85 replies to this topic

[President Obama]

Been stalking this forum for a little bit now and now that I've got my sound in I thought I would post. Anyway I have a diesel 1986 hilux single cab which I just put a very very old head unit (more then 6-8 years maybe. Doesn't even have aux in) and some brand new pioneer TS-A6964S 6"x9" speakers in (I just got em because they were on special). Not realising when I bought them they wouldn't fit in the door since I've never done this before and the person at wow was useless, didn't know anything about car audio. So I had to build a bracket out of wood and metal and attach them behind the seat. I was amazed when the head unit fitted perfectly into the original 1986 radio bracket and the aerial also fitted. Now I was fairly guessy when I wired it up.

I wired the speakers to the front inputs of the headunit even though their behind me is that bad?
Also the speakers are 400 watts but the headunit only does 50 per channel, my mate was saying something about joining the front and back wires together to make it so that 100watts goes to each speakers, is this true?
Its only a small cab and my sister who has had a lot of car audio in the past says that a sub would be terrible in it, due to it not having enough room to expand, true or not?
With the headunit it has a wire thats meant to go to the ignition so it turns on with the ignition but there are so many wires around the ignition and I couldn't work out which one was what so I just gave up and wired it to the full time power that the headunit uses, will this drain the battery any quicker?I currently disconnect the battery atm when the engine if off for long periods of time due to it loosing voltage somewhere (not related to the sound system been happening for a long time)
Should I invest in this dynamat stuff? The diesel engine makes a fair bit of noise.
Also since its only a single cab should I worry about getting some speakers for the doors, that will actually fit or will the 6x9's do?
Since I only have 2 speakers is it worth it getting an amp?
The headunit doesn't have aux in so I'm going to buy a cheap new one soon probably this: http://www.jbhifi.co...uner-sku-54351/

Yeah big wall of text. I tried to break it up a bit.

[jamiebosco]

President Obama, on 02 January 2012 - 12:36 PM, said:

Its only a small cab and my sister who has had a lot of car audio in the past says that a sub would be terrible in it, due to it not having enough room to expand, true or not?

Since I only have 2 speakers is it worth it getting an amp?

No,I was in a Single Cab 4WD that had a sub mounted behind the seat on Friday and the sub sounded fantastic,in fact I think it knocked a few fillings loose!
A small 2 channel or 4 channel amp will help get the most out of your speakers,especially at increased volume

http://www.soundmast...2210/XR2210.asp

http://www.soundmast...2410/XR2410.asp

Jamie

[shiny_car]

If you're planning to build up a decent stereo, then I'm afraid you probably need to start from square one.

With the headunit, ensure it's wired up correctly, to ensure reliability and things function as they should. If in doubt, pay a pro to install it (presumably not at Wow!). But, to make things much easier, you can use wiring adaptor harnesses (if you haven't cut off the factory plug already!). Aerpro is one brand that offers these.
http://www.aerpro.co...20Hilux%2084_88
The harness converts the Toyota plugs to standard ISO ones. Then you simply need an ISO-[headunit] harness (eg: ISO-Sony harness). It will virtually be plug and play, but an experienced installer will use a multimeter to confirm the wires are all correct.

With speakers, the aim is to have quality music infront of your ears, rather than from behind. You may still need to modify the doors slightly, but some 6.5" coaxials (if spending <$200) or 6.5" 2-way splits would be the most popular choice. Solidly mount the 6.5" woofers in the doors, and choose a good spot for the tweeter (eg: dashtop corners, A-pillars, etc).

Thereafter, you might add a 4-channel amp and a sub. The amp can run the speakers and sub.

For the sub, first measure up where you might put one, and determine how big the subbox can be. It needs to be safe and secure, but can be fairly shallow if required (to fit behind the seat). Once you know the max box size, you can choose a sub accordingly (and we can make suggestions).

Now you can't 'bridge' the 4x50W headunit channels into 2x100W. The headunit is not designed for that, so don't try it. Dynamat can be good, but not your top priority at the moment.

Start with a clean slate. You might spend $200 on the HU and $40 on the harness. Good 2-way 6.5" splits can be had for $200~300 (or obviously much more). A decent, modestly powerful 4-channel amp can be $250~300, and expect to pay $80~100 for a wiring kit. Sub might be $200, but can be more if you need a shallow version. Subbox you might knock up yourself, or expect to pay $300+ for a custom built one to suit your vehicle.

[President Obama]

I'm fairly decent with wiring, so I don't think that's a problem. I've done plenty of wiring before just not car audio. I also have a bench seat so I could probably fit a good size box in the middle and strap it to the seat. Thanks for clearly most of the stuff up, now I have an idea of what I can do. Yeah I rather do this stuff myself, much more experience to be had and I've nearly done everything else (from maintenance to full rebuilds) with the entire ute. I just don't see the difference from a $200 HU and nice cheapy, sure you may get a bigger screen or something or some silly features but overall all I need to do is plug my phone in and have it run the sound outwards, especially if I get an amp it becomes fairly useless, just an interface. So should I be ditching the speakers I threw in behind the seat because they sound pretty good to me? and should I get a sub or amp first? With a subbox, its just a box made out of normal timber I assume? If so I can put one of them together pretty quickly. I might just go get some measurements.

I could probably fit a box size of ~320 x ~450 x as high as it needs to be, in the middle that's with a bit of room each side. What sorta sub would be good for that? I will be doing this over time so I won't be rushing out and buying anything to soon just want to get my facts correct.

Edited by President Obama, 02 January 2012 - 06:52 PM.

[shiny_car]

If you plan to have a 4-channel amp to run fronts + sub, you'll want a HU that has at least 2 sets of RCA preouts (4 channels), and not just 1 preout (2 ch) like some entry level models. Whilst you can use the latter by splitting the 2 into 4 channels, a HU with 2 preouts gives you sublevel control without affecting the volume of the front speakers. HUs with 3 preouts (6 ch) can feed a 4-channel + subamp if you want, in case you are amplifying fronts/rears/sub. But in your setup, you can run the rear 6x9s off the HU, and still have a HU with 2 preouts to cater for the fronts/sub.

For sure, more expensive HUs have more features, but you may not want them all. Fair enough.

Once you have a really good set of front speakers operating, you'll find you don't need the rear speakers. But if they're already fitted, you can keep them; you'll probably 'fade' them out.

Any subbox needs to be secure, for your own safety. A box + sub can easily weigh 10kg; you don't want that lurching forwards suddenly and breaking loose. Be very careful and design it carefully. I wouldn't just sit one on a cushioned seat; it needs to be on a firm base (ie: the chassis), and bolted in place (ie: with metal brackets).

A typical 12" sub that is designed to sound good in a 'sealed' box, can usually work optimally in a box that's 1.2cuft/34L internal volume. A typical 12" sub designed to work best in a 'ported' box will need a box around 2~2.5cuft/56~70L internal volume. So I think, for reasons of size/weight/safety, you'll probably go with the smaller box and a sub suiting a sealed design.

[President Obama]

Oh I was planning on getting some straps around it and attaching it to the seat or cab and the also put the seat belt over it haha. I dont think Ill worry about front speakers for a while since I already have the rears in, and I'm not even sure they would fit in the doors, since theres like no room at all in the doors. I think I will look into the sub and then the amp and the worry about the fronts. I will also getting a better head unit. Thanks for all the advice its certainly pointed me in a better direction.

[BiDDo88]

Front speakers would personally be my priority. If you put a sub in with having a decent set of speakers supplying higher frequency i think your sound will be drowned with bass.

[President Obama]

Yeah chances are if I get a sub Ill be getting front speakers at the same time, just depends on the way the money comes in more or less. Anyway, I should have of asked earlier what are some good online car audio dealers local and international?

[peaandham]

These are all stores that deal closely with MEA have a look into purchasing from them.
http://www.mobileele...partner-stores/

[President Obama]

Not to be a great offender or anything, but none of them stores have any online sorta shop. I live in a rural area, so I'm nowhere near them and need actual online sites, really need the ability to browse through products. Thanks anyway.

Edited by President Obama, 11 January 2012 - 05:44 PM.

[Mr. Drifter]

fhrx does..

[President Obama]

Not really. It just has links to brand websites etc.

[Mr. Drifter]

Ah, right ><
I mean it has specials and stuff.. And you can order stuff online with them, and they will post afaik

[Damo95]

Not trying to piss anyone off, but you do have a phone don't you?

Find products you're interested in (info online) and call them up.. I'm sure fhrx (and other retailers) will accept orders over the phone, and ship to you...

(null)

[jamiebosco]

Yeah ring Marty at FHRX,he's extremely helpful and he'll walk you through the ordering process
The price lists are RRP only.