Hey guys,

I have very little knowledge on stereo equipment but I've decided I want to get some subs in my F150. It's an XLT so I'm guessing it has a pretty basic stereo system.

I was just wondering what $200-$400 would get me if I do the work myself. I listen to a little bit of everything (rock, country, rap) and I don't need something crazy loud but I definitely want to know it's there. I'd like the sub box to fit under the back seat without sticking out and I'd rather not modify anything too much if I don't have to.

I read in another thread about using one amp to power a couple new front speakers and the sub(s). Seems like a good idea.

Can anybody recommend a good setup in that price range?

 

It's doable in that range, but it'll be hard. You'll definitely have to build the box yourself and you'll be spending the better part of your budget. If your trying to save though, I'd highly recommend buying used. Did you wanna keep the stock headunit?

 

Yea I'd like to keep the stock head unit. Too many other projects!

I read that a lot of times older stuff is better and I'm fine with used but I obviously have no idea what I'm looking for so that makes it tough. I don't have a problem with making the box.

 

If u Jst want to know its there a single 10 inch sub with a five channel amp would be good....it will defenatly be tuff with ur budget

 

Here's a general list of what you'll need:

Since you don't wanna modify the rear seat you'll almost need to find a shallow mount sub or something with a mounting depth of probably less that 5". Good shallows are the Stereo Integrity BMkiii (hard to find though and costly, but an amazing sub), Alpine Type R shallow, or the Rockford Fosgate PS3 Shallow (this one is around 120 new and a great daily driver sub). I'd recommend a 12" over a 10" sub if it fits your budget because it'll be able to play better all around. And also definitely go with a sealed box both for space and sound quality based off the type of music you like.

A amp, good brands are Kicker, JL, Rockford Fosgate, MB Quart, PPI, Crescendo, Zapco, anything with Zed in the name, RD, and Audioque. There's more out there, those are just the ones that come to mind first that do rated clean power. Once you decide on a sub I can help point you more towards an amp choice, but for now all I can say is look for something that can do around 50-100rms more than what the sub requires so you can cut back the gain on the amp some to help prevent clipping.

Don't forget you'll need new wires too, a decent amp wiring kit will probably run you 50+.

Are you planning on upgrading door speakers too? Because that could really put a hit on your budget also.

 

You can pick up a decent sub for around $125, build the box yourself. A 5 channel decent amp is probably out of your budget... I would stay clear of the 5 channel and pick up a small amp fitted to the sub you buy. Should be able to find something on the lower end around the $150, if not look for a used one. You can upgrade just your front door speakers for now and have them run off the deck power. Something low wattage with a high sensitivity rating like an alpine type s. All and in, in the end it wont be no comp system but it will be a nice upgrade from your stock system. Just adding a sub and utilizing the stock head unit and door speakers would be a decent upgrade if you ask me. You would be surprised. Most people are going to recommend top quality stuff, which is good. But if your on a budget, that's why they call it a budget system.

A 12" fosgate p2 is only around $90 for the sub and I think only needs around 1cf sealed and a 300watt rms amp. You can probably pick up a combo for around $250 and another $60 on a wire kit. A pair of type s speakers will run you around %70 as well
http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CFsQ8wIwAw


Again, nothing to brag about but you will love the upgrade for under $400

 

Thanks that's exactly what I wanted - a list of items to be looking for. I read a little on the Stereo Integrity sub, sounds like it's pretty sweet but like you said hard to find. I didn't realize how little space is under the back seat. I'm guessing even a 10" sub box is going to stick out a little bit because there's only like 12" of depth under the seat.

 

Ok let's say I'm going with a single Rockford Fosgate P3S 12" sub in a home made sealed box. (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rockford...ci_sku=4151391)

What amp would you guys recommend? Assuming I plan to leave the door speakers for now or possibly upgrade to low power ones that run off factory head unit. And do I want 4 ohm or 2?

 

im almost done building a box to fit 1 12" alpine SWR-T12 under the seat of my '10 supercrew, so it can be done w/o sticking out from under the seat. but...the sub alone will cost more than or almost your budget by itself (depending of where you buy it). i dont know if the P3 are the same mounting depth or not, but worth looking into. I'll be finished with my build today and will post more pics on my thread this afternoon or tomorrow.

 

Definitely don't buy from best buy, you can get that sub for 130 off sonicelectronix. Best buy want's almost double that and they raise prices on everything else too.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...10ZX400.1.html
That amp would be perfect with a dual 4 sub, because you could wire it down to a 2ohm load.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...NX1.1000D.html
Again good with a dual 4 sub, wire it to 2ohms and then turn the gain back a little.

Out of those two I'd recommend the kicker amp, the MB Quart is a great budget amp and it'll do right at rated power. But the kicker one is under-rated (you can see a picture of the birthsheet on the link) and the quality of them is pretty good.

 

Two p3s subs will put me over my budget. $260 in subs plus $150 for the amp. I was thinking one 12 - would that be worth my time? I guess I could go with the cheaper fosgate shallow subs (prime instead of punch) at like $50 each. Would a single 12" punch be better than two 12" primes?

 

That's a tricky question. Two of the low ends will be louder (more cone area=more moving mass), but the punch sub will sound a lot better and will be able to get lower to play more frequencies than the primes without distorting.

You could always start off with an amp that could push two of them, the MB Quart one could, start with a dual 2 sub wire it to 4ohms, and then later on when you have more money pick up another dual 2 and wire it back down to 2ohms across both of them.

However if your just looking to add some low end I'd think you'd be more than happy with one sub. I ran a single 12 for a while and could definitely tell it was there. But of course if you end up deciding it's not enough generally good amps hold their resale value pretty well so you could always sell it and upgrade to a bigger amp.

 

i have a question for you, i will be hooking my SWR-T12 up today, and as you know its a single voice coil 4 ohm. the amp i have wis a rockford fosgate p400.2 that will push 400 watts rms bridged at 4 ohms. the sub say 600 watts rms and 1800 peak. i was plan on running the fosgate on them at first and see how well it pushes the 12, plus im sure the fosgate is underated some. my question is, if i should swap out the amp, which would you recommend going with. or should i say how many watts should i run them at? i dont wanna have to spend a fortune, but i also want it right

 

So I want this sub? http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/produ...?itemid=120427

With the MB Quart amp so I can potentially run two of the subs in the future?

What else do I need if I go that route? If I went with single coil what would I be losing over dual coil besides being able to add a second sub easily?

Edit: Nevermind, the single voice coil doesn't come in the shallow mounting depth.

 

Here's what i would do for right around $400:
Subs: 2x JBL GTO 804:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Amp: MB Quart ONX4.125:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A1WRTEG7T8P2CK
Speakers: Polk DB651:
http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-6-5...p_ob_e_title_0
Wiring: Stinger 4AWG kit:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A3J1PF183V710G

Build the box by yourself @0.6 cu ft net sealed. Only replace and amp your front speakers. Bridge channels 3/4 for 500W @ 4Ohm.