I know this has been talked about in the past but I'd like to see if there are any fresh opionions. I'm planning on putting in a complete new stereo system in my 93 Aerostar reg. length. In the rear, I'll go 6x9's in separate boxes as I'm not satisfied with the sound if they are mounted in the side panels (factory locn). In my other Aerostar, they sounded like crap and they were nice Alpine 3-ways. Any alternate suggestions? I'm going with a standard Sony am/fm/cd w/o a separate amp, 4x40 watts.

How about the fronts? I know they're a hassle to get at. Has anyone had any luck with door panel speakers? Any recommendations for size, brand & location would be great.

Thanks,
Biederboat

 

I have a kenwood and the cd skips, the factory speaker cracks. I brought the JVC MP3 unit, and JVC 6x9 speakers. I am happy with the sound. Have not skip once even flying over speed bumps (didn't see it). You know what I mean the aerostar going over the speed bumps.

Rewired factory front speakers and wire the 6x9 original hole. Crankup the volume a bit in traffic, adjust the balance higher on the right side. For driver position is pretty good. For passengers may be different because of sitting position. Actually the right 6x9 factory hole have good bass reflex.The front 6x9 behind the driver seat sounds hollow. So, I inserted a lot of carpet underpad which I found in the basement. The bass is low and mid/high is clear. Even the front factory speakers are all right.

Given that being in larger space than car, if the sound volume need to fill up the whole area, speaker location is not important. Most important is the quality of the headunit and the speakers. Does not matter you have many speakers all over place, I tried with 6 speakers and woofer at different location, no good at all because of distortion with high volume(old kenwood head unit). I do not care where the music firing position. Now the headunit/speakers can put up the sound in the back as rich, clear and full.

I enjoyed the sound now, no engine noise and sometimes not realize the turn signal is on. And my kids can play with the remote comes with the JVC, They can choose the music without yelling at me.

Still it is personal taste, now I am happy with the current setup.

Thomas

 

My current setup is as follows.

Jensen HU, 4x45 watts... I would probably not buy another low priced jensen, because you get less then what you pay for with their lower priced equipment.

In the dash I bought two pioneer two-way 4" speakers with 150hz bass blockers. with the mounting kits from crutchfield. I also put some small scrap pieces of carpet in there to help the bass. worked pretty good.

I Know that in the past I said that the rear 6"x9" openings were not acustically great....I still feel that way, and would much prefer seperate boxes. But since it is my fathers van...He won't let me do that... What I did, now, to help the bass was put some scrap carpet in there...just like my dash. It worked. sounds pretty good. BTW the 6x9s I have are also pioneer.

I bought a little 2channel 80 watt RMS per channel amp for my two Orion subs. Ended up putting in some no-name subs, with a 10 dollar Radio Shack crossover, and the bass in the van is unreal for what i have in it. If i keep that system i will need tweeters to drown out the bass. I love the aerostar for putting a system in because the smallest subs sound much bigger when they are good quality. everything i have bought for my buick (sound system wise) has ended up in my aerostr because it just sounded like crap in my buick....LOL

BTW you will need to run new speaker wire (no less than 16Ga) to your speakers when you replace the radio. even if you keep the factory speakers. otherwise the sound will distort because of the factory amp. I don't recommend cutting the wires to the amp to solve the problem because you may want to put the factory system back in if you sell the van.

Just my two cents,
Mike D.

P>S> my dad and I share this account, so some of the messages are from different people. we are both named mike... he signs his -Mike-, and I sign mine Mike D...... just a little info in case you guys were wondering.

 

Mike,

Were the front speaker adapters specifically made for the Ford speakers (with 3-hole mounting)? Do you have a part number? I can't find them on the Crutchfield website.

Thanks,
Mark

 

Mark,

Ummmmm.... I don't have a part number on those, they came free with the speakers when I bought them. I think you can buy just the adapters but I am not sure, you may have to buy speakers or something else form them to get the adapters. I would recommend that you call crutchfields 1-800-number and ask about it.

Yes they were made specificaly for this van. Three hole mounting and all, can be a little tricky to get the holes lined up so you may have fun with that... Why in the world did ford come up with that crazy idea????? Was it just so that you would have to stick with their speakers?


Mike D.

 

Good question...I put the standard speakers back in yesterday and returned the 5 1/4" 4-hole Pioneers I got from Bestbuy. Since I put the rear 6x9's in the boxes they sound good enough that I'll wait and figure out something good for the fronts.

Thanks for the info,
Mark