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Thread: READ FIRST! Audio FAQ finally!

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    READ FIRST! Audio FAQ finally!

    The following are the top topics EVERYONE asks about their stereo options in there Harley trucks. PLEASE DO NOT post additions/Questions below this... PM me or Crockett & we will be sure to ge them added. Leave this thread "pure" & we can discuss topics in new threads. Also, become familar with, use, know, love & worship the SEARCH feature on this forum (all sections) we created this for ease of use & to reduce repetitive posts. The search engine is your friend. Duplicate posts are your enemy ;D

    {note: the original post was 13,000 characters long... so it will be several smaller posts in the thread.. LOL}

    1.) what are all the abreviations?

    OEM Original Equipment manufacturer ie Stock Ford part

    HU = Head Unit..it may be a cd player, DVD, Screen, or OEM/Stock CD Player

    DIN Acronym for the Standard radio size used throughout the world for the last 20+ years. measuring 7" wide by 1 7/8" tall.

    Coaxes or coaxially mounted speakers Speakers where the tweeter is permanantly mounted in the middle of the larger woofer. Typcally the tweeter & woofer share the same magnet structure & thus are a "unit". Nice for tight spaces & cost control.

    Component Speakers or Components Usually 2 or 3 speaker pairs, seperately mounted with a control unit called a crossover mounted away from the speakers. This is the proper way to achieve good sound. Note that Components are often mounted Coaxially, but they are different in that the components are all seperate speakers & are only MOUNTED coaxially.

    Stealthbox Manufactured by JL Audio, this is a direct fit, custom tuned sub woofer system that is kind of the "standard" for our trucks as far as sub woofer systems go.

    2.) What part(s) of my OEM system need to upgraded & in what order?

    A simple speaker upgrade will blow many people's minds away with our stock equipment. The average Joe wants more volume & clarity. Second to that they want a Subwoofer for more bass.

    Although many feel the OEM HU is the main bottle neck to all improvements, I have seen great results with the OEM HU, a great set of front door speakers, a good quality sub amp, a Stealthbox. From this point gains will be made with the HU upgrade, better amplification on the main speakers, & better cables & sound deadening.

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    3.) Stock Head Unit (HU):
    It is DIN & 3/4 size a Double DIN will fit with the correct American International Kit, contact your local stereo shop.

    http://www.americaninternational.net...PR_FM-K552.pdf

    The stock HU has a "bass-delete" circuit built into it. As you raise the volume up the bass is incre******ly decreased to save the door speakers. This is a warranty protection feature for Ford.

    The stock head unit will NOT give you any more volume past the mid-way point on the little bar graph on the display. Once you hit half way up, the rest is distortion. Set your amplifiers to MAX ear-bleed with the volume of the HU at 1/2 way up. Be aware, that a mere 3-4 little lines on the stock HU display will be your new listening level.. it ill get loud quickly. This only applies to systems with the OEM HU.

    YES The stock HU can be made to work with aftermarket amps & subs. The Sound Quality, performance, overall loudness, & flexibilty will suffer if the OEM HU is left in place.

    Bottom line REPLACE THE HU & get an alarm. Security is not a reason to sacrifice sound quality. If you are building a system that includes amps, a subwoofer system & front speakers over $250.. you need a real head unit.

    The Stock Ford 6-disc changer in the console WILL NOT work with any aftermarket head unit without MAJOR custom wiring. At $200-$300 in labor... forget & buy a good changer to match your new HU. Tricks exist to interface certain base model HU's with the stock change, but the performance is soo poor, why waste the money?

    4.) Stock door speakers:

    All 4 doors/locations are 5" x 7" They pretty much suck. A simple front door speaker upgrade will astound many listeners running off the stock HU.

    5x7 Coaxes are the norm. Everyone should strongly consider having adapter plates made & going with Component 5.25" & 1" speaker sets in the front doors. If you go with components, mount the crossovers in the kick panel recesses for access to adjustments & to protect the crossovers from water & debris in the door.

    Strongly consider leaving the rear door speakers alone until later. Invest your money in the absolute BEST front door speakers you can afford. Rear doors can be upgrade Round 2.

    The rear door speakers are moutned to plastic "rings" on TOP of the door skin. There is NO mounting depth into the door. Shallow 5x7's are about the only option (Alpine SPS-570 seem to sound good for about $110). Or a set of 4" & 1" components can be mounted to a plate for rear fill in a surround application.

    Running new speaker wires into the doors is a great idea, but will net very little if any real gain unless you are running Mega-Gigga-Watts of power.

    What about Brand X,Y, Z, P,D or Q Speakers? are they any good? See the Sub woofer section for this answer

    Last item on speakers: TRUST YOU EARS. Stores who sell speakers SHOULD have music that makes their speakers sound good. take a couple of your own discs & listen to your own music on as close to the same set up as you're planning on running. CD, Amps, etc. Do not forget to listen to the speakers with & without a similar sub to get the full effect. Some main speakers loose low end when a sub is playing.

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    5.) Amplifiers:
    The following amps are confirmed to work directly with the Stock HU without additional adapters or Line converters: Xtant, JL Audio, Kicker, Alphasonik, Crossfire, Concept, Cadence, MTX.

    All other amps must be checked for "high-level" or "Speaker level" input. I cannot speak to the quality of the converters in any other amps besides the ones I listed. They will work well, not great, with the Ford HU

    (2) amps or one big amp? Depends. if you have plans for full video, surround, screens, games etc. A good 5-channel amp way work well for you to conserve space. however, remember that a single amplifier can only produce so much power. Also a "good" 5-shannel amp will set you back $700+ . The JL Audio 500/5 is $900. The former Alpine MRD-F752 was also $900. No matter what the rating. A good 4channel amp for the doors, then a larger (maybe even D-class sub amp) for the sub woofer system seems to be the norm. Higher end wisdom says a dedicated amp per channel set. So a 4ch amp could drive the components in the front doors, a small 2-ch amp to power the rear doors, & then a dedicated amp for the sub system.

    Where do I mount my amps? Usually behind the 2 storage doors behind the back seats. This may require relocation fo the jack set up. Also under the center console, right under the main large compartment, there is a place for a smaller 2 channel amp perfect for running the rear doors. Under the seats on any of the S-crew trucks is out. the '00 & '01 trucks may have a little room in the rear under the seat opposite the sub box which we will get to later. The rear wall of the cab is an option for some... be aware any screws you run will run right out the back of the truck = rust & leaks... A board bracketed to the floor & cab wall support brace using 1/2" screws max, are the best options.

    How do I get my power wire from the battery to the amps on the rear wall? There is an OEM grommeted hole in the floor on the passenger side, where the firewall meets the floor boards under the carpet. Run the wire through the grommet, through the floor, up inside the spash sheild right up to the battery. Fuse or cicruit brekaer should be right near the battery to protect the truck. There is another gromet over by the driver's side near the gas pedal, but this makes the power wire longer & runs it very near the brake & gas pedals.

    where should I run the rca's & speakers wires to keep them away from the power wire? down the driver's side or under the console. If you are running speaker wires into the doors, run the passenger side speaker wires down the center of the truck to minimize wire length differences from right & left.

    Where can I get the speaker wires to run from my OEM HU to the amp? Best is behind the radio (shorter signal run). Easiest is at the door jam where the wires go to the speakers. Either is fine. Use good wire. Lamp-cord or extension cords are not good wire...

    One more wiring trick: Many companies offer a product called 16ga-4 speaker wire. It is used for wiring homes for audio. It is actually 4 individual speaker wires in one jacket about the size of a cable-TV cable. Very flexible, high quality wire inside. The 4 wires are colored green, white, black, & red so one cable can wire a pair of speakers or a pair of channels to an amp. In the case of peaker level to your amp 2 reasonably sized cables can handle all 4 speaker inputs to the amp in a compact profile. Saves time & money. The 16ga-4 from Monster Cable runs $.34-.65 a foot from ultimate electronics. You'll nee 30-50 ft minimum. There is a price break at 100 ft, at least here in St. louis thats what they do.

    6.) Subwoofer systems:

    Stealth Box or Custom enclosure? This topic will be argued until time stops. The general guidelines are as follows. As long as you are not listening to Rap/R&B/Techno/Electronica & are not trying to wake the entire state when you listen, the Stealthbox is going to be very hard to beat. It is musical, ACCURATE, installs with an OEM quality look, & plain ROCKS for most listeners. If you are building a full on custom truck, surround, screens, etc... Yeah, a custom box is more your thing.

    A properly designed, built, installed & tuned custom enclosure will awlays out perform the Stealthbox No questions. No arguments.

    What do you think about brand X, Y, Z, P,D,or Q woofer Listen to trucks, cars, or sound rooms with similar set ups to what your planning. No one can tell you what to hear. Some people need that low, deep in the rectum shaking bass you can't hear but only feel. Others want a kick drum that stalls their heart. Yet others want to be heard 5 miles away on the main street on cruise nights. All are different subs & all are in custom enclosures. Remember, the Subwoofer is worthless by itself. A Great installer can take a $15 Radio shack woofer & make it sound like a million bucks in the right enclosure. A bad/hack installer can take a $500-$1,000 woofer (yes there are woofers over $1K) & make the woofer sound like crap. Above all listen to subs in vehicles whenever possible. A bonus is it is in an F150 that is the same cab type as yours.

    What about the Lincoln Blackwood Subwoofer system?

    Why work backwards? See all the discussion above about the limitations of the OEM products... $150-$300 for a used Blackwood box? you are over half way to a Stealthbox.. Oh, also the Blackwood woofer is known to be fragile when pushed the slightest bit... so the entire sub, amp, & wirign would be needed & integrated.. a waste of time & resources.

    7.) What HU should I Buy? Help me with a HU choice

    This is kinda like helping someone choose what to order at dinner or helping them pick out underwear... its too personal. Seriously, I think the key factors discussed here are: Sub woofer output with sub woofer volume control being toward the top of the llist of features to have. Good cosmetics (VERY personal). Decent output voltage will help the amplifiers work a little easier. Security features of the radio: Coding? Detach face? Stealth face? etc.

    I think the #1 thing we all agree on is get a name brand you know. Be sure to get the features you want/need, & don't cut corners on the HU. If it means having to wait another pay check for the $$ for speakers & install, Spend the $$ on the HU. Period.

    8.) Can I install screens here, there, yonder? this is one of those questions where you need to use the search engine. Evey thread on here that covers screens has pic of all the guys with them installed. R126, Kris330 etc that have screens can be PM'ed after you read the posts already here.

    http://www.nhtoc.com/vbforum/showthr...&threadid=5973

    http://www.nhtoc.com/vbforum/showthr...&threadid=5518

    http://www.nhtoc.com/vbforum/showthr...&threadid=5375

    http://www.nhtoc.com/vbforum/showthr...&threadid=5556

    9.) Sound deadening

    Simple answer DO IT & DO LOTS!!! This is one of those things that is a pain to do, but the results are so worth the pain & labor. All you ahve to do is close the door on a Harley & hear that damn tin can sound when the door buckles to tell you that there is no dampening in the doors. A good layer on all 4 doors, the rear caab wall will totally change your perception of quiet in your truck. Add to that the floor & roof if you are very industirous, & you will think you traded for a Mercedes or BMW....

    Available from lots of companies, www.b-quiet.com seems to be the company of choice lately. Awesome direct pricing, great products, & good people to work with. A quick check of local prices, b-quiet direct is about a 35-50% savings over any other product I can find. It works great, better in my opinion than any other manufactrer.

    10.) Install it myself or have it installed?

    Tough call. If you are capable, saving the 20-30+% of your budget from labor ot buyu more stuff is very tempting. If you cannot install a set of Fog lights or wire a complete 5.1 Dolby Surround sound system in your home... I would atleast consult a pro for help, if not the entire job. refer back to my comment about sub woofer systems. A Great installer is everything. Look for MECP Certification if possible. It does not guarantee a perfect job, but at least you know he/she isn't learning what NOt to do on your $40K truck.


    There is the start let's see what gets added. I will add items in replies not editing the original post.

    Rob

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