Just spent $4,000 on a new audio system

[smo0othride]

I probably paid twice what I should have, but it's not easy finding a place that is close, does good work, and fully warrantees every part of the install.
Here's what I got and what it cost:
-$450 Front Door Speakers - Hertz High Energy
-$450 Rear Door Speakers - Hertz High Energy
-$450 Pioneer 4 channel amp for door speakers
-$1250 Pioneer Head Unit - 6 Disk in dash, GPS, DVD player(w/screen), Ipod/USB connect, Mp3 player, Memory Card Reader, and more
-$350 Backup Camera to go with Poineer head unit
-$500 Cover Entire Vehicle (except floor) in dynamat extreme
-$200 Cables and lots of adapters
-$400 Installation
-$400 Sales Tax


It's getting installed as I post this. I will take pics when it's finished.

 

[ELVATO]

No sub? Or are the door speaker "bassy" enough?

 

[smo0othride]

I was hoping the door speakers would have some decent mid bass, but they don't which is was the only disappoint I have (besides bass the sound is really clear and gets loud without any distortion). I didn't go with a sub because I always fill up the cargo space in back and couldn't afford to lose any room. I used to love bass and feeling the seats vibrate with the music, but the big bass with subs just isn't a high priority for me anymore and I rather hear the higher frequency's.

 

[tritonman5.4]

not to sound like any jack ass or anything but did u ever turn up the bass on the factory speakers i know they couldnt be that weak,hell i got a 99 expo and even though i upgraded my sound system my factory 4-speaker set up did quite well at the time but i do know what you mean about growing out of the bass faze.i love my subs and all but sometimes i think i coulda spent the money on something more important.

 

[smo0othride]

not to sound like any jack ass or anything but did u ever turn up the bass on the factory speakers i know they couldnt be that weak,hell i got a 99 expo and even though i upgraded my sound system my factory 4-speaker set up did quite well at the time but i do know what you mean about growing out of the bass faze.i love my subs and all but sometimes i think i coulda spent the money on something more important.

The bass on the factory speakers are better than the new ones I got, but improving bass wasn't my goal. It was to get perfectly clean sound at even the most extreme volumes, and that's what the hertz speakers do. In other words, I like to listen to music loud, and the factory system doesn't get loud enough for me nor does it have any sound quality at high volumes. Also, all the money I spent on dynamat really helps to keep the good noise in and the bad noise out.

 

[ELVATO]

I'm sure you could hide an 8 or 10 inch sub in the rear trim (opposite from rear AC), to at least give you some bass. I listen to metal, and like sometimes feel the double bass. Wish I had 2 10s in there, but the one 10 does the job.

 

[smo0othride]

I'm sure you could hide an 8 or 10 inch sub in the rear trim (opposite from rear AC), to at least give you some bass. I listen to metal, and like sometimes feel the double bass. Wish I had 2 10s in there, but the one 10 does the job.

That's what I wanted to do but there's just not enough depth in there.. maybe 4 inches at the max. Anything put in there would not have enough air space and it would be a rattle nightmare. That is where I put my amp though so it's hidden. I've had my car broken into twice to have my subs stolen... another reason for not having a sub.

 

[tritonman5.4]

The bass on the factory speakers are better than the new ones I got, but improving bass wasn't my goal. It was to get perfectly clean sound at even the most extreme volumes, and that's what the hertz speakers do. In other words, I like to listen to music loud, and the factory system doesn't get loud enough for me nor does it have any sound quality at high volumes. Also, all the money I spent on dynamat really helps to keep the good noise in and the bad noise out.

i totally understand,i have heard that dynomat is over rated.what you think??

 

[smo0othride]

i totally understand,i have heard that dynomat is over rated.what you think??

The dynamat works very well at reducing rattles and keeping road noise out/ your music in... the only thing is that it's very expensive. There are many dynamat knock-offs, some that perform just as well at half the price. Audio stores only carry dynamat though because, like most things, you can charge more for a name brand product. I could have saved a lot of money buying everything online, but then if something goes wrong I can't just drive down the street and get it fixed/replaced for free that same day.

 

[Eric]

Holly shit $4k on a car stereo system......I'm speechless. I hope it's everything you wanted an more. And I complain about the cost of an ipod.

 

[smo0othride]

Holly shit $4k on a car stereo system......I'm speechless. I hope it's everything you wanted an more. And I complain about the cost of an ipod.

I plan on keeping the expedition pretty much forever, so I wanted to get the best of everything so I never have to upgrade again. Truck is still in the shop.. this shop hasn't seen a ford in awhile so they had to go out and get some adapters, mostly they do porsches, mercedes, ect. Also a full detail is included in the price.

 

[rmzsuzuki89]

What shop is doing the work...I don't trust any shops anymore lol, although some decent ones are still around.

For a sub you could probably fit an SA8 or E8 somewhere. SA8's are affordable and do work for an 8". Put it in .3'-.5'^3 and you'll be set.

 

[smo0othride]

What shop is doing the work...I don't trust any shops anymore lol, although some decent ones are still around.

For a sub you could probably fit an SA8 or E8 somewhere. SA8's are affordable and do work for an 8". Put it in .3'-.5'^3 and you'll be set.

I don't trust any shops either, but I don't have any free time to do it myself so I had to go somewhere. I went to a local shop called Startronics hoping that since they aren't a chain store they would do a better job. I'll probably get a sub eventually, after I do some thinking of where I want it and which one to get. One thing I was thinking about was taking out the 1 person seat in the 3rd row, and using that cavity to install a sub in a box that will be flush with the floor.

Here's a pic of the door speakers... you can see the silver dynamat behind the gray cover. I'll take more pics of the install later

 

[rmzsuzuki89]

I don't trust any shops either, but I don't have any free time to do it myself so I had to go somewhere. I went to a local shop called Startronics hoping that since they aren't a chain store they would do a better job. I'll probably get a sub eventually, after I do some thinking of where I want it and which one to get. One thing I was thinking about was taking out the 1 person seat in the 3rd row, and using that cavity to install a sub in a box that will be flush with the floor.

Here's a pic of the door speakers... you can see the silver dynamat behind the gray cover. I'll take more pics of the install later

The idea of taking out the single 3rd row seat gave me an idea. You could always do maybe one 12" in a 4th order and build that into a seat to go in place of the single third row seat. You could either have the port coming out of the top of what would be the back of the seat, or have it coming out of the bottom.

This way you wouldn't lose a seat, and still have a lil bass. If you like the idea, or are just curious, let me know and I can do a quick sketch up to give you a better idea of what I mean. Would be pretty cool and unique.

 

[smo0othride]

The idea of taking out the single 3rd row seat gave me an idea. You could always do maybe one 12" in a 4th order and build that into a seat to go in place of the single third row seat. You could either have the port coming out of the top of what would be the back of the seat, or have it coming out of the bottom.

This way you wouldn't lose a seat, and still have a lil bass. If you like the idea, or are just curious, let me know and I can do a quick sketch up to give you a better idea of what I mean. Would be pretty cool and unique.

Check out this yuotube video: Jeep with subwoofer in seat

Are you talking about something similar to this? Also here it says that a 4th order box is bigger than a normal box. Normally I like sealed boxes to get better SQ, but if I only have 1 small sub I might need a ported for better SPL.
If I could hide the sub in a seat and still have it be usable that would be great.. but I imagine a lot of custom work would go into that.

 

[smo0othride]

Pics with head unit (GPS, Backup cam, handfree calling) and pic of plug-ins (USB, IPOD, and RCA)

 

[smo0othride]

Mic for talking on phone with handsfree option, amp hidden under storage compartment

 

[rmzsuzuki89]

Check out this yuotube video: Jeep with subwoofer in seat

Are you talking about something similar to this? Also here it says that a 4th order box is bigger than a normal box. Normally I like sealed boxes to get better SQ, but if I only have 1 small sub I might need a ported for better SPL.
If I could hide the sub in a seat and still have it be usable that would be great.. but I imagine a lot of custom work would go into that.

It would be kinda similar to that, but different at the same time. And the 4th will give great sq and output if done right. The enclosure will have to be bigger than a regular ported enclosure, but if making a seat out of it there should be enough room for a single 10" or even 12" probably. The back of the seat could act as an external port for the ported chamber. You could do a single 12" in maybe .5 sealed, 1.2-1.5 ported, 35"^2 of port, and tune depending on your liking...Lows ftw haha.

Those are just off of the top of my head though, volumes and port will vary depending on woofer.

 

[smo0othride]

It would be kinda similar to that, but different at the same time. And the 4th will give great sq and output if done right. The enclosure will have to be bigger than a regular ported enclosure, but if making a seat out of it there should be enough room for a single 10" or even 12" probably. The back of the seat could act as an external port for the ported chamber. You could do a single 12" in maybe .5 sealed, 1.2-1.5 ported, 35"^2 of port, and tune depending on your liking...Lows ftw haha.

Those are just off of the top of my head though, volumes and port will vary depending on woofer.

Those are some good ideas, I'm going to have to take a look at the 3rd row seat, take some measurements, and see exactly what kind of space I have to work with.

 

[Expedition]

Did you get 5x7s in all the doors? I did 5x7s up front and 6x9s on the rear sounds pretty good.