Whats the best headunit for me?

[95ExplorerLtd]

I've been looking through my Crutchfield catalog and I cant find any headunits that I think will work wihtout a kit. I have the headunit where theres just the tape deck and CD and radio controls, so its like factory style or whatever its called. I dont know what brand or kind to get. I dont want to have a minidisc chnager, so no worries about that. What would you guys recommend. And also, what kinds and sizes of speakers?
Thanks!

~~95

 

[Ru Dawg]

are you saying you want to fill the factory space with nothing but stereo? If so what you need is a double-din head unit (DD). I think crutchfield may have a few, you should call them and ask, they might not have it in their catalog or online, and they are very helpful. I know for a fact that Alpine makes one, which crutchfield doesn't cary, my friend put one in his Trans Am. Check a local stereo shop as well. Good luck man!

 

[Alec]

You could get a double size unit like Ru Dawg said. There are a few in Crutch's catalog. You could also get a single size unit and a separate equalizer. However, most double units have TONS of features, including equalizers. There are a few with very nice and classy displays that totally black out when off for security. I can't remember the brand offhand, but just look through the catalog. It also depends if you still want tape, in dash CD, and/or changer.

As for speakers, the factory locations take 5x7s or 6x8s. If you have a limited, you also have a 6.5" sub in the back, no? You can upgrade that to a 10" with a little work (or see Quadcam's thread on cheap stealthboxes). You can also put a sub box in the storage area. Many people have gone with component systems and put 5.5 or 6.5's in the stock locations and small tweeters elsewhere. There are also kickpanel boxes available, but they cut down on leg room.

It all depends on how much you want to spend and what you want. Go to my webpage and see what I've done. I'm perfectly happy with it, and still have the stock HU.

Good luck!

 

[JTang]

Boy, JUST CD, tape, and radio controls? I wish I had your problem! What kind of "Kit" do you mean? As for radio harnesses, regardless, you'll need one (which you'll get from Crutchfield) with *any* radio. If you're not going to go double din, then you'll get a dash kit that's just a piece of plastic that fits around the frame of the radio, it's no big thing.

If you get a new double din, then getting a unit that features all your current head unit's features will be really expensive. If you're getting the single din, and trying to get one that has all those features, it will be even MORE expensive. If you get a single din radio, then besides the radio harness that you HAVE to have, you'll just get a plastic frame that will go around the new radio and cover up the extra hole space.

It seems as if you want to get a new head unit, but the only thing stopping you is that you're a little timid of the install. I'll give you a quick rundown of what you'll basically be doing so you're a little more informed.

Basically, you might need to remove the dash cover front (I'm not familiar with 95's but I'm guessing this is so). It's easy. You just unscrew a few bolts, and then just start pulling gently.

Then you'll remove the factory radio. On the back there will be a few plugs where the sound wiring and power wiring will go. Those plugs are factory plugs, and the harness that you will get from Crutchfield will pop right in. Then all you have to do is get some butt connectors (and maybe some electrical tape) and follow the directions. Connect the colored wires from the harness to the similar colored wires on your new head unit.

Put the head unit sleeve in, perhaps screw it in with one or two screws. Connect the wires and harness, slide the radio in, put the dash back on.

If you feel that the volume is distorting way too much, then throw the amp bypass in at the rear of the car. There are tons of people here who've done it, and they will all be able to totally help you out.

It all seems a little intimidating, but really, it's not. I helped a friend install his in an Explorer for his first time, it took about 2 hours, and most of it was just connecting the radio and wire harness together while watching the Simpsons. He did all the work, I just watched. You'll have fun, and it's really gratifying.

In my real opinion, if you want instant gratification, order some new speakers and do those first. It will make an instant audio difference, and it'll give you the confidence to the the head unit.

In my experience, I'm not a big gadget guy. I like my head units plain and simple, so I can mess around with the head unit and keep my eyes on the road. I'd say the only thing you might want to look into are your future desires, if you want a CD changer control, or if you plan to have an amp later on (RCA preouts). On a side note, while most of my friends have the cool glossy head units like the Sony's, I get really frustrated with them because they're so shiny I can't read anything during the day. So I have a really plain looking one, but I'm never straining my eyes to see what I'm doing. Like most of the Alpines in green, they're a matte style, and the lighting matches perfectly with the stock Explorer look. If you can, however, try to get one with 4 volt RCA preouts - front and rear (which I wish I did), it will make all the difference if you get an amp.

Jon

 

[Skippman]

As JTang said, install is no big deal. As for your head unit choice, if it is indeed dual DINN I would look into Clarion.

Clarion makes several dual DINN units that feature CD Players and 6 1/2" screens, great for some video source such as a Play Station, DVD, ect.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[95ExplorerLtd]

OK, forget everything that I just posted above. I have my mind made up for now I think.

Speakers: Kenwood KFC-578 5"x7" in all four doors, all have tweeters built in.
Subs: MTX Thunderform 10" 6000, Bazooka 10"
Tweeters: Kenwood T203's mounted on each pillar (if possible)
Headunit(s): I originally wanted a cd receiver on top of a tape player (Kenwood) but then that leaves me with two radios in the dash. Should I just forget about the tape player, because I dont know how long its been since we used ours, but its still reassuring just having it there. I want it all to be Kenwood since I've heard alot of good stuff about them. The subs are a diferent story. I like the thunderform because it fits right back where the factory sub is and I've heard Bazookas before so I want one of those. I didnt wanna bother having to get boxes and amps and all sorts of complicated crap.

I dont want a minidisc thing, I'd probably use it less than the tape player. Money is not a factor (yet). Does anybody out there have a Kenwood headunit(s) for their headunit? This is giving me a headache, better stop now.....

This help any?

 

[Alec]

If you're also getting a CD changer, don't get a Kenwood. I've heard most of their stuff is good, except their changers. However, if you want one, get it from Circuit City as they have a very good lemon warranty.

I do think your speaker setup is a little screwy, also. I haven't seen many people with two different types of subs (a tube and MTX). They might sound a little different and distort each other. To compound that, neither Bazooka or MTX are very highly regarded among car audio people. Also, I don't know if you should have full combo speakers and separate tweeters. IMHO, if you're going to have tweeters, put some 5.5 or 6.5 components in the doors. With this describes setup, you're not going to have a decent mid-range.

 

[95ExplorerLtd]

Shows just how much I know about this stuff As far as subs, what all would you recommend?

 

[mrsteve]

I agree with Alec. The speaker setup is a little nuts. You should get a 5.25" component set for the front. A good set of 5x7's or 6x8's for the rear (Kenwood, Pioneer, Rockford) As for the subs, DON'T GET A BAZOOKA TUBE! My friend has one and they suck. She's got the 10" amplified tube and it sounds awful. I do think that MTX subs are really good though. Maybe not as great as Eclipse or JL audio, but they are a great sub for the money, so is Rockford Fosgate. You said you didn't wanna deal with amps and stuff but if you don't your system is gonna sound like so ass.

Think about it. Crutchfield has the 10" amplified bazooka tube for $300-$400 for the EL and RS. You could get 2 Rockford Fosgate 10" subs and an amp for that price and would sound a whole lot better than a bazooka tube. With the amplified bazooka tubes you still have to run all the same wiring except for speaker wires, the easiest wires to run in the entire install.

I would get 2 10" MTX 6000's at 8ohms each. Bridge the subs together. Then get an Infinity Beta Digital amp from Crutchfield for $300. Bridge the amp to get 400 watts x 1 channel. That will be plenty of power for the subs. But with that much power you better get an amp for you other speakers or you won't hear them.

As for headunits, I am not sure which units will fit. You are talking about getting a cassette with a CD add-on unit. If you want Kenwood I would get a Kenwood KRC-508S or KRC-608 cassette unit with a KDC-D300 CD add-on unit. Or you could go Pioneer and get a KEH-P5900 with a CDS-P5000 CD add-on unit. The Kenwood add-on also has an 11 band equilizer and the Pioneer has a 13 band EQ. The two pairs of units are about the same price give or take $20.

If you told us your budget maybe we could help you out a little more.

If you were on a fairly conservative budget I would get the following:
Pioneer Cassette -$200
Pioneer CD add-on $230
Kenwood Components-$140
2 MTX 10's- $240
Infinity amp-$300
Sony 752EQX amp-$200

That's about $1300 plus you gotta think about amp hook ups and possibly dynamat. That should be around $1400 total. Not bad for what you are getting. All these prices are from Crutchfield

[Edited by mrsteve on 10-28-2000 at 05:27 PM]

 

[JTang]

Grant-

I think a lot of people can lead you in the "right" way for subs and stuff, but ultimately, the best thing to do is go out and listen. It sort of sucks, because I know that when I go out to listen, the seller knows this, that I'm not going to be the easy sell type person. I sort of feel bad about testing the subs with no immediate intention to buy, but hey, you're the customer, you're buying, and you'll have to stick with that sub for a while, so take your time and choose.

In response to your earlier post as well as your replies, it does get complicated when you have to start thinking of everything at once, but you HAVE to do it. In the least, you HAVE to look at your subs and amps at the same time, especially if money isn't a factor yet, because it will be really really soon. You need to consider a few things before you start looking:

1. How loud you want it, and therefore, how much power you need the sub to handle (which *automatically* brings it the question of the amp, see?)

2. What kind of bass you want. Different subs, based on different cone materials and construction methods play differently, as well as what kind and size of enclosure they are in. There are lots of subs, but in simplicity, you're getting really boomy bass subs for like rap and rock, really tight ones that play kick drums and live music really well, and then something in the middle. It's up to you!

Of your two choices, if you're getting the normal stealth or bazooka, then you'll still need to get an amp for each, unless you get the amplified versions of both. I don't have anything against bazooka, but let's face it, for a few bucks more, you can get the stealthform and save space in the process. The bazooka will play a lot louder, but the stealthform will probably play a little nicer (meaning that it will hit more bass notes with equal volume while the bazooka will hit fewer notes but with greater intensity). It depends what you want. Either way, both applications take about 125-150 watts RMS, so if you're happy with that level of volume, then there will be tons of amps for you to choose from. You'll just have to decide if you want 1 sub or more so that you can start looking into which amps would help you the best with your setup.


[Edited by JTang on 10-28-2000 at 05:40 PM]

 

[tac0meat]

just my two cents here but if you want to go all kenwood then be sure to get some kenwood subs. I have two kenwood twelves (only one is hooked up in my car until i get a bigger amp). Kenwood makes excelent subs for the price($65-$75 apiece for twelve inch) they hit encradibly hard. i get alot of people saying "damn! thats just one twelve?!" i entered a bass contest with it and was beating out people with two twelves. im not even using a big amp, its a 150 watt jensen. of course this is just my opinion. kicker, rockford, jl are good too but i think the kenwoods will get you the most bang for your buck and they sound very good.

 

[95ExplorerLtd]

Thanks guys! You're really starting to clear things up for me here. I never have been much on component systems and I've read up on them but ont really understand it. I heard that Memphis Powerbass is supposed to be really good, but pricey also. Opinions on that?

Alec, you said dont get a Kenwood cd changer. What is wrong witht hem, I wouldnt mind paying for a new one. Ours is so loud it sounds like its grinding up the cd's inside of it. But hey, it still plays them.....

[Edited by 95ExplorerLtd on 10-28-2000 at 07:50 PM]

 

[Alec]

My brother and two friends of mine have had Kenwood changers and they all ate CD's, the cartidges broke, and they fried some wiring (and the consoles). Almost identical problems with different models of Kenwood changers. ergo: don't get a kenwood changer!!

Also, if you're getting a changer to mount in the console, you have to pay a lot of attention to how much heat they generate, both as to not fry you in the driver's seat, but not to fry the electronics. The console doesn't get much circulating air.

 

[95ExplorerLtd]

Ok, I read all you guys' advice and heres what I've come up with.. Tell me where I'm wrong....


Speakers:
Front Doors- Kenwood 5.25 Components
Rear Doors- Kenwood KFC 578C 5"x7"

Headunit
Kenwood KRC 708 cassette receiver w/cd changer controls and POSSIBLY a passive eq/crossover to fill the space and help out. Could somebody first explain the advantage of this?

Subs
1 Kenwood 10" eXcelon in a Q-Logic box in the sub compartment.
2 Kenwood 10's in a Q-logic dual sub box

Amps
You tell me


Does the setup for the subs sound wacky, three 10's? plus should I just get the dB subs with those individual free q-logic boxes or stick with a dual sub one. Thanks guys!

 

[Alec]

I don't think you need 3 10's. You'd probably be better off with 2 10's in a box in the cargo area. Then you can even keep your net cargo thing. You might even be happy with just one 10 in the Qlogic box, many on this site are. Also, don't forget the little tweeters as part of the components, I didn't see those mentioned. As for an amp, I have a RF 150a2 powering my 2 10's, and it works great.

Soon people on the street are going to be saying, "There goes the Kenwood poster boy!"

 

[rock883]

Alec, in component sets, they include the mids, tweets, x-over, and the trim rings to mount the tweet.

Grant, about the eq/crossover. The equalizer will let you adjust the bass and treble at a better level than what the head unit can control it. Usually head units have built in eq's, which are usually set at a lot of bass, a lot of treble, or a good mix of both. And some of the better model head units will have a soft bass, hard bass, low treble, high treble features as well as the good mix of both of them. But with the equalizer, there are usually about 10 bands you can adjust all according to frequencies (bass and treble), so then you can adjust them the way you want to and make it sound as good or as bad as you want to. I am planning on (when I get more money) getting the Rockford Fosgate Symmetry EXP2 system, supposidly the best equalizer out there, and it has 28 bands, compared to the 10 on the others (don't get me wrong, 10 is good, but 28 is just a whole lot better, and harder to work with to get it sounding right), but the Symmetry is a seperate unit, sort of like an amp, but it has a cool display attatched to it that you can put in the center console, or you can mount it on the dash. Here's a pic of it:

Pretty sweet little system. I'd also like to get this little baby too:

This thing converts your stereo signal (2 channels) into a 5 channel surround sound, I could do with out this, but it would still be pretty awesome to have and to hear it in action.

Oh yeah, I have the JL Advantage box (basically like the MTX Thunderform, and the Q-form sub box) and I have a Thunder 6000 10" woofer in there, and it sounds 10 times better than my friends 93 exp. with 2 fosgate 10"s in little truck boxes. I would just stick with 1 10" in the Thunderform IMHO. As for amps, I would definately go with an MTX or a Fosgate, I have both, and I LOVE THEM. The MTX is model RT2200X (harder to find for some reason), and it puts out 100x2@4ohm stereo, and I have it wired into 400x1 bridged 4 ohm mono, and it hits really good. And I have a Fosgate 600A4 amp powering my front 5.25 components, and my rear Pioneer 3-way 5x7s. I would definately recommend this setup is sounds really good. I would also go with an Alpine double din head unit, those things are really nice, but I don't really know of any others, since mine is only a single din size, and thats the only ones I really look at. Hope I was able to help you out a bit.

 

[JTang]

tac0meat,

What kind of Kenwoods are you running? Are they those cool looking blue ones? How much space did you have to use per sub?

Jon

 

[95ExplorerLtd]

There isnt any way to fit a 12 in the stock sub hole is there? Because A 12 in there would be nice. I wanna be heard when I'm coming, then they'll know its the Kenwood poster boy! But I dont want my music to be drowned out with it. So would a 10 in the wall and a 12 in a box be unwise? Thats why I said 2 10's in a box because I thought a 12 would drown out the 10 and make it "lesser", thats the only way I can describe it, haha. My cousin has 2 10's in his F-150 and they sounds good, but I dont know if you can hear him coming from very far away. So what should I do,

three 10's
two 12's
one 10 and one 12

Plus I want something to be there in the sub compartment if I can have that as an option. What would you recommend? Thanks alot guys, you're really helping me out here.

 

[mrsteve]

I'll tell you right now that if you want people to hear you coming and you don't want your bass to take control of your mids and highs I would say you definately need an amp for your other speakers. If you plan on running anything more than 2 10's you are gonna need more power to the rest of your speakers. You could get this Infinity amp that Crutchfield has. 50x4 RMS and 200x1 RMS. That one amp could power your 4 speakers and 2 subs easily. It's $400 though and it's huge. May not be the best idea but I plan on getting one soon.

If you wanna put a sub where the cargo net is you will have to think of where you are gonna put your amp. Just something to remember.

 

[Alec]

I don't think a 12" will fit in the side compartment. I would still recommend two 10s, or possibly 2 12s. How concerned are you with cargo space? I know there are people here with 4 subs in a box in the back. You're right that mixing subs is a little screwy. I know that when I have my windows open, you can hear the bass about a third of a block away with a bassy song (and without blowing my ears inside). With the windows closed, you don't hear much outside. In my experience, later Explorers are pretty well soundproofed. Thus, If you're running heavy bass with the windows closed, A) you're gonna go deaf and B) you still wont hear much more than 10 feet away from the truck. If you really want people to hear you outside the truck, mount speakers outside the truck!