Stereo upgrade help

My winter project for the car is going to be upgrading the sound system. I have checked out the crutchfields of the world but the choices seem to be endless. I wanted to start with the speakers then move to the head unit. So I am looking to narrow the choices down a little and get suggestions from you guys to point me in the right direction. I am looking for brand names and specific types of speakers you have had experience with and enjoy. I currently have the shaker 1000 system.

I upgraded mine to the shaker 1000 amps and subs with Avic D3 head unit. I have not changed my interior speakers as of yet. I am also looking at doing the complete switch this winter. I just picked up to fiberglass 10" sub boxes off of ebay and plan to run 10" JL Audio subs. I have to look to see what interior speakers I want to run though. If you need help or a heated garage this could work out let me know.

i buy alot of stuff from sonicelectronix.com

Droptop306 wrote:I upgraded mine to the shaker 1000 amps and subs with Avic D3 head unit. I have not changed my interior speakers as of yet. I am also looking at doing the complete switch this winter. I just picked up to fiberglass 10" sub boxes off of ebay and plan to run 10" JL Audio subs. I have to look to see what interior speakers I want to run though. If you need help or a heated garage this could work out let me know.

I will probably take you up on the offer of the heated garage and I am sure I can use some help. Once I get out of the research stage I will start buying everything for the install.

6SPD04COBRA wrote:i buy alot of stuff from sonicelectronix.com

Thanks nate I will check them out.

I've been using Kicker and JL Audio speakers (both regular sizes and subs) for years with no problems. Depending on what features you want for the head unit, the Pioneer AVIC models and Alpine offer some great products. I have an Alpine headunit which works great, but their navigation service is so dissapointing... If you want to add some decent bass to your car, but don't want to sacrifice trunk space, I installed deep mount 8" subs in my doors (with some somewhat minor door panel mods-all of which were on the inside so the outside is untouched) that sound really nice! The current dual 12" sub box I have, I bought new off of eBay for about $140 shipped. If you're going to want to crank up the power with amps, Rockford, Alpine and Kenwood are great amps.

You may have seen this already...pics of my stereo install.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kooldawg6/sets/72157616475530657/

^ John's sounds KILLER!

BCP wrote:^ John's sounds KILLER!

Thanks, B! ...and I'm only weeks away from pulling the trigger and doing a very similar install in the Mazda

Head unit upgrade is a most. Simple, yet, great ones are sony xplodes and kenwood. Really good ones are pioneer. I have stock speakers up front,but pioneers in my rear. Sound great. I also have 2 12" DUAL subs in my hatch. They could bump better but my amp is only 650W. Kicker and JL audio and Orion are great newer brands, whereas brands like kenwood are great oldschool ones. I've always loved kenwood personally, but seems as if these newer brands are slowly outperforming it. Its all personal preference, of course.

Thanks guys for the feedback !!! John (kooldawg6) I knew you had a bad a$$ system in your car just from hearing others talk about it but from the pic's you really did it up nice. Now I have something to shoot for. Don't know if I will do all you have but at least I have some direction.

I just purchased all the amps and speakers for my install. I was wondering though since I am getting rid of the shaker 500 amps and speakers do I still need to keep the 5 volt resistor in place or can I eliminate that now. This was used to eliminate the popping due to fords amps only using 5 volts instead of 12 volt. Also wondering if anyone could tell me what farad cap I would need. i was looking at a tsunami 5 fared cap. I will be running three amps with two 10" jl audio subs. Ideas. I also need to start building my amp enclosure. Shaker 1000 and amps will be for sale soon.

Nope you wont need the resistor after market amps need that 12V to turn on. How much power? 1 Farad is good for like 2000 watts i think.

Well my kenwood 9960 went deffective. I sent it back to Kenwood and they notified me that they will not be fixing it. Apparently there have been so many problems with this model they want to ship me the 2011 model which has been upgraded with built in HD Radio (Free) dual ipod setups and better resolutions. Downfall have to wait to second week of april to get it. I guess that is better than nothing. So now my car sits torn apart but yet again for a month.

Kenwood used to be a cornerstone of electronics... now... I dont touch them...

That sucks... BUT hopefully the new one will work flawlessly for you!

I regret buying it as well Will. Better be worth my time and wait that is all i can say.

I also just read that they sell a adapter that is bluetooth for the OBDII guages. This would be cool, does air temp, oil pressure, fuel, etc.... Worth checking into.

I'm reviving this thread because I know next to nothing about audio but am doing a much needed upgrade for my 04 F150.

I started backwards and bought a sub box and subs (pair of 10") first because I knew they were good and it was a good deal. They are JL 10W3v3-4
What should I do to make sure the rest of the sound system build will be compatible. I know things should be sized closely but, if one component is to be the weaker link or stronger link, how should it go?

Oh, I also bought a head unit off another forum. It was cheap enough where I'll use it if you say it is good or I'll sell it if it isn't good enough.
Pioneer PREMIER DEH-P590ib

Head unit will need a spacer to take up the room. Car Deck Size - CORPORATE DOUBLE DIN

You will need a amp for the JL speaker box.

Are you planning on wiring in the stock speakers in the truck for midrange? If you are planning on changing them out as well you will need

Location...........Size...Depth
Front Speaker.......6X8....3
Front Tweeter.......1........1
Rear Speaker........6X8....3
Subwoofer............8........3

http://www.f150online.com/forums/speakers-subwoofers/424939-2005-f150-supercab-amp-sub-nav-dvd-setup.html

if you're going for a great sound at a fairly cheap price, the infinity makes a nice package deal for 6x8's and tweeters for 199 from bestbuy

Thanks, Will.
Yes, I will be changing out the speakers as well and I intend to have you help with the install and beer drinking.
I can also clean my window switch contacts for that problem with my driver window which is apparently fairly common.

I still need you to find me an appropriate amp. . .

How many 10w3's?

For two I like to run a min of 500w. Also are they 2 or 4 ohm?

It is 2 of them. The previous owner said ""they are 4 ohm but wired to 2 ohms for a mono amp"

He also suggested a 1000W amp such as:
Kicker IX1000
Rockford Fosgate T1000-1bdCP
JL Audio 1000/1v2 but he said the 500/1v2 should be good enough too. Your thoughts? Are all of these good, overkill, insufficient?

Another guy on F150forum has a lightly used set of 2-way Infinity Kappa 682.9cf speakers for $80.
Should I go with them or not? I hear plenty of good things about these but trying to find out if I'll need an amp for these as well.