what to get for better sound

[63falcondude]

After searching for a while I think its best to make my own thread. I want to get good sound in my 2000 EB explorer and am unsure of exactly how to go about it. I have an aftermarket pioneer head unit and the stock enclosure with the amp and sub in it (both unplugged as per crutchfield instructions).

How do I get the sub working again with the aftermarket head unit? Im planning on replacing the sub for starters and maybe the amp if need be. I can run wires if thats needed.

 

[toypaseo]

Take the easy route and just install an aftermarket amp.

In my Budget Bass project, I started with OEM headunit, and no OEM sub. I added an aftermarket amp, PAC-OEM2 high-low converter, and an aftermarket sub in an OEM enclosure that was carved out to accept an 8" sub. Converter was later upgraded to an AudioControl LC2i, which automatically corrects for the bass roll-off.

Click on images for larger views.

 

[Anime]

If you already have a decent head unit, you need to replace the speakers, the sub, and get an amp.

Pioneer makes an 8 inch shallow sub that should fit in the stock enclosure. They also make an amp that's well under $100 that will power it. You'll probably need to get an amp kit or at least get some 8-gauge power and ground wire plus a 12-15ft RCA cable and a turn-on wire, but put it all together and you'll have a working sub that's way better than the stock stuff.

Stick some Pioneer 2-way 6x8 in speakers in the stock speaker locations, hook them up to the head unit speaker wires, and you'll have a killer system for not a lot of money.

 

[63falcondude]

Take the easy route and just install an aftermarket amp.

In my Budget Bass project, I started with OEM headunit, and no OEM sub. I added an aftermarket amp, PAC-OEM2 high-low converter, and an aftermarket sub in an OEM enclosure that was carved out to accept an 8" sub. Converter was later upgraded to an AudioControl LC2i, which automatically corrects for the bass roll-off.

Click on images for larger views.

Thanks for the response, I was reading something you posted in before. Did you say something about the amp overheating when seats are folded down?

 

[63falcondude]

If you already have a decent head unit, you need to replace the speakers, the sub, and get an amp.

Pioneer makes an 8 inch shallow sub that should fit in the stock enclosure. They also make an amp that's well under $100 that will power it. You'll probably need to get an amp kit or at least get some 8-gauge power and ground wire plus a 12-15ft RCA cable and a turn-on wire, but put it all together and you'll have a working sub that's way better than the stock stuff.

Stick some Pioneer 2-way 6x8 in speakers in the stock speaker locations, hook them up to the head unit speaker wires, and you'll have a killer system for not a lot of money.

Cool, thanks. I was also looking into getting some new door speakers. Whats the difference between 2,3,4 way speakers?

 

[63falcondude]

Just found this online.

"A 3 way speaker has a _seperate_ tweeter, midrange and woofer. On a 2 way the woofer will play higher frequencies and maybe the tweeter will go lower. 3-way is generally better, but make sure u go with quality components. You can pick up non-branded 4-way 6x9 inch speaker for a couple of bucks, but they won't sound good. Your Audiobahn 2-ways will sound alot better. Just make sure u set it all up properly. And I hope ur getting an amp for ur front and rear speakers too. Not just ur amp. Just cuz ur head unit _can_ run them doesn't mean it does it well.
I don't know why the cheap speakers are 3 or 4 way. It's probably cuz it's cheaper to make speakers with "odd response ranges", instead of having a 2-way speaker where the woofer has to handle higher frequencies.
The RMS rating isn't really all that important on the speakers. Wattage does not equal volume. Check the sensitivity on the speakers. That's what determines how loud they'll play. It's more important to have an amp matched to your speakers (read: a powerful enough amp) than 500W speakers."

 

[Anime]

The Pioneer amp that should work well with the 8-inch sub should mount in the same location as the stock amp, since it's pretty small:

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-GMA3602-2-Channel-Bridgeable-Amplifier/dp/B00GN5K650

Here's the sub:

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-TS-SW...1423015491&sr=1-16&keywords=pioneer+subwoofer

You should of course check around for prices, you might find prices at other sites are a few bucks less.


2-way speakers are the simplest and just have a woofer cone and a tweeter.

3-way speakers usually have a tweeter, midrange, and woofer, but when it comes to the 6x8 speakers, the "3-way" means it has a tweeter, woofer, and a "super tweeter" - a smaller tweeter made for handling the high frequences. Some people regard the design as useless, since the super tweeter doesn't appear to serve much function, but it probably depends on the music you listen to. I'd guess that music with high, high notes like opera and some electronic stuff is slightly better with the 3-ways than with cheap 2-ways.

4-way speakers usually mean a tweeter, a high-midrange and a low-midrange with a woofer, but again, when it comes to the 6x8 car stereo speakers, it means a tweeter, a woofer, and two super tweeters.

The whole point of having more than a tweeter and a woofer is to give frequences their own dedicated driver, since speakers work better when they aren't trying to reproduce the whole range of sound - this is why theater/concert speakers have lots of drivers, each one for a range of the sound.


That said, 2-ways are more than fine for car audio.

It's worth noting that the 2-way speakers have lower power handling, which actually means they work better when powered off the stereo, where the 3-way and 4-way speakers usually handle more power, so they often aren't as loud when powered off the 14-22 watts each channel of the head unit puts out.

The 2-way Pioneer 6x8's are a great choice for drop-in speakers for an Explorer:

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-TS-G6...F8&qid=1423015868&sr=1-3&keywords=pioneer+6x8

I'd suggest those along with two packs of speaker harness adapters:

http://www.amazon.com/Metra-72-5512...23016166&sr=1-3&keywords=ford+speaker+adapter

The adapters let you plug in the speakers to the stock wiring so you don't have to hack up the factory wires, letting you put the factory speakers back if you decide to sell the vehicle without the speakers in it, or just making a cleaner install so you can remove the speakers easily for access when working on the vehicle.

You can of course just cut the stock wires and attach them to the speakers, or just run new speaker wires from the unit to the speakers.

 

[63falcondude]

Very cool, thanks for all of the info! How do I hook everything up? Mainly the head unit to the amp assuming the amp wont have the same female port that the stock one does.

 

[toypaseo]

Thanks for the response, I was reading something you posted in before. Did you say something about the amp overheating when seats are folded down?

I have mentioned that the metal support webbing(?) underneath makes contact with the amp when the seat is down. I just put a washcloth on top of the amp so it does not damage the amp. Never overheated yet, and I think I just leave the washcloth on it, regardless if the seat is up or down. I don't crank the stereo for hours on end, so I guess it could overheat at some point of I did.

 

[toypaseo]

Very cool, thanks for all of the info! How do I hook everything up? Mainly the head unit to the amp assuming the amp wont have the same female port that the stock one does.

RCA cables / patch cords

 

[Anime]

Yeah, you just stick a pair of RCA cables into the back of the head unit, (there should be at least one set of RCA output jacks), and connect the other end of the cables to the input for the amp.

You'll also of course need 20-25ft of 8-gage power wire and 2-3ft of ground wire, plus a fuse holder and a fuse that matches the fuse rating on the amp, and a thin 18-22 gauge wire for the turn-on wire - that connects to the blue wire on the head unit and the signal input terminal on the amp, that tells the amp when the head unit is turned on so the amp turns on too.

You won't use any of the stock connectors or wires for the factory amp at all.



If you've never installed an amp or sub before, or even speakers, search online and look at some forums and how-to install an amp/subwoofer/speakers videos on youtube to get an idea of what's involved and what tools you'll need to have. Watch and learn until you think you've got it. Better to take your time and learn to do it right rather than do a rush job and mess up, then have to spend more time fixing it than it would have taken to just do the job right the first time.

 

[63falcondude]

Yeah, you just stick a pair of RCA cables into the back of the head unit, (there should be at least one set of RCA output jacks), and connect the other end of the cables to the input for the amp.

You'll also of course need 20-25ft of 8-gage power wire and 2-3ft of ground wire, plus a fuse holder and a fuse that matches the fuse rating on the amp, and a thin 18-22 gauge wire for the turn-on wire - that connects to the blue wire on the head unit and the signal input terminal on the amp, that tells the amp when the head unit is turned on so the amp turns on too.

You won't use any of the stock connectors or wires for the factory amp at all.



If you've never installed an amp or sub before, or even speakers, search online and look at some forums and how-to install an amp/subwoofer/speakers videos on youtube to get an idea of what's involved and what tools you'll need to have. Watch and learn until you think you've got it. Better to take your time and learn to do it right rather than do a rush job and mess up, then have to spend more time fixing it than it would have taken to just do the job right the first time.

Awesome, ill probably end up doing this when I have the dash out to do the LED swap. Thanks for all the info and I will post back when its done.

 

[63falcondude]

I have mentioned that the metal support webbing(?) underneath makes contact with the amp when the seat is down. I just put a washcloth on top of the amp so it does not damage the amp. Never overheated yet, and I think I just leave the washcloth on it, regardless if the seat is up or down. I don't crank the stereo for hours on end, so I guess it could overheat at some point of I did.

Why do you have 2 amps? is one for the subs and the other for the door speakers?

 

[toypaseo]

Why do you have 2 amps? is one for the subs and the other for the door speakers?

Yeah, the one under the seat is for the sub, the one on the sub enclosure is the OEM one that powers the four door speakers.

 

[63falcondude]

So I ended up getting the pioneer sub and amp. Do you guys think this amp kit should suffice? http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000FKP7TY/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1YKB988XMELBY

 

[toypaseo]

^^^ link fixed...

 

[63falcondude]

Sorry, fixed it. Try it now

 

[toypaseo]

If you are looking at cheap installation kits, I could send you some leftovers from installation kits that I got off eBay, I think. Power wire is 8 gauge, but the jacket is thick so it looks like 4 gauge. I know I have one at least. Patch cords might be missing, but I might be able to dig up some used ones from my misc parts. I know I didn't use the fuseholder for sure. Loom is missing. Zipties were junk. Crimp connectors might be missing. Pry have some leftovers from a Scosche kit I used in my Explorer. Bought it mainly for the power wire. Cheaper than buying bulk.

 

[toypaseo]

That Boss kit's power wire is the same over-thick jacket stuff I mentioned. Look at the first review.

 

[63falcondude]

That Boss kit's power wire is the same over-thick jacket stuff I mentioned. Look at the first review.

I appreciate that but if rather get myself a full kit. I hate sleazy sales tactics so I'll have to look elsewhere. Thanks.