I have an 03 ranger xlt. A couple months ago i put a new Alpine 9826 MP3 head unit in it and some alpine speakers. I play pretty much only mp3s and when ever i turn up the volume the sound gets distorted quite a bit. I don't have a sub to handle the lower frequencies and I don't want one. If you have any solutions to this problem that would be great. I thought an amp with a filter could help but I really just don't know. Suggestions are much appreciated.

 

Check out this thread...
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=286613

 

You say you don't want a sub...but it will help out greatly in spreading out the frequencies so the speakers can play better. And having a sub doesn't mean you have to keep it turned to where your neighbors can hear you five miles away. Just keep the amp turned down enough to where you can hear the low frequencies from the sub and not feel them.

 

It is not so much that I don't want a sub, its because i have a regular cab and there is no room. I know that MTX makes a costume fit one but 500 bucks is not in my budget. Could I get an amp for the speakers and just filter out the low fq. I really don't care a lot about bass. If that could work and you have any sub 300 buck amp suggestions that would be great. thanks for the help

 

It could also be the quality of the mp3's as well. There's different levels that they can be recorded at, just make sure you're downloading, err, burning them at a cd quality (i believe 128kbps) or better. I have a 30gb mp3 player that I use and I can tell a different just going from song to song which ones are better quality then the others.

Sounds like alot of it has to do with the lack of power though. Get a decent amp through your speakers and even some 6x9's and youll notice a huge difference.

 

Look through www.crutchfield.com and www.sounddomain.com for a good selection of amps. I personally like MTX amps and am using them to power my component speakers and sub. Irregardless of brand, I would look for an amp that has a continuously variable crossover which will allow you to fine tune the cutoff frequency. Some amps only have a fixed crossover (cutoff) frequency.

Are you running 2 or 4 speakers? This of course would determine whether you need a 2-channel or 4-channel amp. IMO, in a standard cab pickup, the rear speakers are pretty useless since their output is obscured by the bench seats. Also, IMO, rear speakers ruin the "imaging" of a system by pulling the "soundstage" towards the rear of the truck. Ideally, sound should appear to come from in front of the listener. Of course, all this would only matter if you are a hardcore audiophile like myself.

Lastly, an MTX Thunderform sub box can be had for much less than the $500 you stated. There are several of them on eBay for $230 shipped and they come with a 10" sub. Power it with a decent sub amp for around $200 and then use your head unit to power only the front speakers. This would result the best sounding setup for not much more than the $300 you are willing to spend on an amp alone. I'm sure others would concur with my recommendation.

 

I have 4 speakers, alpine in front and pioneers in the back. You were right about the MTX being cheaper the one i previously saw was at circuitcity with an amp which did jack up the price. All my MP3s are have been recorded at 128, and the only ones that sound bad are the rap/rock with the heavy base, my alternative and classic rock with little or no bass sounds great. Thanks for the recommendations

 

As for that MTX sub box...I used their design and built my own out of MDF for $26 total in parts. I'm just waiting around for the sub to arrive from FedEx to tell how successful I was.
And I agree with kontai. The setup he suggested is exactly what I have. $100 amp from Crutchfield (not looking for collapsed lungs). I had a small box with 2 6.5" drivers for the bass...but I decided to build the MTX setup with a 10" to be able to hit lower. Check out my gallery to see how the 6.5" box looks. As soon as FedEx gets here on Thursday I'll take some pictures and post them.

 

Here's the link to post I made about my sub box build. It's finished except for the carpeting. Total cost was ~$60.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=289616