Audio build

[Whitd5]

Just starting a thread to show my audio build. Enjoying the project for now and can’t wait to get it all finished up.

 

[Whitd5]

Heart of the system is the non alpine 8.4 unit. No changes being made there.

First move for me was the rear door speakers because they were the cheapest and easiest thing to throw in. I am giving precision power a try after a lot of reading. Seems like great bang for the buck stuff... and after all this is just a daily driver build not for some sort of competition. I am fighting my tendency to over do it.

The rear speakers will be ran without an amp. I did add bass blockers but I’m unsure about them at this point. I’ll wait and see how they all mesh once the sub is installed. Overall the speakers added a lot of clarity to the vocals and higher frequencies.

Front speakers will be the same line of speakers but a 3 way component set. Coming soon!

 

[Whitd5]

For the sub I decided to go with a single 12” speaker. This was for many reasons.

1. I think it will supply plenty of bass.
2. It keeps my power demands down at a more reasonable level.
3. Going with a foxbox... the single 12 has a better volume for a sub as opposed to the dual enclosure. I puts the volume and tuning right where my sub needs to be. Nothing worse than trying to force subs into a space without enough volume for the box.

Box is the passenger side single 12” ported fox box. It’s 1.85 cu ft tuned to 34hz. I have high hopes for it.

Sub will be a Skar vvx-12v3 dual 2 ohm... wired to 1 ohm.

Box fits great but it is right up against the bottom of the seat even after spacers are installed. A speaker grill was an easy fix to keep anything from touching and added a nice touch.

 

[Whitd5]

The only thing I didn’t like about the box was that it didn’t look uniform all the way across the underside of the seat. I do like that I had the space under the driver side rear seat to install amps though. This was my solution to have both.

I was able to make a nice cubby to mount my amps but to conceal it all nicely when the seats are down. It now looks better to me with the box extended all the way across. I tried to make it uniform and even copy the lines in the box. All of it was scrap mdf I had. Only spent $8 on the bedliner spray.

 

[Whitd5]

The amps are

Skar 800.1 which will run at 1ohm with my sub

Skar 75.4 which will run bridged to the front only and provide 230 watts to each set of components.

I had a kicker 700.5 that I was going to use but it just wasn’t going to be quite enough for what I wanted. It was also much larger. These Skar amps fit way better in the space I had and gives me more power as well.

I ran 0 gauge down the driver side to power the amp.

 

[TomT]

It should definitely get loud. Not sure why you bothered with the rears since you’ll never even know they’re playing. LOL

 

[Whitd5]

Mainly just hoping to eliminate the possibility of distortion lol. I usually have my kids with me too so it’s not always gonna be cranked up. Hoping to have decent sound quality when it’s just average listening.

 

[autokraftgt]

That sub is a perfect match for that enclosure and its available volume. May consider adding some butyl deadener to the inside of the enclosures plastic tub.

 

[Whitd5]

That sub is a perfect match for that enclosure and its available volume. May consider adding some butyl deadener to the inside of the enclosures plastic tub.

I will keep that in mind. Thank you for the recommendation.

 

[kkreit01]

Very nice job. Let us know how the Precision Power speakers sound? Are those flax paper cones?

 

[Whitd5]

Very nice job. Let us know how the Precision Power speakers sound? Are those flax paper cones?

It says they are composite Fiber Cone w/ Fiberglass Backing. They are thicker and more stiff than I was guessing based on the pics. The rears are much more defined than stock but I’m sure most aftermarket speakers would be in general. Definitely excited to get the components. It will be the first vehicle I’ve ever had that will get that kind of power on the highs. I’m hoping 230 watts will really get them screaming. My only concern is getting the tweeter placement right. Going to use the door for the 6.5 and the dash for the 3.5 but I read mixed opinion on the teeeter. Some say keep it close to the woofer and some say keep it up with the mid. I don’t want too much separation of the sound but I want the stage up high. I also don’t want to cut on too much in the truck. Sail panels are cheap and seem like a good compromise. We shall see.

 

[TomT]

You can get great staging with the tweeters in the sail panels. Just be aware that they will be the closest to you and could potentially overpower everything else.

I’m assuming you’re using the PPI passive crossovers? If so, see if there is a way to drop the tweeter level. Many crossovers have a switch or a secondary screw post that drops the output by a few DBs.

Another option is to try and get the tweeters in the dash next to the mids. That all depends on how big the mids actually are.

 

[Whitd5]

You can get great staging with the tweeters in the sail panels. Just be aware that they will be the closest to you and could potentially overpower everything else.

I’m assuming you’re using the PPI passive crossovers? If so, see if there is a way to drop the tweeter level. Many crossovers have a switch or a secondary screw post that drops the output by a few DBs.

Another option is to try and get the tweeters in the dash next to the mids. That all depends on how big the mids actually are.

I am staying passive and the crossovers actually allow attenuation for both the tweeter and the mid. I will probably play around with it for a bit. I have read that this tweeter takes a little getting used to. I know different tweeter designs definitely change their character. Hoping it’s not too harsh. I normally use my tablet to play media off of and it allows me to adjust the eq far more than the 3 band eq in the stock radio.

 

[Whitd5]

Figured this was as good as anywhere for remote bass control. Wires easy to hide under the seat and it’s out of the way.

 

[Stelios]

How did you wire the amp to the head unit? I've heard a few mixed things from some local shops like the 8.4 head units need resistance which has been making me procrastinate putting in my amp lol

 

[mighty noid]

How did you wire the amp to the head unit? I've heard a few mixed things from some local shops like the 8.4 head units need resistance which has been making me procrastinate putting in my amp lol

Non Amped system needs 4) 47 phm 5 watt resistors and you should be fine. If you have an upgraded system like Alpine, use this. https://pac-audio.com/catalog/amppro-amplifier-interfaces/ap4-ch41

 

[Whitd5]

A loc is still on my list. I think I may go with a T harness from lljcustoms to prevent me getting into any of the factory wiring. You can use their basic 2 or 4 rca out options or upgrade to the popular lc2i. I really don’t think our systems attenuate the bass much so I’m not sure that is necessary but it’s an option.
There are prefabbed resistors that can go online on the high level input to solve the resistor problem.

 

[Ecofx86]

Non Amped system needs 4) 47 phm 5 watt resistors and you should be fine. If you have an upgraded system like Alpine, use this. https://pac-audio.com/catalog/amppro-amplifier-interfaces/ap4-ch41

mine is non alpine 8.4 u connect. using lc21 tapped into rear speakers for sub should work? not adding amp for highs.

 

[ErnieBoling]

mine is non alpine 8.4 u connect. using lc21 tapped into rear speakers for sub should work? not adding amp for highs.

My subs sounded terrible....until I got the LC2i. I highly recommend it. The biggest trick is making sure you have the LC2i and the amp tuned in together just right.

 

[Ecofx86]

did u use a multimeter?

u tapped rear driver side speaker wire for lc2i signal?