using regular speakers in an explorer?

[Blue91Ex]

This is all really useful information, and i will deffinitly refer to all of this when i do eventually upgrade my speakers.
right now, i need a cheap head unit so i can at least use the radio. I just found today that the head unit in our 87 f150 shoudl fit into the head unit bay on my explorer, and really that truck isnt ever going to go anywhere other than a junkyard, it was meant as a yard truck when we bought it anyway. This radio is not great, the screen that shows the clock and channel is small, its plain, and only has a cassett player. This is pretty much what 1st gens were. I am okay with this because really right now i just want a radio and a clock. i cant stand not havign a clock there. My question is, how hard is it to remove the head unit from the f150 and what do i have to do or modify to get it to work okay in the ex? I know it wont have the best quality but it is a temporary fix just for my OCD... any advice on this as well?

thanks.

 

[Blue91Ex]

Well, i went ahead and tried it... toom me 20 minutes because i had to keep running across the road to the house to get different sized screwdrivers and socket wrench heads... get realy to put it into the ex where the other was removed... dissapointment.
Everything would have fit perfectly, but over the 4 years, they changed the power adapter plug's end/head. so it wont plug into teh older radio. I would solder wires onto the pins and "hotwire" or splice it, but i dont know whether they rearrangd teh pins so much that i would need a diagram.. Also this would make it extremely hard to put a newer head unit in later.. anyone know of adapters i could get online?

 

[ford freak]

And the reason automotive speakers are usually 4 ohms (sometimes less for subwoofers) is because of the voltage to the AMPLIFIER. Since Power = Voltage^2 / Impedance (resistance), you will get more power from a lower-impedance load. This is advantageous in cars because the supply voltage to the amp is about 14 volts, while your home theater receiver is supplied ~120 volts (and almost twice that in EU/AU, etc.) . . . and stepping up that voltage requires big transformers which would be less practical in automotive applications.

So in short, yes it is POSSIBLE to mix automotive and home-theater audio equipment, but rarely is it practical or sensible to do so.

It is very practical if the user knows how to truly understand the specs of a driver. And yes it can be very practical and yes very sensible. I was making my point because of the blanket statement that 8 ohm drivers can'
t be used in a vehichle. yes they can and they can be used with a very high level of success. I would think it's a small percent of the car audio market that takes audio serious enough to truly understand the concept. It is by far more popular to have the perception of bragging rights that i run my amp at 1 ohm and it puts out x number of watts when in fact the impedance could be increased and sound much better. At what cost?

To Quote Stephen mantz of Zed audio.





Well now that I mention “1 ohm”, I cannot resist getting into this subject. Scenario: Kid (or
middle aged person) buys gizzilion watt amplifier with manufacturer’s specifications of x
watts into 4 ohm, y watts into 2 ohm and z watts into 1 ohm. Well let’s take a wild guess
and I bet you all that the vast majority will drive the amplifier into 1 ohm. Why? Easy, he
feels that he is getting his “moneys worth” by doing this. OK let’s see what reality is. Said
amplifier is maybe rated at say 600w into 4 ohm, 1000w into 2 ohm and 1500w into 1
ohm. We will assume that the speaker impedance is resistive. The difference between the
4 and 2 ohm power is 2.2dB, the difference between the 2 and 1 ohm power is 1.76dB
and the difference between 4 and 1 ohm power is 3.9dB. So what do these numbers tell
us. First if the speaker is 4 ohms vs 2 ohms, no way you can hear any difference. Same
issue comparing 2 as to 1 ohm. I grant you that between 4 and 1 ohm there is almost 4dB
difference BUT at what price and this difference is just percebtible! Two issues. Low
impedance loads affect the amplifier’s sound quality adversely and this is quite easy to
prove. Load an amplifier with a 4 ohm woofer and listen. Add parallel resistors to the
speaker to make the amplifier “think” that it is driving a low impedance speaker and listen
to the difference in sound quality. You will be surprised. This test is not 100% valid in fact
as the resistive loads added, let the amplifier off the hook as the reactive components of
the load are confined to the 4 ohm part. The idea of this test is to keep the loudness about
constant but load down the amplifier.
The average person can just perceive a 3dB (doubling of power) difference and to actually
double the sound pressure on your eardrum, you require TEN TIMES the amplifier power.
Yes TEN TIMES!
The other consequence of driving amplifiers into these ridiculously low impedances is that
the amplifier is stressed substantially more as compared to when driven into more sane
impedances. Efficiency drops as the losses in the output stages increase dramatically
even with “super efficient” class D amplifiers.
It
serves ONLY to boost the ego of the owner of the car so he can quote numbers to his
buddies.
We at Zed are absolutely against these loads of less than 2 ohm.


And here is a very good link all about using 8 ohms drivers in a vehichle.



http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...d-our-members/31-real-deal-8-ohm-drivers.html

 

[ford freak]

Well, i went ahead and tried it... toom me 20 minutes because i had to keep running across the road to the house to get different sized screwdrivers and socket wrench heads... get realy to put it into the ex where the other was removed... dissapointment.
Everything would have fit perfectly, but over the 4 years, they changed the power adapter plug's end/head. so it wont plug into the older radio. I would solder wires onto the pins and "hotwire" or splice it, but i dont know whether they rearrangd the pins so much that i would need a diagram.. Also this would make it extremely hard to put a newer head unit in later.. anyone know of adapters i could get online?

I really think you're out of luck with that one.

 

[1996BLKBauer]

Please provide a link.

I don't have a link, my local Stereo installer who worked for Pioneer for over 25 years told me this, when I was asking about baffles. He may have lied, but I don't see a reason why he would.

 

[ford freak]

I don't have a link, my local Stereo installer who worked for Pioneer for over 25 years told me this, when I was asking about baffles. He may have lied, but I don't see a reason why he would.

He most certainly lied.

 

[Blue91Ex]

I really think you're out of luck with that one.

would it be safe to asume that the color wires are the same in both designs? like red is the same as red and black is the same as black? the only difference i could see was that the pine on the newer connection are 2 rows stacked instead of one row, and the pins are slightly smaller, what abotu cutting off the different connector and the older connector from the f150 and solder the wires together with teh clors matching? if this doesnt work, woudl it fry all the other electrical in teh truck?

 

[Blue91Ex]

Never mind, went out and looked. It does use the wrong type of wire as well and it is all bundled up in one thick grey wire so i think i would have to do too much wiring to get it right, guess im off to a junkyard..

 

[1996BLKBauer]

He most certainly lied.

OK, well how do I know that you are not lying to me? I mean I really don't care, I just look like a dumbass. I should have known, but it seemed like something they might do, because on some cars water passes through the doors, it is just the way they are designed.

 

[Jason94sport]

I have used home subs before. Wire them right & the 8ohm rating is meaningless. Sounded great & lasted a long time. I have also wired in actual home speakers with the cabinets & again wired right sounded great on a car amplifier. Used a DJ speaker that rotated out of the hatch on a civic for tail gating. That was extremely loud. So yes you can do it if you know what to do. Use what you got sometimes.

 

[Stic-o]

I use old car speakeds for the garage