Subs, amps, and components. Lots of questions and a couple ideas.

[nlauffer]

Ok, I'll start off saying this is gonna be some cold weather designing and building and may not get finished for awhile. Sheetmetal and engine are priority but I want to get started on interior stuff also. I am picking apart wiring and have been thinking about sound system so I can get wiring added in for it. I've got lots of questions and a couple ideas I want to run by you guys.

I'll start off with questions regarding subs. What is the difference between the ohm ratings and what should I use?  4 ohm vs 2 ohm?  8" or 10"?  I don't want to rattle the windows, just clean crisp bass to add depth to the sound.
I thought about building a box I saw on here that covered the back cab and housed 2 10's with amp(s) in the middle. Shallow mount 10's and an amp for them.

How about component speakers in kick panels?  6" with seperate tweets or mounted on speaker?  An amp for them?

Couple ideas I had was building my kick panels out of my existing ones and fiberglassing them. I then got to thinking about the Highliner headliner. But instead of buying that one, maybe taking an old headliner and fiberglassing a couple 4's into it that are ran off the head unit. These would be rear and the kicker 3.5's I already have in the dash as front speakers.

What do you think?  Any tips?  Maybe one amp for subs and components instead of two seperate amps? 

[sphinx]

It all boils down to what do you want the final sound to be and how many $s you want to spend.  If you dont want bone jarring sound a single 10" or 12" on a seperate sub amp with a hi power head unit driving the front and read speakers.  i would always use seperate tweeters mounted higher than the main speakers. The high frequencies seem.to get lost when down low.  Im planning on using a Pioneer shallow mount 12" behind the seat with a 100 watt True rms Pioneer amp on 4 ohms crossed over at 60 hz.   I have the sub and amp.  Ill add 4" full range speakeresin the kick panels (yes they will fit) and 6x9 in the cab corners on a 4 channel 30  watt amp (true rms output).  Ill choke off the 4" at 200hz or so not to over drive them.  Ill also place some tweeters on the cab posts above the sholder belts.  All the drivers will be 4 ohms and match the amp impedance.  I just want to over come the road noise with the windows down.  Oh, Im using a modified Delco AM/FM to take a mp3 input.  I want to keep the factory dash look. Will this rock the truck next to me - no.  Will it let me feel the bass line in Another One Bites The Dust - yes.

[81_Chevy]

as far as wiring for the subs the most important thing to remember is the bigger, the better.  (power wire, ground, and wires from amp to subs)

[nlauffer]

The biggest reason for using two 8s or 10s, would be because of the box behind the seat.  I like the look of it taking up the whole back of the cab with the amps mounted to it.  Two of them would be symmetrical.  A low profile powered sub would be enough for me, I would just have to do something else to carpet the back of the cab.  Not a big deal.

4 ohm seems to be easy to find and I sort of know the difference in ohm ratings, but I don't think I would ever be able to tell the difference.

What do you think about the fiberglassing.

[blazing816]

I'll start off with questions regarding subs. What is the difference between the ohm ratings and what should I use?  4 ohm vs 2 ohm?  8" or 10"?  I don't want to rattle the windows, just clean crisp bass to add depth to the sound.

If you want crisper clean sound then 2ohms is a better way to go, but you need to make sure your sub and amp can run that. It gets even harder to run a single sub in 2ohms because your amp needs to support 2ohms and bridgeable (meaning 2-channel amp that is bridgeable) (also a sealed box will give you crisper sound, as a ported box will give you louder sound). I currently run a single 12" sub with a dual voice coil and a mono (I can run mono with one sub because of the dual voice coil) 2ohm stable amp in my car, and it is crisp and clean. Basically you need to make sure the sub and amp match each other and do want you want. Always look at the RMS power and try and get them as close as possible. A sub rated at 600W RMS and an amp at 300W RMS will make the amp work 100% all the time and will make it get hot and stress it out more. Vice versa a 300W RMS sub and a 600W amp will work and is not that far off, however if you start trying to turn it up to high and loud you could blow the sub if pushed too hard.

How about component speakers in kick panels?  6" with seperate tweets or mounted on speaker?  An amp for them?

Component speakers work well to help give you the high notes that may get drowned out by the mids and lows (like a center channel in a home theatre system). However with the radio you have, component will not be used to their full potential because it will limit on how much the radio lets you adjust each channel. If you try and pull the lows out, it will pull it out for both channels. I always recommend running a 4 channel amp if you want good crisp clean sound and any listening level, even with the windows down and on the freeway. Also you could put the 6" woofer in the kick panel and mount the tweeters in the factory dash location and hide the crossovers up in the dash somewhere. And put 6x9s in the cab corners as the rears. That is just my $.02, but I have hooked up many systems over the years and hooked in car audio for 5 years.

Maybe one amp for subs and components instead of two seperate amps?

You could run that, but then the 6x9 will not sound as good, and finding an amp that is bested rated for the RMS wattage of your sub and components will probably be hard and if you had one sub you would have to make sure that it is bridgeable if you want to run 2ohms (4-channel amp, or you would run a 2 channel and just run 4ohms). That is why I usually recommend one amp for the sub and leave the speakers hook to radio's built in amp, or run two amps. However they do make 5 channel amps if you want to stick with one amp. Just depends on the money you want to spend or not.

Also make sure you are running good gauge wire, depending on the power output. They make amp wiring kits that will have the fuse a thicker gauge to a distribution block and then a size or two step down in wire size to the amps. If your running two amps I would recommend 4 gauge to distribution block and 8 gauge out to amps (however 8-10 would work, I just like to be safe). With my system in my car with wattage, I went a little over kill and have 0/1 gauge to distribution and 4 gauge to amps. Also if you are wiring it, it is good practice to keep the speaker wire and RCA cable away from main power wires, big main power wires can cause feedback and what not in your sound, mostly unlikely but a good practice to do.

Hope this helps and I did not ramble too much.

[blazing816]

Also when hooking up the remote wire from the radio to the amp(s) (so the amps are only on when radio is). With the sub amp I like to put a switch in between and that way with out having to mess with the equalizer or settings in radio, if you have a old lady or little kid or crabby wife  in the car you can just kill the switch and then no more sub. Also works well if you have it up a little louder then you should and the fuzz are by you. Where I use to live they use to love giving out excessive noise violations.

[nlauffer]

Currently, I have kicker 3.5s in stock dash and had though about using (can't remember the word) to keep them as highs.  I also have Pioneer 6x9s in the cab corners. 

I like to see what every one else is doing and how it is working for them.  I like the ideas of kick panel speakers, but I'm not sure if I want them to possibly get abused down there.  The 6x9s I think are not letting as much sound get to me as say kick panel speakers.

Most of the time, I fall back to what is relatively easy and something I know.  6x9s in cab corners, 3.5s in dash and a powered shallow sub.  Simple, yet effective. 

So, I might break this down in sections ( so I don't lose track - I side track easily as some on here may have noticed - where was I).

3.5s in dash, do they stay or go?  If stay, what is that piece called I can hook to them (and the proper hz rating) that keeps out the bass?

[454Man]

Bass blockers are what I use on small speakers. If sound quality isn't important then building the proper sized sub box won't matter. Just build what fits. If your not looking to rattle the truck and want a good frequency response a good 200- 300 watt 10 or 12 inch sub with the correct sized box will make you smile every song you like. Eclipse makes some great sound quality subs so do others I'm going with one 10 inch myself

What's under the hood??? If you have to ask maybe we shouldn't race...

[blazing816]

Currently, I have kicker 3.5s in stock dash and had though about using (can't remember the word) to keep them as highs.  I also have Pioneer 6x9s in the cab corners. 

That would be a crossover that can change what freq. goes there, or an external equalizer. The 6x9 are behind the seat which does muffle a little but you should still be able to adjust them to hear them fine.

[nlauffer]

Bass blockers are what I was thinking of.  What is the difference between them and crossovers.  I like the looks of some of the shallow subs.  Pioneer sells a few different 10s.  Price wise, I think I'll be ahead if I go with the powered sub.

[nlauffer]

Back to the 3.5s.  I remember Crutchfield sold maybe 3 different ones.  I didn't buy them then, because I wasn't sure which one I should get.  They have 150hz, 300hz, 600hz, and 800hz cutoff.  600hz is what they recommend for low power 4" speakers.

[nlauffer]

has anyone installed the Infinity 10" Basslink in a square.  How well did it fit with seat all the way back?

[454Man]

Bass blockers are preset and only wire into the speaker line. Cross overs need 12v and wire in between the head unit and amps. If go 600hz if you want to get the max volume from them without clipping... What are the measurements of that bass link? Price?

What's under the hood??? If you have to ask maybe we shouldn't race...

[rich weyand]

Bass blockers are what I was thinking of.  What is the difference between them and crossovers.  I like the looks of some of the shallow subs.  Pioneer sells a few different 10s.  Price wise, I think I'll be ahead if I go with the powered sub.

http://www.amazon.com/Lanzar-VCTBS10-800-Watt-10-Inch-Subwoofer/dp/B003OUR7B8

I have the 8-inch on the back cab wall and love it.

[nlauffer]

I like the one you listed, but I was thinking the basslink because it is 200W vs 100W and a 10" vs 8".  The price is $180-$199 depending on where you go.  It measures 14.5x12.5x8.