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$700 budget for 4 door f-150 (1 Viewer)

Blaine G

Grip
Joined
Nov 21, 2002
Messages
18
Hello everyone, i would like to get a new sound system for my stock 4 door f-150. I have about $700 to spend, i could probably go a little over that right now. I honestly know very little about car audio and i would like to get a good system for listening to rock mainly. Groups like metallica, rage against the machin, godsmack, disturbed, etc. I would like a new deck, all the speakers, and a sub if that is possible in my price range. Thanks for any help in advance!
 

Dave Bennett

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 11, 2000
Messages
1,167
Blaine,
I put together a system in my Subaru Impreza that consists of a JVC MP3CD Headunit, 4 new Pioneer Coaxial Speakers, and a compact Kenwood Woox powered subwoofer for $580 bucks. I did all the install work myself so that helped cut costs. Would you be looking to get it installed or will you do it yourself? Also, how much bass do you want? Do you want earth shattering bass of just nice fill? I'd say that you'll be able to put together a very nice setup for $700, especially if you hunt around for the best prices. My setup probably could be had cheaper but I bought all of it from Crutchfield. Anyhow, let us know what you're looking for in terms of bass(since that is probably the biggest variable in terms of price).
 

Blaine G

Grip
Joined
Nov 21, 2002
Messages
18
Thanks for the reply Dave, i am not looking for earth shattering bass, rather just enough so that it sounds good. I will also be doing the install job myself and i plan on making the box for the sub myself. I've never done any of it before, but i'll figure it out :).
 

Dave Bennett

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 11, 2000
Messages
1,167
Blaine,
Are you looking to replace the headunit too, if so do you need MP3 capability? I've heard great things about Alpine headunits and their MP3 cabaility. I was going to get one but ultimately the higher price and design of them were enough to sway me elsewhere. Some people love the Alpine design but I just can't stand it. Either way, if you hunt around you can find a nice MP3 deck for $200-$250. Speakers are a really personal thing and the only thing I can say is audition some in a store. Right now I'm just running some cheap Pioneers in my car and they sound suprisingly good but I might replace the front ones at some point with a pair of Polks or something. Components may be an option for you depending on the budget, but I think a two amp(or 5 channel amp) system may push towards being over your budget. Not sure though.

I'd say go for an 8" or possibly a 10" sub in a sealed box. In terms of amps and actual sub drivers, I'm not really on the up and up anymore with that anymore. I used to have an Orion Cobalt 10" in a sealed box powered by an Aura amp, and it sounded really nice. It could be insanely loud if you wanted it to be, but it was always tight and never really overpowering. Depending on how much space you've got, I think an 8" or a 10" would probably be good for you. I'd definately say go with a sealed box though as it will provide the tightest sound.
I'll stop short of reccomending any brands or amps/subs as there are others on this board who are more knowledgeable than I.
Another option is to buy something like the Infinity Basslink or Kenwood woox if space is at a premium. I've got the woox and it's very nice. Not insanely loud but it works well and fits in very small spaces. I've heard great things about the basslink too, as it has a more powerful amp and a larger driver. However, if you're willing to build a box and go with seperates, I think you can get more bang for your buck by doing that. Hopefully someone can chime in and reccomend some brands for you.
Either way, I think you'll be suprised at how well you can do a professional looking install your self. I had a buddy in highschool who taught me how to do car audio stuff but I never actually did any of it myself until this year when I got my new car. The headunit was simple, speaker a bit trickier(I couldn't get the stupid door panel off, and I had to make a spacer/adapter ring to prevent the back of my speaker magnet from hitting the window when it was lowered) and the amp and sub was a bit more involved but nothing terribly difficult. Just make sure you've got plenty of time should something not work properly at first ;)
 

Wayne Ernst

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2002
Messages
2,588
Blaine,

I think a good first step would be to pay a visit to the Crutchfield site. You could key in your vehicle data to determine what will fit your vehicle - I'm assuming you don't want to cut major amounts of sheet metal to install new speakers of a different size.) From there, knowing what will fit your vehicle (in regards to head unit and speakers) you'll be able to start your search for some appropriate gear for your vehicle.
 

Sean Me

Grip
Joined
Nov 18, 2002
Messages
24
You can easily put together an entire system for $700. With that price in mind, here are my recommendations:

1) Price out everthing you want online, look at www.sounddomain.com www.etronics.com www.ikesound.com www.thezeb.com and anywhere else to find the best prices for what you want. Then, try to get thezeb or sounddomain to pricematch everthing into one big order so you can save on shipping (thezeb does free shipping over $99)

Headunit: $190
If you want to be able to control your sub level from your headunit, you are looking in the price range of $175-225 online prices. If a dedicated subwoofer preout isn't important to you you could find something for $135-$175. I would suggest the former. Read this thread http://hometheaterforum.com/htforum/...hreadid=152469 for the cheapest options.

I have the Pioneer Premier 550mp from http://www.thezeb.com. I had them pricematch ikesound, final price with shipping was $182 ($3 cheaper thank ikesound). I probably would've ordered from thezeb anyways though, for the extra $10 I would rather have somewhere that will warranty it for me and is trustworthy. Here were my requirements
Easy mp3 navigation and good load time
-ability to read wma, mp3, and VBR mp3 files
-Preout for front and subwoofer
-subwoofer control on deck
-Rotary volume knob
-Decent FM tuner (so I can listen to NPR)
-I prefer a simple layout
The decks I compared in the price range were:
Pioneer 550mp
Panasonic MXE CQ-DFX683U
Eclipse 3403
Clarion DXZ635MP or DXZ735MP

Subwoofer: $55 Pioneer TW-S255c 10 inch http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/PIOTSW255C
Best sub I have heard under $125. If you want to move up into that league there are alot of options, you might look at the e10k.14 at www.edesignaudio.com for $125. Pioneer also has some new SPL (read: loud) subs that have been getting some good talk, the 10" version TS-W1500SPL is $120 at thezeb.com and $110 at etronics.

Components: CDT CL-61a at www.thezeb.com $150 http://thezeb.com/caraudio/specials_speakers.html
These speakers are plain awesome, you won't find anything else in the price range that can even touch them

Rear speakers: CDT CL-4x,5x, or 6x depending on your stock speaker size in back (I recommend the 6x if at all humanly possible) $48 Alot of people don't run any rear fill at all, myself included (you get better sound quality without it), so you could save some money here by just running your stock speakers off of the headunit power, and maybe use the money for a better sub.

Amplifier: Tons of choices here, I suggest a four channel amp, use the front two channels for your components and the back two bridged to a sub. one is US Acoustics USB-4085 from crutchfield. http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...0&I=235USB4085
It is $180 but comes with a 3 year warranty if bought through them (and if you search on www.fatwallet.com you can find a $20 off offer) You might also read this thread http://hometheaterforum.com/htforum/...hreadid=153365 for some other options. I did run across
some soundstream amps on www.etronics.com that looked as if they could be promising as well, but I don't know anything about the new lines. I did put a post up on another board specifically concerning them so I will let you know about them.

Wiring: order from www.knukonceptz.com or from wherever your major order is from to save on shipping, whichever is cheaper. I use knukonceptz, you can't beat it for the price.

Sub Box: build it yourself or get a subzone box from thezeb if there is one that will work for you (depending on sub choice, interior constraints, etc). $50 My opinion, unless you have 3/4" mdf, glue, screws, binding posts, and carpet laying around, it will cost you almost as much or more to build it yourself. Look at what they have, and don't hesitate to look at the possibility of slot loading the sub. Let us know what the space available is.

With everthing considered, this should put you right under $700.
 

Nick.H

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
118
Go Alpine for deck and rear speakers, fronts get mb quads and sub go rockford fosgate
 

Scott L

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2000
Messages
4,457
Word of advice: stay away from ikesound.com. They have great prices but just use them for matching at thezeb.com. Ikesound's customer service is simply horrible. I and many other have horror stories from them at caraudioforum.
 

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