When it comes to radios and sound systems i'm pretty clueless. But after 500+ miles with no radio and only a "girly" 302 to listen to, I need something.

Can i get an acceptable sound with just 2 speakers? By acceptable i mean loud enough to hear on the highway with the windows down.
I was thinking of putting 2 speakers in speakers boxes behind the seat. I dont have room behind the kick panels (computer is in one of them) and i didnt want to run more wiring into the doors if possible.

Do i need an amp? How much power can an aftermarket radio handle? Do they make radios that have built in amps?

Whats the deal with the Ohms of a speaker? i have seen 4 ohm, and 8 ohm. whats the difference?

Thanks
Mark

 

You can get decent sound out of a pair of 6x9's. As for ohms, 4 is mostly car audio and 8 is for home audio. Some car decks can't use 8 ohm speakers.

As for power. Most new decks can do about 20w x 4 RMS (peak watts is bad figure to compare) which should be plenty enough power for the small cabs we have. Personally I wouldn't use an amp unless I had 4 speakers or a subwoofer.

 

I installed a Pioneer CD Stereo w/2 speakers in my 52F1 and it is more than enough to give good sound windows up or down. I also have XM which is very cool. I used the small Pioneer car speakers and mounted them up on top of the kick panels and they are out of the way and sound good. Volume has not been an issue. I also bought and installed a hidden antennae up high on the inside windshield. It works great and I am out in the middle of nowhere, 100 miles from the nearest city, and I get very good reception. I wouldn't spend a lot of money due to the weather extremes here and my whole outfit ran about $200 installed.

 

fifty2f1
What is Mfgr/Model is your antenna? The good reception you get is that FM only or AM as well? I've heard the hidden antennas don't pick up much AM signal.

 

I'd suggest buying the "head unit" (the radio and cdplayer) first. As 51 Dualler says when reading the specs look at the continous RMS power not peak power and THD (total harmonic distortion). THD is expressed as a % and the lower the "cleaner" the sound. The problem you are likely to face is that the manufacturers start adding more whistles and bells (people tend to buy the eye candy before sound especially i lower priced units) than sound quality as the price increases. I have seen units in a popular manufacturer's line that had much worse sound than a significantly cheaper unit but a lot of pretty colors and toys that ran the price up. Alpine is a quality brand that tends to give good quality sound for the money. Next look at the unit's instruction sheet for what specs the speakers should be. I have seen specs as low as 2 ohms, but 4 ohms are more common. Use that spec to shop for speakers. If you are going to be only using 2 speakers (make sure the head unit allows connecting only 2 speakers) you want a "full range" speaker that covers 20- 20K Hz (the range of human hearing) I prefer a round speaker over an oval for cleaner sound. A pair of 6 or 8" speakers should do nicely. With speakers you pretty much get what you pay for, so don't scrimp on them and don't buy no name brands. With a low power amp and smallish speakers you will get better sound out of a ported enclosure than a sealed one. A ported enclosure has a hole or port in the front panel or in the rear that allows the sound generated from the back side of the speaker to add itself to the sound radiated from the front side, and allows the speaker cone to move freely which allows it to be driven by a lower power amp. A sealed enclosure uses the sound waves from the back of the speaker to act like a "spring" against the speaker cone giving potentially less distortion at higher volume, but it requires more power to drive the speaker against that spring, if the power required starts approaching the max clean power the amp can produce the amp will start causing distortion. If building your own enclosures Make them out of MDF and glue and screw the joints. The heavier, stiffer and solidly constructed the enclosure the better the sound will be. Avoid thin lightweight plastic enclosures.

 

I don't know what truck you've got, but sound is one of the most dissappointing things about my truck. I've got a poineer head unit which functions well, and runs a box with two subs, and two dual tone pioneer speakers. The box with subs rests on top of the gas tank behind the seat, and the poineer speakers sit under the seat, right at the front. At about 50% volume I can hear it all right windows up or down, so long as I'm just putting around town. If I get on the highway though, no amount of volume does any good, it just adds to the roar of wind, road, rattles, etc.

To fix this I plan on incorporating speaker mounts into my 3pt seatbelt mounts that I'll be putting in soon, and that will put two speakers up in the curve of the cab, above the seat, and projecting right at my head. I'll keep the box behind the seat for bass, and think that with some work to sound proof my cab it'll serve me well.

All that to say, a normal head unit can power four speakers w/o a problem, and some can do more as they have built in amps BUT, no amount of power will overcome a noisy cab and/or poor speaker placement.

 

Bruce....I don't remember the mfgr or model of the antenna. I bought it at Checkers for like $25 or so. I am a total dufus with electronics so I paid for installation. All I know is that it is wired into something somewhere. I can't answer about the AM signal as I never listen to AM here and haven't since the 50's or 60's. I will try it out tomorrow to see what I can pick up. Like I said we are 100 miles from the city (rapid city, sd pop: 60,000 or so) but pick up plenty of good stations on FM. I mean we are in the middle of nowhere.

 

Thanks for all the info guys!
Now i know what to look for in a radio and speakers. I think i have a Crutchfield catalog somewhere. ill have to go dig it outfor some ideas.

Mark

 

I have a simple in dash unit (mounted under the dash) its a 10 year old Pioneer 40wt x 4 I got free, I have only two speakers, simple inexpensive units in the kick panels, and it is loud and sounds good (but I'm an old fart).... Driving down the road, with road noise and rumble of a SBF git to crank it pretty good to hear it. Can't see putting a ton of power into a small cab like ours...

 

Hey AXracer, whats MDF? I always see these guys on TV make speaker boxes out of particle board type stuff.
I always wondered why some boxes have holes and some are sealed. Thanks for the explanation.

Mark

 

MDF is Medium Density Fiberboard... like particle board but made with dust instead of chips. Sometimes called Medite (might be a trade name). Plywood will be just fine too, if it's over 1/2" thick.

An honest 30 watts/channel RMS should be plenty loud. However, if there's so much road noise that you can't hear a normal radio, you should think about wearing earplugs.

 

"Do I need an amp? How much power can an aftermarket radio handle? Do they make radios that have built in amps?"

A few random thoughts. Actually most of my thoughts are fairly random.

If you spend a little extra on the head unit, you'll have far less need for an external AMP. Most of the major manufacturers make a decent unit. My somewhat affordable favorites are Alpine, Pioneer, Panasonic, Clarion etc.

I'm surprised Nathan recommends 6x9 speakers. IMO, those are better left on "That 70's Show" BTW, did I really wear my hair like that back then? I'd recommend round speakers in the 6" range. They are far more versatile.

Sound deaden your interior just a bit and you'll think your in a fine European sports car. Or perhaps it's a Ford Tempo I'm thinking of. I fergit sometimes.

One final thing. If you put Flowmaster 40 series on your girlie motor, then you may need the external AMP anyway. Amazingly enough, when I roll the windows down my cab soundproofing seems like it doesn't work as well.

 

LOL! Hay FF how you doing? You have been rather quiet lately, still digging sand outa yer butt?
I'd also recommend avoiding any of the discount house speakers that have extra "little" speakers attached to them. More eye candy that looks sweet but sounds bitter.

 

Well the 6x9 vs 6.5" speakers. I've found you've been able to get more bass out of them plus they normally have a higher power rating. Plus you can get them in a 4 way where as the 6.5" are normally a 2 way. You want a coaxial type speaker over a full range. A full range speaker sounds as good as the factory paper ones. If you want the best sound get a component setup. The best set I've seen had a 8" woofer, 4" mid and a 1" tweeter.

But what do I know about sound. I only got a 200W 4 way bookshelf system in my room and a 500w home theater system hooked up to my computer.

 

Sand is better than bullets!