Attn: Car audio junkies

[Viper400]

My son has a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. It has the basic AM/FM/CD system. He wants to install amp/subs, but keep the stock HU. Will the stock HU run the upgraded epuipment? I know that it wont have RCA outputs and he will have to get a line out converter. I was told that we could "tap into" the door speakers. Whatever the hell that means.

I am pretty much a novice when it comes to audio installation. Done a few aftermarket stereos back in the day. That's it.

Any installation info would be appreciated.

[notorious]

There are some thing that are correct, but there are a lot of general things wrong with the above post.

[Reerun_KC]

Hey. Pm me. I built a killer system in a 08 ram.

[notorious]

I do recommend he gets a pair of subs rather than a single sub, helps with SQL.

SQL is about moving a lot of air with minimal distortion. Cone area x times the amount of clean stroke. A 12" sub with a 30mm xmax will murder 2 12's with 10mm xmax, and usually with a smaller box due to the Q values.

Most audio guys recommend running a sub pair off of a mono amp rather than a dual-channel so you generally gotta wire in parallel if he doesn't get a pre-made kit. Remember to match Ohms impedance and Watts RMS. If you're running 2 subs at 400 Watts RMS, then you need an 800 Watt RMS amp (and I don't recommend going over).

RMS ratings are based more on thermal limits and have little to with the mechanical limits of the subs. A 400 RMS amp can blow a 600RMS sub if you drive it past it's mechanical threshold. Most subs will be safe in a sealed enclosure since everything is pretty linear, but in a ported box things get ugly for a sub mechanically under the port tune frequency.

Don't get me started on how manufacturers rate their subs on the thermal side.......

Bigger the sub the deeper the bass.

It would take a page to debunk this, but I'll keep it short. Once again, subs are about moving air without too much distortion. Most larger subs will play the low end louder if they have a large enough enclosure. What do we lack in vehicles? Space. Put a 10" sub in a properly designed enclosure it will "sound" deeper than a 15 crammed into an enclosure built on the small end of the recommended window.

A properly installed 6.5 can play just as low as an 18" sub, it just can't do it as loudly. It's hard for people to wrap their heads around this.

. I use 6x9's for low mids and tight bass and 5-1/4/6-1/2's for the remainder of the range

Unless you built some custom kicks for 6x9's up front, this is going to hurt your SQ. You want everything possible sound wise to originate from in front of the listeners. You can get away with maybe 50Hz and under coming from behind, but anything else will probably pull the sound stage behind you.

Putting midbass is the rear window would drive me bananas, but that's what I had in HS and didn't notice much until I got in deep with SQ.


You gave some good advice, but like me, have fallen for some mythology.

[johnny961]

I agree with all those who mentioned that the factory h/u has to go. The vast majority have internal amplifiers that are underpowered and do not create the cleanest signal to begin with. Even the stock junk speakers will sound better with a good aftermarket head unit pushing them. Also, the crossover frequency between mids and subs will have a big impact on sound quality. The frequencies around 150 hz create a muddied, distorted sound so it's best to have crossover settings that attenuate the frequencies around this point to clean up the overall sound quality. IMHO, the low buck approach to decent sound would be to buy a head unit that your son likes for around the 150 to 200 dollar price point. Then, get the wiring and what not that you will need to integrate it. Next, find out what size the factory speakers are and buy replacements that will bolt right into the factory openings. Run these off of the head unit. You do not need the most expensive speakers here. You want a reasonably priced, efficient design that will not take a ton of power to push and will sound good off of your new head unit. I have had good luck over the years with Infinity Reference series stuff in this type of application, but an efficient design from Polk or Pioneer would work. Go somewhere that sells car speakers if you are unsure and listen to some of the lower priced stuff from the well known brands and pick a brand and series that sound good off of the head unit. Next, spend about 25 bucks on a set of 200 hz bass blocker high pass filters to wire into these new replacement speakers. These will attenuate the bass frequencies to your mids and create the crossover point between your sub and mids. Then, buy a box for a single 10 or 12 inch sub made out of 3/4 mdf that is stiffer than the mtx box you were looking at, with around .75 to 1 foot of airspace for a 10 inch sub if you go with a 10 and around 1.25 feet if your son wants a 12. These airspaces will work well with the vast majority of the subs on the market. Then, buy a lower cost single 4 ohm voice coil sub from a well known name (JL audio, Kicker, Polk, Image Dynamics, pick your poison) that will run well off of around 200 watts rms give or take, and a small 2 channel amp from Fosgate, MTX, Alpine, or another well known brand. Install this in 4 ohm mono bridged mode for the sub, using the crossover on the amp for the sub. Set the output to lo pass and set the crossover point at 80hz for the sub. Install and enjoy. This will be a relatively reasonably priced system that will sound clean and be plenty loud, and not need a small nuclear reactor to power it. I have built a couple of similar systems for friends of mine that were on a budget and they came out well. I am no audio expert by a long shot but I myself have been sorely disappointed by the factory system in every new vehicle I have ever owned and have spent far too many hours researching this stuff and far too much money on high end components upgrading my own stuff. JMHO, FWIW. Hope you enjoy your setup.

[Viper400]

Thanks for all the info. He ended up buying a pretty nice Alpine stereo with bluetooth and the other bells and whistles, and a Rockford Fosgate powered 10 inch sub. Everything was a little over $400 with the in-dash adapter and harness, and amp wiring kit. All purchased from Amazon.

Should sound pretty good. He might upgrade the factory speakers down the road. We'll see how much, if any, they improve with the stereo upgrade.


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[Scorp]

Originally Posted by Viper400

He might upgrade the factory speakers down the road. We'll see how much, if any, they improve with the stereo upgrade.


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Those factory speakers will be blown within a month.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Scorp

Those factory speakers will be blown within a month.

Replacing just the head unit on my Grand Cherokee made a world of difference.

[gblowfish]

I had a really great system in my old 2002 Jeep. It was Alpine HU and 6 disc changer, Focal front component speakers and Polk Audio in the rear.

My current car is a 2015 Subaru Outback. The HU has navigation and a bunch of other stuff built into it, so I don't think it can be changed out. I guess I could put in better speakers, but seems like the factories are putting in better stuff as standard gear. Not easy to upgrade stuff like it used to be.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

I had a really great system in my old 2002 Jeep. It was Alpine HU and 6 disc changer, Focal front component speakers and Polk Audio in the rear.

My current car is a 2015 Subaru Outback. The HU has navigation and a bunch of other stuff built into it, so I don't think it can be changed out. I guess I could put in better speakers, but seems like the factories are putting in better stuff as standard gear. Not easy to upgrade stuff like it used to be.

They gave me option credit when I bought my truck and I had then install a sub under the back seat. Kicker, factory option, plug and play,. It made a world of difference.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by kccrow

I did car audio for quite a few years. If you think that, you have some serious learning to do.

Shots fired?

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

Shots fired?

I didn't read far enough to see where he explained some things I didn't dive into, which gets waaay over the kid's head.


Edit (for Notorious):
For reference, the last install I did of my own (I simply don't throw 5-6 grand into audio anymore and don't do other people's either), had a custom console enclosure for the 6 x 9's that angled them slightly upward and toward the center of the middle of each seat. Difficult to explain I guess, but hopefully he gets it.

Never went under spec and never used ported or bandpass enclosures. I didn't like the results.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by kccrow

I didn't read far enough to see where he explained some things I didn't dive into, which gets waaay over the kid's head.


Edit (for Notorious):
For reference, the last install I did of my own (I simply don't throw 5-6 grand into audio anymore and don't do other people's either), had a custom console enclosure for the 6 x 9's that angled them slightly upward and toward the center of the middle of each seat. Difficult to explain I guess, but hopefully he gets it.

Never went under spec and never used ported or bandpass enclosures. I didn't like the results.

Cool Story Bro.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

Shots fired?

I wonder what he was refuting before he looked it up, found out I was correct, and deleted his post.



I don't want to be an asshole, but God Damn you better know your shit before spouting off.

[Perineum Ripper]

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by mac459