???Sound system for 85 chevy K30????

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oneluckypops

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Looking for advise for a GOOD sounding system.

I will be honest with you all, I have NO Exsperience with any type of sound system in an automobile. Hell I am 31 years old and my stock system in me 96 is the BEST that I have ever had.

What I am looking for is something that has some thump (when i want it). But no so aggressive that it anoys others.

What do I need for a quality sound system? Head unit, amp, speakers, sub, cable, ect. ect.. Also not wanting to spend a fortune either.

My thoughts were something like:

3 way 6x9's in the rear corners, maybe just 4X10's?
the little mini tweeters under the dash in the stock location of the 4"ers
5 1/4" in the doors or possably the kick panels
1 10" behind the seat
amp beside the 10" or under the seat???
just a cd player for the unit

I dont have a clue as to what brands or anything would be best for my situation so if anyone cares to make a shopping list for me I would appreciate it.

If my plans does not sound like a good idea please by all means dont hesitate to make suggestions.
Thanks
 

dhamp

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My vote would be:
A set of 5-1/4 components (mid-woofer in the door, tweets up by the windshield) and a pair of 3-way 6x9's in the rear cab corners fed off of either a good quality high powered head unit or a small, quality 4-channel amp like a 4x35watts.

Then a single 10" sub in a sealed box powered by a clean, 100w mono amp.

There are a lot of quality brands. Kenwood and Pioneer make some nice head units with good power that don't break the bank. As for subs, I like Fosgate, Kicker, JL Audio & some MTX. For amps, Kenwood, Fosgate, Alpine give good bang for the buck.
 

dhamp

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Is your dash cut for the new DIN size radios?
 

oneluckypops

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Is your dash cut for the new DIN size radios?

I am not sure what the DIN stands for but, yes my dash has already been hacked on for a cd player.
 

82chevy350

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JVC is a pretty good head unit not to expensive
 

HotRodPC

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I am not sure what the DIN stands for but, yes my dash has already been hacked on for a cd player.

Common stereos today are know as DIN format, so your's have been cut for a DIN stereo. Actually I believe its called 1/2 DIN and Full DIN is like big enough for a Navigation screen or bigger OEM stereo Someone else could probablly be more accurate and know for certain on the formats.
 

CaliDude76

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Looking for advise for a GOOD sounding system.

I will be honest with you all, I have NO Exsperience with any type of sound system in an automobile. Hell I am 31 years old and my stock system in me 96 is the BEST that I have ever had.

What I am looking for is something that has some thump (when i want it). But no so aggressive that it anoys others.

What do I need for a quality sound system? Head unit, amp, speakers, sub, cable, ect. ect.. Also not wanting to spend a fortune either.

My thoughts were something like:

3 way 6x9's in the rear corners, maybe just 4X10's?
the little mini tweeters under the dash in the stock location of the 4"ers
5 1/4" in the doors or possably the kick panels
1 10" behind the seat
amp beside the 10" or under the seat???
just a cd player for the unit

I dont have a clue as to what brands or anything would be best for my situation so if anyone cares to make a shopping list for me I would appreciate it.

If my plans does not sound like a good idea please by all means dont hesitate to make suggestions.
Thanks

You don't even need the 3 way 6X9's... you could just grab the highs from the 5" 'ers in the doors.... they have 2 or three way set ups. The 6x9's could be of good quality.. not spectacular... like Pioneer's or JVC's or something.

Good head unit is what you want... for skipping resistance I-POD connections.. etc... at least a 50x4 I run Alpine.. but Sony, Kenwood, JVC... you can get now for a good price with cool options.. like a remote. It depends on how fancy you want it. Make sure it has RCA Jacks in the back to connect your amp. Most of the head units will allow you to adjust your sub volume seperately too, it's usually in the same menu with the Bass/Treble/Fade/Bal.....

You can run all your components directly off of your head unit... Just run your bass all the way down (that's what the sub and amp are for), and turn up the treble, and your mid levels.. so you can get good clarity, and hear the voices..and highs..

I would run the amp somewhere where you can adjust the levels.. (amps usually have seperate decibal (db's) that you can adjust your bass with)
Some like to set it and forget it.. but I like to play with the sound.. Just box your sub, and you should be good to go.... If you grab a sub with no cone in the center... it's a hard hitter, and keep the box sealed. If it has a cone..port it... that's given me the best sound with my experience.

Shopping list: (really depends on your budget)

Head Unit: JVC/Kenwood/Alpine...
Speakers/Components: 6x9's : JL Audio, Pioneer, Kenwood(i used sony xplods)
5" : " " " " " "

Subs: JL Audio, Kicker, Fosgate, Sony Xplod's

Amps: " " " " " " " " " " (make sure it's bridgeable)

Don't forget the amp wiring kit... and try to use Monster Cable to run for your main power from the battery to the amp.. (bigger gauge wire, the better).. it's like trying to wash a car with a straw.... you want a bigger hose to carry more water, or wattage in this case, that's the biggest mistake most people do, and don't get the full potential out of their systems.

I've had an Alpine head unit, Sony 3 way dash speakers.. stock 4x6's for the rear, 2 12" 1200 watt Sony X-PLOD subs and a 800 watt Clarion Marine amp that shook the subs like thunder...

you should be good to go with that

Now all the brands I was naming have different levels of cost... you can very well get the minimal price of each thing, and have a great sounding unit.. I bought stuff that was on clearence... look for deals. My Alpine stereo was a year old, and I paid something like $120 for it.. which was 200 new, it was the display model... they were closing out that particular model for the next one..like cars. I've had it almost 5 years now.. and still use it.
 
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CaliDude76

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good luck
 

oneluckypops

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Thanks all I appreciate all the ideas after considering what eveyone has had to say here is what I am thinking of. Yea I will defintly shop around for the best prices before I buy anything. Give me your HONEST opinions on what I have picked out, I really have no clue on the amp all the power, channels, bridge confuses the hell out of me

Receiver: JVCKD-R620
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Front speakers: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P152/Rockford-Fosgate-Punch-P152.html
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Rear Speakers: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P16922/Rockford-Fosgate-Punch-P1692.html?tp=105
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Tweeters:http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P1T...rand|JL+Audio&nvpair=FFBrand|Rockford+Fosgate
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Sub woofer:http://www.crutchfield.com/p_136S11...rd+Fosgate&nvpair=YCWoofer_Size__@inches@_|10
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Amp:http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575R30...FBrand|Kicker&nvpair=FFBrand|Rockford+Fosgate
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Amp wiring kit: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575RFK8I/Rockford-Fosgate-RFK8i.html
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CaliDude76

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Yeah... that all looks great, more than enough for what your looking for. You should be set with that.

As far as the amp goes.... what it is, is they can come with let's say... a 2 or 4 channel set up..meaning you can connect up to 4 speakers off of one amp...or 2 if its a 2 channel amp. If your gonna run a single sub... you can get a 2 channel amp and bridge it. Which means that if you get a 2 channel 1000 watt amp... you can hook up 2 subs @ 500 watts a piece... or you can bridge the two to one speaker, and push the full 1000 out of a single sub.
I had a 800 watt 2 channel amp..and bridged the 2 12's to push all of what the amp had.... which hits harder IMO than seperating them to 400 watts seperately
 
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oneluckypops

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Yeah... that all looks great, more than enough for what your looking for. You should be set with that.

As far as the amp goes.... what it is, is they can come with let's say... a 2 or 4 channel set up..meaning you can connect up to 4 speakers off of one amp...or 2 if its a 2 channel amp. If your gonna run a single sub... you can get a 2 channel amp and bridge it. Which means that if you get a 2 channel 1000 watt amp... you can hook up 2 subs @ 500 watts a piece... or you can bridge the two to one speaker, and push the full 1000 out of a single sub.
I had a 800 watt 2 channel amp..and bridged the 2 12's to push all of what the amp had.... which hits harder IMO than seperating them to 400 watts seperately

Is it possable to have to much of an amp for the sub that you run?
 

CaliDude76

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Is it possable to have to much of an amp for the sub that you run?

Sure it is. Just remember that you never want to run more wattage through speakers than what they're rated for, because you'll pop the speakers. Whatever sub you get, just keep in mind what it's peak watts are, and grab an amp with less wattage. If the amp is a few hundred watts under the sub... you'll never tell the difference. It'll hit good.
 

83K5guy

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sonicelectronix has good deals on there equipment when you decied to buy, get most of my stuff there and have had no problems
 

oneluckypops

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K30 SRW
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5.7 Fuel injected Vortec/ 4L80E
sonicelectronix has good deals on there equipment when you decied to buy, get most of my stuff there and have had no problems

can I get a link?
 

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