Budget audio upgrade?

I guess this is no longer a budget build. If I want to power four door speakers, two tweeters, and two subs without the headlights going dim, what's a viable option? I don't need anything fancy. I guess what I'm trying to say is...

What's the cheapest most expensive one that will get the job done? /sarcasm

 

Watts: are a measure of energy delivered to the speakers. The higher the #, the more powerful.
Amplifiers (amps): amplify the music signal as measured in watts
RMS: is the # of the sustained watts an amp can deliver
Peak watts: is a # of the watts an amp can deliver in a brief moment
Channels: the # of speakers an amp can send music to

 

Haha yeah, it's one of those things that you can VERY rapidly go down a rabbit hole!

 

thanks for this write up. Will one channel send to two front door speakers?

 

This amp would be good for factory door speakers (& also be good for future door speakers you decide to get) and also provide decent to good power for a sub:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113X8025/Kenwood-Excelon-X802-5.html?tp=35808
This amp is similar but is more powerful for the sub:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108R7005A/Infinity-Reference-7005A.html?tp=35808

This sub would work with either of those amps:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500SW10D4/Alpine-S-W10D4.html?tp=68872

 

It won't. You need a single channel for each speaker. The caviot can be tweeters. If you get door speakers that come with separate tweeters they will come with two boxes that are called "crossovers". The wires coming from the headunit or amp go to the crossovers and then out to the speakers. In this case a single channel will support one door speaker & one tweeter. So if you did 4 door speakers & 2 tweeters you only need a 4 channel amp for them. Add a single sub to that and you're at 5 channels.

 

At some point I'll see if I have any pictures of system/set up I had when I had my 1st gen.

I had Kenwood eXcelon head unit & amp. The amp could send 300 or 600 watts depending on the sub. Always had a single 10" in that truck--for me, at that point in life it was enough. Especially when I had it pushing 600.

A hs friend's brother had a '98 extra cab w/ 6 10"s but he competed.

 

@jbrandt @gsubioguy got any recommendations for the best 6ch amp?

 

You're going to have a lot more options going with two amps if dead set on two subs--one for the doors/tweeters & a dedicated one for the subs.

 

Best?

I thought you were on a budget...

Just go to cruchfield.com and see what fits your budget.

 

If you want budget audio look around craiglist if you want, or know the right people. I went to an audio shop and picked up 2 Memphis speakers for the front. I bought a 500w amp and 500w 10 from someone for $80. Built the box myself for about $40. Totally cost was about $220, and I replaced my radio with a Pioneer AV12-EX for $140(giant steal). With that setup my cab is *almost* like an IMAX theatre. I haven't replaced my back speakers(ext cab) but plan to. You don't really need to if you're not normally carrying passengers.
You don't have to bother with an amp for your speakers. Waste of money imo cause you only have 4, 2 of which you can't really hear. I never got tweeters because of manual mirrors but they probably make a difference. I can't say

 

Are these Infinity components enough to be on a system with two 10" subs?

I found this oldschool Sony Xplod 800w amp on craigslist for cheap. Should I use it for the components or subs?

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/pts/d/carlsbad-800-amps-sony-amplifier/7202542220.html

 

There are some very important details missing here for anyone to make that call.

I had a list of questions that needed answers. But I did your homework & looked up the specs on the amp. I suggest you do the same as well as some more reading on how to build a system.

 

Yeah, I've never done a car audio system or car suspension stuff. I'm learning as I go. LOL

 

800watts is a LOT of power. Especially for a small space like a pickup truck. How many channels is that? 4? If so, you’d need 200 watt speakers to handle it, and those can get pricey!

Just because it’s cheap that doesn’t mean it will work for you, and that seller gives you exactly zero information about it.

As others said, I would take a step back, and do a lot more reading on how to build a system. Decide on a budget first, then just cruise around on crutchfeild.com and see what fits. Keep your eye on the rms and peak power (per channel). Those are the important numbers. If your speakers handle 50 watts rms, but you amp puts put 60rms, you’ll destroy your new speakers. You also dont really need to max out the speaker rating either. So a 40watt amp will push a 60 watt speaker just fine.

Who knows, you may do just fine with a decent set of door speakers and a good head unit. You don’t have to get it all at onnce, either. I was really surprised at just how much better my STOCK speakers sounded after getting my kenwood deck. Great? No, lol, but good enough.

I would definitely make sure your full range speakers sound good BEFORE you go blasting over them with a bunch of subwoofers.

 

That Sony is a single channel mono amp. It would only work for your sub channel, and the amount of power you get out of it will depend on the impedance of your subwoofers.

Also, it's not a true 800 watt amp, that is a Max power rating. Look up the difference between RMS and max wattage if you want to learn more.

 

The proper way to go at this is to determine a goal first, and then see what meets the goal that fits your budget. If you just decide to spend as money as you can... things will go badly. A cheap amp with cheap speakers that delivers a billion watts of garbage is going to pale in comparison to a set of decent components. When I was in HS I had a single cab truck that had 10 speakers in it including 4 10's. It was loud and probably sounded like crap, but who cars because it was loud. A classmate spent a 'bunch' of money on RF subs, being driven by bobs discount amps and he was very proud of it. To everyone else it sounded like nothing but distortion at all volume levels.

A taco is a small space and it's a truck. If you're going for competition level bass, say goodby to most of the cab. And it will be loud and sound bad. A decent 8" will do most of what most people want. Couple that with some decent component speakers and a decent amp. You'll not be breaking windows, but it will sound good and not be crazy expensive. But your budget is up to you. Personally I've been partial to JL subs and component speakers and RF amps to push them. I'm sure there's newer and better out there, but I'm old so I don't care. My new car has harman Kardon as the 'premium' factory upgrade. I have some good subs, components and amps sitting in the garage, the factory stuff is good enough that I haven't bothered with installing them.

 

There's a Polk component set that looks pretty good, with 100w RMS. I'm not really looking for loud bass specifically, I just want to run the huge double sub enclosure that takes up the whole ext cab for looks. I very much like boats, the Super Air Nautique specifically. These wake boats have sound systems that you can hear LOUDLY even if you're wakeboarding behind it. So I put a Super Air Nautique sticker on my shell, and I want the audio system similar to that of one of these boats.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB6502/Polk-Audio-DB-6502.html

 

I recommend this.

 

Super Air Nautiques are outfitted with JL components inside and out. It looks like I will be going with them in my search for components