Best speaker arrangement

[sonicbluezx3]

I think what I'm going to do is components in the door and something that hasn't been mentioned yet.... 4" speakers right under where the seatbelt mounts to the b-pillar. I checked my old cab by hacking in that area and there is plenty of room for the speaker to fit. I got the idea from the newer Chevy trucks since that's where they are in those and they sound really good. I just need to figure out what components to get....

As far as water proofing the speakers goes... isn't there some sort of baffle you can install behind them inside the door? I'm going to have a set of doors to practice on at least, but I'd like to find out firsthand.

For a sub... I haven't decided if I want to make a custom center console with sub/amp integration, or if I want to put a 10" sub behind each seat.... I have bucket seats from a K5, but I want to keep it on the DL since the trucks are kinda easy to break into and I don't want flashy stuff around!

[1MCP7.3/87GMC]

I seen this in a truck at a car show not sure if the location works well or not but they had 6x9s under the seat aimed towards the front of the truck the dash speakers doors and a sub behind the seat and the factory location in the corner the system sounded good as far as the practicality of the speaker aimed at your feet idk. My truck has 2 6x9's behind the seat and possibly the factory dash speaker no amp but a deck with 200 watt output it sounds decent and can roll windows down at 70mph with mud terrains and still hear the music good so it works for me. My 84 was owned by a kid before me that was all into stereo equipment it had 2 10" kickers behind the seat 4x10s in the corners I believe and 2 6" rounds in the door and it sounded good but the 10s where blown when I bought it so rap hip hop and that type of music sound better but country or rock sounds Droney it also had 2 amps a 600 for the 4x10's and 6x9s then a 1300 I believe for the subs.

[mpullen66]

I just put in 3.5 inch polk audio speakers in the dash. I used 6 inch round polk audio speakers where the 4x10 speakers were. I used MDF board and cut it to fit the round speakers. Then painted the MDF black. The speakers are powered by the deck. I also put in two 10 inch jk audio w3 subs in a box behind the seat. The subs are powred by a 500 watt bazooka mono sub amp.

The system sounds incredible!  When you put speakers in the kick panel or head liner they are limited in moving air. If they dont move enough air you will not get the full benefit. The stock locations allow air movement that is needed.

[mtjd25]

I have 3.5 infinities in the factory locations under the dash, then I built 6x9 wooden boxes for the cab corners with infinities, and then two 12 inch subs, capacitor, and amp behind the seat. It is also wired with a graphic equalizer under the dash going to each door and under the seat, in high school I had two extra 6x9s under the seat, but very little sound came from them compared to everything else so I removed them. Was going to put them in my doors, but realized my power window stuff was in the way. Overall, it's the best sounding thing I have. The infinities were a little bit of money (I think I paid $250 when I bought them quite a few years ago) but have held up amazing and are super clear. The subs were 50 dollars from a friend, new in the box, I think they are Jensens or something. The stock location, with the right speakers, can sound just right in my opinion, and if you want more base, a truck sub box fits behind the seat with the seat all the way back. To each thier own though.

[1979C20]

I have 2 pioneer 6x9's behind my seat in the cab corners, not in boxes, and 2 10" Punch HE2's 800w each in a custom built box I made behind my seat with a 200w kenwood amp. I love having the speakers behind the seat because all of the sound comes up right next to my head. And when you have it tuned right, everthing is crystal clear.

[Skunksmash]

I wish someone knew the best possible setup for a component system. As in, where exactly everything should go for the best sound quality.

[velojym]

I'm not looking for a contest rig, and I want to keep the area behind the seat clear, so a couple corner boxes, a couple kickers, and something up on the dash, all within the deck (whatever I get) wattage will do fine for me.

[Skunksmash]

Me either really. But if there is a best way to do the setup, why not do it, is the way I look at it.

[f-100]

Need to match your speakers to environment. Some speakers are designed to go in box's some are free air. If installing in the doors etc. without a sealed enclosure you need free air speakers. If you have speakers designed to be in a sealed enclosure the box needs to be built according to speaker enclosure spec.s to sound right. Cars and trucks are terrible environments for stereo's, a cheap home set up will sound better than the same money spend on a car stereo. Same set up in one truck can sound different in the another truck if one has leather seats, headliner ect. and the other has cloth seats,headliner,etc. Hard surfaces leather reflect sound cloth seats ect absorb sound.

One person may like the sound of one speaker another may not. Best to go go to shops and listen to alot of different speakers in your price range and let your ears decide. Remember to check if they are free air or enclosure speakers. If you like the sound of a sealed enclosure speaked make sure you the skill and room in your truck area placement for the enclosure.

You can get extreme and built your own kick boxs for the the door or front panel area. You can also buy box's for the front panel area designed for your truck. Not sure if they sell pre fab for the doors. If you have buckets you can put a sub box in between the seats for front, down or up firing a sub/s. See how much space you have so you can design the sub box correct. Bench seats usually just put subs behind the seat.

Horns can go under the dashboard but usually require a good mid bass speaker since horns do not play freq.s below 1000hz very good. They do play the higher freq.s good so you may not need tweets with horns.
 
Simple set up a nice componet set up with the mid speaker in the door or the kick panel. The tweets up high in the a pillar or door. The tweets up high should help to bring the sound field up to face or ear level so it does not sound like music is coming from the floor. If you get a good componet/amp set up you should not have to add rears speakers except for a sub. Three way speakers in the rear tend to make the sound more like it is coming from the back of the truck. Some people like this some don't. 6 by 9's in the rear can work as mid bass or some sub bass if don't add a larger sub.

If using amp/s make sure you have the correct power to match the speakers you buy. Usually better to go with a little more than less power that your speakers can handle. There are extreme measures you can do, speakers in the floor, subs in the dash or a cut thur to the back bed but the requires a certain amount of skill. Search utube and check out the net for car stereo forums for alot of good info