Sound system virgin-help!

[Spas]

bet that caught you guys' attention, eh?

Seriously gang, I need help with building a better sub system for my X, cuz the 8" El amplified bazooka just ain't cuttin' it anymore

I'm thinking about two 10's to match my Pioneer sound system-as of right now, I have the first generation 'Dolphin' headunit (shows how much I know..I can't even recall it's proper #, lol), 0ne pair 3ways up front, one pair 2ways in back and a pair of 3/4"ers spliced to them (mounted above the seatbelt brackets, just behind your ears when you're in the pass or driver seat). They're ALL pioneer....

Yes, I am on a mega budget, so I'll probably be buying the subs and amp off Ebay and building my own box(es) (I have a rad idea for it-soon as I can draw it in photoshop, I'll post it). Can I get some suggestions on:

1) What subs and amp to use?
2) What materials I'm gonna need for the box? How thick should the wood be and what glue or staples or nails should I use?
3) Can I just run the subs to the amp and run the amp to the head unit?
4) Is it good to stuff the box with poly fill?
5) Any special wiring connectors I should get?
6) Plexiglass over the amp won't melt, right?

MUCHO MUCHO thanks in advance, as always

Lindsy

 

[HuiDaddy]

check www.carmedia1.com if i ever buy anymore audio toys for my X, its gonna be from them. They're prices rock!

 

[EliteConcept]

mmm i see sound system virgins now huh?
heheeehe
well we all have to start some where

1. The kind of subs and amp you are gonna use will depend greatly on what you've heard and what you can afford. Personally i like audiobahn check www.thezeb.com they are authorized dealers very nice guys. And right now last years audiobahn stuff is on sale...mad dealz! check it out.

2. I believe my friend used 3/4 inch partcial board on my box, but we took the cheap way out, like $12 for the whole sheet at lowes. its better if you use MDF Board i guess cuz its more solid, beware i'm pretty sure its price is high. mine was build using wood screws, and liquid nail.

3. you'll run RCA's from the cd player to the amp along with a remote wire *which will tell the amp when to turn on*. And power and ground to the amp as well. However when u run these wires run them on sepreate sides of the truck to keep from gettin Noise in your subs.

4. Polyfill largely depends on what type of sub your using, some subs require the use of it, but its not really necessary at all....just possibly makes the sub hit harder since it slows down the air waves inside the box, making the sub *think* its in a larger box. check the sub manuals to see if poly fill is necessary and how much, also if you put it in the box make sure to spray glue it on the sides of the box so it keeps away from the sub magnet which could cause overheating of the sub...

5. not sure on what wiring connectors you speak of, but you'll need a ring connector to connect the to the postive of the battery. and you'll also need one to Ground your amp to the body of the truck.

6. It shouldn't melt. Make sure you give your amp air so the heat can roll off it, you DO NOT want to inclose your amp in a small area with out giving it proper air flow. Also never mount it upside down. If you plan on enclosing the amp in a rack with a "plexiglass" peice over it, just make sure you buy a small fan or 2, to circulate air for the amp...these puppys get hot in the summer time!!!

any other questions just shoot, i'll help ya if i can!

 

[RoadEnforcer]

Spas wait till you hear my system on the 6th! If its in by then.... That might give you some Ideas!

 

[Spas]

Spas wait till you hear my system on the 6th! If its in by then.... That might give you some Ideas!

Actually, you and Alpha are the ones who got the idea for this rolling....I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you guys blast me out of the parking lot, LOL I am looking forward to seeing yours though

Thanks SOOOO much, Elite-you pretty much answered every question I was gonna add!

Basically its going to involve the construction of two seperate boxes that will fit cattycorner between the backs of the seats and the wheelwells, but still be short enough to cover with the cargo pullover (thanks for that idea, Das Frem!). I'd like to have a board placed between the two boxes (to mount the amp to) that's removable, in case I need to lower seats and haul something (or just a place to lie down and sleep when I go camping, lol). I'd also like to upholster the whole thing in grey vinyl to match my interior and add some blue neons-it's gonna take a lot of work, but I think it'll look good

Speaking of upholstering, has anyone used Dynamat on the walls of their cargo area? (On the bare metal, under the plastic, of course) I'm also wondering if I should line the outside of the box(es) with it, under the vinyl that I'm covering them with....

 

[MONMIX]

You might want to reconsider using partical board for the sub box. It is not dense enough. Yeah it is the most afordable and the lightest.
It is very costly but birtch is very , very dense hard ( thus heavy ) wood. All profesional loud speakers are made of birtch.

 

[Spas]

Birch, huh? How much heavier is it than particleboard? I neglected to mention that I'm trying tokeep the weight down

Here's a rough idea of what I want to do, although I haven't figured out how to make the center portion move yet.

 

[RoadEnforcer]

looks real good Spas but, you gotta consider how big the speakers are gonna be and how big those boxes have to be for it to work.

 

[B94Sport]

Hmmm.... When I was only going to have 2 subs in my system, that is the same setup I was planning on. Have you measured anything yet? I remember that getting enough air in the box for the subs was very difficult to do without making the box very tall or long. I think I even had one idea where the space behind/below the amp rack was actually split for each sub to use for more air, and it still was not enough. That's just me though, cargo space was a big thing for me.

 

[Spas]

You think if I elongated the boxes to take up the sides of the cargo hold that I'd have enough air for the subs?

 

[EliteConcept]

here is my set up
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i think you have to take off the www. or http part not sure which, cuz yahoo is stupid

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

This should help you out a lot in planning your box.

www.teamrocs.com

Enter the site and click on "Technical," then scroll down until you get to "Speakers and Enclosures." There is a ton of info on box construction, speaker wiring, amp wiring and just about anything else you may need. This place is an absolute must for anyone designing/installing/building their own system. Good luck!

Mike

 

[Spas]

Awesome! Thanks!

On the sub update..I'm looking into JL 10's... (big $$ though-I may have to go cheaper) and a Kenwood amp, as per a suggestion from a friend...anyone know where to find them for a reasonable price?

 

[RoadEnforcer]

JL 10' what? You say w7? Fork over 600 bucks a sub and a huge amp to power them.

 

[EliteConcept]

spas

my friend has 2 audiobahn 10's.
and they are no joke! they weighlike 40lbs each, they are the AWP310X model
you can go to http://www.thezeb.com/caraudio/audiobahn_specials.html
and scroll down to PISTON SUBWOOFER SPEICAL.
they are 200 bucks a peice and he is only asking $275 for both of them plus shipping
and they work great!

just a thought!

 

[Spas]

JL 10' what? You say w7? Fork over 600 bucks a sub and a huge amp to power them.

NOOOOOOOO, not the W7! Although it would be nice

I'm not even sure of the designation # for the subs I'm checking out, but I've seen slightly used pairs of them go on ebay with box included for about $150-$200...

Thanks for the tip, Elite-I'll keep that in mind!


I'm wondering if I should maybe just go with one of Bazooka's new triangle subs-you think?

 

[AQexplorer]

haha, that picture you drew was almost the exact setup i had planned on doing...but then i got really lazy and just threw the amp under the back seat and built a plain box for the 2 subs...actually it was becuase i needed them to be easily removable and to take up as little space as possible, but oh well, i guess ill have to get elaborate on my next vehicle!

 

[Spas]

I'm about to just say the heck with taking up space, 'cuz this project keeps getting bigger and bigger...

I'm wondering if I could fit two 6x9's into the tops of the boxes, too....

 

[B94Sport]

LOL that is the same thing that happened to me! I abandoned that layout plan, changed to a system with 3 12" subs, two amps, and a false floor, and now my trunk is going to be pretty much gone! Oh well...

 

[Spas]

Who needs space for groceries when going deaf is so much more fun?!