Jerm,

Wow. That is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for. I really appreciate you taking the time to relay your experiences.

If you'll indulge me another few questions?

Which brand/model door speakers, amp and sub did you install? If you had to do it over again, would you stay with these choices or have you come across anything else that would change your mind?

Is your sub a stand alone unit or something like the MTX Thunderform that fits in the rear quarter panel storage area? By the way, I emailed them to ask if they'll be making a Thunderform model for the new '03 Expy and they said there is nothing in the works currently. Which means I probably have no choice but to use an enclosure (hate the idea of it being in the way when I need to load up the back area).

Thanks again,

-Mike

 

MikeZ,

If it's door speakers you are looking for I have some of the best made for sale. I used to have a 99' Expy, and went with Diamond Audio components, stayed with the stock radio, and added two amps and a sub. I stuck with that for about six months and then wanted more than that could offer. That's when I went all out with the system and started over from scratch. You can see my Expy with the better system in it by clicking on MY PICS, below. After the Diamond components I went with MB Quart Reference Series Components and they sounded a lot better. I eventually sold that vehicle and now have the current system that I just pulled out of my F250 for sale. This time around I went with the absolute best MB Quart had to offer, which was the "Q" series components and coaxials. The front speakers normally cost $1,000 alone and the rears are normally $500. I only want half that. $750 takes it all, and they will fit right in your doors. The fronts will have the 6.5" mids in the doors and the 1" tweeters that you can put anywhere you want ( I recommend the A-Pillars) and the rears will have 6.5" coaxials. I will even through in the two line output converters you will need to retain your stock radio and add some amps for free. They came out of my Expy and I have no use for them anymore. Let me know if you might be interested. JDookie(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

j dookie...do you really like those Diamond Audio's..Right now, I have MB Quartz hooked up to a PPI amp, and they're allright, but a shop around here was trying to convince me to go with the Diamond Audio, and I was thinking about it....Are they as good as they told me? I dont know anyone that has those, so I wasnt to sure...

 

Mike-

I forget which speaker model I bought, but they were Polk Audio speakers. They were higher end speakers that were on a special at Crutchfield, and they have performed well for me. If I recall correctly, there were several speakers that would not fit in the doors because they were too deep for the opening. I think I originally had my heart set on some Infinity Kappas, but the Polks were half the price. When I looked at the specs of all my speaker options, I found that the more expensive ones often had better output in the lower frequency range, but I figured my sub would be handling the bass anyway. In short, I chose to go with speakers that could perform well in the mid-range and treble frequencies.

As for the sub and amp, I have a 10" Kicker Solobaric sub with an MTX amp (I forget the model, but it puts out around 350 watts when bridged). I have the sub mounted in an MTX thunderform box that fits in the storage area, with my amp located under the 2nd seat on the passenger side (my 2nd row has two captains chairs). All wires run under the carpet and/or in the wiring channel by the doors.

I already had the sub, and it was mounted in a 0.55 cu.ft. sealed box from a previous vehicle (homemade). I already owned the amp as well, so I went with the MTX thunderform mainly because they offered an empty enclosure that had the proper amount of airspace for my existing sub. I like to run a sub in a sealed box with low internal airspace, because I want my bass notes to beat my heart rather than rattle my teeth loose.

I am happy with my MTX thunderform, but if I was starting from scratch I would probably have bought an enclosure with the sub and amp built in. Before I decided to reuse my exising equipment, I was leaning towards an enclosure made by JL Audio (I am almost positive they make one for a 2003 Expy). QLogic also makes custom enclosures for the Expeditions, but I think they were more flimsy than the MTX's.

One other thing I should mention relates to the acoustics of the expeditions. Before I got the custome enclosure, I installed the amp and put my old sub box in the rear of my vehicle. I tried to position the sub in several different ways, but no matter what I did I had areas of the truck that were extremely bass-heavy and other areas where you could hardly tell if the sub was on or off. After I got the enclosure, everything was great. I know that the lower frequencies are supposed to be non-directional, but I could literally move my head six inches and notice a vastly different amount of bass.

Good luck!
Jerm

 

Latinhustle,
yes, the Diamonds sound great but I don't think they sound as good as the MB Quarts. Now, MB Quart makes a few different levels of speaker. I don't know which ones you have but the Reference Series or higher levels sound better than the Diamonds in my opinion.