Upgrading to a sub

[Terry]

I just finished my install in my truck. I have 4" pioneers in the dash. I have 6 x 9 alpines adapted in the stock location. I have the fade balalced a little more from the rear as that the seats block some of the sound. This setup does not sound too bad. Im an old metalhead so I dont need the big bump going down the road. I would like to put in either a powered sub or sub and amp. I would like to be still able to use the jump seats. I think if I can find a sub thats not too deep I can mount it to the back wall. Do I need a crossover and also what kind of amp would I need if I go that rout? What was ford thinking with the speaker size they put in stock? Nothing was bolt in for me except the head unit minus the wiring. I also have 2 5 1/2' round alpines. Should I run three sets of speakers and a sub with power?

 

[5spd Ranger]

I'm having the same problem so went to my local car stereo place ( which is a friend) and I told him wanted to put 10" sub behind the jump sets but there is not enough room there or unless you go with 8" subs but then there are to small for that big of a cab he said. So I'm going with customs boxes on the floor under the jump sets and the carpet them and they will blend in to the floor. As for the amp most of the amps now days have built in cross overs.

 

[exbass94]

I recommend a shallow-mount sub. They hit hard like regular subs but can fit in really small boxes and take up very little space. I just installed one in my truck last week. For an amp, get either a mono subwoofer amp, or a bridgable 2-channel amp. If you with a 2-channel amp make sure it has a low pass filter (most do) and make sure the sub you hook it up to is 4 ohms.

 

[Terry]

I recommend a shallow-mount sub. They hit hard like regular subs but can fit in really small boxes and take up very little space. I just installed one in my truck last week. For an amp, get either a mono subwoofer amp, or a bridgable 2-channel amp. If you with a 2-channel amp make sure it has a low pass filter (most do) and make sure the sub you hook it up to is 4 ohms.

I dont understand the whole "amp" deal. I hear so many different specs, mono, 2 channel, bridgable... I would like to find out more about the specs as well as the setup.

 

[exbass94]

A mono subwoofer amp is basically an amplifier that is specifically designed to power subwoofers. This is basically the best option if the amp will only be used for a sub. A 2 channel amp is an amp primarily designed to power a pair of regular speakers (one channel per speaker), but most of the time can be used to power one or two subs. If you’re using one to power one sub, you can “bridge” the two channels into one channel. For example, if the amp is rated at 50 watts per channel (50x2), you can bridge it and get 100 watts for one channel, so you can power a 100W sub.

If you’re looking at 2 channel amps, make sure it has a low-pass filter (LPF). The filter cuts out all higher frequencies and sends just lower (bass) frequencies to the sub.

The next thing to look at is the impedance of the amps and subs. The impedance of a subwoofer basically tells you how much resistance the sub has. The smaller the number, the less resistance it has. For example, a sub rated at 2 ohms has half the resistance of a 4 ohm sub. Less resistance means more current will be flowing through the amp, so if you’re using a 2 ohm sub, make sure the amp can handle 2 ohms. Most 2 channel amps can only handle 4 ohms if they’re bridged.

 

[Terry]

A mono subwoofer amp is basically an amplifier that is specifically designed to power subwoofers. This is basically the best option if the amp will only be used for a sub. A 2 channel amp is an amp primarily designed to power a pair of regular speakers (one channel per speaker), but most of the time can be used to power one or two subs. If you’re using one to power one sub, you can “bridge” the two channels into one channel. For example, if the amp is rated at 50 watts per channel (50x2), you can bridge it and get 100 watts for one channel, so you can power a 100W sub.

If you’re looking at 2 channel amps, make sure it has a low-pass filter (LPF). The filter cuts out all higher frequencies and sends just lower (bass) frequencies to the sub.

The next thing to look at is the impedance of the amps and subs. The impedance of a subwoofer basically tells you how much resistance the sub has. The smaller the number, the less resistance it has. For example, a sub rated at 2 ohms has half the resistance of a 4 ohm sub. Less resistance means more current will be flowing through the amp, so if you’re using a 2 ohm sub, make sure the amp can handle 2 ohms. Most 2 channel amps can only handle 4 ohms if they’re bridged.

Ok, I am looking to enhance the low end of my music spectrum. I dont want or need to bump down the road and have all the bolts come loose on my truck. What numbers and or specs do I need to look for to get good sound quality? How do you "match" the sub/amp power to balance out a system. I guess what I am looking for is sound quality not noise.

 

[exbass94]

A single 10" sub with about 200-250W should be all you need. I have a Pioneer TS-SW251 and I'm very happy with it. It has excellent sound quality and doesn't just "make noise." It is a shallow mount sub, has 200W RMS, and it is 4 ohms, so you can use it with almost any amp.

For amps, get one with a little more power than you need, about 50-100W more than the sub is rated for is good. I'm using a Pioneer GM-5500t, only because it was the best deal I could find. It's a 2-channel amp bridged at 400W.

 

[felix1985]

There's some good info here. Does a "cheap" amp affect sound quality?

 

[Terry]

There's some good info here. Does a "cheap" amp affect sound quality?

I would think that you get what you pay for. Im not sure if I want to go with a 4 channel amp 2 channel amp or a mono amp. A shallow sub in a ported box looks good to me.

 

[gettle03FX4LevelII]

you could always go with a bass tube something like this http://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-P-W120TB-12-Inch-Tube-Subwoofer/dp/tech-data/B004NMLB68. they sit on the floor and do not take up much room. You can get good sound out of them and are not overpowering.

 

[916pat]

I'm running a 6" sub under each jump seat and it sounds great. These trucks are a little tough to get big subs in and still use the xcab. Good luck.

 

[Thed]

There's some good info here. Does a "cheap" amp affect sound quality?

Yes, yes it does. I can tell you this from experience.

 

[v8nick]

Hifonics makes some great amps. I have a Hifonics 500 watt amp in my cougar. It powers my MTX 7500 series 10" sub at 4 ohms and hits plenty hard for me. I had that setup in my ranger, it was awesome, but the ported box took up most of the space in the extracab. The amp i bought, i got from sonicelectronix.com.

 

[NRA4ever]

If you port the sub be sure your amp has a sub-sonic filter. It keeps the
he sub from bottoming out. I have a Skar 10 in my Ranger. Its a very deep sub. My box takes most of the rear up. Its down firing. Its tuned at 30 hz. I have a JL Audio 500/1 powering it. It hits harder than many of my friends 2/10 setups in sealed boxes. Use a box building program to find what size box & port your sub needs.

 

[wr250rdr]

there is some good info here but to add a bit more clarity with amp selection...

your power is gunna be given in two specs

RMS power (Root Means Square) and is basicaly 70% of the amps power at various ohms
and
Peak power which is the most your amp will put out under the best possible conditions.

I have seen both of these values Extremely exadurated, which is why its important to buy from a repudable manufacture. as an example JL alpine and rock foss wouldnt stay in business long if they didnt deliver on what they claim.

Another thing to look for when your buying a sub is voice coils, if your not looking for serious power handeling and there for db output stay with a single voice coil sub.

If you still want to retain alot of your useable space Rock Fos is making a very small affordable amp, 500-1D (139.99), which i have used with great results, and an even smaller
PBR300x1 (144.99).

@nra$ever just out of curiosity why did you tune for 30hz? Its pretty low in the spectrum and is below most humans above their 20s ability to hear. so you perfect sweet spot is an area where you will only feel the sub rather then hear it.