Hi, I am a newbie and need some advice. I would like to surprise my husband and have have an audio system installed for him for Christmas but don't know where to start.
He has a 1998 Chevrolet 1/2 ton single cab pickup. What kinds of speakers do you recommend and what kind of amp? I would appreciate any help. Thanks. GRIN
Replies (11)
JMB on 12/6/2005 01:00:10
Can you tell us what types of music your man likes to listen to?
What is your price range.
Also perhaps it might be wise to call around your local installers to make sure that they have time to do the work be fore Xmas.
You have come to the right place for advice, thats for sure!
Regards JMB
BadGirlRacing on 12/6/2005 01:19:47
JMB,
Thanks for the advice. He likes to listen to a little bit of everything. Everything from Def Leopard to Usher to Limp Bizkit to Alan Jackson. As for the price range I would like to stay under $400. I don't know how reasonable that is. I would like something that sounds awesome and will last. If you say I need to spend more, I trust your judgement.
Thanks
P0werLifter on 12/6/2005 03:58:13
Sounds like a great Xmas gift to me =). Does ur husband already have a AfterMarket Head Unit? If he does then that'll give you more cash to spend on a solid amp and subwoofer.
With a single cab truck fitting bigger woofers are going to be a challenge. Id suggest going with maybe a single 12" setup, or maybe two 10s enclosed in a sealed wedge enclosure behind the seat.
-PL
BadGirlRacing on 12/6/2005 11:13:33
He does have an after market head unit but it was cheap, something he got at Wal-Mart I think like 4 years ago.
Can you recommend any brands of speakers and/or amps. That's what I'm most unsure about. Thanks guys! ;>)
BgDustin4 on 12/6/2005 20:09:49
as a head unit i would go with pioneer i love em and the are not priced that bad and what power said i like 1 12 better then 2 of em but thats just me as for a sub there are many good ones out there i will let the other members help out with that i don't know a lot of em just the main one like jl and rockford sorry i can not be more help and for the price ebay not recamended but i have got some stuff from there and it all has worked just get it from a ebay store not a person
BadGirlRacing on 12/7/2005 00:08:55
BgDustin4,
Thanks. He baught an amp off of ebay a couple of months ago. He had a 12 sub and hooked it up to the new amp. He had the set up maby 6 weeks and it just quit. he doesn't know if it's the speaker or the amp. He checked the speaker and then checked the fuse and it's all ok. He's going to take the amp apart and see if anything is fried. I just thought surprising him with a whole new set up would be better. Any ideas on why the one he had quit?
Thanks
compvr15s on 12/7/2005 12:03:13
its probably something simple why it quite... usually if something bad happens you will know it. an electrical buring smell and the infamous magic smoke will rise... if something did fry just tell him to sniff around the amp first before he takes it apart, if it has and vents those will work to sniff through... as for the sub, try pressing it in firmly from the center of the speaker... if it has and scratching sound or is hard to push, the voice coils inside the speaker are the problem.... not saying isnt something with the amp... but just make sure to check all wiring, power and grounding to the amp make sure they are tight, at both the amp and at the other end of the wire... rca cables could have got pinched and dont work anymore, remote wire broke or came undone from the back of the aftermarket head unit.... just a few free things to check before spending unneeded money... if none of those help, then maybe the amp is the problem, or maybe even the head unit, with time some just go bad.... has he tried the sub on a friends setup or tried a friends sub on his setup, that can eliminate a few of the problems/
BadGirlRacing on 12/7/2005 13:40:07
compvr15s,
Thanks, that info realy helps. He hasn't tried it on anyone elses setup. I'll tell him to try that and let you know what we find. Thanks again ;)
swez on 12/7/2005 22:12:20
It would be a good idea to find out what happened to the previous setup. If there was an install issue that caused it, it may come up again with a new setup.
It would be good to test the amp and sub separately. (as mentioned by CompVR) If the sub is good, then look deeper at the amp. (or visa-versa)
The most common way to test a sub, would be to hook it up to a known good amp. If that works, the sub is probably fine.(Hint: Do this test at low power) Do you know the make and model # of that sub?
Testing the amp is also easy. As long as it has power and a music input source, all that is needed then is a known good speaker. (sub) If there is no sound, look for blown fuses in amp or at the BAT.
Amp make & model #?
Swez
PS Many of us use a Walkman or similar portable music source and a patch cable with a headphone jack on one end, a pair of RCA males on the other. Just make sure the amp is getting power to the REMote line and the power light is on when testing.
Good Luck Hubby... Ain't this stuff phunnn?
BadGirlRacing on 12/8/2005 10:01:00
swez,
The sub is a Kicker Comp VR. Not sure on the model number. I'm not sure about the amp either, he left it in the truck. The main reason we haven't tested the amp is because we don't have another sub to hook it to. I took the speaker out and pressed on it some but couldn't tell. I do know that the amp he had was pretty stout however, he wasn't pushing it hard. Thanks for the tips, I'll be sure to tell him.
BgDustin4 on 12/12/2005 18:45:23
i think u can allso cheak the sub with a 9V drill bat. thats what i do if the sub comes up then its most likely good
He has a 1998 Chevrolet 1/2 ton single cab pickup. What kinds of speakers do you recommend and what kind of amp? I would appreciate any help. Thanks. GRIN
Replies (11)
JMB on 12/6/2005 01:00:10
Can you tell us what types of music your man likes to listen to?
What is your price range.
Also perhaps it might be wise to call around your local installers to make sure that they have time to do the work be fore Xmas.
You have come to the right place for advice, thats for sure!
Regards JMB
BadGirlRacing on 12/6/2005 01:19:47
JMB,
Thanks for the advice. He likes to listen to a little bit of everything. Everything from Def Leopard to Usher to Limp Bizkit to Alan Jackson. As for the price range I would like to stay under $400. I don't know how reasonable that is. I would like something that sounds awesome and will last. If you say I need to spend more, I trust your judgement.
Thanks
P0werLifter on 12/6/2005 03:58:13
Sounds like a great Xmas gift to me =). Does ur husband already have a AfterMarket Head Unit? If he does then that'll give you more cash to spend on a solid amp and subwoofer.
With a single cab truck fitting bigger woofers are going to be a challenge. Id suggest going with maybe a single 12" setup, or maybe two 10s enclosed in a sealed wedge enclosure behind the seat.
-PL
BadGirlRacing on 12/6/2005 11:13:33
He does have an after market head unit but it was cheap, something he got at Wal-Mart I think like 4 years ago.
Can you recommend any brands of speakers and/or amps. That's what I'm most unsure about. Thanks guys! ;>)
BgDustin4 on 12/6/2005 20:09:49
as a head unit i would go with pioneer i love em and the are not priced that bad and what power said i like 1 12 better then 2 of em but thats just me as for a sub there are many good ones out there i will let the other members help out with that i don't know a lot of em just the main one like jl and rockford sorry i can not be more help and for the price ebay not recamended but i have got some stuff from there and it all has worked just get it from a ebay store not a person
BadGirlRacing on 12/7/2005 00:08:55
BgDustin4,
Thanks. He baught an amp off of ebay a couple of months ago. He had a 12 sub and hooked it up to the new amp. He had the set up maby 6 weeks and it just quit. he doesn't know if it's the speaker or the amp. He checked the speaker and then checked the fuse and it's all ok. He's going to take the amp apart and see if anything is fried. I just thought surprising him with a whole new set up would be better. Any ideas on why the one he had quit?
Thanks
compvr15s on 12/7/2005 12:03:13
its probably something simple why it quite... usually if something bad happens you will know it. an electrical buring smell and the infamous magic smoke will rise... if something did fry just tell him to sniff around the amp first before he takes it apart, if it has and vents those will work to sniff through... as for the sub, try pressing it in firmly from the center of the speaker... if it has and scratching sound or is hard to push, the voice coils inside the speaker are the problem.... not saying isnt something with the amp... but just make sure to check all wiring, power and grounding to the amp make sure they are tight, at both the amp and at the other end of the wire... rca cables could have got pinched and dont work anymore, remote wire broke or came undone from the back of the aftermarket head unit.... just a few free things to check before spending unneeded money... if none of those help, then maybe the amp is the problem, or maybe even the head unit, with time some just go bad.... has he tried the sub on a friends setup or tried a friends sub on his setup, that can eliminate a few of the problems/
BadGirlRacing on 12/7/2005 13:40:07
compvr15s,
Thanks, that info realy helps. He hasn't tried it on anyone elses setup. I'll tell him to try that and let you know what we find. Thanks again ;)
swez on 12/7/2005 22:12:20
It would be a good idea to find out what happened to the previous setup. If there was an install issue that caused it, it may come up again with a new setup.
It would be good to test the amp and sub separately. (as mentioned by CompVR) If the sub is good, then look deeper at the amp. (or visa-versa)
The most common way to test a sub, would be to hook it up to a known good amp. If that works, the sub is probably fine.(Hint: Do this test at low power) Do you know the make and model # of that sub?
Testing the amp is also easy. As long as it has power and a music input source, all that is needed then is a known good speaker. (sub) If there is no sound, look for blown fuses in amp or at the BAT.
Amp make & model #?
Swez
PS Many of us use a Walkman or similar portable music source and a patch cable with a headphone jack on one end, a pair of RCA males on the other. Just make sure the amp is getting power to the REMote line and the power light is on when testing.
Good Luck Hubby... Ain't this stuff phunnn?
BadGirlRacing on 12/8/2005 10:01:00
swez,
The sub is a Kicker Comp VR. Not sure on the model number. I'm not sure about the amp either, he left it in the truck. The main reason we haven't tested the amp is because we don't have another sub to hook it to. I took the speaker out and pressed on it some but couldn't tell. I do know that the amp he had was pretty stout however, he wasn't pushing it hard. Thanks for the tips, I'll be sure to tell him.
BgDustin4 on 12/12/2005 18:45:23
i think u can allso cheak the sub with a 9V drill bat. thats what i do if the sub comes up then its most likely good
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