Hi folks. Long first post, but I want to be thorough in my needs and current plans. Please go easy on me, as I’m not much of an audio person. I have an old truck that I am trying to install a fresh sound system in. It’s a 1983 Ford single cab pickup. From the factory, it had one dash speaker in the center and two 5.5” door speakers.
When I was 16 and first bought this truck, I installed the cheapest AutoZone Dual (brand) head unit I could get and put a Sony 500W amp behind the seat. Cheap 6.5” Dual speakers in the doors and a couple larger speakers that came out of an 80s record player behind the seat, not even mounted to anything…just magnetic to the back wall of the cab and powered off the amp. Suffice it to say, I had 0 clue what I was doing…I sold the truck and the guy that bought it unhooked everything. I bought it back for sentimental reasons a few years ago and have just used a small Bluetooth speaker ever since.
Basic Sound Setup
I’m finally wanting to put an actual sound system back into the truck. Nothing too crazy/fancy.
I mostly listen to classic rock at high volumes, as God intended. I am not really an audiophile and I am definitely not very knowledgeable on sound systems (I know enough to know I don’t know anything). I’m a simple man. I want the music to go loud enough to cover my terrible singing (for the passenger’s sake) without sounding like complete trash. I definitely appreciate “high-value” components, but I am willing to spend the money where it matters. Let’s call the budget somewhere around $600-700 (for the sound components specifically; I already have the sound deadening discussed below). I’m thinking of new single-din head unit in the dash, some good coaxial 6.5” speakers in the doors powered by a speaker-level amp, and…maybe a small powered sub under the seat?
I always feel like it’s the bass that needs help in all my vehicles. And obviously I worry about turning bass in particular up too much on the doors because of rattling. I want to feel it all over, not just in the arm I have rested on the door panel, ya know?
This is what I am looking at parts-wise as a “high value” setup…hoping for critiques:
JVC KD-X280BT – Head Unit (this has a “built-in amplifier” for 4-Channel x 22W RMS/50W Peak, which I’m not 100% sure will work with the 4-Channel Amp I have below?)
Kenwood KAC-M1814 – 45W RMS x 4-Channel Speaker Amp
Rockford Fosgate R165X3 Prime – 3-Way Coaxial Speakers 50W RMS
Kenwood KSC-SW11 – Underseat Sub, 75W RMS/150W Peak
I plan to run new 16AWG speaker wire to everything.
Improving the Experience
Being an old truck, there are lots of little squeaks, rattles, occasional bangs. Engine and wind noise is also pretty bad. For sound deadening/enhancement, I have 36 sqft of 80mil Kilmat butyl deadener. Number one place I plan to use that is in the doors. These truck doors have essentially nothing inside and EVERYTHING about them is noisy. I plan to coat the outer door skin and the inner skin (where the speaker mounts). I will also use some just behind the door panel itself. The door panels are large plastic pieces with 5 screws holding them on and are definitely a big rattle source. I’ll also do the centers of the roof, shooting for 50% coverage or more. Same goes for the back wall of the cab, which is nothing but painted metal (no carpet/insulation). Whatever is left over from all that will go on the floor pans, center hump, and as far up the firewall to the dash as I can reach without pulling the dash.
In addition:
My questions for the people smarter than me:
-Will the JVC head unit’s speaker output work for the Kenwood amp? Do I need speaker to RCA conversion cables to input to that amp? It’s a little unclear from the installation manuals. The manual says it allows for speaker level inputs, but does it do that only through the speaker cable to RCA cables?
-How does the sound component plan look overall? Would you recommend another 6.5" door speaker that would perform better with the space I have and accomplish my goals better?
-Is the underseat amp a waste of money to just add a bit of punch and balance out the highs? Again, I’m not looking to shake the neighbors, I just want a well-balanced setup for road trip karaoke. Worst case, I suppose I could install the door speakers and see what I think, but I would prefer to do everything at once while it's all apart.
-How do we feel about “speaker baffles” for the 6.5” door speakers? Are they good or bad? It seems like the speaker would “want” to have the space behind the door panel to help create sound, but if that’s true, I don’t know why these would be such a common product? Should I just use some Kilmat around the holes in the door where the speakers mount (like, between the speaker flange and the door)?
-I only have two speakers planned right now (the 6.5” door). I know they aren’t really ideal, but because of the limitations of the single cab truck and my mounting options, should I go ahead and put a couple 6x9 boxes and speakers behind the seat? And, if so, recommendations on what to go with for good balance with the front pair?
-If I should steer clear of 6x9s behind the seat, would it be beneficial to run something like 75-100W RMS speakers in the door, bridged?
-Is it possible to connect an upgraded center dash speaker to both sides of the truck? I.E. connect a negative wire from the Front Right channel with a positive wire from the Front Left channel so that the center speaker plays anytime that both sides are being powered, but not when only one side is going? I know that is possible on some stereo setups, just don’t know about doing that with these or how it may hurt/help sound.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
When I was 16 and first bought this truck, I installed the cheapest AutoZone Dual (brand) head unit I could get and put a Sony 500W amp behind the seat. Cheap 6.5” Dual speakers in the doors and a couple larger speakers that came out of an 80s record player behind the seat, not even mounted to anything…just magnetic to the back wall of the cab and powered off the amp. Suffice it to say, I had 0 clue what I was doing…I sold the truck and the guy that bought it unhooked everything. I bought it back for sentimental reasons a few years ago and have just used a small Bluetooth speaker ever since.
Basic Sound Setup
I’m finally wanting to put an actual sound system back into the truck. Nothing too crazy/fancy.
I mostly listen to classic rock at high volumes, as God intended. I am not really an audiophile and I am definitely not very knowledgeable on sound systems (I know enough to know I don’t know anything). I’m a simple man. I want the music to go loud enough to cover my terrible singing (for the passenger’s sake) without sounding like complete trash. I definitely appreciate “high-value” components, but I am willing to spend the money where it matters. Let’s call the budget somewhere around $600-700 (for the sound components specifically; I already have the sound deadening discussed below). I’m thinking of new single-din head unit in the dash, some good coaxial 6.5” speakers in the doors powered by a speaker-level amp, and…maybe a small powered sub under the seat?
I always feel like it’s the bass that needs help in all my vehicles. And obviously I worry about turning bass in particular up too much on the doors because of rattling. I want to feel it all over, not just in the arm I have rested on the door panel, ya know?
This is what I am looking at parts-wise as a “high value” setup…hoping for critiques:
JVC KD-X280BT – Head Unit (this has a “built-in amplifier” for 4-Channel x 22W RMS/50W Peak, which I’m not 100% sure will work with the 4-Channel Amp I have below?)
Kenwood KAC-M1814 – 45W RMS x 4-Channel Speaker Amp
Rockford Fosgate R165X3 Prime – 3-Way Coaxial Speakers 50W RMS
Kenwood KSC-SW11 – Underseat Sub, 75W RMS/150W Peak
I plan to run new 16AWG speaker wire to everything.
Improving the Experience
Being an old truck, there are lots of little squeaks, rattles, occasional bangs. Engine and wind noise is also pretty bad. For sound deadening/enhancement, I have 36 sqft of 80mil Kilmat butyl deadener. Number one place I plan to use that is in the doors. These truck doors have essentially nothing inside and EVERYTHING about them is noisy. I plan to coat the outer door skin and the inner skin (where the speaker mounts). I will also use some just behind the door panel itself. The door panels are large plastic pieces with 5 screws holding them on and are definitely a big rattle source. I’ll also do the centers of the roof, shooting for 50% coverage or more. Same goes for the back wall of the cab, which is nothing but painted metal (no carpet/insulation). Whatever is left over from all that will go on the floor pans, center hump, and as far up the firewall to the dash as I can reach without pulling the dash.
In addition:
- I have 36 sqft of closed cell foam that will go on top of the Kilmat, with the focus on pretty much the same areas (that’s as much for helping the air conditioning performance as it is sound deadening).
- I will also be doing new mass-backed carpet (my carpet is coming apart on the passenger side, so it was getting replaced anyway).
- I have new weatherstripping to go along the doors/windows and help reduce wind noise.
- I will also be doing a very through job of taping wires, tightening bolts, etc to reduce noises.
My questions for the people smarter than me:
-Will the JVC head unit’s speaker output work for the Kenwood amp? Do I need speaker to RCA conversion cables to input to that amp? It’s a little unclear from the installation manuals. The manual says it allows for speaker level inputs, but does it do that only through the speaker cable to RCA cables?
-How does the sound component plan look overall? Would you recommend another 6.5" door speaker that would perform better with the space I have and accomplish my goals better?
-Is the underseat amp a waste of money to just add a bit of punch and balance out the highs? Again, I’m not looking to shake the neighbors, I just want a well-balanced setup for road trip karaoke. Worst case, I suppose I could install the door speakers and see what I think, but I would prefer to do everything at once while it's all apart.
-How do we feel about “speaker baffles” for the 6.5” door speakers? Are they good or bad? It seems like the speaker would “want” to have the space behind the door panel to help create sound, but if that’s true, I don’t know why these would be such a common product? Should I just use some Kilmat around the holes in the door where the speakers mount (like, between the speaker flange and the door)?
-I only have two speakers planned right now (the 6.5” door). I know they aren’t really ideal, but because of the limitations of the single cab truck and my mounting options, should I go ahead and put a couple 6x9 boxes and speakers behind the seat? And, if so, recommendations on what to go with for good balance with the front pair?
-If I should steer clear of 6x9s behind the seat, would it be beneficial to run something like 75-100W RMS speakers in the door, bridged?
-Is it possible to connect an upgraded center dash speaker to both sides of the truck? I.E. connect a negative wire from the Front Right channel with a positive wire from the Front Left channel so that the center speaker plays anytime that both sides are being powered, but not when only one side is going? I know that is possible on some stereo setups, just don’t know about doing that with these or how it may hurt/help sound.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
