First, I've seen people say the speakers are 6"x8" in both the front AND rear doors of the supercab - is that correct?

Second, without going with a sub and all that, can I can some nice speakers (along with a new stereo) that sounds great? What I want is something that can be cranked up without distorting the bass. I'm not concerned about license plate-rattling bass...just nice thumps that are distorted when you turn it up. Whenever I do this, I'll get a stereo to match the speakers...but I'm just looking for your personal opinion on experiences you've had without going with a sub, amp, etc. I'm simply looking to swap out the stereo and speakers, that's it.

 

lariat,

The sub (even just one 10") can add alot to the low end. A 6x8 or even a 6.5" component cannot reproduce the levels of low end that the sub is designed for.

That being said, you can do pretty good without installing a sub if you think about some of these things....

First off, a 4-channel amp for those new speakers (not just the new headunit) would be ideal to reach distortion-free high volume levels. The headunit's lack of power will probably be your biggest hindrance in reaching high volume. If you are totally against spending the money on an amp (plus installation of extra wiring, etc.) then it would be wise to shop around for a speaker that is very "efficient".

Quality speakers usually have an Efficieny rating that is in dB. The higher that rating, the louder that speaker can play with less power. Basically, if you compare a speaker rated at 88db efficiency, versus a speaker that is rated at 91db efficieny; the 91db speaker will be able to play that much louder at a standard power ouput from an amp (I think these tests are done at 10 watts ?). While 3db might not sound like it's worth it, it's quite a bit louder than you'd think. I believe that a 6db gain is roughly twice as loud, so a 3db would be a 50% improvement. (Some other audiophile can correct me)

The second thing I'd think about is taking the time to do a quality installation of the speakers. If you just slap them in the door, without taking the time to construct the proper environment for the speaker, you are just wasting free sound quality and volume that could be had. By this I mean making sure that the door is properly sealed so that the back of the speaker is completly closed off from the front of the speaker. You ever wonder why a speaker you hold in your hand (no enclosure) sounds like crap? It's because the sound waves coming from the front and back of the speaker are being allowed to collide and are cancelling each other out (especially bass frequencies). Killing road noise is also important (i.e. Dynomat) but I'm not sure that it's even worth it in our already super quiet trucks.

I'd also think about putting a set of components in the front doors. Ford has even given you a premade spot for the tweeter. This will generally give you the best sound quality.

Don't pay attention too much to those glorfied wattage numbers on the head unit boxes. More or less all headunits put out around 25w x 4 distortion free, even that is pushing it on some. While we found that decibals need only increase slightly to get a noticeable, wattage must increase at a much higher rate to hear the difference. I believe that wattage must double to get just a 3db (could be 6db) gain in the speaker output. So comparing a 25w x 4 headunit next to a 35wx4 headunit is retarded and totally unimportant. What is more important is at what level the headunit (or amp) begins to produce noticable distortion, and how clean the signal is. If a headunit is pumping out 100w total, but is doing it at 1% THD (total harmonic distortion = bad distorted audio) it doesn't do you any good. I'd rather have a headunit that put out 50w at 0.01 THD, trust me. It's all about the quality of the signal and distortion levels, ignore the marketing "500 WATTS TOTAL POWER".

I won't get into RMS and MAX power ratings, that's another novel-length post. Someone can ask if needed.

I've probably forgotten stuff. Sorry for the long post, I hope I answered some questions...guess I am bored at work and felt like chatting.

- Justin

 

Thanks for the info. I think I'll probably think about my options and check out some car audio shops. I will most likely pay someone to do the work and have them suggest the best solution for the money I want to spend (haven't decided or know what my limit is yet). The best option depends on the installers I talk to. I want to get a feel for how they work, etc. If they are really good at what they do and impress me, maybe I'll let them do more than I normally would. If I have someone else do it, I can hold them responsible for how the install looks and sounds I'm not opposed to an amp and sub, but space is a concern. Maybe I'll look into the various options for subs and amps when that time comes. I could always relocated the jack and put a sub there...maybe. We'll see This is most likely a year or two in the future. I've got a child on the way...November.

 

I just recently changed out all my speakers. Yes they are all 6x8's There is also room for a tweeter in the front door. I didn't mess with that. I put pioneer 3-way speakers in all doors. This made quite a bit of a difference. I am however going to look at adding an amp just for those speakers. The headunit does not push enough so I have to turn the headunit up a little higher than I used to on the speakers however the sound is much better on the lows and highs. If you are wanting the bass though you will need to add a sub.


https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?gnum=4327

 

I'd highly recomend taking a look into getting someone to build you a set of nice kick panels that will hold a really nice set of comps or get someone to build you some AP enclosres and put the comps in the doors. Any nice set of comps will require at least 100 watts a side to really sound good. Either method would satisfy you. And to be honest, with a kid in the cab is no place for 130 DB worth of boomin, even though you might wish you had it.

Go to a high end shop and ask to see the nicest equipment they have in 6.5" component set then compare them to say a 6x8 or 5x7. Make sure to power them with the different power sent to them to get a feel for how much power you need. The more over power you buy the amps, the cleaner it will sound. I nearly double my highs with power.

The other point of interest will be your HU. IF you decide to put speakers in the doors, you will want to look into a HU that feature Time Correction. Most of your nicer HU's hae this such as Alpine, Eclipse, And some of the nicer pioneers. This helps to offset the timing enough for the sound to appear to be coming from a left and right speaker at the same distance from your head. This is critical in creating "Imaging" while using lots of power and getting loud while having that speaker so close to your head.

I would bail the rear speakers all together and just run lots of power to the fronts.



Latter down the road if you still want bass a small 8" enclosure would fit under your back seat without moving the jack. The amps can fit on the back wall.

Those are CDT HD62's. Retail for around $600 but can be had on the net for $250. The amp i'm using is a Hifonics Zeus 6200 and retails for $750, can be had on the net for around $225. You see you can support your shop and have all this nice gear that someone is holding the responsibility and pay an absolute fortune for or you can wing it and spend little, get alot. The choice is yours. The internet retailers do not offer the warrranty but at these prices, who needs a warranty?

Good luch with your kid!