's really hard to convey all the necessary information without actually having the equipment and vehicle in front of me. I'm not saying you have to buy anything from them, but they should be able to help you brainstorm this out a little more.

 

[4x4incountryboy]

I tried several places that claim they know audio stuff but when confronted they tell me they honestly don't know... needless to say I drove like 150 miles round trip to be no further ahead. Could I get away with a 4 channel and use the front stock ad one, the rear stock as one and headliner as one? And leave one channel open? Or would that be a bad idea?

 

[df2x4]

Ah that sucks, something tells me they just don't want to give out the information for free then. Can't say I necessarily blame them but still, most shops around here will at least help you get an idea of what you're doing. Also that's another bad idea as far as the three channel splitting you proposed, sorry. Honestly if I were you I'd be looking into either going full active (which will require 17 channels of amplification and a whole lot more research and money) or just abandon the headliner idea and do it right with what you have to work with in the stock locations. If you really want to use the headliner and you don't want to go full active, I'd look around for a nice old six channel amp, like a Lanzar OptiDrive 6200 or something similar. Then you can send 30W or so at 4 ohms into all four speakers in the headliner plus the rear two in the stock locations, this will be your rear amp. Then get a separate small two channel amp for your dash speakers, a tiny 25Wx2 at 4 Ohms will be fine for those two 4x6s. This will be your front amp. This way you can properly adjust fade and other things from the head unit, and everything is run off of the proper pre-outs. Then you'll need another amp for the subs. Pretty much any way you look at it you're going to need three amps minimum to do it right with the headliner, at least in my mind.

 

[96Z71ECSB]

As implied earlier in this thread, any decent 4 channel amp will run eight 4ohm speakers (two per channel wired in parallel). You will need to check the specs of the amp to make sure each channel is 2ohm stable. You will also need to make sure the speakers you buy are all 4ohm each.
Of course, you will need to run a separate 2 channel or mono block amp for subs.

Personally, I wouldn't amplify the headliner speakers. If you do, they will overpower all the rest of the speakers in your truck. That's because they are the closest speakers to your ears.
As suggested earlier, mainly for a balanced sound, run the headliner speakers off deck power and amplify the other four speakers.