New stereo upgrade build

ericpdadof3 · August 14, 2014

I decided after a week of having the Crew that the factory non-Bose system really sucks. I will be installing an Audio Control LC6i to convert the factory signals over to RCA. I am running 2 Rockford amps, a Power T400-4 for the doors, and a Power T400-2 for the sub. The door speakers are Rockford P1675 3-ways in the front doors, and P165 2-ways in the rear doors. I am using a single 12" Rockford P3SD4 under the driver's side rear seat in a Subthump box. (http://subthump.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_72&products_id=457) The power and ground will be Lightning Audio 1/0 gauge to the back, and then 4 gauge to the amps. Running 12 gauge speaker wire to all. I'm going to try leaving the dash speakers hooked up to the factory outputs, just to have some fill in up front. Lots of install pics to come.

ericpdadof3 · August 14, 2014

gotta keep it clean

ericpdadof3 · August 20, 2014

Here is a video link to the build and sound test after:

bass mechanic · August 22, 2014

to be honest, I've been into car audio for about 28 years, about 10 0f those professionally. I've heard some pretty amazing systems and designed + installed quite a few more.

i think the Bose stereo in my double cab is more than adequate.

my passengers find there is too much bass so i turn it down.

and if i were to have done your install i never would have replaced the factory woofers in the door. they make excellent mid bass drivers. way better than any 6.5" you could have put in there. mid bass in the doors brings your soundstage forward, you can easily decrease the frequencies you don't want but better to have too much capability than not enough.

also sealed subs never make good low end extension, i go ported and tuned for the vehicle i am installing in or i don't bother. usually i run a 10 tuned to about 38 hz and adjust from there.

but as long as your happy thats all that matters.

but if it were me, here is what i would have done.

either installed a bit 10 or alpine Pxa h800 digital signal processor. you could actually install it inline to the factory amp which IMO has plenty of power.

i would probably run a high pass filter for the door and dash speakers from 50hz and up, possibly add a tweeter to the factory dash speaker.

i would add a tweeter on the rear doors and run the factory speakers in the factory location.

then i would add a single ported 10 with amp on the floor in a similar sized box as you have done.

then i would time align everything and eq the system.

a system like this would allow you to control the xovers for each channel, level adjustment and eq for each speaker. you will find if you can get the time alignment to have the same arrival time to your listening position or at the very least to the front seat everything will increase in overall output. additionally i would set my gains so i reach full volume at about 75% on the head unit to minimize the bass attenuation that the HU does to prevent distortion.

since you've now matched and eliminated the frequencies that make the factory speakers distort, allowed the sub to do it's job, you can get a fair amount of power just using the factory bose amplifier.

the factory amp is probably about 40 or so watts per channel of true RMS power. what people don't realize is that even if you double your power to 80 watts you only gain 3db! 3db is considered perceptively louder. meaning "you can just perceive that amount"

what you do with bigger amps is put a lot more stress on your equipment for a very small amount of gain.

but for me, even being a guy who used to make the cars go BOOM. i love bass like the best of them (my screen name has nothing to do with fishing!)

given the cost and the time involved i think the factory bose stereo is plenty sufficient and not worth upgrading.

also you'll find if you actually listen to real music it actually sounds quite good.

I have the 6.2 and have active noise canceling that i value the quiet ride more then the loud stereo these days anyway.

but i like the clean install so you get a thumbs up from me, without hearing it i can't give an honest opinion but from experience and being unbiased toward factory verses aftermarket components, instead looking past the rumors and myths common to car audio.

if i am being honest, the factory stuff is a lot better than it used to be,

case in point. In my 2012 corvette Z06 i just added 2 subs to the factory system, and a different head unit that allowed me to time align and EQ + cross over the factory stereo using factory amps and speakers. i did a little test..

i went to several car audio shops who know me and respect my install abilities and had them listen to the stereo and guess what components had been replaced.

sort of a blind test comparison...

I've never seen eyes so wide or expressions so in awe when they found out the only components swapped out were the head unit, and the addition of a 300 watt amp, and 2 8" ported subs in the rear.

ive judged a lot of systems over the years and i guarantee you i had easily a top 5 best in SQ setup with just a little electronic adjustment, tuning and making use of what's good and enhancing what lacks in a factory stereo system.

the problem is most everyone will buy with their eyes, not their ears!

the placebo effect has proven time and time again, if you spend enough money, eventually you'll convince yourself it was an improvement over factory. until the day comes you hear someone like in my example play a little trick on you and ask for an unbiased opinion meaning (you don't know if it's stock or aftermarket) usually the weak link in any stereo is the head unit and lack of ability to control the sound. fact is factory speakers, even cheap ones have a wider dynamic range because they are often made of light weight paper, and use neodymium rare earth magnets verses ceramic because they take up less room and weigh a lot less. the cheap cones people,e refer to are actually more sensitive and give a higher db to watt ratio and for a wider range of frequencies than aftermarket.

if you have a good signal processor between the HU and amps or in my case in the HU itself. thats all you really need to make anything sound great.

KARNUT · August 22, 2014

I allways use to think louder better, being I lean toward hard rock. Many years later and having hearing loss, clean, clear and not so loud is the way to go. Its amazing what you hear when you turn it down.

ericpdadof3 · August 22, 2014

Thanks for the comments Bass Mechanic. I did not have the factory Bose system, as my description stated. The Bose system is a $500 factory upgrade. I have just over that in the system I added. Keep in mind I already had the amps. The upgraded system sounds immensely better, and has very tight bass, despite the sealed enclosure and a 12" sub. I am not really into boomy bass, but like deep low end, so it is perfect for me.

milligan · August 22, 2014

I used to be huge into car audio. Not so much SQL, but big bass. I had a Tahoe with all kinds of junk in there. It was a lot of fun. Now I mostly listen to CSPAN lol.

DJayx · August 22, 2014

My 6" has plenty of kick for what I need. I just wanted some clarity and a little low end support. I have factory eq lows almost all the way down and just adjusted my amp to compensate and I am quite impressed with what I can squeeze out for highs with factory speakers. I may look into replace factory dash speakers with some tweets in the future.

bass mechanic · August 22, 2014

Thanks for the comments Bass Mechanic. I did not have the factory Bose system, as my description stated. The Bose system is a $500 factory upgrade. I have just over that in the system I added. Keep in mind I already had the amps. The upgraded system sounds immensely better, and has very tight bass, despite the sealed enclosure and a 12" sub. I am not really into boomy bass, but like deep low end, so it is perfect for me.

AH! I have to admidt I have not heard the standard radio.. in that case I am sure it's an improvement.

I think I would have gone 6x9 or an 8 in the door, since you have room for it might as well use it.

you could easily upgrade that front speaker to a 6x9 just find yourself a cheap dual cone look on parts-express.com or anyone who has a 4 ohm 6x9 and I would run a 6 channel amp 2 for the dash, 2 for the 6x9 and 2 for the rear doors, this way you can set different xover frequencies for each.

I still do car audio as a hobby and I do it so inexpensively as I can get everything at wholesale.

ericpdadof3 · August 24, 2014

Last update. I got the Audio Control ACR-1 in. It's a remote bass know for the LC6i. There were lots of mounting options, but I decided to custom mount it on the dash just below the left side of the steering wheel. Let me know what you think.

IRBYA · August 25, 2014

just a tip. if anyone is adding a hi/lo converter. the door entrance at harness would be ideal but they left 0 slack. you can find the left and right rear speakers in front right and left floor kick panel. the speaker wires are going to be twisted. and easy to find. right was blue/blk and white. and left was green and green/black. double cab upgraded radio non bose.