I'm working at a shop called Xtreme Audio in Somerset, Kentucky. I mainly do sales and installation. We have a big monthly cruise down here called the Somernites Cruise (www.somernitescruise.com) The other day, we had our JL Audio rep visiting with us and my boss mentioned that we ought to use my truck as a demo for JL products. I don't know if it's because we don't have a JL demo, or because the F150s are one of the best selling vehicles in the country, or maybe he just thought I was a nice guy... anyway, our rep thought it was a good ideo so the project has begun! The first cruise is next Saturday, so I'm not so sure we'll be done in time. They run all summer though, so I'll have it out soon enough!

The setup is a Panasonic CQ-VD6503U Touch Screen DVD playing through a JL 450/4 and a 1000/1 powering JL XR components in the front, coaxials in the rear, and two 10W7s in a console box. The wiring is almost 100% JL Audio as well.

I'll post some pics as we go along...

 

Here are some pics from my gallery. Don't laugh when you see the dynamat pics. I don't have BryPink's patience!!







More pics to come...

 

Let's see if these'll show up:

 

I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to mount the amps. I wanted to mount them side by side so that they looked like one long amp, but they are 39.4 inches long (total) and there just isn't room for that!

 

Keep 'em coming.

I put a 500/1 and 450/4 back there and put momo seperates in the front, and a JL stealthbox in the back. Also used the JL cleansweep...I love the complete system stealth look. NO ONE would ever think I had a system looking in the truck... but it sounds pretty good.

 

You REALLY should...especially if you are using it as a demo. Sealing up the doors REALLY brings out the midbass. I'm a firm believer in not skimping on the install.

Looks good other than that. Keep it up.

 

Sharad,

Looking good... it should sound good too.

Got a question about your power cabling. I'm NEW to car stereo stuff, and am looking at running some 1/0 AWG to the back wall of the cab in my 2004 SuperCab. Initially, I'm just installing a 1000w AC inverter (150A fuse), but eventually there'll be amps back there too.

What gauge cable did you run, and how did you get it through the firewall and into the sill so nicely? A picture of it right at the firewall would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

I like the stealth look. My boss wanted to put the amps under the back seat, but I wanted them behind the seat back so that they are hidden. With the touch screen headunit, there will just be a blank double din screen in place of the factory head unit. Anyone that knows anything about mobile electronics will know what it is... but the truck's got 20% tint, so hopefully they won't look too closely! I will say this, other than the head unit, if anyone steals any of this stuff, they earned it, because NONE of this stuff just popped right in!

 

I knew you would say something. That's why I was almost embarrassed to post those pics. The thing is, I'm not as into this stuff as you are. I know that sounds crazy since this is my job, but I guess I'm just hoping it sounds decent the way it is. If the midbass is lacking, I'll try fiddling with the EQ or with the midbass controls in the crossover networks. THEN if that doesn't work, I'll cover those holes.

I definitely believe in doing it right, but I believe there is a point of diminishing returns. If I were competing in SQ, I'd be willing to spend another 500 or so hours tweaking the system... but since I only drive the truck ten miles a day and I'll only be firing it up as a demo when I get that rare customer that's willing to spend thousands and thousands on a good system, I felt like this should be good enough. If the rich/discriminating customer mentions that the midbass is lacking, I can tell him I didn't do a full on SQ installation on my mids.

Sheesh, it really sounds like I rigged the thing! I don't think it's that bad. It just could have been a little better. I've been building race cars for a long time, and I just know that there is a line you can cross where a project becomes an obsession. This is not like that for me. It's just a work related hobby.

Anyway, we'll see what happens. If I'm not satisfied with the sound, I'll spend the two hours or so and cut some mdf and mount it to the doors! OF course, pics will follow!

 

Thanks man!

I'm almost afraid to answer your question... could it be that "soundguy" knows more than he's letting on???

Anyway, you asked, so I'll answer. My power wire is 2 gauge. It runs back to a splitter for dual four. It was easy to run once I got it into the cab. I just used the plastic channeling that comes from the factory in our trucks.

I have heard that there's a rubber grommet on the firewall behind the battery that is a good place to run your wire through. I was kind of in a hurry, so I did not remove the battery to find that grommet. I simply removed the passenger side kick panel, pulled up the carpet, drilled the right size hole, inserted the rubber grommet, and passed the wire through the firewall/floorboard.



This is where I ran the 2 gauge power wire into the cab. This is in the right front fenderwell, between the plastic fender liner and the cab. From the inside, it's right in front of the fuse box in the passenger side kick panel.

I ran it through the rubber grommet that JL Audio includes with this amp kit. The wire can't possibly move, so I don't think there's a risk of the wire rubbing through the grommet and the insulation. I'll probably add wireloom to it.

 

I wasn't trying to embarrass you in anyway...that wasn't my intention. Merely trying to help you out. Think of it this way...of course a stock F150 will sell by itself, but if you trick it out (make it more appealing) you will sell more and sell faster. Now, if you spend 45 minutes more on sealing the doors and make your system more appealing overall, you can sell more and faster.

It's not obsession...it's just 1,2,3's and A,B,C's of installing a good sounding system. An obsession would be 2-3 coats of liquid (through out the whole inside of the truck), 2-3 layers of mat on top of that, sealing your doors, using acoustic foam inside, 2-3 layers of mat on each side of both door skins, using clay around the speaker baffles to seal up anyair leaks...get the point?

I sealed my doors when all I had was my stock system...and I'll tell you what...if I had a sub at that time...I could of told the majority of guys on here that I had aftermarket speakers and amps. I'm willing to bet, that if the guys on here that just want to add a little more SQ to their system would be happy with adding a little bit of mat, sealing up their doors, etc. and wouldn't have to spend hundreds on other components.

This is my rant...not taking it out on you by any means! It's just something I feel strongly about.

BTW, All your settings (EQ, midbass, speaker, xover, etc are all install dependent as well.

MAIN THING....make sure you understand I'm not trying to bash you or your install...just trying to help.

 

Cool. Keep the install progress pics coming.

So you pretty much got a free stereo system?

 

Looks similar to what brypinks running.

I've never sealed or put mat in any of my vehicles that have had "systems". After reading your posts it seems as if I should make the investment. I'm looking into a pair of 10's right now. What should I REALISTICLY plan on "sealing"? Again I'm in the same boat of sharad. Not looking to go really overboard.

Sharad, did you just do the doors with dynamat? How much did it run you or would it run me?

 

What I mean by "sealing" your doors is close up all the big holes. If you look at the above pics, you can see that huge hole in the door skin. I used 1/4" MDF to seal mine up. Took me about 45 minutes extra.

 

Bartak: free? Sort of. I got everything heavily discounted... then my boss paid the discounted price. I really want a Panasonic Flip Down DVD to match my head unit, but that'll probably come out of my pocket.

StuckInMuck: I've done the doors in Dynamat Xtreme and tomorrow I'll do the back of the cab in Xtreme. Before I install the subwoofer console (2 x 10W7s downfiring) I'll pull the carpet and Dynamat the floor of the cab. I couldn't really tell you how much it would cost because I didn't keep track of how much I used! I think it was about four or five sheets and I think the sheets are thirty or thirty six inches square. Hope this helps.