A few audio questions

The more time I spend in my truck, the more painfully obvious it is that my stock audio system sucks. I had been wanting to lift immediately but I think instead I'm gonna upgrade the audio system first and then more on to lift (more on that later).

I want my stereo to be able to control my iPod. That way I can hide it in the glove box or center console and control it with my head unit. I also can't afford to lose any storage space in my truck, so whatever I do I can't have big subs or whatever in my backseat taking away from my space for a passenger/my gear. I dont need anything very fancy, but this stock system is really pretty crappy. If it helps I listen to a lot of metal and on occasion rap. I don't like a lot of bass but I like my music to sound crisp (if that makes sense, I record on my computer at a pretty high bit rate), I also like a little bit of bass for the double kick drums.

How much money am I looking at possibly spending?
What brands/equipment should I be looking at?
And how difficult is install? Never done audio before and electrical stuff makes me nervous, but if its relativly easy I'd rather save money and do it on my own at home.

Depending on cost, I'm looking at doing this sometime around April or later. Wanna get plenty of research in before I get myself into this.

 

Well, first off you ought to look at some of the threads in this subforum. Your questions get brought up pretty regularly.

But, for some immediately more hepful information... You are the one that needs to set the budget. You can spend just a little or a whole lot, depending on what exactly you want to do with it. Do you want all new equipment or are you willing to buy used? Do you have a particularly dicerning ear will play a big part in how much you will ultimately spend. How much can you afford to buy will also have an effect. Do you want to do everything all at once or are you willing to hit it in stages? These are some questions to mull over.

Many HU's can control the iPod, if not right out of the box, with an adapter. I am a fan of Pioneer and Kenwood for HUs, but Alpine and Eclipse also make very very nice equipment. You may want to ask yourself what else you want in a HU (Nav, DVD playback, AUX inputs, etc). Those options as well as your overall budget will be big the biggest factors.

Speakers (the most subjective part IMO) are completely up to you. Do to some car audio shops and take a listen. Decide for yourself what you like. Who gives a crap if it is a cheap flea market brand, if you like it then buy it. We can give you some brands that we like, but we won't always agree on what sounds good. I really like Infinity Reference for the price and the sound, but Marv is anything but a fan.

Subs, you can get away with a sub or two without taking up any major cab space. Marv and others build enclosures that fit behind the seat inplace of the plastic storage peices (I have pics in my album of the box Marv built for me).

There are other things to consider, but this should get you going for now. The installation itself, I think, is pretty easy. Most everything you will do has pretty clear instructions available. The HU will be the most difficult part of the installation and it is the most documented part. If you order from crutchfield.com they will give you pretty awesome instructions and overall customer support for the whole process.

 

Some other helpful hints:

-Since space is a concern, if you want to get into amplifiers I would highly consider the compact size of such units as Alpine PDX, Memphis S-series, and so on. Since you have an '05, there should be no danger with sticking them under the seat (this is not an option on '09s due to the airbag system).

-Many people get the idea of subwoofers and bass wrong. In a truly balanced system, the bass from a subwoofer is there to fill in the gaps that a regular speaker cant help with. What's a metal band without the drums? Even for 'mellow-er' listeners, a small subwoofer can bring a much needed ingredient to realism.
In other words, don't discount the idea.

-if you search through the posts, there's a guy here who makes a sub box that fits between the two rear seats of an access cab. Not sure if that's an option.
Your best bet would be a JL stealthbox, or a similar knockoff. Basically, they turn the center console box into a sub box.