Sound Guys Come Hither

[Reaper948]

Arite, I'm tired of that 10-incher in the back of my car, I wanna essentially 'replace the bass' in my car....and I really need your guys' help to do it...


Think I can fit a bigger better sub into where the ten incher already exists?

*I don't care about the existing speakers, I find them to be good enough. although if you can tell me a reason why they suck, maybe ill be convinced.......

I was thinking a 15-incher from Audiobahn.....

I really need help on this guys I havent the slightest clue of anything in the Sound game.....I really wanna get a high quality sub and Amp in there but I dont want to replace the head unit.

GOD its so complicated :help: :help: :help: :help:

[Zack]

Marauders come with a 6" sub from the factory. Nothing short of a custom made sub box can help you out. There is plenty of room to do this if you remove the exist ing sub, amp and spare tire. Everything will sit on the elevated deck of the trunk.

[the fat bastid]

like zack said. the stock is 6"(maybe 6.5"?)

if its 6.5 i guess you could replace the speaker with a high quality aftermarket one...but thats kinda bizarre.

15 is a bit big, because they are so big they are slow to move and thus are slow to react to quick changes. they are good for spl but for music and sq they arn't that hot. most, and i'm talking like 90%, use either 10s or 12s. my personal favorite is 2 12s.

[Reaper948]

Oh man it's a 6? Thought it was a 10.....

Any idea where I'd mount that spare tire?....
I don't know, a custom box sounds pretty pricy...

Sigh....that spare tire seems really annoying right now...
I know what you guys mean, put subs on the elevated part of the trunk, thatd be really hot.

Why would that be bizarre? I just dont understand, no offense

[RF Overlord]

reap:

PLEASE don't tell us your gonna make your MM into one of those 4-wheeled BOOM-THUMPA-BOOM boxes...the kind you can hear coming for a quarter mile...the kind that only make one note...and you can hear the trunk lid buzzing and vibrating...and the subwoofer doubling...

Oh, God...the SHAME...

[CRUZTAKER]

Reap;

Bigger is not neccesarily better......

In the past (when trunk space nor weight was an issue) I used what is known as a 'band pass' box with two 8' Cerwin Vega DUAL voice coil subs. You hook up two amps to each sub, or use two two-way amps and power both voice coils on both subs in mono.
With subs you always power in mono anyway. Remove the factory sub entirely....pick up 2 nice rockford fosgate 2 ch. amps, no less than 75w/ch. for the vegas and rock on. I forget where you live, but if you do go with large amps, I have an unlimited supply of copper cable ranging 8awg to 750awg at your disposal. You ship it, it's yours.....
Anyway you choose, you'll need a large power feed direct from battery to a fused power distribution block, and return (ground) wires 40% larger than the loads (12vdc).

The fosgates might run around $150 each, the vegas at $65 or so each, box at $95, dist. box at $35, and cable at cost to ship.

As far as a single 15" sub, you'll need to disassemble the package shelf, have a coping saw handy as you will need to cut a larger hole, and buy one fosgate 200w bridgable 2ohm mosfet amp that has a low pass filter built in......
The trunk alone SHOULD provide enough enclosure for the bass. If not, prepare to remove the spare tire and custom build a box from plywood, and cover with carpet material. You will need a formula to figure the size and depth of the air hole. This item, I forget the name, it's a tube, you can purchase separately, and fool with it by cutting it shorter until you achieve the bass response you are looking for.

In my youth, I fabricated nearly everything, as money was not plentiful, and in the streets of Cleveland, one was lucky to keep a Fosgate for more than a month before it was stolen.....

Good luck, hope I stirred the imagination...rock on!

[the fat bastid]

750awg? jesus what is that like? a single molecule of copper?

(useful reply coming soon)

[Reaper948]

Well I'm not turning it into one of THOSE machines RF...But I do want better base for teh cabin.........

Cruz, youve definitely stirred the imagination.....THere'sa lot of work to be done...

[RF Overlord]

Originally posted by Reaper948
Well I'm not turning it into one of THOSE machines RF...

Good...I was hoping we wouldn't have to start calling you Ricer948...

:lol:

[DLoreanMARAUDER]

hey, i went pricing some bass systems at PC richards, just wanted more bass, but not annoying trunk rattling bass. i was told it cant be done to the stock system because its got internal amps and stuff, but I think it might be :bs: and they just wanted to sell me a whole system.

[glassman99]

It does have the Ford (Mercury) amplifier but this can be replaced with a high quality bass amplifier if desired. If the power is going to be substantlly increased, then you will have to increase the size of the amp power wire. Let me know your thoughts as I have also contiplated changing the factory speaker configuration.

[Reaper948]

I'm gonna rip all the stock stuff out and go to a shop which will outfit me with quality sound.

[CRC]

Put JL Audio components in front doors (JL Audio PN XR-570CSi) and in rear deck (JL Audio PN XR-570CXi) powered by a 300-4 JL Amp. Put in a single 12" sub (12w6) powered by a 250-1 JL Amp.
Retained the stock head unit and disc changer. I put the amps in one of the cargo organizers on a false floor. With the cover on you would never know they were there. Mounter the tweeters for the fronts on the small plastic triangle behind each rear view mirror.(facing windshield so they arent to bright) Can post some photos if you would like.

[Hemlock]

REPLACED MY FACTORY SPEAKERS (ALPINES) WITH KENWOODS . ONLY 10 -20% BETTER THAN STOCK ONES !!! NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE AND EXPENSE .

[FordNut]

My stock speakers weren't Alpines. They were generic full range speakers with paper cones.

[CRC]

components are the only way to go. Make sure the crossover is a seperate unit. Makes a huge difference. Sound imaging in the car sucks with the factory speakers, not to mention factory unit is seriously underpowered. My stock speakers were FORD not alpine!!!

[CRUZTAKER]

Originally posted by the fat bastid
750awg? jesus what is that like? a single molecule of copper?

(useful reply coming soon)

750 is the size of an average man's WRIST!

Aprox. 5 lbs. per foot. We use it on DC circuits over 450 amps on lengths greater that 20 feet.

It's overkill, I was being fecetious, do you realize how much it wouls cost to ship!

[Reaper948]

Originally posted by CRC
Put JL Audio components in front doors (JL Audio PN XR-570CSi) and in rear deck (JL Audio PN XR-570CXi) powered by a 300-4 JL Amp. Put in a single 12" sub (12w6) powered by a 250-1 JL Amp.
Retained the stock head unit and disc changer. I put the amps in one of the cargo organizers on a false floor. With the cover on you would never know they were there. Mounter the tweeters for the fronts on the small plastic triangle behind each rear view mirror.(facing windshield so they arent to bright) Can post some photos if you would like.

I have no cargo organizer....
So whered you put that sub at? Pictures would be great CRC
thanks

[Reaper948]

Originally posted by CRC
components are the only way to go. Make sure the crossover is a seperate unit. Makes a huge difference. Sound imaging in the car sucks with the factory speakers, not to mention factory unit is seriously underpowered. My stock speakers were FORD not alpine!!!

Well My sound is pretty loud and clear....I just really don't like my current sub

What do u mean by 'components'

[Reaper948]

What do u guys think of Rockford Fosgate?

What do u guys think of.......BAZOOKAS (subwoofer tubes)

[CRUZTAKER]

Well....'components', the term used for component speakers. Like, installing one round midrange, one round tweeter, one round woofer, and one round sub. And utilizing separate crossover units to pass the appropriate frequencies to each speaker.
I'm not sure how that helps you though, and IMHO is far too much work for this particular car....
The 6X8's are highly effective these days, and if not loud enough, it is very easy to integrate separate amps without changing the head deck....just a little re-wiring of speakers. Hell, my Pioneers will handle 150w RMS, IT'S JUST THAT THE HEAD DECK CAN'T SPIT IT OUT.
Fosgates are, and will always be at the top of the food chain for competition amplifiers. They were the first to incorporate mosfet circuitry, and all the others followed. You were but a toddler when these products were only available to the elite. Now their prices are down to earth, easily found, and the product has never changed. Well, a little, but not that much.

I can assure you that the band pass box is the shat, but takes up alot of space. For thundering bass, this is the trick. Otherwise, as I said before, have someone cut out the deck and put a big ole 15 in there.....that's what you wanted anyway, right?

[LX-Sport-RI]

I did a total system swap. Alpine phantom face deck, JL Audio in the front doors and on the rear deck(powered by JL Audio 300 X 4 amp), Alpine 6 CD changer in the stock location, and a custom box with a JL Audio 10'' W7, powered by a JL Audio 500 X 1 amp.
(notice I like JL Audio?)
For those who do not know about the W7 line of subs, They are JL's best and strongest, my 10'' is more then enough and I'm 25 years old.
http://www.mercurygallery.net/mmnet/showgallery.php?cat=509&password=
You can add subs to a stock system, but IMO it just doesn't sound right. Their is a loss in quality.
Behind the sub and amps I also had to add an extra battery (to prevent strain on the electric system)
The only draw, I guess, is I had to loose the spare.

[Reaper948]

Im sorry what's IMO mean? or IMHO.....
I don't get how there's a loss in quality for the stock sound....(?)

Cruz, I think I'm reconsidering the 15....as many tell me it's bad for all around music..... maybe 2 12's or one 12....I'm really trying to figure out what kind of money im going to put up for this.....

LX....
The custom trunk job looks awesome....Did you install it yourself or did u have someone do it for you, how much did it cost for JUST the trunk job.

[CRC]

Originally posted by Reaper948
I have no cargo organizer....
So whered you put that sub at? Pictures would be great CRC
thanks

Right now sub is in a Sub Zone Enclosure. Just sitting in trunk, I tried about 5 different subs to try and get the sound i wanted. Now that I have the sound I wanted I have an install guy who will build a custom box to set under package tray. Check out the JL audio web site.jlaudio.com to see what component speakers are.[URL=http://www.jlaudio.com]

[MAD-3R]

IMO = In My Opinion
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion

[Crazieboutamerc]

you don't need a large sub to get good sound. I have used 8" in quite a few of my compititon systems. I went to the 12" for my USACi world champion.
When I start my Marauder system I may go back to 8s but not over a 12" I am planing on building it to go for the world championship again.

It great being on the top

Tim

[MI2QWK4U]

The stock sub is 6 3/4 in. Kenwood makes a 6 1/2 in sub that fits in the exhisting enclosure. KFC-W1705 is the part number for it. It sounds better and i didnt have to do any modifications. The Factory 6X8's were single paper cones. For whatever its worth. Sounds like Tim will be doing a lot more that me with his tunes though.

[TooManyFords]

The shop that built my '00 Merc Mountaineer is going to do a custom job on my marauder. Should have a lot of the same stuff as the mountaineer:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=4033

I'm probably not going to compete with it, but I only build my sound systems up because I like to think I'm a perfectionist. If the music is pure, clean and true, then I've got the right components. The Mountaineer is all of the above and the tailgate doesn't vibrate like a lot of kids cars do. They just don't get it! <grin>

John

[jgc61sr2002]

TooManyFords - Welcome to the site. You came to the right place. Enjoy your new ride.:up:

[TAF]

Man, TooManyFords....that Mountaineer looks like the speaker setup for a Van Halen concert....eh.....what's that you say.....I CAN'T HEAR YOU....

Be sure to post pics of what you do to the Marauder....

He Reaper....I think you found a "Sound guy" that came hither...

[Crazieboutamerc]

John, Nice set up with your mountaineer. you need to checkout www.fordtruckworld.com for other truck crazies like me, ( have a 95 explorer) I accually startd competing over 15 years ago and like you apreciate good sound in my vehicle.

Tim

[TooManyFords]

As the Sound Room progresses on the Marauder, I'll post the pictures here. The goal is to duplicate the quality and quantity (2500+ watts) that the Mountaineer uses. We've spec'd the in-dash Kenwood unit KVT-915DVD, The GPS System and the Kenwood Music Keg Hard drive system, they want to put 7" monitors in the back of the head rests for the back seat passengers in addition to a totally custom package tray in the back window so the subs are ported and visible directly. All the cool amp stuff goes in a custom lit enclosure in the trunk and the full size spare will have to be stored in the garage. <haha>
They even have my X-Box in the design with separate controls for all three monitors. The doors will get Infinity speakers and I'm sticking with 3 10" Rockfort Fosgate Punch subs like the Mountaineer has.

Like I said, as they tear into this I will be documenting the whole process for others to see. I can't wait!

John

[vaderv]

Hey Reap... Just a little info for all involved. Just about every great bass player alive plays through speaker cabs with 10 inchers. Those 15s and 18 you see are usually in the pa to help fill out the vocals. (ive been in bands since the age of 14 Im 39 now). A 10 inch sub is more than enough for any wattage below 1000. Btw the way there is a reason for the cabs loaded with 10 inchers. They not only allow for great "sub" harmonics but also provide the correct freq. responce for a bass.