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Ford Truck Stereos
This is a place to discuss the stereos in ford
trucks and vans, from the factory units and
problems, to upgrades and what works/fits in these
vehicles. Harness adapters, subwoofer enclosures,
CD changers, speakers, or whatever.
Those who have done something cool, share your
experiences, and those who are looking for answers,
go ahead and ask.
trucks and vans, from the factory units and
problems, to upgrades and what works/fits in these
vehicles. Harness adapters, subwoofer enclosures,
CD changers, speakers, or whatever.
Those who have done something cool, share your
experiences, and those who are looking for answers,
go ahead and ask.
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Head unit:
Undecided, either Eclipse or (prob.) Alpine
Front speakers:
a/d/s 325is seperates. The mids are going into
the doors after building custom fiberglass
enclosures for them, and the tweeters are going
into custom pods in the kick panels.
Amplifier: A single Alpine MRV-F405 running in
4 channel mode, bi-amping the seperates.
Rear speakers:
a/d/s 325im. Same as the 325is, but with the
tweeter integrally mounted over the midrange.
Amplifier: Kicker ZX120 in stereo
Front subwoofer:
JL 8W6 mounted in custom center console, firing
down, ported forward. 3 ohm stereo load.
Amplifier: Kicker ZX120 in stereo
Rear subwoofers:
4 JL 10W1 in custom box mounted behind the rear
seat which remains in stock position. These
are wired to present a 2 ohm stereo load. The
box will probably be vinyl or leather, dressed
up but in factory Lariat colors, with the dark
brown as an accent (probably for the speaker
grilles.
Amplifier: Kicker ZX600 in stereo
The Alpine amplifier is located under the back seat, along with miscellaneous 1/3 octave equalizers, maybe a processor, et cetera. The three Kicker amps will be mounted on the floorboards between the front and rear seats. With the carpeted cover on, most people won't notice the lack of legroom too badly. I'm using the endcaps and joins to make it seem like one long Kicker.
As much as possible I'm trying to match the stock truck -- all speaker grills will be the dark brown Lariat accent color, and the box and console will match the lighter brown of the seats.
The entire system carries an IASCA spec of 580 watts. The way I'm loading it it will actually put out just under 1300 watts RMS (or 2600 watts peak if you like large numbers).
Right now, I have the 10s in a quick-built box, with the ZX600 driving them. I also have all 4 corners with the a/d/s in them, but without the custom enclosures. They're being driven by the Alpine F405 right now, not bi-amped. I just need to make a final decision on the head unit and find a time when I can be without my truck for the 3-4 weeks to complete the install.
Future plans include adding navigation and video to the center console, but not by the start of the '99 season.
You mentioned a lot of custom enclosures, but since you are deep into this, maybe you know of some ready-made ones, like for kick panels, etc.?
I am not looking to enter competition, and my 'glass work is better left unseen :-) but I would like better sound than stock.
I remember seeing some of these, made of plastic, I guess, in Crutchfield's catalog once. Dunno if they had any for the f-series, though. Are those just total crap, or would they be ok for a day-to-day truck?
Also, if I wanted to retain the stock head unit, does anyone make adapter harnesses for both sides?
I'm thinking of putting amps between the head unit and speakers, and retaining as much stock wiring as is practical.
I am not really sure just what I want to do yet, but once my truck comes in, I figure I'll start by just replacing the stock speakers and then seeing what I need to do from there, depending on the sound. I'm open to suggestions.
It is great to have someone who obviously knows his stuff join the topic!
HP
As for the head unit, any line out converter will step down the current (I'm using one now as a matter of fact). Some amplifiers also have built in converters. I'd recommend something like the Alpine F352 if you want a nice low-key system. It has 30 watts x 4 channels (which is plenty, don't compare that number to the ratings you get on cheap radios) and 150 watts x 1 for the subwoofer. It also has speaker level inputs.
For a good sound, you're better off with even an inexpensive aftermarket radio rather than the speaker level input solution however. With the latter, you're taking the signal, amplifying it, reducing it, and boosting it again. I'm running that way right now and its bearable (well, for a month or two), but you'd see a big difference with a real line-out system.
I understand audio, and have put in quite a few systems for myself and others, but never for competition. It is pretty amazing how much has changed since I began over 25 years ago. (Yeah, I've installed a couple 8-tracks ;-) I haven't really kept up that much with car audio for the last 6 or 8 years, (and just looking around on the web and in magazines convinces me I missed a lot), but I am looking forward to making my new truck sound as great as it will look!
The Alpine looks like a good choice to drive all 4+1. You're correct, 30W RMS/ch of clean power is plenty for the mid/high end, with the 100W sub filling in the bottom. But it looks like the line converters would be required, (for use with the stock head unit), I don't see spkr level inputs on the diagram. input is listed as 0.2-4.0 v.
I know you've got the superduty, but do you know what size the stock speaker mounts are in the '99 F150? Seems like Ford has used some pretty odd shaped speakers in the past (5"x9" or something?) It has been a while since I put a stereo in a ford.
Are the stock speaker wires very heavy, or are they the typical 20 ga (or so)? I'd like to use them if possible. I guess the size is less important if I just run mid/high signals through them and pull new fat wire for the sub. Thoughts?
As for relocation, one thing i did in my nissan truck that made a big difference was putting some piezo tweeters up in the corners of the dash, firing up at the windshield. The tweeters in the 6.5" coaxials I had in the door panels kinda got buried, firing right into your legs. The piezos sometimes made the sound a little "bright" especially off of a CD, but dropping the treble 1-2 dB took care of it. With FM they sounded just right.
I can swallow the $50 or so for a pair of converters when I buy the amp easier than $500 for a new head unit at that time.
Speaking of which, do you have any idea on the cost of that Alpine? I looked on crutchfield's site (nowhere as good as their printed catalog, BTW) and they did not list it, nor did I see any 4+1 channel amps. Not that I am that hot on buying from them, but they generally provide a good place to start shopping. My area is quite limited with respect to autosound shops.
HP
i agree with Stanford on the JL's. I have a pair of JL's myself, the same pair for the last 4 years, and they sound just as awesome as the day i bought them. Rockford Fosgate also makes one hell of good sub.
you get what you pay for in the subwoofer department. the only real bargain busters i've been impressed with is JBL. JBL is usually 20-30 dollars cheaper than the high dollar competition, and quality wise, i think they run with the high dollar boys.
(1) I'm considering putting 1 10" sub in the back of a 99 F150 supercab (still waiting for it to come in). All I want is a little bit of tight, clean, bass. I was told that 1 10" would be better than 2 8"'s since the 2 8's introduces dynamics if they're mounted in the same box (i.e., they sort of "compete" with each other). Any opinions? Does the fact that it's a supercab PU introduce any special considerations?
(2) Does anyone want to share plans or describe an enclosure that I could make for hiding the sub underneath the rear bench seat? I do know that I can't afford one of those Stealthboxes. I'd like to build my own...
(3) While I have the doors panels off of the truck to put in door speakers, and while I'm running wires, etc., would it be a good time to add some extra soundproofing? Will it make a noticable difference on the new F150's?
SO I went out and bought a 10" Cerwin vega Accurate Image Group subwoofer, $150 canadien price, and built the box for it myself. I started it and thought I make a ported box, so i did. The box is 2.4ft by 12Inches deep, with the sub dead in the middle. I packed it with pink fibreglass around the back of the box 3inches out, and around the sides, about 1.5 inches out. After it was done, I hooked it up to my system, IT sounded crappy, very little bass. Wasn't impressed with the sub. I was wrong, it wasn't the sub, it was the ported vent, If I put my hand on it the bass would come out very clean and hard. SO I covered the hole by screwing down a peice of wood over top. WOW what a difference. The bass is amazing its clear even and especialy at lower volumes. I would recomend this sub for any one who is starting out and wants good bass. My deck is a pioneer, and the 6x9 are 150w 3 way pioneers, and the fronts are two 5 1/4 inch panasoncis two way speakers. Put it all together, it sounds incredible. Perfect for driving around, and not pounding out your ear drums, but it still deleivers awasome bass for just one sub. Also I would get a amp that can put out 200watts continous power, for this sub to perform well.
1) First of all, 2 8s will work very well for tight bass. As long as they're recieving the same signal, you won't get any 'competition' and if you were told that by an audio shop, I'd find another one. The enclosure I'm designing will have 3 compartments, each with 2 8s in it.
Two 8s will also hit harder than one 10. For punch, think of the total air moved -- one 8" sub has just over 50 in2 surface area, and one 10" has just under 80. Of course, this assumes that they're equal quality well powered subs. The 8s will also be easier to mount (less depth).
For tight clean bass I agree with dodgeram, you should certainly go with a sealed enclosure. They are a little power hungry compared to ported ones though. I've also heard stellar ported enclosures -- if you port you have to be very careful with your box and port dimensions though.
I'd probably build an enclosure to go under your rear seat. With 2 8s you wouldn't even have to move the seat up any. With some nice matching carpet, you wouldn't even notice the box if you weren't looking for it.
As far as amplification goes, you'll want a single amp bridged mono, so there's only one output signal. 2 SVC 8s will also let you run a 2 ohm output, so that should help your power.
2) Hmm. If you're on a budget, you may wish to reconsider and go with one 10", or even one 8". Its well worth getting a smaller amount of good quality equipment IMO. As far as the box goes, find out from the sub manufacturer (ie: someone like JL) the recommended space for your speaker. Remember that 2 speakers don't need twice as much space as one in a single enclosure. Build it out of 3/4" MDF and don't forget that the space needed will be inner size, not outer.
3) If you're on a tight enough budget not to consider the stealthboxes, you may wish to avoid soundproofing for a while. It would make a noticable difference, yes, but not one that would be worth sacrificing on the amp or woofer purchases.
My standard procedure would be to take off the door panels and weatherproofing film, then spray ~1 can of spray-in dynomat (or whatever brand you prefer) all over the inside of the door. Then cover the door with a solid sheet of dynomat film. Makes a huge difference.
If you're any good at fiberglassing you should really consider building enclosures for the door speakers (don't forget to make sure the window can still roll down). If not, at least build baffles for them (a full plate so that there are no air gaps around the speaker).
Are you going with 5 1/4" or 6 1/2" in the front? Picked out any brands yet? What kind of head unit will you use?
Whatever you go with, take all advice with a grain of salt. Remember that its your system, and make sure that its one that you want rather than anyone else!
A. the 99 trucks are the same?
B. either of these will require mods to the truck? C. What size are the factory units?
Anyone have any particular recommendations? I was looking at the Pioneer TS-A6815's which are 6X8 3 ways with 30-30k freq resp, 50w RMS (180 peak), 91 dB sens. Crutchfield has them listed at $99/pr. but I haven't really shopped anywhere yet.
HP
On the topic of Crutchfield, has anyone used one of their head unit installation kits (i.e., the one that comes free when you buy a head unit from them) to install a head unit in the oversized hole that the 97+ F150's have? How does it look? I'm guessing that there's a lot of cheap, ugly black plastic bordering the head unit...
I think I once saw an installation piece that sort of shifted the head unit up....and then underneath had a small storage space where you could store 1 or 2 cd cases. Anyone know of such a thing? ...or have any other sources for high quality (good looking) installation stuff?
Also, the two ways I've seen use a single order passive crossover (usually just a capacitor) which yields roll-off of (if memory serves) only 6dB/octave. Assuming the overlap is really not doing much on either driver (since the woofer can't physically respond to highs, etc.) the actual crossover point might have a slight dip. A three-way could help this some.
I had 2-ways in my old truck, and though the sound was pretty good, I always felt that there were definite "holes" in the upper midrange. I'm thinking that spreading the response out over three drivers may help to fill in the notch a bit better.
The difference in price (something like $20/pair in this case) is worth it to me to give it a try.
HP
You're also much better off going with round drivers than shaped (ie: 6x8). You can fairly easily fit a 5 1/4" midrange and a 1" tweeter on a plate into a 6x8 slot, and the sound will be substantially cleaner.
mp1: I've seen the kits you're talking about -- I haven't liked the looks of any of them yet (could just be bad installation though). One option (that I'm using) is to mount the new radio a little further back in the dash and fabricate a black ABS plate to fill in the opening. Rather than cutting a full DIN hole, remove the outer plastic snapon faceplate from your aftermarket radio and use the inner hole from that to make your cut. You end up with a smaller portion of your radio sticking out, its easy to do, and it looks great.
For an example, take a look at this page for some pictures. Not my car, but the same principal. I really need to get some of my old pictures online...
I agree that round drivers are more accurate that ovals, but I would think it is less of a problem with the new stiffer materials in the cones and more compliant surrounds found in units today than those old paper cones with rubberized cloth surrounds.
The 6x8 also has more surface area to drive the low end than the 5 1/4" round driver on the plate, so I'd expect more air movement from the overall package with a given signal.
I admit that I have not started doing serious research, though...
Comments?
BTW, I picked up the truck tonight, and with only a little time in it, I'm pretty sure the stock speakers need to go! No surprise... I think the head unit may just have enough power for me, once it is coupled to better speakers.
HP
I don't really like the sound quality from non-round speakers -- everyone has different tastes, though. Even with the stronger materials, the surround is generally heterogeneous. Since you're putting more force on different parts of the surround with a center voice coil, you end up with some distortion around the edges.
For mids, even mid-bass, a 61/2 is generally plenty. You can fit them fairly easily into 6x8 slots too. Just put a good baffle around them, and enjoy!
For a really nicely done manufacturers Ford stereo, check out Alpine's Concept F250-SD released at CES. Luckily its different enough from the system I'm working on right now. My console size is similar, but I'm not redoing the dash and am flushing my amps. I'm also not touching the doors this iteration, and of course the sub arrangement is different. Still, its close enough that it might cause some trouble at judging... hmm...
http://www.alienmind.com/speaker_inst/
I have lots of photos and notes for anyone who wants to take their doors apart without breaking any plastic bits.
HP
has the same radio my truck will come with and it has a stock CD changer in it. I was hoping Ford may have put some stock wiring in to set up a changer. Any ideas?
if the premium stereo has a hookup for a changer.
What aftermarket changers are a good choice?
Thanks for the info on Ford's premium sound system. I didn't see any option listed for a CD changer, as this is my first truck order, I want to make sure I have all the options covered. What aftermarket CD changer has good marks on quality, do you have any suggestions? I have no idea where the wire harness for the CD changer would be, what do you have in your truck? I'm still a ways off from receiving F250 SD Lariat as it was just ordered on 2-24. Anyway glad to see that you are enjoying your new truck. The new Ford Super Duty trucks sure look good out on the road.
You're advice would be helpfull. I am planning on installing an amplifier with 2 additional box speakers behind the seat of my crew cab(superduty). I will be using pre-amp converters. (temporary until I can afford a new head unit.) I am interested in how you did the install.
-Where did you tap into the rear speaker wires?
-Where did you place the amplifier?
-Where did you tap into power source and how did you run the wire to the amp?
It sounds as if you have already done this type of modification so any shortcuts/ experience you have gained would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Jeff
From there, I ran new speaker wire up the outside edges of the truck to the door speakers (a/d/s/ 325). I also ran wire (well, 20" or so) to the box behind the seat, which currently contains 4 JL 10W1s.
Things to remember: Don't neglect your power. Don't run power and RCAs within 2-3" of each other. Use a circuit breaker near the battery. Don't try to run any decent amplifier off the internal electrics, go to the battery.
Set the gains on your amplifier up pretty high -- I don't like turning the factory stereo up above about 2 bars past center or you get distortion.
From your post, it sounds like you are thinking about using factory power to the front, with amped power to the rear. Is this the case? Why are you doing it this way (curious).
Thanks for your help. I am not using the amp on the front speakers to avoid running more wire. The reason I am bothering to do this much is because I have the amp and speakers laying around. I feel I can balance out this stock system this way. The back stock speakers should not have even been put in IMO. So until I decide what I really want to do this will be a quick easy fix. Did you completely remove the seats/carpet or fish it through the middle? I don't mean the seem ignorant but due to the temporary nature I want to use your experience to make this as easy as possible. Thanks again. JT