My truck had the CD player stock but when I changed it out I had the option of using the stock amp or not. My choice was to use it but sounds like junk. Not sure if it would sound better without the amp used or not, what route did you guys go?

 

I'm still using mine & it sounds ok, but I did change out the speakers.

 

Well my truck, none of them actually, had an amplifier. And I do a lot of radio installs. Are you sure the person before you didnt put in an amplifier? A good quality head unit like alpine or kenwood with good door speakers probably kicker or jl audio would sound amazing without an amp. If its bass youre going for definitely need an aftermarket amp and subs.

 

The trucks with premium sound systems came with the amp. Just not a very powerful one

 

i dont think the stock amp. (yes some did have stock amps) is of that geat of quality by todays standards. todays head units prolly put out more mower than that amp does. i would do away with it . sure it will sound better.

 

when i put my cd player i ran new speaker wire to all new speakers and they all were pioneer it sounds decent

 

Well I learn somethin new everyday, bout the amps that is. And any brand of aftermarket speakers will sound better than the stock junk. Plus usually by now being 12+ years old the speakers are most likely blown.

 

rockford makes the best speakers in my opinion, their amps are kickass too, i have run lots of combinations but the rockford set up is the best for me. jvc makes a nice headunit as well, my current combo is the jvc headunit with rockford speakers out back and a 10 inch rockford sub powered by a rockford amp. the ft door speakers currently suck as they are sony xplodes(dont ask) i have the rockfords for the doors but havnt got them in yet. i have the amp/sub set up to give just enough bass to the music to sound good. i am not a rap or hip hop fan, i listen to classic rock and oldies...lol so no thump thump's at traffic lights from me. however if the wife pops in one of her cd's you can simply crank up the bass and the dash will rattle loose along with your fillings

 

I don't recall the OBS trucks coming with a CD player, only cassette or no cassette. Did they come with CD?

I need a new radio for my dd, the previous owner replaced it with a Sony that half the buttons don't work anymore.
Any suggestions for a good, not too expensive radio/cd player? I'm not into high end audio, just a good, user friendly radio.

 

Jim, look for an older Alpine, Kenwood, or something of that nature. Anything before 2000 is pretty user friendly. Meaning has CD player, bass, treble, fade, left and right. If you don't want a bunch of crap you can't understand, avoid pioneer at all costs.

Joe, I'm finally gonna have to disagree with you. All during high school car audio is what I did. And Rockford Fosgate sucks azz! It's rare that I ever saw one of their amp that didn't blow up, a sub that didn't fail, etc. Their cheap line back in the day (series 1) was the only good sub they ever had. And the shop I worked for installed them. And no I didn't install them wrong. LOL And I know, it's just my opinion. But give me an Alpine head unit, Coustic Amps and crossover, and MTX speakers front to back get it done for me every time. There are other greats out there, but those are my favorite. Heck, right now, I'm on the hunt for a couple of late 80's, early 90's MTX Terminator 10" subs. Either the 4ohm blacks, or 2ohm reds. But anyway, Rockford, not my favorite. LOL

 

I'm with rubberduck, if you arent gonna be hooking amps up and going for crazy bass just get a kenwood. I have a 2005 model and its been great since the day I bought it.

 

Yes they did. My 95 F250 came with the Ford premium sound system. I suppose it could have been premium back then. It also had an external factory amp as well.

I wish you could buy a replacement head unit that had big buttons. I hate the majority of head units with a zillion buttons and flashy lights. Why can't one just buy a simple head unit with a basic display and large buttons for common functions like the majority of factory head units. I only listen to my MP3 player so I had to replace the stock radio with a unit that had the ability to plug an external audio source into it and I couldn't find a nice stock looking unit.

 

I have a circa 01 Kenwood head unit, and it has always been a good reliable unit and very user friendly. I have a newer Kenwood also and it has a lot more of the "flashy" settings and crap that I barely understand. I'm a Kenwood fan just because mine have always been reliable, so that's my vote. And if you need them, I have the wiring harness adapters kicking around somewhere I could send to you.

 

i bought a sony head unit because it had a **** for the volume. it has all the extra stuff on it that you really dont need. buying it for the volume **** was a loss. if you push on it a little , it changes other things. i dont even know how to set the clock. i think you have to stand on your head or something. it is easy to hook up the i pod or a usb flash drive to it .

one **** should do one thing , or at least the volume ****

 

nothing wrong with disagreeing with me duck.....lol, its just my opinion. my first cd player was an alpine and it was my favorite of all time but the newer ones have too many gadgets and gizmo's for me. i'm not into fancy, i like the old school cd players and the jvc i hav now does that for me, plenty of power and i like the features and layout. as for the rockfords, the 10 i have now i have had since i was 15 so that makes it 10 years old, and i bought it used so i couldnt tell ya how old it is, the amp is the same way, bought it used along time ago and its still kicking hard...lol i'm not trying to build a window cracking rig, just a stereo system that is simple, cheap and sounds awesome. my setup more then suits me and has plenty of extra umph if i turn up the amp. i had the same amp powering a pair of 10 inch el cheapo's in a bandpass box in my 92 mustang for a while, after 2 reseals of the rear window i had enough..lmao. my amp is in great shape and has plenty of *****. i cant speak for rockfords current amps and speakers but the amp and subs i bought 10 years ago are sweet and the 6x8's and 4 incers(i think) that i bought 5-6 years ago are sweet as well.
i cant argue about how the mtx's sound. i have a friend with a pair of 12's in his trunk. those dam things will vibrate me off the trunk lid. gives a great back massage but not what i'm looking for. got another buddy with.....JBL? i think it is, they are pretty wicked too. but i shopped for price and performance and i think the rockfords are a fair priced midgrade speaker.