help, audio suggestions?
#1
12-05-2012 | 08:11 AM
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New Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 61
help, audio suggestions?
So I've got a 2000 zr2. Non Bose system. Has an aftermarket radio in already. I can only assume stock speakers. They crackle and the face plate has no Bluetooth or aux connections.
I am decently mechanically inclined. So far me and a buddy have done the spider conversion, fuel pump, and the rear glass didn't seal from someone trying to break into it so the hinges had to be removed and massaged back into shape.
My problem is I know mostly nothing about audio terms and with winter fast approaching I was hoping I could get a few suggestions on head units and speakers for truck.
If anyone is inclined to help assume I want to change all the speakers and the head unit would need Bluetooth and aux.
I'm going to look on my own but if anyone could point me in a direction they or someone else has already gone that'd be awesome. I'm not looking to win competitions just not drive myself nuts trying to figure out what to orders and you know maybe wake the neighbors when I drive around lol.
Thanks all
-Steve -
I am decently mechanically inclined. So far me and a buddy have done the spider conversion, fuel pump, and the rear glass didn't seal from someone trying to break into it so the hinges had to be removed and massaged back into shape.
My problem is I know mostly nothing about audio terms and with winter fast approaching I was hoping I could get a few suggestions on head units and speakers for truck.
If anyone is inclined to help assume I want to change all the speakers and the head unit would need Bluetooth and aux.
I'm going to look on my own but if anyone could point me in a direction they or someone else has already gone that'd be awesome. I'm not looking to win competitions just not drive myself nuts trying to figure out what to orders and you know maybe wake the neighbors when I drive around lol.
Thanks all
-Steve -
#2
12-05-2012 | 08:14 AM
Alrighty. First off pricing is super important since there is such a variety of audio stuff. What can you afford in this project? $100-$300? etc Are you wanting a complete system with subs? or are you just looking to improve the stock speakers?
#3
12-05-2012 | 10:59 AM
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 931
From: Monroe City, IN
Chris is right, to be able to give a worthwhile suggestion we'll need to know what kind of budget you're trying to work with and what your end goal is for it. Are you just wanting to improve what you have now, are you wanting to add a sub for a little extra bump along with replacing the HU and speakers, or are you looking to get a complete system with an amp for the new speakers, more than one sub with sound deadening and the works?
You could get by with replacing the HU with one with the features you want and new speakers for <$200. It'll work and sound ok for the average person, but with say $500 a person could do the HU, replace the front speakers with a nice set of components, get a little sub and power all of it with an amp. Also, if you're wanting to add a sub or subs, can you build your own enclosure? Prefabbed enclosures are crap and custom enclosures are expensive. You can save a great deal of money building your own. Sound deadening seems superfluous to most people, but a little bit can go a long way in improving the sound of the speakers you decide to get. Even if all you want to do is replace the HU and speakers it's not a bad idea to do a little deadening to help with resonances and rattles.
Lastly, my most auspicious advice is patience. You may not want to do a competition level build but that doesn't mean you should sell yourself short because you don't have the money to do everything you'd LIKE to do at one time. Do it all in stages if you need to. If you buy what you can when you can and have the patience to do it you can end up with a much better result, it will typically last longer, and you'll be happier with it for the long haul.
You could get by with replacing the HU with one with the features you want and new speakers for <$200. It'll work and sound ok for the average person, but with say $500 a person could do the HU, replace the front speakers with a nice set of components, get a little sub and power all of it with an amp. Also, if you're wanting to add a sub or subs, can you build your own enclosure? Prefabbed enclosures are crap and custom enclosures are expensive. You can save a great deal of money building your own. Sound deadening seems superfluous to most people, but a little bit can go a long way in improving the sound of the speakers you decide to get. Even if all you want to do is replace the HU and speakers it's not a bad idea to do a little deadening to help with resonances and rattles.
Lastly, my most auspicious advice is patience. You may not want to do a competition level build but that doesn't mean you should sell yourself short because you don't have the money to do everything you'd LIKE to do at one time. Do it all in stages if you need to. If you buy what you can when you can and have the patience to do it you can end up with a much better result, it will typically last longer, and you'll be happier with it for the long haul.
#5
12-06-2012 | 08:12 AM
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 931
From: Monroe City, IN
$400 is a fair budget to replace everything you're wanting to replace.
These HU's have the features you're wanting.
JVC KD-X50BT $100
Pioneer DEH-6400BT $110
Sony MEX-BT3000P $110
There's a plethora of speakers available to fit your needs. I prefer using a component set up front instead of using 4x6 and 6.5 speakers in the front. They'll image better and have better overall sound than the two individual sizes.
JBL P660C $155
Now if you're mind is made up to use both sizes then I would recommend putting the 4x6's on the front speaker outputs of the HU and the 6.5's on the rear. Doing that will allow you to blend the two sets to sound better. It will require running your own speaker wire to the 4x6's and purposefully wire the rear speaker outputs to the front speakers in the harness to make that work. The 6x9's won't be necessary and reallly aren't in any situation IMHO.
JBL GTO6429 $96
Alpine SPR-60 $115
In either case, the 6x9's don't need to be anything special, if you even want to replace them. I'm only running a set of components in the front of my Jimmy. They sound fantastic and the stage and imaging are great. Rear speakers will mess with that, but if you're dead set on replacing them then these Alpine's will do the job just fine.
Alpine SPE-6090 $55
I don't recommend anything I wouldn't use myself. All these combinations have room left over to get sound deadening. It seems superfluous to a lot of people, but it really does help with resonances, rattles and road noise. It's money well spent no matter if it's a basic stock replacement setup or a competition level install.
These HU's have the features you're wanting.
JVC KD-X50BT $100
Pioneer DEH-6400BT $110
Sony MEX-BT3000P $110
There's a plethora of speakers available to fit your needs. I prefer using a component set up front instead of using 4x6 and 6.5 speakers in the front. They'll image better and have better overall sound than the two individual sizes.
JBL P660C $155
Now if you're mind is made up to use both sizes then I would recommend putting the 4x6's on the front speaker outputs of the HU and the 6.5's on the rear. Doing that will allow you to blend the two sets to sound better. It will require running your own speaker wire to the 4x6's and purposefully wire the rear speaker outputs to the front speakers in the harness to make that work. The 6x9's won't be necessary and reallly aren't in any situation IMHO.
JBL GTO6429 $96
Alpine SPR-60 $115
In either case, the 6x9's don't need to be anything special, if you even want to replace them. I'm only running a set of components in the front of my Jimmy. They sound fantastic and the stage and imaging are great. Rear speakers will mess with that, but if you're dead set on replacing them then these Alpine's will do the job just fine.
Alpine SPE-6090 $55
I don't recommend anything I wouldn't use myself. All these combinations have room left over to get sound deadening. It seems superfluous to a lot of people, but it really does help with resonances, rattles and road noise. It's money well spent no matter if it's a basic stock replacement setup or a competition level install.
#6
12-06-2012 | 08:59 PM
BF Veteran
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,654
From: Baltimore, MD
I would recommend the Sundown Audio 6.5" components for your front speakers. They are brand new on the market and are an awesome product. If you are interested I am a rep for the company and can get you pricing. Just msg me
#7
12-11-2012 | 09:49 AM
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New Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 61
Thanks a lot Alton. Sorry I just realized you responded to this.
What exactly are components as compared to the option of putting speakers that fit in there?
Also when you suggest sound deadening for the truck where are you referring to?
What exactly are components as compared to the option of putting speakers that fit in there?
Also when you suggest sound deadening for the truck where are you referring to?
#8
12-11-2012 | 11:45 AM
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 931
From: Monroe City, IN
No problem man.
Coaxial speakers are a mid/woofer with a tweeter mounted "co-axially" or, on the same axis. Usually the center of the speaker, like so. Coaxial speakers generally do not have a filter network that is any more complicated than a capacitor to filter bass from the tweeter. That lets the mid/woofer play frequencies it can't and that causes beaming, cone breakup and other unwanted distortions with the music. It also causes the tweeter to have to be crossed much higher than it should which compounds the issue on the mid/woofer and hurts the overall playback quality of the tweeter.
Component sets are a pair of mid/woofers combined with a separate pair of tweeters and a separate pair of crossover networks. Having the speakers separated allows the user to install them in more ideal locations for better staging, imaging and overall response. The crossover networks separate bass and midrange frequencies to the mid/woofers to help alleviate the issues with playing frequencies the driver shouldn't be. It also allows the tweeter to play frequencies that better compliment the response and limitations of the mid/woofers playback abilities. That all works together for a much smoother and that much more musical overall listening experience. Here's an example of a component set.
The drawback is that due to the extra parts involved and such the component sets are at least a little more expensive than their coaxial counterparts. For example the Focal 165a1 components pictured above sell for $139 which is fairly respectable. However the exact same manufacturer and model series coaxials, the Focal 165ca1's are $90.
As far as sound deadening, simply explained it's the materials one would use to help eliminate vibrations, rattles and road noise in a vehicle. This website, The Sound Deadener Showdown, is probably the best and most informative site. The owner is also about the best guy you'll ever deal with as well. He will never sell you more product than you need which cannot be said for pretty much any other company no matter what they're selling, but especially sound deadening product companies.
Hope all that helps.
Coaxial speakers are a mid/woofer with a tweeter mounted "co-axially" or, on the same axis. Usually the center of the speaker, like so. Coaxial speakers generally do not have a filter network that is any more complicated than a capacitor to filter bass from the tweeter. That lets the mid/woofer play frequencies it can't and that causes beaming, cone breakup and other unwanted distortions with the music. It also causes the tweeter to have to be crossed much higher than it should which compounds the issue on the mid/woofer and hurts the overall playback quality of the tweeter.
Component sets are a pair of mid/woofers combined with a separate pair of tweeters and a separate pair of crossover networks. Having the speakers separated allows the user to install them in more ideal locations for better staging, imaging and overall response. The crossover networks separate bass and midrange frequencies to the mid/woofers to help alleviate the issues with playing frequencies the driver shouldn't be. It also allows the tweeter to play frequencies that better compliment the response and limitations of the mid/woofers playback abilities. That all works together for a much smoother and that much more musical overall listening experience. Here's an example of a component set.
The drawback is that due to the extra parts involved and such the component sets are at least a little more expensive than their coaxial counterparts. For example the Focal 165a1 components pictured above sell for $139 which is fairly respectable. However the exact same manufacturer and model series coaxials, the Focal 165ca1's are $90.
As far as sound deadening, simply explained it's the materials one would use to help eliminate vibrations, rattles and road noise in a vehicle. This website, The Sound Deadener Showdown, is probably the best and most informative site. The owner is also about the best guy you'll ever deal with as well. He will never sell you more product than you need which cannot be said for pretty much any other company no matter what they're selling, but especially sound deadening product companies.
Hope all that helps.
#9
12-11-2012 | 12:34 PM
Super Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,485
From: Lynnwood WA
Alton, I dont know what your opinions are on the Alpine Type S components but i have them and i really like them. I have never compared them to anything else so maybe they arent good, but they keep up with my sub pretty well.
Also, With the deadening i think what they are trying to say is do some deadening in the doors which is pretty cheap to do. Or you can do a full interior removal and deaden the floor, doors and tail gate. Which will run about 300$ if you only use the deadening and the mass loaded vinyl (to block sound)
Also, With the deadening i think what they are trying to say is do some deadening in the doors which is pretty cheap to do. Or you can do a full interior removal and deaden the floor, doors and tail gate. Which will run about 300$ if you only use the deadening and the mass loaded vinyl (to block sound)
Last edited by 97cherryblazer; 12-11-2012 at 12:42 PM.
#10
12-11-2012 | 01:15 PM
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 931
From: Monroe City, IN
The Type S components are not a bad set. They're a little light on midbass and can have a little harshness at about 3khz, but for the money they sound pretty damn decent and get respectively loud for their rated power. All in all not bad money spent, however it doesn't take a whole lot more money to make a considerable upgrade. For example the Focal 165a1 components would be a nicer set and for not that much more. Double the budget of the cost of those SPS components and you're in for some really nice component sets.
Deadening the doors should be done bare minimum to help with midbass response and limit vibrations and rattles. Although doing the entire vehicle yields a difference that has to be experienced to be believed. I've been in a couple of Blazers that were fully treated that were quieter than any luxury vehicle I've ever been in. No rattles, no road noise, just quiet bliss.
Deadening the doors should be done bare minimum to help with midbass response and limit vibrations and rattles. Although doing the entire vehicle yields a difference that has to be experienced to be believed. I've been in a couple of Blazers that were fully treated that were quieter than any luxury vehicle I've ever been in. No rattles, no road noise, just quiet bliss.