Raezo

Good afternoon all!

It has been a couple months since I bought my truck and I'm really missing quality sound. The base XLT sound is blah as many of you know. That being said, my biggest hurdle in upgrading is me being hesitant to do it myself and not knowing a trustworthy location to get it done. I live in the Cleveland area of Ohio and the only shop I've used in the past is B's car stereo and they have a bad history from all I've heard. So first question is, does anyone know a reputable and trustworthy shop in the area (I'm willing to drive a distance for a good shop).

Secondly, a guy at my work place suggested a shop about an hour from me. I contacted the guy at HD Audio in Kent. This is his initial quote and suggested components after telling him I wanted new door speakers with amp, 10" sub with amp/box and all the wiring with the factory navigation in tact.

Audio Control Lc7i - 106.97 (250)
Box - ? (190)
Rockford P3 shallow P3SD210 - 114.45 x2 = 229 (420)
Oz Audio 3200 - 341.99 (400)
4ga Amp kit + dist - ? (69+30)
Focal 6.5 ps165f - 349.99 (550)
6x9 auditor R690C - 109.99 (180)
Focal FD 4.350 - 400 (400)
Labor - 400 or 600 if I source parts

​​​​​​I put the shop prices in parentheses and my sourced prices out of. I am at 2427 using shop box, amp kit and 600 for labor. There price is 2889. These seems like more than I need for some good summertime tunes but I'm open to any and all device on what I may or may not need and where to go for install.

*edit*
Started buying pieces for the build
AMP - Alpine PDX-5
SUBS - Infinity Reference 8' x2

Thank you in advance!
Ryan

nineball

as you have found out shops love to mark things up dramatically. can't really blame them as they are brick and mortar but with the advent of the internet they usually price themselves out of a lot of jobs.

would you like to learn to do the work yourself? i'm west of cleveland and would be happy to help you and show you how to do stuff, and do the install with you. you know, give a man a fish and all...

Raezo

I would absolutely enjoy that more than you know. I'll pm you!

Thank you!

Pienstar

That's very nice list of equipment. Having said that, can I make a suggestion and save you $500.00? I would ditch both amps, and go with the amp linked below. That OZ amp is way more than you need for those 2 RF subs. The amp below will feed each one of those RF subs a little over 200 watts rms each which should be plenty. I'm using this amp to power 2 JL Audio 8W3's, and it pushes them very nice! It's a 5 channel, so the other 4 channels will power your front and rear speakers with approx. 90 watts rms to each channel. I wasn't very familiar with NVX, but I took a chance based on all the excellent reviews. One of the best purchases I've ever made! I've been around high end audio for years, and this amp shocked me with it's quality. It's really small as well so it's easy to mount. Do yourself a favor, and take a shot with this amp. You wont be disappointed! Oh, there speakers are worth checking out too.... You can check one of my posts from earlier today regarding their 6.5" mids that I installed this morning. Good luck!

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item...-Receiver.html

GABAR

As far as your amps go and to really simplify installation, just go with the JL Audio XD700/5 or the XD800/8.

As a side note, you could also go with one of the new Audio Control amps that has the summing device built into it so you can eliminate the LC7i out of your parts list.

Pienstar

I had one of JL's XD multi channel amps in my last setup. Phenomenal amp, but my NVX performs just as well at less than half the price. I haven't used any of audiocontrol's newer amps with the built in summing, but I would imagine they are high quality. Always been a big Audiocontrol fan!

Raezo

Using a 5 channel amp sounds like a better option here. I've never heard of NVX but that doesn't mean anything. I don't even know how to compare speakers and such at this point. For example I read somewhere that 2 ohm is the way to go on the woofers to make the best of small space but I don't understand why. So that being said if I did go with the NVX or the JL amp, is there a way for me to choose a speaker that goes best with either? I do love the idea of one amp though. I also wonder what my non audiophile ear will hear the difference in if I had X Y or Z speaker in the truck.

Thank you for the comments very helpful

Pienstar

I had never heard of NVX either, but I took the chance and so glad I did! As far as impedance goes, most car audio speakers are either rated at 2 or 4 ohms. Most amplifiers will produce more power at lower impedances. For instance, if you were to use 4 ohms speakers front and rear, the NVX amp will provide about 90 watts to each of those speakers. If you use front and rear speakers rated at 2 ohms, the amp will provide about 150 watts to each speaker. This is just for the 4 channels, not the sub channel. The sub channel "5th channel" will produce around 300 watts at 4 ohms or approx. 450 watts at 2 ohms. If you were to use the 2 RF subs you mentioned, you could wire them both for a final 2 ohm load. That means they would be getting 225 watts each. One thing to note about impedances..... The lower the impedance, the more the amp typically has to work. I'm running a 4ohm load for my door speakers and a 2 ohm load for my subs to my NVX amp. I've had it playing at a high volume for hours straight with absolutely no issues! I highly doubt you would notice any difference in sound between the NVX and JL 5 channel amp. The NVX might even sound better as it has more power. I would concentrate more on the speakers as that is what will ultimately make more of a difference in sound. I am a fan of Focal speakers, but they can be a bit expensive. That's usually the case with any big name brand. That's one of the things I really like about NVX. They are a newer company and their prices seem to reflect that. Based on what I've read, I would recommend the components below for your front stage. I just installed a pair of their 6.5" mids and they are outstanding! The tweeters and and crossovers are supposed to be top notch as well. The rear door speakers aren't as important. You really shouldn't even hear them front the front seat, and they should only be used for some rear fill. I would go with a simple co-axial for the rear. By the way, looks like you picked out a 6X9 for the rears. The rear door opening is actually round for a 6.5" or 5.25" speaker. Below is also a link to the speakers I used for the rear doors. They're more than sufficient for rear door speakers. I also put a link to the subs/box that I'm using. Sorry, not trying to tell you to buy exactly what I have. Just trying to recommend good products coming from someone who's been around car audio for 25 years. The box below fits great under the rear seats. I originally had 1 12" JL sub in a sealed enclosure, and I didn't like it at all. I was concerned about going with a ported enclosure for SQ reasons. However, I went to an audio shop and they allowed me to audition it in my truck. I sampled a few songs, and bought it immediately. These 8" subs sound great, and can get pretty damn low too! Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item...X-XSP6KIT.html

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item...NVX-VSP65.html

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item...08LG-W3v3.html

Raezo

if I wanted to do a box and subs separate, is there a good place to source a box that will fit behind my seat?

Pienstar

I'm not sure if any companies are selling pre-fabbed boxes for behind the seat. I've seen a few posts on here where people custom built their own for behind the seat. I think some of them included specs / dimensions as well.