I am interested in putting a subwoofer in my 04 XLT Screw. I have seen the sub boxes from supercrewsound and on ebay. My question is - what do I need to add this to my factory system. I like the factory head unit (6 disc in dash) so I would like to keep it. I listen to all rock music (classic to metal), so I don't want anything extreme, just some nice bass sound. I guess I will need an amp, but what do I have to do as far as wiring and such? Hopefully this won't get moved to the audio section, because it seems kinda dead over there. Any help is appreciated.

 

You can use a speaker level input to connect the amp to your factory system. It will attach to one of your rear speaker wires and send a signal to the amp. This is the easiest way to hook an amp to a stock system. The sound quality will not be as good as if you were hooking it up directly to the head unit but for a subwoofer it should sound just fine.

 

good luck.......................

 

A couple of points.
You could spend ten thousand dollars on sound and it would not be perfect.
Someone who spent eleven thousand dollars on sound will post and tell you your sound system is total junk. Count on this.

So with that out of the way, You have a stock system, and just want a little thump? Or maybe a better sound overall, but don’t want to put in a head unit, etc.
No problem.

I will give you the ‘cheap’ way out, then someone will tell you that it will sound bad, etc. and then we can be moved to stereo.

You apparently have the stock Ford changer. That would mean you have the stock Ford 25 watt speakers.

First investment, toss the stock speakers. Buy 4 drop in Pioneers, for about 100 bucks now at Walleyworld, or buy any of the other increasingly more expensive speakers. The hundred buck ones sound about twice as good as the stock ones, for very little money. Much better ones ain’t gonna sound much better on a stock head unit.
This will give you about half again the bass.
I would be a bit cautious of buying ‘off brand’ speakers. Half the time they are junk.

If you still want more, and you might not, buy a cheap amp. Fry’s etc. sell amps that are about 100-200 amps for very low prices. Get an 8 or 10 inch woofer with a small box that you can stuff under a seat. 50 bucks at Fry’s. Add some wire and you can tap the rear speaker for sound, just like mw1063 says.

Net result, it will be much better than stock, nothing compared to many of these aftermarket systems. But it will only cost a couple of hundred bucks, and you can do it yourself on a Saturday morning.

Now for great information and lousy prices, go to crutchfield.com, and look through their tutorials, and guides. Great info.

Do try just improving the speakers. Made a huge difference to my truck.
Now start the flaming about why he has to spend a thousand, or he should junk the truck…
Chris

 

I just posted about my system in this post the other day: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=372671

I would recommend the same setup. And the MTX Thunder 251D amp fits perfectly under the front passenger seat, and I've had no issues with it being there. Or there is still slight room next to the box, it may fit there too?

 

Man, this thread was brought back from the dead..........Thanks guys - Chris you hit the nail on the head for me - I'm not it to spending thousands of dollars on my stereo right now. A little extra thump is all - now on to the Pioneers.

 

Chris

What size tweeters fit? Is there any modifications to make them fit?

 

i'm putting infinity ref 5x7's in my doors and was wondering if it would be worthwhile to also add some seperate tweets to the front doors as it all ready has the stock cutout my question is this could i wire this in to the front door speaker?and would i need to put some type of bass blocker on to the tweet to keep nothing but the high's from coming out or do most of them come with this already?

 

I am looking on Crutchfield right now - it looks like some of them come with in-line passive crossovers. I assume you could tap right off of the front speakers.

 

Chris had an excellent write up. I want to add to it and also answer your question. As far as tweeters go, DO get a coax speaker, 6x8 for Ford (the pioneers mentioned earlier) or even a component speaker like the Infinity Kappas for the front. that have tweets built in The Kappas are a speaker that looks like a coax (meaning the tweeter sits right on top the woofer) but has a cross over already attached to it. The cross over separates the mids from the highs and really improves the sound. I think I paid about $70 a pair for my Kappa's and its the best speaker I've ever owned.

For your rears, you really don't need much so the Pioneers or equivalent should be fine. The rears essentially provide background filler.

Ok, so you heard the economy route and there is no doubt it will sound worlds better than the factory uh....system. I spent $700 total roughly and took it one step further and the system sounds outstanding. You can VERY easily junk the factory head unit and only spend 100-125 on a nice after market receiver. Doing this you will gain 2 to 3 RCA Pre amp outs (to feed future amps) and perhaps MP3 capability if you do not already have it. There are nice kits for like $10 to dress up the area of the big double din if you go to a single din (size of the radio). Most places you buy from will throw in the harness to go from your head unit to your factory wiring. I ran RCA cables to the back of the truck to power two amps, one for the front speakers (the Infinity Kappas I mentioned) and one for the sub box under the rear seat. You need to run only 3 wires from the head unit(2 RCA sets and a remote turn on). Then run power from the battery to the back and you are ready for amps. I ran new speaker wire from the amps to the front doors (very easy since all trim is snap on) and dropped in the kappas. The clarity you get from a separate amp will dust the stock receiver power. The amps fit nicely behind the screw rear seat also. You can spend anywhere from $50 to hundreds on amps but just getting an entry one puts you in a new level. I let the receiver power the rear speakers since they are not providing much sound.

I have run wire in a bunch of vehicles before and the truck has been the easiest thing to wire I have seen to date. Anyway..if you want to get some crisp clear audio and have the funds don't let the project intimidate you. Good luck.

T

 

Truck , i have the 2 way infinity ref 5x7 that i' going to put in there . I guess what i'm asking is would it be worthwhile to add a 2nd tweeter in the factory cutout to kinda move the soundstage up some and if i did could i run off the front speakers and would i need some kinda passive crossover. speaking of doin it cheap right now I have 6 infinity 5x7 that i bought off of EBAY and 5 of them work so lucky me i gotta spare 55 bucks and a small pioneer 200 watt 2 channel amp that i gave 20 bucks for(I know it works) and a ALPHASONIK 150 wat amp that i still have to test so right now 110 bucks in speakers and 2 amps ordering a pioneer 10 tonight and hopefull getting a custom box for it from proboxrocks soon all in all I hope to have a decent sounding system in less than a month

 

Sorry someone else has to hit this one. I didn't bother. My speakers have the tweaters on them, and it didn't make enough difference to me to add them. I have a set of them from e-bay, about a 20 dollar bill shipped. I have been told many times that the brand doesn't matter much on tweeters, and I suspect it is true. Just check Crutchield for the size, and e-bay for the product... Get a brand name, but any brand name will do.


I have to disagree on the rear speakers not mattering as much. But this is on a Regular cab. The rear speakers are in-line with your head when you have the seat back all the way and reclined slightly.

On a Supercab or Supercrew it's different.
Chris

 

I just ordered Pioneers for the front. I'll try that first. I hate to piecemeal it, but it may save me money in the long run. I ordered the ones with the tweeters also, so maybe another tweeter is needed. The speakers in the rear doors of the screw don't seem nearly as loud as the fronts - could just be where you are sitting with them behind the seat - I will see how this goes first.

 

I would not add a second set of tweeters, reason being is the Infinity's on their own are on the bright side, an additonal set would just add more to the brightness. ireplaced the factory 6x8's with the Infinity Kappas 5x7/6x8 (KAPPA682.7CF) with the external crossover (not on the speaker). I would not want to add another tweeter. The tweeter on these Infinty's can be aimed towards the occupants.

 

Wow...sounds like you are cobbling together a nice system. Honestly, I think separating the tweets up higher is a waste. Only becuase it looks like a big hassle for not much return in my opinion. The nice thing about the kappas is that you get the nice separates effect but they are compact and kept together. Good luck!