I wanted to give a big thank you to everyone who posts questions and shares knowledge on this site. I haven’t posted much on the site because most of my questions have been asked by others and adequately answered. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading.
Last weekend I completely renovated my car stereo system. I had a sony deck that was close to ten years old and stock speakers; last August I decided I was going to upgrade my stereo and bought a Kenwood amp, thinking that the amp would fix all my problems. Then I discovered this website, and the short-sidedness of my thinking. But newbies must start somewhere.
Since then, I’ve been slowly gathering materials, figuring that one day I would do a complete install. For the most part, I’ve been researching car stereo information and picking up a new part every other month or so. Upgrading my car stereo has been on my to-do list, but it hasn’t been a top priority. My wife and I are expecting our first child in the beginning of September, so I decided that I was going to need to install everything soon, or it would never be done at all. (The baby to-do list is getting longer and more urgent all the time).
But I’ve digressed. . .
This weekend I gutted my truck, installed eDead v1 SE, the 4-channel Kenwood amp, an 8” bazooka tube, kick panels with MA 6 ½” speakers in the front, Infinity 6 ½” speakers in the rear, and an Alpine head unit. I also stuffed polyfill in the cavity where the rear channel speakers sit in my truck and in the kicks.
Based on all of the questions and responses from this site, I had no problem installing the amp or sound deadening materials. I ran into a little hick-up with the HU, because the RCA cables kept the unit from fitting tightly in the space allotted – but a little shaving of the front trim, and it all worked out. The one thing that surprised me was how long it took to complete the work. Cutting and piecing the sound deadening took a full day. It also took a long time to layout all of the wires and cables and tape them in place before reinstalling the carpet.
I’ve decided that the Kenwood amp was probably a mistake – I should have banked on getting a two-channel amp for the front speakers and class D amp for the sub. I also think that I should have gone with a different sub, but it was a gift and beggars can’t be choosers.
I still need to tweak the system a little to make it sound as close to the way I want it as possible, but I’m close. I’ll be sure to do some fine-tuning this weekend. I know this is a long post, but I wanted to again say thanks to everyone for their help. Keep it up!
Cheers!
Crum
Replies (3)
swez on 07/6/2005 14:04:04
Well done Crum. Have not seen much posting from you of late, but obviously been pretty busy reading the mail and making selections etc.
Congrats on the new baby on the way. You are right... that child will be Job 1 for a long time. Anything you need to do before he/she comes into the world, the better the chances of it happening. After baby comes, everything changes for a while.
Hope you don't mind changing diapers. Boys have a small fire hose and can let you have it any time the diapers are being changed. That usually means everyone gets a trip to the shower/bath. hehe
About the 4 channel amp, can always bridge it to a 2 channel amp for the front speakers and change sub (add an amp too) later. Most rear channel speakers sound pretty good off the HU amps as rear fill.
Good luck on tweaking. We're here if you need help!
Swez
Crum on 07/6/2005 15:38:20
Thanks for the heads-up with the baby, Swez. But I'm having a girl. So instead of worrying about the one fire hose spraying me, I'll have to worry about the rest of them in the years to come.
Several baby projects need to be started, but none more urgent than building the crib. My wife and I couldn't find any cribs that we liked, so we decided to order hardware and a set of plans and I'll do a little woodworking. Should be fun.
With regards to the amp, I have two channels feeding my front speakers and the other two are bridged to the sub. I think the front speakers would be a little happier with more power, so you might be on to something with both channels bridged to the front speakers. However, I think I'm going to have to just deal with the equipment that I have for a while. My truck will not fit a baby seat, and I suspect that within a couple of years, Baby #2 will be on the way and my truck will have to ride off into the sunset with someone else. At that time, I'll reevaluate what I want to salvage from my new system and what will need to be replaced.
And I'll be sure to post if I have trouble tweaking.
BTW, with all of the sound deadening, my truck smells like a tar factory. How long before the smell goes away?
Crum
lessismorespl on 07/6/2005 15:59:52
Congrats, just had my first boy last Dec. nothin better than that.
I'm not sure where and how you sound dampened the truck, but what I do is go over the sound dampening w/ a blow dryer and let the vehicle set for a day w/ the panels off and the trunk/hatch open, etc...it usually makes the smell go away....When you sound dampen an entire vehicle, and place the panels and other interior accessories right back on, the smell gets concentrated and takes longer to go away. after a day or so, the sound dampening begins to set up and adhere better...like a sealant, and the smell dissipates. It may be too late for this advice...but good to note on your next sound dampenign venture.
Sounds like you did your homework...good work.
less
Last weekend I completely renovated my car stereo system. I had a sony deck that was close to ten years old and stock speakers; last August I decided I was going to upgrade my stereo and bought a Kenwood amp, thinking that the amp would fix all my problems. Then I discovered this website, and the short-sidedness of my thinking. But newbies must start somewhere.
Since then, I’ve been slowly gathering materials, figuring that one day I would do a complete install. For the most part, I’ve been researching car stereo information and picking up a new part every other month or so. Upgrading my car stereo has been on my to-do list, but it hasn’t been a top priority. My wife and I are expecting our first child in the beginning of September, so I decided that I was going to need to install everything soon, or it would never be done at all. (The baby to-do list is getting longer and more urgent all the time).
But I’ve digressed. . .
This weekend I gutted my truck, installed eDead v1 SE, the 4-channel Kenwood amp, an 8” bazooka tube, kick panels with MA 6 ½” speakers in the front, Infinity 6 ½” speakers in the rear, and an Alpine head unit. I also stuffed polyfill in the cavity where the rear channel speakers sit in my truck and in the kicks.
Based on all of the questions and responses from this site, I had no problem installing the amp or sound deadening materials. I ran into a little hick-up with the HU, because the RCA cables kept the unit from fitting tightly in the space allotted – but a little shaving of the front trim, and it all worked out. The one thing that surprised me was how long it took to complete the work. Cutting and piecing the sound deadening took a full day. It also took a long time to layout all of the wires and cables and tape them in place before reinstalling the carpet.
I’ve decided that the Kenwood amp was probably a mistake – I should have banked on getting a two-channel amp for the front speakers and class D amp for the sub. I also think that I should have gone with a different sub, but it was a gift and beggars can’t be choosers.
I still need to tweak the system a little to make it sound as close to the way I want it as possible, but I’m close. I’ll be sure to do some fine-tuning this weekend. I know this is a long post, but I wanted to again say thanks to everyone for their help. Keep it up!
Cheers!
Crum
Replies (3)
swez on 07/6/2005 14:04:04
Well done Crum. Have not seen much posting from you of late, but obviously been pretty busy reading the mail and making selections etc.
Congrats on the new baby on the way. You are right... that child will be Job 1 for a long time. Anything you need to do before he/she comes into the world, the better the chances of it happening. After baby comes, everything changes for a while.
Hope you don't mind changing diapers. Boys have a small fire hose and can let you have it any time the diapers are being changed. That usually means everyone gets a trip to the shower/bath. hehe
About the 4 channel amp, can always bridge it to a 2 channel amp for the front speakers and change sub (add an amp too) later. Most rear channel speakers sound pretty good off the HU amps as rear fill.
Good luck on tweaking. We're here if you need help!
Swez
Crum on 07/6/2005 15:38:20
Thanks for the heads-up with the baby, Swez. But I'm having a girl. So instead of worrying about the one fire hose spraying me, I'll have to worry about the rest of them in the years to come.
Several baby projects need to be started, but none more urgent than building the crib. My wife and I couldn't find any cribs that we liked, so we decided to order hardware and a set of plans and I'll do a little woodworking. Should be fun.
With regards to the amp, I have two channels feeding my front speakers and the other two are bridged to the sub. I think the front speakers would be a little happier with more power, so you might be on to something with both channels bridged to the front speakers. However, I think I'm going to have to just deal with the equipment that I have for a while. My truck will not fit a baby seat, and I suspect that within a couple of years, Baby #2 will be on the way and my truck will have to ride off into the sunset with someone else. At that time, I'll reevaluate what I want to salvage from my new system and what will need to be replaced.
And I'll be sure to post if I have trouble tweaking.
BTW, with all of the sound deadening, my truck smells like a tar factory. How long before the smell goes away?
Crum
lessismorespl on 07/6/2005 15:59:52
Congrats, just had my first boy last Dec. nothin better than that.
I'm not sure where and how you sound dampened the truck, but what I do is go over the sound dampening w/ a blow dryer and let the vehicle set for a day w/ the panels off and the trunk/hatch open, etc...it usually makes the smell go away....When you sound dampen an entire vehicle, and place the panels and other interior accessories right back on, the smell gets concentrated and takes longer to go away. after a day or so, the sound dampening begins to set up and adhere better...like a sealant, and the smell dissipates. It may be too late for this advice...but good to note on your next sound dampenign venture.
Sounds like you did your homework...good work.
less
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