audio help... now what

[mike3311]

When my brother asked what I wanted for xmas the other week, I mentioned that I was eyeing a pair of cheap speakers to slap in as part of the interior restoration. Anything's an upgrade over the single mono deal right? Well, the man presented me with a quality pair of 6.5" 500 watt speakers this afternoon and I've been trying to figure out all evening what to do with them.

My original plan was to buy a new head unit, a pair of cheap speakers and walk away. But now that I'm presented with the chance for real sound, I don't know where to start. I'm pretty sure I need an amplifier now, right?

If anyone has an idea of a good (cheap) way for me to get these in and sounding they way they should, please help. Mounting is not an issue, I can figure that out. I just need to know what head unit and amplifier (if needed) to go with.

Thanks.

[pcmcobra]

You could go with an amp. Go ahead and get a decent head unit, you can get a "decent" one for around $150...
As for amp, don't go and get a high end 500 watt amp. Those speakers will not handle it...
True 500 watt 6.5 speakers are few and far between, and uber expensive.
Try running them off a head unit that has 25-50 watt per/chan output and see how they sound for you. From there, you can decide if you want to blow some $ on an amp.

[magnethead]

post a model number and manufacturer. pictures might help.

I got a dual shaft cheap 2x25/4x15 kenwood cassette player in mine and it gets plenty loud with cheap 6.75" jensens in front and lightning's in back.

[joeymarkgraf]

Well, You could buy an amp, but the pickup is so small, as well as the speakers so you might just get too much sound for that small of a cab. I would suggest getting a deck that pushes at least 100 RMS watts per channel. That would be plenty of sound for a pickup cab. Really full loud sound comes from a combination of larger speakers and air movement. Two things that are really hard to get in a pickup cab.

If you are going to get an amp, I would recommend a Rockford Fosgate unit, from 200 to 500 watts. They always rate their products in true RMS, so you don't get a "1000" watt amp thats really just 500. Be aware, that you get exactly what you pay for, so a 1000 watt amp for $50 isn't a quality sound, just a loud one.

Whatever you do, good luck!

P.S. I've seen 2 10's underneath a 65 chev seat, so anything is possible.

[mike3311]

Thanks all that's a great help,

That would be great if I could get away with nothing more than a decent head unit, so I'm going to give that a try, once I decide where to mount them, that is.

There was one other question I forgot to ask. Assuming I buy a head unit with a clock in it, am I going to be able to provide power to keep the clock running off the existing radio wiring, or do I have to pull some other "always on" hot wire for that?

Thanks again.

[magnethead]

get a crutchfield install guide. It's 5 or 10 bucks, unless you happen to have a manual that ident's each individual wire in the stock harness.


on aftermarket units, red is the always on wire, yellow is ignition trigger.

[mike3311]

Originally Posted by magnethead

get a crutchfield install guide. It's 5 or 10 bucks, unless you happen to have a manual that ident's each individual wire in the stock harness.


on aftermarket units, red is the always on wire, yellow is ignition trigger.

ooh that's good advice. It looks like from their website that if I buy a unit for $129 or more that the guide, wiring harness, and sleeve kit come free specific for the truck. It does specify that the "always on" wire may not be present in my truck but looks like it also steps you through running that wire to an appropriate fuse.

Thanks again!

[bigpig72CST]

Good advice on taking a look at RMS power. That is the average output that you can expect from a head unit. I would also assume that the 500 watts is the 'peak' for your speakers. Some manufacturers will give that listing if their product can handle 500 watts for 1/100th of a second. Not a good indicator of what the speakers can do. I would hesitate to get an amp, I have a nice pair of 6x9s in my truck with an average head unit, and they are more than enough.

[aort]

On my Sony the yellow was constant +12v and the red was ignition +12v.

[magnethead]

Originally Posted by aort

On my Sony the yellow was constant +12v and the red was ignition +12v.

I might have been backwards..you're probably right