13' Express Audio Build W/O Subs ?

[Caldwell]

Hey fella's

I have posted questions on here before about this idea, so I do apologize for potentially annoying anyone. I have been back and forth on whether or not I want to install a Sub in my truck or not. I have legit decided to NOT have a sub installed. The other day I was in my buddy's 2013Chrysler 200 Limited with the Boston Audio System. He has No Sub in his car. It sounded awesome !, he has nice high's, and still retains a solid amount of bump from the doors. I would like to make my 13' express sound like that.

Is it possible to tune an amp to maintain the lows, that the 6x9's are capable of putting out ? I do not want to amp a set of speakers, and just have it stupid loud and clear with no kind of bass definition at all.

I plan on getting a new Double Din HU ( Alpine or Pioneer ). I think Im gonna buy Rockford Fosgate 3.5's / Alpine 6x9's for the dash and doors. I want to run the dash off the HU, and Amp the doors to like 50w RMS each.

What kind of Amp should I look into to that will give me the results im looking for ?

 

[WhiteExpress]

You most certainly can get delicious sweet bass out of a 6x9!
Especially if they are amplified. Just be prepared to do a lot of sound deadening in the doors.
As is, the factory 6x9s rattle all 4 doors in my truck (I am far from happy about this fact)
50W RMS is kind of weak IMO.

The Alpine Type R's will handle 100w RMS, and boy do they sound good when pushed.

Personally, I think I am going with components front and rear, all amped, heavily.

 

[DannyMK2]

youll get decent bass out of the stock speakers by just changing the head unit. i was actually surprised. downfall is i know the stockers arent going to last long, and the door rattles sound terrible. upgrading the speakers solves the first issue, but if your going to pump bass out of them, sound deadening is a must. or turn the bass down in the door speakers and add a sub. thats what i did in my last truck and more than likely what im going to do on this one.

 

[BlkRamRt]

I tried fitting the rockford fosgate 3.5's and they did not fit in my 2012 rcsb

 

[BlkRamRt]

Oh and so that you dont loose that little bass kick just add a 8 or 10 inch sub it really makes a difference

 

[kkreit01]

You can get decent lows out of a proper 6x9. However, they still won't replace a sub.

 

[UNBROKEN]

I run dedicated mid-bass drivers. I can turn my sub complety off and still shake the mirrors.
You can definitely build a subless system that sounds great but it'll never have that super low end. My doors play down to 45hz. My sub plays much lower.

 

[BlkRamRt]

i run dedicated mid-bass drivers. I can turn my sub complety off and still shake the mirrors.
You can definitely build a subless system that sounds great but it'll never have that super low end. My doors play down to 45hz. My sub plays much lower.

are any of your speakers wired with a crossover or are they directly to the amp?

 

[Etroze86]

lol down to 45hz on some rocking equipment thats for sure. Its not always easy finding a mid driver that will drive down that low and still hit play the higher frequencies. I would be prepared to spend a little money to do this. I would run an active setup with dedicated midrange 6 1/2in woofers that have a low FS and can play a decent range and from there you can find a nice silk dome tweeter to play the highs using one 4 channel amp. You would also have to invest in a DSP or change out your hu to one that supports active stereo controls. Big thing seal up the doors so you can get a clean sound and have gains set properly so you don't ruin any speakers you install. Have fun with this. I know I am cause Im working on the same thing but not trying to get that low with the midbass.

 

[UNBROKEN]

are any of your speakers wired with a crossover or are they directly to the amp?

I run 4 way active....there are no passive crossovers anywhere. Each speaker is on a dedicated amp channel except the sub that runs off a pair of channels bridged.
I use a 3Sixty.3 processor to control and tune everything.

 

[Caldwell]

Im in no way trying to sub like bass out of my door speakers. I just want to maintain what I already have from the OEM Base System

 

[UNBROKEN]

lol down to 45hz on some rocking equipment thats for sure. Its not always easy finding a mid driver that will drive down that low and still hit play the higher frequencies. I would be prepared to spend a little money to do this. I would run an active setup with dedicated midrange 6 1/2in woofers that have a low FS and can play a decent range and from there you can find a nice silk dome tweeter to play the highs using one 4 channel amp. You would also have to invest in a DSP or change out your hu to one that supports active stereo controls. Big thing seal up the doors so you can get a clean sound and have gains set properly so you don't ruin any speakers you install. Have fun with this. I know I am cause Im working on the same thing but not trying to get that low with the midbass.

I'll admit it's not exactly normal stuff. It works really well though. Sane people spend less on whole systems than the tweeters cost in this set. lol

 

[UNBROKEN]

Im in no way trying to sub like bass out of my door speakers. I just want to maintain what I already have from the OEM Base System

It's fairly easy to do though. A good 6x9 will reach down pretty low. Not the $99 a pair crap off Crutchfield but a nice, well thought out driver. It may cost you a few more bucks but the end result would be worth it.

 

[Etroze86]

I'll admit it's not exactly normal stuff. It works really well though. Sane people spend less on whole systems than the tweeters cost in this set. lol

I would do that in a heart beat. Heard some Utopias at a local shop and oh my god they where so nice but all they guy would play on them is Hip Hop and Rap so didn't even get the whole effect.

 

[UNBROKEN]

They do everything well above average....they really shine on live recordings and string heavy stuff. The detail is unreal. There are few drivers on the planet this good...and the ones that claim to be better are well out of my price range.

 

[Etroze86]

OP Tang Band makes a 6x9 subwoofer that would fit with enough spacing and you might have to remove the speaker cover on the door. Plays down to 35hz and gets up to 350hz and get 3 1/2 kickers with a 4 channel with reletively decent crossovers on them and you could rock those all day with some decent bass. It might be way easier to get a decent 3 way set and make that work though lol. CDT comes to mind.

 

[Etroze86]

They do everything well above average....they really shine on live recordings and string heavy stuff. The detail is unreal. There are few drivers on the planet this good...and the ones that claim to be better are well out of my price range.

Yep I'm still just really envious of those Utopias. I was entertaining the idea of the Morel Supreme series for a bit but until I figure out how things sound in these trucks I don't wanna drop that kind of cash just yet.

 

[Caldwell]

would running a set of 6.5 components up front an 6x9's in the back benefit me then ???

since the component 6.5 has its own dedicated woofer ? I could run like 100w RMS to it. the only negative I can think of would be less bass output due to the smaller cone area ????

Say I stick with Coaxials, and power the doors with 100w RMS a piece off a 4 ch amp. What would I do with the 3.5's in the dash, just leave them off the HU ?

Im trying to figure out the best bang for my buck, for what im trying to accomplish.

 

[Etroze86]

You could probably make that work just have to seal up those doors really really well and you can get some nice rich midbass out of 6.5 don't let the cone area fool you with that. 100w RMS will be plenty of power, last time I had that much power without subs the JBL coaxial speakers I was running would be so loud it would physically make your head hurt but those speakers were very very bright. I wouldn't bother with the 3.5s u won't hear them after amping the rest. I would stick with the components all the way around to me they just sound so much cleaner. Like I mentioned before if you want to get creative CDT makes a set of 3ways that would fit and are passively crossed over.

 

[autokraftgt]

would running a set of 6.5 components up front an 6x9's in the back benefit me then ???

since the component 6.5 has its own dedicated woofer ? I could run like 100w RMS to it. the only negative I can think of would be less bass output due to the smaller cone area ????

Say I stick with Coaxials, and power the doors with 100w RMS a piece off a 4 ch amp. What would I do with the 3.5's in the dash, just leave them off the HU ?

Im trying to figure out the best bang for my buck, for what im trying to accomplish.

I think with what you want to accomplish, I think high quality 6x9's will fit the bill. I always lean towards 6.5" components over 6x9's but only if you are running a subwoofer. Generally speaking, a 6.5" woofer is great for reproducing midbass frequencies...they can go lower, but usually get out of their comfort range pretty quickly (unless you purchase some very nice 6.5's like utopias, esotar 650's, etc......high dollar stuff)
With that being said, purchase some nice 6x9's (Alpine would not be on my list) with a 2-way config. Run the 3.5's in the dash off of HU power, and buy a 4 channel amp to run the 6x9's in the front doors, and either buy another set of 6x9's for the rear doors, or a nice coax speaker for your rear fill....either should sound pretty nice. Like mentioned before, if you decide to run a nice 6x9....with what you want to accomplish, you had better treat your doors with good sound deadener because amped 6x9's will create a ruckus!!! 50 watts to each 6x9 would do the job, but 100 watts would do the job better....just how it goes'
Good luck!