HELP!

When it comes to stereos I know very little but I want to learn. I need to know if I should get a head unit first which I'll have to save or if I should buy 4 Alpine Type Rs to replace the door speakers since I have $200 to spend on my stereo.

If I got the Alpine Type Rs I'd get a new HU but would I even see the performance from them or should I just get a HU and see more performance from the stock speakers?

and if I should get the HU what HU would someone recommend? I want it to be CD/MP3 though and since our trucks use a 1.5 din does anyone make a spacer for it?

Please help!

 

Good speakers won't do much unless you power them properly. You can get infinity kappas for short money if you shop. I paid $60 per pair last August. Don't buy at Crutchfield. You can get head unit install kits and wiring harnesses at any Best Buy. If you have to get one at a time, get the HU, then the speakers.

 

If you were to run the Alpine Type R's with your stock HU I dont think you would be that happy with the sound. Those speakers require alot more power than what your HU can put out. I would start out with a new aftermarket MP3/CD receiver, or a pair of speakers that didn't require as much power such as the Alpine Type S, or many others. Here is a link to a site that you might find helpful. If you buy a reciever from them it includes the mounting hardware and wiring harness. Hope this helps

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-rsYdIAY...Brand%7CAlpine

 

Get a bazooka tube . It will give you a lot of bass,round out the sound and works witht he stock unit. It is also amplified.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...w.cfm?num=7503

 

Ok heres my .02.....If it were me, and if you can save up the money for it all in a reasonable amount of time, I would buy the speakers you want, hold on to them and then get the HU when the money is there and do it all at once. Heres why..IMO, if you install a new head unit, your not gonna like the way the speakers sound, and with a more powerful HU you will most likely blow the stock speakers in a short period of time, if you listen to it at any higher volume. Now if you put speakers in, and run off the stock HU, its not gonna have enough power for them, they will sound crappy and you stand the chance of blowing them also by not giving them enough clean power.Dont sell yourself short and get cheaper speakers just because you want something in there or the HU cant power the better ones. Your choice of the Type R's is great. I have them in my rear doors, I have OZ Audio up in front and have an Alpine CDA 7995 HU and an Alpine amp running the speakers. I had this system in my mustang and also had two Alpine Type R 10'S powered by a US Amps US1000. It was awesome. My point is this...dont rush it and sell yourself short. You will only end up spending more money in the end, by replacing stuff you dont like. I know it sucks to have to wait and to see brand new stuff on the floor in your bedroom while your waiting for the rest. But trust me its worth it. I had over $4,000 worht of stuff sitting around before I installed it. One last thing, although Crutchfield is very informative and gives you a free installation guide and installation kit, I feel they are very overpriced on all of there stuff. The install kit is only 15 or 20 bucks at best buy or wherever. Check out www.etronics.com. I bought a lot of my stuff from them and saved a HUGE amount of money. They were great to deal with and fast. I actually bought two 8's at first but sent them back and went with the 10's and had no problem with them. If they dont have what you want, then search the net. Theres plenty of places out there. Check out my gallery for pics of my install, its not completely finished yet but Im getting there. Im trying to decide on which amp and sub(s) I want to get. My Type R 10's wouldnt fit , so i gave them and the amp to my nephew. Lucky kid..Good luck with the install and let us know how its going.

 

Im looking at a Clarion DXZ935 HU for $350.

Heres the stats:

The DXZ935 is the flagship of Clarion's ProAudio source unit line. Not only does it have awesome audio performance, but it can be the heart of a top-of-the line multimedia system. With built-in Dolby Pro Logic II, the DXZ935 can create a true 5.1 surround sound field from ANY stereo source material. It can also control the DVH920 Dolby Digital/DTS/Dolby Pro Logic II 5.1 processor to decode DVD movie sound tracks in full surround sound. Add the VCZ625 6 disc DVD changer and any of our color LCD monitors for a full in-car mobile theater system! The DXZ935 will also control a TV tuner module and Sirius Satellite Radio receiver.

To top it off, the DXZ935 has built-in high pass and low pass crossovers, a 3 band 1/3 octave parametric EQ for the front, center and rear channels, Virtual Sound Expander for fine tuning your vehicles acoustic properties, and digital time alignment options for all speakers, along with a built-in 53 watt x 4 power amplifier, and 6 channel, 4 volt RCA line level outputs.

Motorized Dual Action Detachable Face
Dolby Pro Logic II
Sirius Satellite Radio Ready
CeNET Control of Optional: Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1 Processor, TV Tuner, Sirius Satellite Radio Receiver, DVD Changer and 6 Disc CD Changer
Multi-Changer Control
CD Text, CD Titling, Station Titling
Steering Wheel IR Remote Control
Dual 24 Bit DACs
Plays CD-R & CD-RWs
Parametric EQ
Built-in DSP for Time Alignment, Seat Position, Virtual Space Enhancer
4 Volt/6 Channel RCA Line Level Output
2 Channel Aux. Input
Built-in adjustable High-Pass Crossovers for
Front/Rear/Center Channels: Through/50Hz/80Hz/120Hz
Built-in adjustable Low-Pass Crossover with Subwoofer Volume Control: off/50Hz/80Hz/120Hz
Adjustable Display Contrast
212-Watt (53W x 4)
Magi-Tune+ Tuner with 18FM/6AM Presets
Screen Saver
Aluminum Faceplate

Now if I bought this and than bought door speakers, should I still get the Alpine Type Rs or the Type Ss? or something else? Also does anyone know where I can get a nice dash kit?

 

BUMP!

 

I would stick to the R's. There just a better performing speaker, and the sound quality is awesome. For what its worth, any Alpine I buy is always type R and I have never had a problem with them.Then you could power them with the HU and maybe down the road get an amp for them.

 

So for that price thats a good HU?

I think I finally found my set-up!!!

 

First off our trucks have a Double DIN opening.

Second I went with Alpine Type S components in the front doors and really like them. Your factory radio will not offer quite enough power to make these speakers perform at their peak, but a nice decent powered aftermarket HU should. I went with an external amp only because I wanted to be able to control all the speakers with me DSP/EQ....had it not been for that the HUs 50X4 power would have been plenty. For the back doors I went with Pioneer coaxial speakers...they are very important to sound image in your Screw. Some people will say they aren't but IMO they are just skimping. I would deffently do the components in the front doors though!

Check out the pics of my system in my gallery, and if you have any questions let me know!

 

double post

 

Deff. sounds like a good HU at a real good price. Look at my stereo and if you like that installation kit, I got it from Circuit City. Again, just my .02 but I would go with the R's. Looking at crutchfield (for refrence only) the R's are about $10 more. Its deff. worth it.

RAM...nice set up bro. The truck and the system look sweet.

 

If I do install my HU which I want to before I get my other speakers will I really blow my stock speakers? or will it take some work for them to blow? Basically can I listen to the radio half volume at least?

 

Opinions about stereo and speakers.

1. If you replace the stock speakers with Alpine SPR-574A or equivalent it will sound a lot better than the stock speakers.
2. If you replace the head unit with a better head unit, the stock speakers will sound a lot better than the factory head unit. Alpine, Eclipse and some of the higher end Kenwood units are all good choices.
3. When you add the aftermarket head unit, add a nice quality amp (JL Audio 300/4 or Alpine MFR-V340) you will seriously improve sound quality over the stock.

What I am getting at is no matter where you start, as long as you use quality components you will be better off than if you stick with stock.

As an example. You can replace all 4 speakers with high quality speakers...Use seperates up front...such a JL Audio 570-csi or Alpine SPX-137r with amp and good head unit will run circles around the stock unit even with Audiophile. Add a good sub like a stealthbox and you have a serious system.

Build it one piece at a time and eventually you will have a great sounding system that did not cost a ton of money. Especially if you purchase the parts on e-bay...

Hope this helps.

Philip

 

One other note...JL Audio is getting ready to release a new device called a cleansweep. This is a much better and cleaner version of the line level converters that are on the market today. This unit has line level in and 8Volt pre level out puts to go into an amplifier. So...if you like your indash 6 disk changer...you can still take advantage of aftermarket speakers and amps.

Philip