speakers up front?

[SamMargritz00]

hey guys. my stereo is up and going. I have 2 kicker L7's, and 4 pioneer 6 1/2 inch speakers in the back. It sounds great but i think i need a little more sound up front. What do you guys have for speakers to have sound up front. any ideas/pics are welcome!! thanks.

[my71gmc]

Mine has a 6x9 in the lower front door panels - not sure who cut them in??? If you would like, I could send you a pic.

[SamMargritz00]

yeah that would be nice 71gmc. just getting some ideas in. thx.

[SamMargritz00]

its for a 72 blazer. i see that the thread got moved.

[tubbedII]

To keep it simple, I'd pull 2 of the pioneers you have running in the back and install them up front and I think you can buy premade kicks for 6.5's if not build your own because maybe they are for 5 1/4's. Building your own seems pretty simple and there's a few good threads on it here as well as a lot more just on the web. The back should be more fill than anything so I don't think you need 4 back there...it kind of sounds like a back seat driver is screaming at you.

Got any pics of the set up?!

[gmachinz]

I sourced 2 3" Bose loudspeakers from the middle of the dash of a couple '06 Caddy CTS's...I mounted them in the center of the dash in my 1990 Burban and put the 5.25" Bose speakers in the lower door sections and the left and right tweeters in each corner of the dash where the factory 3.5's used to be. I have plenty of mids and highs...now need to build a 12" enclosure for where the spare tire used to be. If you've never heard the little loudpeakers, they are awesome!

[SamMargritz00]

ok heres what i got. the interior is a little dirty in the couple of pictures, i cleaned it after i took the pictures...not sure why i did that lol. but theres a 1500 watt amp for each sub and a 800 watt amp for the 4 speakers. wanted to get some decent sounding sound when the top is off...not sure if ill want the top on with this haha. but after sitting up front i can feel the base even, but the highs sound a little far back, so i kinda thought about making kick panels out of fiberglass from a thread on here. idk we'll see what it sounds like with the top on.

[tubbedII]

Thanks for posting this, Sam!!! I've been in a huge dilema on my sub choice in fear of not hearing it with the top off. Have you driven it on the freeway yet, and if so, how did it sound? My main goal is to be able to hear it well at 65-70 mph with no top since that's the only time I really listed to my music loud. I have 2 set ups in mind and would love to run the cheaper one...haha

That's a nice set up you got and now that I see the rear 4, I have to take back pulling 2 unless you pull the ones behind the rear bench...but your upholstry is already done so just adding 2 more up front may be more realistic.

I still recommend you do the kicks even though those too are nicely upholstered, but since you have such a beefy system, I say do a set of components up there now. I'd run the front 4 speakers off the amp and the ones next to the subs off the deck power only to save on not having to add another amp to the system as well. With almost 4K watts, your electrical is being taxed enough as it is.

One last thing, have you ever tried running your subs as down firing? You'd have to put it about 4-5 inches off the floor using stands of some sort, but everyone I have talked to has recommend this so the subs have something to load off of to create more sound and not just push all the open air back there.

[SamMargritz00]

Originally Posted by tubbedII

Thanks for posting this, Sam!!! I've been in a huge dilema on my sub choice in fear of not hearing it with the top off. Have you driven it on the freeway yet, and if so, how did it sound? My main goal is to be able to hear it well at 65-70 mph with no top since that's the only time I really listed to my music loud. I have 2 set ups in mind and would love to run the cheaper one...haha

That's a nice set up you got and now that I see the rear 4, I have to take back pulling 2 unless you pull the ones behind the rear bench...but your upholstry is already done so just adding 2 more up front may be more realistic.

I still recommend you do the kicks even though those too are nicely upholstered, but since you have such a beefy system, I say do a set of components up there now. I'd run the front 4 speakers off the amp and the ones next to the subs off the deck power only to save on not having to add another amp to the system as well. With almost 4K watts, your electrical is being taxed enough as it is.

One last thing, have you ever tried running your subs as down firing? You'd have to put it about 4-5 inches off the floor using stands of some sort, but everyone I have talked to has recommend this so the subs have something to load off of to create more sound and not just push all the open air back there.

suprisingly the alternator from the 2002 chevy pickup i slavaged and a optima yellow top are making my headlights not dim. i had 0 guage wire go all the way back then split off into 4 gauge to all the amps and had 4 gauge wire for all of the ground. the amps are kicker 750.1. 1500 watt is the max...750 rms each. as for the speaker amp its a boss 800.4. the subs are 12 inch kicker L7's, 750 rms 1500 max.

ive only driven it a couple times around, fastest ive gone so far is 45-50 mph, but mainly driving around town testing out the engine. the transmission never shifted past 2nd so thats why i didn't get up to speed. but from when i was going 45ish i could still hear the bass, not as good when going 25 but still a little bit. but at the speed your talking about i would think the subs have that effect at that speed. i could be wrong but i have no experience with that.

the speakers by the subs were added there to add more sound so you don't hear the distortion as much. I wanted a clean sounding system. i added polyfil in the sub box and it sounds WAY better and cleaner. but if i do add speakers up front i like your idea running the far back speakers off the deck. as of right now all four speakers are on the front output since the sub is on the rear output. With the back two speaekers off the rear output on the wiring harness it would probly sound good too.

As for firing down i haven't with these subs. The one sub we have in the boat is down firing and my friends sub in his truck is down firing and it is suprisingly good sounding. with mine i can feel the bass in the back of my seat at the slower speeds, and it sounds really good, which i was going for, right amount of highs and lows. to be honost with the top on i think the subs will be way much which is why i had the concern of adding speakers up front.

[SamMargritz00]

Originally Posted by gmachinz

I sourced 2 3" Bose loudspeakers from the middle of the dash of a couple '06 Caddy CTS's...I mounted them in the center of the dash in my 1990 Burban and put the 5.25" Bose speakers in the lower door sections and the left and right tweeters in each corner of the dash where the factory 3.5's used to be. I have plenty of mids and highs...now need to build a 12" enclosure for where the spare tire used to be. If you've never heard the little loudpeakers, they are awesome!

i bet that sounds really good. i put infinity's in my brothers truck and it sounds awesome. really clean, and with the bose i bet it's REALLY nice!!

[tubbedII]

So does your radio not have a pre-out for the subwoofer? If so, I would run the sub off it and use the front/rear pre-outs for the front and middle speakers and then the most rear set off the rear channel of the deck. This way, tuning won't be too complicated. The concern is usually distortion from the deck powered speakers since there will no longer be a crossover, but a simple bass reducer could help if needed (I don't like turning the bass down to fix this as it takes the bass out of the voices and other sounds as well).


It's good to know that 750rms to each speaker is giving you that feeling of it's almost too much! I wanted my blazer to have the loudest AND cleanest system I've ever built. A shop was recommending me running a 3k rms amp to a pair of 1500 rms 12's. I youtube'd the combo and it seemed pretty outrageous for what I really want, plus the box would literally take up the entire rear portion of the tub.

With what you're saying, I'm more than comfortable with going with my original plan of a 2k rms amp and a similar rated speaker in a sealed enclosure so I can still fit some chairs and a ice chest back there!

[SamMargritz00]

its weird, the sub and rear share the same preouts on the back. it says rear/sub if i remember right. but with that polyfil it makes the bass a helluva lot cleaner. less distortion and if there is any voice i cant hear them.

oh yeah 750 rms each (1500 rms all together) is pretty good sounding for me anyways. with my setup its a pretty good combo of highs/lows. but that would be the least amount of power id go with to be honost. with that it sounds pretty good, but more wouldn't hurt! well maybe with the top on it will lol.

3000 rms is A LOT of power haha! you'd definetly get some bass out of that setup. my friend used to have my setup of subs in his camaro and it would rattle my mirrors when i was stopped at a red light in front of him! so i know what your looking at is going to be good sounding man! the only concern id have with the 3000 rms is 1) supplying all that power. 2) not having enough highs to equal out all the bass. in school there was people with subs and subs and lots of subs, but no highs, sounded like crap.

what are you looking at for a sound system??

[tubbedII]

That is pretty weird with your pre-outs. Once you get the fronts all set up, I bet it will clean up the sound even more. The amps on the subs should be crossin out the voices and such, and that polyfill is a life saver! I built my enclosure a little too small in my S10 this last time around and the polyfill really did the trick of cleaning up the sound.

I have my highs and deck right now. My radio is Kenwood, and the fronts are Polk Audio MM6501 6.5" Components, and Polk Audio MM651 6.5" Coaxles for the rear. I also have an amp for the highs which is a Kenwood 750 watt amp, but it only puts out 60 watts rms. I'm going to pick up that Massive Audio NX4 amp which puts out 100 watts rms for them when I get my subs. The plan for the subs are the Massive Audio N4 which is 2K rms at 1 ohm for the amp and I'm still searching for a sub that likes to be in sealed enclosure with this power. Lots to choose from and I between the RE Audio SEx's or a Set of Image Dynamics. I'd like to keep the subs to under 200 a peice if possible.

I'm going to build kicks for the components up front and do a very similar rear panel to yours. The subs will be in 2 separate boxes on each side right behind the wheel well and will be down firing. I'm also going to build an amp rack that will connect both boxes together as well as cover the air tank since it's right behind my rear bench. This should leave me with enough room for an ice chest...at least I'm hoping! Just need to get this thing to get paint on her so I can start on the speaker building. I've ran all the wires and installed the radio/amp...just need the pods for the speakers!

[SamMargritz00]

i was looking at a brand of subs called clif designs. from what ive heard they are extremely clear sounding a fairly good priced. theres no dealer close to where i live but in Sacramento if you still there there are some dealers located around there in california. my cousin lives in roseville outside of sacramento and hes on the search for a good setup kinda like you. I told him about it but i think hes set on a kicker L7 15inch sub 1000rms.

i like the idea of two seperate boxes..leaves more space in the back. during the summer ill just have to squeeze the cooler in the back or stick it in the boat on the way out to the lake. but i should have room for lawn chairs for car shows and what not.

With my rear panels i made a spacer out of wood so the panel is flush at the top and straight up and down. Im pretty satisfied with the setup..just might need highs up front.

[SamMargritz00]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=510347

this thread is what inspired me to do the fiberglass kick panels by 74baggedbug. i thought he did a very good job on them. only concern i have with them is getting to the brights switch but he said theres no problem with it.

[tubbedII]

Just checked out the site for clif designs, and unfortunatly there's not really a close dealer...well there's one in Modesto which isn't too far...but a very boring drive for a set of speakers..lol Keep the ideas comin though! I looked into DC Audio recently too...

I have all the stock peices for the rear panels (chrome trim, risers and lower angle brackets), so I just need to figure out how to use the stock trim at the top since it's made for basically cardboard. I was thinking of routing down the top edge only and using 3/8" MDF. Rather than using padding for shaping contours into the panel, I was thinking of just routing them right into the wood...all up in the air though.

I already moved my dimmer switch...well, just unscrewed it and zip tied it up behind the dash. If I really need the highs, I can reach down and click it with my hand. I did the relay mod for the lows only and in my garage the lows are actually brighter than the highs so I don't think I'll be using them often. I also removed my e-brake pedal...but only because it didn't work anyways. I still can't decide if I'm going to block off the vents or not...

[SamMargritz00]

re audio ive heard is a pretty good sub. 12 inch, 1000rms.http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...o-SXX12D4.html

theres this pioneer. i looked at some youtube videos and it doesnt seem to bad.
12 inch 1000w rmshttp://www.buy.com/prod/pioneer-premier-champion-pro-ts-w3002d4-woofer-1000w-rms-3500w-pmpo/203653265.html

probly other good ones but those are just 2 that i can think of right now.

[tubbedII]

I'm glad you mentioned the Pioneers. I've never considered myself to be a label snob, but I've been turning up my nose to those Pioneers for a while now. I've read all the reviews on them, and now I'm realizing they are EXACTLY what I'm looking for...a 12" sub that can handle 1000 rms and uses a small sealed enclosure. Pioneer only recommends 1 cubic foot as a max! That means I can still run my amps and have room for my ice chest...

Now I can't wait for my tax return to get in...lol...Thanks Sam!

[SamMargritz00]

no problem tubbed. glad to lend a helping hand haha. thanks for throwing ideas back and forth with me. i sorta have an idea now what to do for more highs if i need them.

[tubbedII]

I just bought a set of Pioneer highs for my mom's lexus...They are Pioneer TS-A1304C. They are 5 1/4" components without a cross over, just a bass filter for the tweeter. They handle 300 max and 70 rms watts. I read online that I could fit them in her ride, but after pulling the blown stockers out, there was no way to enlarge the enclosure for 5 1/4's (they are originally 4").

I paid 60 for them, so if you're interested, I'd swing ya a deal...I didn't hook them up, so I don't know how they sound personally, but the reviews were pretty good about them and fit the budget for my mom's ride...

[SamMargritz00]

haha to be honost i have a pair exactly like those sitting in storage i need to get rid of myself!! i bought them for my blazer and didn't realize i needed the 6 1/2 inch speakers for my rear panels.

[tubbedII]

Haha! Go figure...I wish I had a purpose for them!