anyone know anything about car audio?
 

I am looking to upgrade the speakers and maby add a amp to my truck, it is a newer model ford supercab so it has four 6X8's in it.

the speakers I am looking at are Rockford Fosgate HPC2268 6X8's and the amp is the Rockford Fosgate 500X

any one used Rockford befor? any opinions?

Steve

if you go with the said setup you wont be dissapointed! very good stuff...
it will sound amazing!~

Yep i agree, i've used Rockford for about 10 years very nice stuff. Them and Boston Acoustic are all i buy. :biggrin:

Clinton

Instead of going with all 6X8's, use component speakers. they will sound a 100% better with that kind of power going to them. I'd use 6" separates in the front and maybe if you are a little handy, modify the rear speaker opening to accept 8" subs. This configuratiopn should give you very good sound with the abilliy the play it pretty loud with minimal distortion.

Simon

Hello,

If you want the best configuration, you'd do this:
1) Put components up front. This can be either all in kickpanels, or the mids in kicks, and the tweeters in the A-pillar base aiming to the opposite passenger.
2) Put 8" on your door, and build a ported enclosure for it. Make sure it's properly tuned.
3) Tri-amp the tweeters, mids, and 8". Then time-align all 6 speakers for the driver. You also need to correct for volume due to the distance. Afterwards, you can RTA the setup for a proper spectral balance.

For speakers, I recommend Focal and amplifier PPI or better. On your front end, you also need to pay attention to your source. For a more economical setup, Audio Alchemy makes great DAC and jitter reduction devices.

One thing I almost forgot, rip out any speakers coming from the back.

Titus

Hey Titus, I think he wants to keep the price down and not interested in competitions. If I had the money, your configuration does sound good. But I would use Xtant amps instead of PPI and use a JL audio stealth box for a pair or trio of JL10w6's. Do you have a similar setup in your car?

Simon.

Hello,

He can try similar setups with lower grade components but install himself. This can allow him to save a lot of money and achieve a good result as well.

I don't like the pre-built box as it doesn't offer much flexibility. For amplifiers, you can use any good ones. It doesn't have to be exclusively PPI, which I suggested because of their great current ability.

I uses 8W6 up front.

Titus

hey, thanks for the replies. I was out looking at speakers the other day as i had heard that 6.5" componants would be better, you know what, the 350.00 componants didn't sound as good as the 249.99 6x8's. I imagin if i was going to put subs in then the componants would be better but for no just the speakers are going in.. later a amp. the 6.5's just didn't make enuf base..

Steve

Which shop did you go to? Unfortunatly I find that most shops do not set up thier sound boards very well. Therefore resulting in very poor sound. Which 6.5's were they? Of coarse the 6X8's are going to sound like they have more bass because of the bigger surface area.

Simon

Actualy I went to about 6 shops hehe, was a long day especialy when you can hardly walk :eek:

I was listining to a few different set ups, eclipse, rockfords, and a few others I can't remember at the moment as I decided on either the rockfords or the eclipse. like you said in a previous post I am trying to get the best sound I can on a budget, I will be doing the speakers soon, then later I will add a amp. then I might looking at adding a custom sub box with one sub in it being driven off its own amp.

I did have a line on a set of used Rockford componants for 200.00 (they were almost 700.00 new) but I was a day to late to get them. :frown:

Steve

The best way to save money on stereo equipment is to haggle for a better price. Stereo equipment is marked up so much that most places if you ask, will automatically give you 15% off. try for 25%. Tell them you are building a sytem and that you will be back for all the other stuff and you will refer all your friends.
Also, If you get a chance, listen to the Rockford FNX separates. I have these and they sound amazing. Not very bassy (but that's what subs are for), but for the money,($250 special discount) I think best sound reproduction.
If your ultimate goal is good accurate sound, go with decent separates and just go without the booming bass untill you can afford a sub. Also, a downside to coaxial speakers is that they have a tendancy to blow easier(Due to lack of filters) if you play your music somewhat loud for an extended period of time. (like on a long trip)

Also avoid international stereo. These guys know nothing about stereo equipment and actually lie to you to make a sale.

Simon

Hey Steve if you want about the bestdeal you can get let me know. I paint all the cars for the boys at JB's power cennter on the north end. I get cost plus 10% on all they sell. :mrgreen:

Clinton

Hmm do they have rockford stuff? I am planning a trip to edmonton this summer :wink:

Steve

That's there main brand. :smile: Just let me know if you need it sooner, my brother is supossed to be up this way in the next month or so. He lives in Vancouver so i could ship whatever up with him if you like.

Clinton

anyone know anything about a brand called Massive? I was looking at there speakers today but I have never heard of them.

Steve

i bought my system over the course of about 6 months from future shop, got myself good deals because i befriended the salesman i dealt with, eventually he was telling me to go to A&B sound, get a price check, come back, and he'd save me the cash. ended up doing fairly well i think. 2 10" mtx subs, mtx amp, infinity speakers (dunno the size), pioneer mp3 deck.

Hey Steve,

I have a 98 ford f-150 supercab,but it has 4-7x 10`s...not 6x8`s,they were originally stocked with that size aswell...
I had purchased the XLT-STX model,so im unsure if that is why they are different sizes?

Either way, i replaced all 4 of the Speakers with Clarion 3-way Speakers and added a 400w clarion Subwoofer and Amp.
The CD player is 4X50 output so it is slightly underpowering the 4 speakers,but sounds crystal clear.

Beyond this the addition of a Lightning Audio 400w amp (The Bolt) is a excellent Quality self cooling amp,and Clarion 400W Dual Tone Sub made for an overall nice sound with some nasty kick to it.
:mrgreen:

HTH with some more ideas.

7X10's? I have never heard of such a beast.. do you mean 5X7's? a 5X7 and a 6X8 are the same mounting size. I haven't come across a 7X10 at all or seen one in any book I have been getting.. hmmm

Steve

Sorry Steve,

Yes 5x7`s.

Ok cool had me all screwed up for a sec.. :lol:

ya pretty any speaker is a upgrade from the factorys. I have a JVC deck that does MP3 and it is 50Wx4 also (best thing I have done is buy a MP3 deck)

so I aqm going to go with the rockford speakers and do the amp at a later date.

Steve

Unfortunatly when a deck say's 50X4...etc, that is the max power the amp can produce but with lots of distortion. Most decks put out a 1/3 of the max power. Always look at the spec sheet at RMS power. Never let the Max power fool you. AlsoSame with the amp Ratings. MOst of the time, the power given of an amp is in lab condtions. That means the amp is running very cool, given 14.4V of juice and running at 2ohms. Again look at the specs sheet for RMS power in 4ohm at 12v power. More ideal car condtions.

Simon

...

yup, i am guessing about 15watts rms, the amp i am buying later is 68 watt rms/chan.

if you look at hoe rockford tests/rates there amps it is realy quite neat, they build them, run them for about 14 hours strait at full power, then they let it cool down. the next day they run it for 4 hours then measure it at that point. if it passes the min ratings for that amp they make the birth certificat and off it goes.

Steve