Car Audio Guru's

[161xchonda]

Ok, so im looking for some kind of sound system to put in my truck. I have a 1994 f 150 ext cab. I know absolutely nothing about any of this stuff. Any recomendations on what brand, and what all i need? Lookin for somethin fairly cheap, but still sounds good. Thanks guys.

[ricksmx865]

you'll need wiring kit, amp, subs, and a GOOD box (prefab boxes sound like ***, and you dont get near the performance out of your subs)

As for subs its kinda up to you and what kinda music/how loud you want it to be.

I would say 2 10's

as for brands, i HATE mainstream subs (JL,mtx,pioneer,mtx, alpine) BUT if i had to suggest 1 it would be alpine

once you have your subs picked out, pick out an amp with a matching RMS output of your subs. for amps i would say hifonics

let me know if you need more info or more specific help with anything

[chadbarger18]

my dad knows just about everything about car audio or did. i really like pioneer and kicker thats whats in mine and his trucks

well the setup I just bought havent tried it out yet but they have excellent reviews on websites. I wanted to go JBL or Infinity but I bought a whole lot of stuff from a neighbor for a less than a 1/4 of the retail. This stuff is going in my 1994 Honda Civic Sedan. I'm going to put foam down, then a board, then the speaker drilled into it to dampen an vibrations or distortions. Its a little bt of work to make custom mounts with wood and cut out the rear deck to fit 6x9's and then cut a new trunk floor because stock is a flimsy piece of wood warped so bad it sags to the spare tire and i want to make a flap on hinges to the subs can stay put and i can still get the jack and spare tire out if i need too. Should sound pretty awesome. If you want bass to blow the windows out of your car get a Kicker 15" L7 solo baric speaker 1000watt RMS 2000watt peak. Those are nuts my brother has just 1 in his truck and he is nuts to have that right next to your ears. he got it real cheap because the guy that had it before shattered the windows in his car with just the 1 so he said i'm done with this and sold it to a friend and then to my brother. Shakes the mirrors and everything so bad you cant see anything behind you in the mirrors. The factoy Honda speakers were only 4 15watt RMS speakers which were all dry rotted and didnt even have a rubber outside just a thin cardboard cone flappin around. It sounded so crappy and the head unit was so bad i could only get 1 radio station good thing it was my favorite.

I have:

(2) 5-1/4" Coaxial 45watt RMS Polk
(2) 6x9" 3 way 100watt RMS Polk
(2) 12" 400watt RMS Kicker subs
-Bazooka 500watt Amp
-Kenwood 22watt Amp/CD/Radio... Head unit
-Sealed profession box for the subs I think MTX made it,

Total RMS is 1090watts
Total Peak is 2490watts

[hoogiesngrinder]

I run a Alpine 7995 deck (no internal amp), Apline v12 4ch 200rms, Bazooka 1500.1 500rms, 2 10" Alpine Type R's, Qlogic sealed box, Alpine Type R 6.5" components up front, and a 2.5 farad cap. Sounds great in my Jimmy.

[hypersnyper6947]

JL AUDIO all the way

[greenblood01]

I've had a Sony Xplod 12" with a 500w 4 channel amp, then I went to 3 MTX 10"s with a 600w Xplod amp.

But the best system I've had was 2 15" Kicker Solo-Barics with a 1200w Xplod amp and Pioneer speakers all the way around. The box was ported and I had them in the back of an extended cab Ranger facing down.. wish I had pics. :devil:

[Scro]

www.termpro.com

There is alot of good info here. You'll find that you can get alot more bang for your buck if you stay away from some of the more popular companies.

[Kickstarts-suck]

Ive had my kicker stuff for a year and I beat it everyday and its still working great.

planning on an upgrade soon. Either 2 10" L7s or 2 cvx12s.

[XCRacer236]

you sound a lot like myself!! haha. i asked this exact same question not too long ago on another forum. this will help you out some.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229047

[exrider272]

Originally posted by hypersnyper6947
JL AUDIO all the way
you got that right:cool:

just make sure u got enuff room. bigger space = bigger box= larger bass . u got a ext cab so u wont have a problem with room. its just the SC and CC that u got problems with room.

[exrider49]

greenblood01...im running 1 kicker 15 solo-baric and a kicker amp in my ext. cab ranger..pretty good back massage

[nickmelll]

phoenix gold rsd10 subs you can find them on ebay for around $80 and they are pretty good

[greenblood01]

Originally posted by exrider49
greenblood01...im running 1 kicker 15 solo-baric and a kicker amp in my ext. cab ranger..pretty good back massage

I know what you mean man. My windshield wipers would move on the windshield. I could sit my phone on the roof of the truck and it would jump up and down. I wish I would've kept that system.

I need to figure out what to put in my F-150 now.

[mineralgrey01gt]

JL Audio if you can afford it. I had 2 Rockford fosgate P2 10's in a rockford ported box that hit harder than my buddy's 12's that had more power to them. Its all about the box for sound quality

[ALAMX37]

Nothing personal but I wouldn't have polk in my car. They make a few good components but I have had bad luck with most of their equipment I have used.
For solid components I really like memphis.
As for subs in an extended cab pickup, 2 12's might be overkill. You dont want to sacrifice sound quality for pure noise. I would suggest 2 10's with at least a 500 watt rating and a matching mono block.


I have been through the whole big bass thing. I had 4 memphis mojo 12's in the back of my jeep with 2 mojo 2400 watt mono blocks. It shattered the windows and wasn't good for easy listening. Go for sound quality ask around.

Originally posted by ALAMX37
Nothing personal but I wouldn't have polk in my car. They make a few good components but I have had bad luck with most of their equipment I have used.

please elaborate. i bought all my equipment for $200, $48 for adapters and connectors, and soon $25 for wiring for the amp kit. Grand total + gas to get to the store = $275. I am going ot take a picture of what the 94 factory speakers look like after 14 years, your gonna laugh cause i did when i took the covers off the doors and the rear deck. i lightly touched the cone and my finger went through. the front speakers were dry rotted so bad there wasnt even rubber around the cones justa thing cardboard cone rattlin around and the headunit i only got 1 station good thing it was the one i listen to most. each speaker was 15 watt 4 ohm so i dont thnk it could get any worse. a blown low end after market would have sounded better than these things lol my cell phone has a better speaker. i would just like to know what happened with your Polk's

[ridered11]

^^like i told you before polk is crap......you get what you pay for

if you want to go cheap and get polk speakers a jvc head unit and some sony explode crap you are going to be let down

I'll stick with my alpine head unit, alpine component speakers and rockford P3 12' sub.....good quality stuff

Originally posted by ridered11
^^like i told you before polk is crap......you get what you pay for

if you want to go cheap and get polk speakers a jvc head unit and some sony explode crap you are going to be let down

I'll stick with my alpine head unit, alpine component speakers and rockford P3 12' sub.....good quality stuff

the only reason why you said they were crap is because they are made in mexico which is wrong they arent made there. i dont have a JVC head unit or Sony speakers. Sony are complete crap. what do you mean you get what you pay for the Polk are just as much as Infinity or JBL. My fronts are $110, the rear are $180. seriously have you ever heard a 94 civic's factory radio? i'm serious when i say my cell phone sounds way better. in fact i drove with m cell phone playing rather than the radio for 2 days before i took all my speakers and head unit out. i'm not looking for the most amazing and loudest sound I just wanted something where i could play CD's, get good radio reception, and have a nice sound thats full.