Car audio for a dummy.
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New member Username: Chevy4uDallas, Tessas United States Post Number: 1 Registered: May-10 | I'm brand new to car audio. I have 2 12' memphis street edge subs on a 1000 watt amp. My first system. It was cool for like 2 days. I want something alot better. I would like 2 12' fi btl subs. I know I'm going to have to upgrade everything. (Electrical, amp, so on...) but I'm still quite clueless. Could someone tell me everything I need to run this system. I'm talking batteries, alternator's etcetera.. It's going in a 95' Silverado extended cab. Under the back seat. Appreciate the help in advance. |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfLexington, SC USA Post Number: 13507 Registered: Dec-03 | first, the BTL is an SPL event sub. It's designed to be as loud as possible for one-note burp events in sanctioned competitions. It isn't really designed to sound good musically. Are you sure this is the sub you want? Next, you would not have nearly the needed room under the seats of a pickup for a pair of BTLs since you'd need to go ported or bandpass to use them properly, which means at least 5 cubic feet or more of volume. |
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New member Username: Chevy4uDallas, Tessas United States Post Number: 2 Registered: May-10 | Bro I appreciate the help. Now I'm going to bug you lol. So what would be the hardest hitting subs that could go under the seats in a extended cab? To answer your question though, I don't care for sound quality THAT much. Maybe when I get older I will. I certainly don't need an SPL since it's going to be for daily use. I just want to slap the heck out of my truck. |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfLexington, SC USA Post Number: 13512 Registered: Dec-03 | yeah you want an all around workhorse of a sub, and I get that. My first choice (because I'm a fan of Fi) is the Fi SSD. If you need something cheaper, the Alpine Type R is a good choice. Measure under the seats in back and see what sort of room you have for a box (LxWxD) and tell me how many cubic feet you can get in a box under the seats (total or per sub) Honestly you can do wonders with a single sub, too, so if all else fails and you can span the width of the back of the truck with one box, we may go that route with a single sub, using the proper air space to get the right volume for that one sub. I'll also need to know the depth (front to back) and the height (floot to deat) measurements for the box to see what size sub will physically fit in there, too. Anyway I think the Fi SSD (10 or 12 inch) is the way to go. www.ficaraudio.com |
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New member Username: Chevy4uDallas, Tessas United States Post Number: 3 Registered: May-10 | Ok GlassWolf, I have some numbers for you. First I'm going to start with the current box. The Height of it is 7" tall, but the mounting of the sub is 6". (It kind of looks like a stand so the sub won't hit the bottom of my truck maybe?) Anyway the width of the box is 4 feet 7 inches. The distance from one sub to the other is 29". This box fits just about perfect. I do think the height could definatly get a little taller though. Maybe about 1 1/2 inches taller. Also another thing to add is, the box isn't the same height all around. In between the subs there is an uprising in the floorboard. I'm not really sure the name of it, but it's definatly not removable since it's metal. I guess it's your typical extended cab box. But ya, anyway cool so I still may be able to get some fi subs huh? |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 13532 Registered: Dec-03 | that center rise in teh floor is your transmission/driveshaft tunnel. These are present in all AWD and RWD vehicles with front engines. can you take a picture of the box in the truck and post it here or on photobucket? That would help visualize this better. What size subs are in the truck now? |
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New member Username: Chevy4uDallas, Tessas United States Post Number: 4 Registered: May-10 | Sure; here ya go. And the Subs I have currently are 12's    |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 13535 Registered: Dec-03 | OK, without knowing the volume of the box (which you could find using packing peanuts if you're ambitious) I'm going to say that box probalby isn't really large enough, or reinforced to handle BTLs, but you could run Fi SSD 12" subs in the existing (nice, by the way) box, and just switch amps. I'd drive them with a Sundown SAZ-2000D amp (2Kw @ 1 ohm) and get each sub in dual 4 ohm coil version, so you can present a 1 ohm load to the amp and feed each sub 1Kw. After that, I'd run 1/0 gauge power and ground lines from the battery, and do the "big 3" in the same size wire. I'd also look into replacing the stock alternator with something in the 200A-250A range. Next I'd find a good set of 2-way separate components for the front (doors or kick pods) from a brand like Focal, DLS, DynAudio, Alpine (Type R or X), JL Audio (XR or ZR), or similar (depends on budget and taste) then drive those fronts with a decent 4 channel amp bridged to 2 channels, or just a 2-channel amp. example: Sundown SAX-125.2 www.sundownaudio.com That, combined with a head unit that offers 3 pair of RCA pre-outs (F/R/S) will be a really nice system. |
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New member Username: Chevy4uDallas, Tessas United States Post Number: 5 Registered: May-10 | Wow thanks for all the information. A couple more questions though. How many feet of 1/0 gauge wire should I get? And I don't need to upgrade my battery? |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 13546 Registered: Dec-03 | you can figure out the amount of wire with a tape measure and some electrical extension cord or string. Just measure out a mock run of the wiring, and add about 10-20% as a fudge factor. Here's some info on the electricals http://www.glasswolf.net/papers/charging.html http://www.glasswolf.net/papers/big3.htm http://www.glasswolf.net/papers/wire.html http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf |
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New member Username: Chevy4uDallas, Tessas United States Post Number: 6 Registered: May-10 | Thanks this really helps me out. Also, what do you think about these for door speakers. ? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001MSI9PW |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 13561 Registered: Dec-03 | ooh good taste. teh polyglass are really nice. I think you'll be happy with them. They'll really come to life on that 125.2 |
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New member Username: Chevy4uDallas, Tessas United States Post Number: 7 Registered: May-10 | Hey glass is the hifonics 2000 watt amp good? I'm just wondering cus a guy in dallas is selling them for $200. A bit cheaper then the sundown :D |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 13660 Registered: Dec-03 | it's OK I suppose. Nowhere close to the quality of the sundown. Hifonics also rated their output at 16 volts, so that 2000 watts is actually 1500 watts @ 12 volts. Be sure that's RMS too, not peak. |
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New member Username: Chevy4uDallas, Tessas United States Post Number: 9 Registered: May-10 | Hey Glass I've been seriously thinking about doing a cut through for my system. If I do this, it'll mean the sub box will be in the bed of my truck. Since I'll have more space, would you suggest going with some 15 ssd's? Or what about the q's bro? |
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