I am wondering if anyone has an amp hooked up the the Factory HU. Is it possibe or do i have to change out the factory HU for a aftermarket HU! If you can, what type of amp,(Brand) and How powerful would i have to go to push a high powered 10". Any help would be appreciated!

 

Possible. But a major hassle. And after spending money for the mod, you'll probably come to the conclusion that you want to change the HU anyway. The Visteon is a noisy POS. Perhaps, like me, your budget is limited and you've got to do your mods piecemeal over time. I suggest you change the HU first. Big improvement, even with factory speakers. Then replace your speakers. Then add amps and woof.
You'll definately require power for a 10-in woof. Ditto if you select components for the front. Don't waste you money on great speakers for the rear if you've already bought a good front stage. (I did. And will soon be replacing my Kicker rear coax with simple, but good, tweeters).
I'm not out to win any competitions, so a Rockford Fosgate 250a powers my JLAudio stealthbox (10 in woof in console). It's "birth sheet" tells me the amp provides me with a max of 300 watts, and that's plenty for that Stealthbox. With it cranked, I can generally push away any stray thumping signals coming from the Nissan Maxima sitting next to me at the light, and cause the people on the curb to look at me instead of him. (I generally prefer Stevie Ray to Snoop Dogg, so this creates a great deal of consternation in the Maxima. And just for sh*ts and giggles, sometimes I've put in an old Mel Torme CD when matching wits with a particularly aggressive or obnoxious Maxima)
Generally speaking, components sound better than coax/triax in front. Clean, crisp, clear sound. The crossovers supplied allow greater headroom, more volume, no distortion if properly installed and amped.
I have 5.25-in ROUND mounted on plates in place of the stock 5X8 crap. I use DiamondAudio M551, but Polk, Infinity and JL also make respectable models.
A Kicker 55-watt powers them. I have MORE than enough power and sound, I'm verrry happy, and it didn't cost me an arm and leg. Just take your time and buy smart. Don't let your buddies tell you what to buy. Get what sounds good to you, not the Name Of The Day. Just stay away from the Sparkomatics in PepBoys.

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01 Black SuperCrew 5.4; Airaid, Borla Split Rear, Line-X, Matched Tint windows. Black. Black. All Black.
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Blaupunkt "Munchen" HU; JL Audio Stealthbox, DiamondAudio M551 components, Kicker Impulse coax (rear), RF250a and Kicker 350xi amps

 

Hey thanks for all of the help! After thinking about it i might just have to upgrade to the aftermarket HU! I wanted to keep everything in my truck stock but my speakers and i think it will be a pain in the neck to put together! If i do upgrade to a different HU would i have to change out the ford disc changer or would it work with the New HU! Thanks for the help! I know i will have a few more questions later!

 

No problem. All in the family.
I'm sure another far more experienced install pro may have a way to do it, but the changer won't work with your new HU. That was not a consideration for me. Like the Visteon thing currently in your dash, I think the Clarion-made changer is clunky, noisy and that magazine!..... Yeesh!! C'mon. Tell me the truth. Isn't that the flimsiest thing you've ever seen? You've really gotta manhandle your CD's to use the dang thing.
I haven't missed it. I opted for a single play HU, with add-on changer option. I was constantly taking my magazine inside at night to change my CD's, and add new ones for the next day. What a hassle. Why not just have a carry pack in my console and a visor-keeper so I can select one at a time? MUCH easier for me.
Not using the changer, after spending extra bux for it as an option, was the only downside. If I had spent any time with the stock stuff before purchase, I would have opted for the cheapest or standard thing Ford had.
The speakers themselves are covered with a thick plastic grille, too, in addition to the plastic already on your door panel. No wonder the sound so lousy!
The hardest thing is the search, bigNative. Read a lot.
Check reviews. Listen to stuff in the small car audio places, and stay away from Circuit City unless you know what you want. Nothing sounds good in there, and nothing at all like your truck interior.
Try these:
http://www.carreview.com/reviews/
http://www.clubknowledge.com/forums/...llation_Forum/
http://www.hvcamn.com/
http://www.competitionsound.com/
http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/caraudio.htm
BTW, crutchfield.com is also a nice site to obtain information about models, specs, etc. But their prices are NOT a deal. They're certainly reputable, and have excellent service, but you'll pay for it.

[This message has been edited by sundog7 (edited 06-03-2001).]

 

Don't be to quick to change the HeadUnit if you would like to save some $. They are very good compared to most $300-$400.00 aftermarket pieces. It's easy to convert the output and I have done plenty a system with the Factory headunits. Speakers, well, they are not all that. BUT adding amps, subs, speakers, will work just fine off a stock HU. And there's no harm in doing it first bec swapping the HU is simple. If you use a real good converter llike an Audiolink, I'm sure you'll be more then happy.

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My truck at:

http://www.streetscenemag.com/ViewOw...?ProfileID=202

 

I am gonna agree with Silver on this one. A good line out converter might be your best bet to get the best possible interface between your factory HU and the amp. One of the big problems with factory HU's, or any HU, even the aftermarkets, is that they don't have enough dynamic range to provide alot of bass at high volume levels. This is why it is nice to have preamp (RCA) jacks on the back of the HU, so you don't have to worry about bass and lower frequencies getting clipped when the volume is up high. If you get a good amp, like sundog mentioned (Rockford fosgate), you can get some good power to the sub(s) without needing to turn the factory HU up so loud that it will start distorting. Also, if you want to keep the factory HU, you might want to think about a four channel amp for the door speakers... you would get a really good balance from everything then, and it would be nice and flexible to adjust the sound going to all the speakers. Just my $0.02.

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2001 F150 SuperCab XLT
4x4 Off Road Package
5.4L V.8 3.55LS
Pioneer Premier DEH-P410
A/D/S/ 236is
Alpine SWR1040 Subwoofer
Rockford Fosgate 500.2 & 400.4 Amps

 

thanks for the help sundog7 silver x and jbirdz! Silver X, nice truck, thats some nice work! My next question of course is, where could i find a line-out converter? How does it work and is it easy to install? I have plans for the front speakers and i think i will just add some tweets in the rear speakers! Running it all on a four channel amp sounds like a great idea! i could then adjust the sound to my liking! thanks for the advice! Keeping things stock is what i would like, but having great sound is another thing i want! kinda picky, but i want my truck to look good and sound good to! you know what i mean! Siler X where did you grt the grill that thing is Nice!

 

Ya gotta add this. Gotta add that. JBirdz right about that converter and 4ch amp. And Good ones aren't cheap. Hang on to your wallet, bigNative. As I said, you can add on to your factory HU, but it's a hassle and you'll end up in the end wishing you'd changed to an aftermarket. You'll save $ keeping the factory HU, but no way it's as good as a $300-400 aftermarket unit. NFW. (I paid 274 for my Blau, and it's better than some units twice/3X it's price). Just for comparison, put it against the Fosgate HU's in that price range, or Eclipse. Premier even makes an inexpensive unit that is far better than the stock HU. But, we can niggle about this all day. Check out reviews. You'll come to your own conclusions.

 

Sundog7,

I know what you mean there is always a catch to things! I know i am going to upgrade the door speakers and maybey the rear speakers, but i am very unsure about the subwoofer! I like the the alpine HU i hae in my car, but maybe something different would be better! i'll have to make a trip to the local stero shop and listent o some speakers and HU! Thanks for the sites and the help! i guess this is going to take a little longer than i thought!

 

I have seen a lot of discusion about this lately. There is a thread that goes to a link started by Richard Clark, one of the top guys in car audio, that handles this.
Sundog, I agree with you about many points on the stock HU. However, for most people the stock units are good, reliable, and are much easier to use. A lot of the features found on the $300-400 aftermarket HU's are more eye candy than anything else and make the unit harder to use when you are driving down the road.
Food for thought. the Rockford units are produced not by Rodkford, but by Delco!

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97 F-150XL 4.2V6, 5 spd, 2wdlb, Kenwood cd, MTX 4ch amp, MTX 12"sub, MTX components in doors

Future 16x8 Daytona wheels, 265/75 tires, rhinoliner, perf stuff

 

ChuckM - what do you think of that whole debate over what Richard Clark had to say about stock HU's.

Personally I agree with him to a point. But I believe that to get the best sound out of amps, some sort of line out or rca out should be used. I can't believe that great sound can be obtained by adding a line level converter to use an amp.

Maybe I have to hear it to believe it?

But I've heard how easy or stock HU can distort, even at half volume. And one of the LOC converters is supposed to prevent that distort from being passed on the amp then the speakers?

 

Chuck, yur absolutely right about the eye candy on many of today's HU's. Some are absolutely deplorable. If I want to see dolphins swimming, I'll turn on the Discovery Channel, thank you!!! And the plethora of HU's out there will all those little tiny buttons that do 25 different functions is equally irritating IMHO. Personally, that's why I went with my particular Blau HU. Not fussy. No eyecandy. Just straight-up German utilitarianism. TERRIBLE display in daylight, tho'...bummer...but I put up with it for its ease of use, power-per-dollar, and killer FM stage.

 

Hey bigNAnative,

I just added an Amp to the Factory HU and it's not as bad as some may tell it. Check out my post in the Amplifiers section about adding an amp to the Factory HU.

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2001 5.4 S Cab Lariat
ORP / 3.55 L/S
Class 3 Tow Package
Gibson SweptSide
K&N Gen 2 FIPK
Superchip FLIP CHIP
LoJack
Stock HU w/ Profile CL440 Amp
Infinity Kappas Front/Infinity Reference Rears. Sub is under construction!

 

I totally agree with the eye candy thing, but I for like it. I have the premier 720 HU, the dolphins is really neat, especially with the ladies. The HU looks great at night, but during the day that glare can bea nightmare.

 

You can get a real decent converter for $15.00 with line level adjustment. Then add from there. With an adjustable amp, subsonic filter, crossover, etc, you will hear no difference, if you purchased a $1,000 radio. Add the sub/subs first and see if how that makes you feel. For $15.00 it's like a days lunch money. Here is the order I would do it in.

1 converter, 1 amp, and sub or subs. See how you like it, then change speakers (don't worry about power handleing I'm sure your not going to buy $500.00 Boston comp), next would be another converter or EQ (1 channel in and 3 out) and a 4 channel amp. Now if your really not satisfied, changed the radio. The only extra money you've spent is $30.00 total for converters. If you use audiolink's they are like $50.00 or so ea. (I have no personal complaints with the $15.00 bad boys) What I even do is sometimes change the radio bec people think it will make a huge difference and then have them listen and see if they can hear a difference. I have yet 1 person buy a radio.....I'm not saying that there are not better HU out there but you need to spend the $, some people do not want to spend an extra $300.00 for a decent HU that's on sale for a $175.00 a couple of months later. Happy Motoring.

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My truck at:

http://www.streetscenemag.com/ViewOw...?ProfileID=202