Stereo Upgrade BASIC How To... (2nd Gen)

I'm actually not a submariner. I'm a aviation machinistsmate. And if you look to the left of my post it says my location. I'm stationed at NAS Jacksonville. I have only done deployments on the USS Truman CVN-75. I Have never hot racked. My definition of hot racking would be someone not taking a shower after work and getting into their rack with the same clothes that they had been sweating and working in all day long. I have only seen someone do that once on my first deployment. At the end of our deployment when we are stripping the racks get an outline of dirt around where he slept because he never showered. That was one nasty dude.

 

As far as your head unit, I would look at bestbuy. If it ever goes bad with their protection plan they will replace it. I know I got one a Kenwood from this local place called dady o's and it started displaying funky characters on the LCD after a few days. It was a single din unit. And they charged me like $30-$40 to trade it for a new one. They are thieves. But they are the only authorized Rockford fosgate dealer around here. If I were you I would get a double din unit and take a look at pioneers app radio - if you have an iPhone 4 or 4S - they have not updated the firmware for the iPhone 5. It also works with droid phones too. But

 

I've worked on SH-60B's, SH-60F's, HH-60H's, P-3C's, and the new P-8A.

 

I've got a nice amp and speakers already installed, did that shortly after I bought the truck. Now I'm looking for a good HU that I can match up the steering wheel controls as well. I know there are devices to make it work but the real trick for me is to make the HU look as if it could have been a factory option. Eventually I'll pull the trigger, likely as soon as my daughter gets her drivers license and I stop using her car (the one I'm giving her) and them it's the truck full time for me.

Yes, I've been to NAS Jacksonville a few times for sure, normally when I hit up the Orange Park area. It has been a few years for sure.

Your hot racking example would not be tolerated on a submarine. I've seen it a few times where a shipmate was not taking care of his personal hygiene and the Corpsman (we don't rate a doctor, probably better for us anyway) forced them into cleaning up their act. I know one person was flat out given an order by the CO and he complied or he would have been written up for disobeying a direct order and for not maintaining proper hygiene. Trust me, the offenders don't want his peers to handle it, we are not so kind. And I'm sure there were instances of the a crew handling it silently. It's like a thief on the boat, they better prey they are not found or some serious boat justice occurs. I recall one fella being yanked out of his rack, falling about 4 feet to the deck (thud), and two people taking him to the missile compartment for a little justice. Thefts stopped after that and I believe all the stuff was returned. It was a pretty quietly handled thing. I really do miss those days.

 

Are you looking to have nav, DVD,or what? Go shop around at crutch fields website. Don't buy anything from them they are not always the cheapest. I just window shop on their website. Some brands that I've been looking at are pioneer and Sony for double din HU. I like touch screens and accurate touch sensitivity is something I'm very particular about. Hence me saying to check out best buy to play with them.

 

I'm not looking for Nav, doesn't have to be touch screen either. My requirements are HD radio, Blue Tooth, CD and capability to be controlled by the steering wheel controls. The equalizer should have more than three bands preferred but three is the minimum. I also don't want to sink a grand into a HU, I can't justify that large of a cost for the little use I have for the truck right now.

I do look at Crutchfield but haven't been to the car audio section of a Best Buy in quite some time.

 

There is a programmable adapter for your steering wheel controls they sale it at crutch field and I think you can get them at most car audio stores. Programming it is the only hard part.

 

When I do this I'll try to put the Ipod/Iphone Cable to the compartment in the Arm Rest it will be more accesible since I use my Iphone not an Ipad I need to conect and disconnect it every time I get in and out of the truck...

 

It should be very easy to run the cable into the arm rest. The thing comes apart easily. My only comment would be to place some sort of cable stop to prevent you from pulling the cable by accident. You might be able to secure it with small cable clamp somewhere under the center console, maybe using an existing screw.

 

Not sure if this is has kind of been answered or not but I figured someone could answer either way. I will start with I like the factory look and the factory HU. I've seen some discussion about guys saying that there is really no need to upgrade your speakers without upgrading your stock HU. By upgrading speakers but not the HU you don't get the sound quality that you would get by upgrading it as well. My first question I guess is this because of the low power output from the factory HU? If that is the case could I upgrade the speakers by also adding in an amp to get more power to the speakers? Would that help with clarity? If the answer is still no what is different about an aftermarket HU other than output that makes the sound quality through the speakers better? I would like to upgrade my system but I've had some nice sound systems in the past and know how much they cost. Right now i'm tight on cash so I'm just trying to explore my options.

I have a 2013 double cab sport "without" the Entune system.

 

i too wish to keep the factory head unit. i think for the price [free] it is very capable.

replacing speakers would be the logical first step. if you find that the stock HU does not have enough output power...you can always go with an amplifier [the Alpine Power Pack seems popular here], just make sure the amp has speaker level inputs. if it does not, you can always get speaker level-->RCA adaptors.

 

What's that mean? Speaker level inputs?

 

I am actually quite okay with the headunit in my 2013 with the touch screen and bluetooth, etc.

The speakers suck though. I would be okay with replacing them, hoping that the factory headunit can power them. I am not an audiophile but I would love to have a better sounding system. I wonder if I can replace the little tweeters though too, rather than simply going with a speaker that has them all on one?

 

RCA inputs are most common on amplifiers. these run at a much lower wattage than is required to drive a speaker.

some amplifiers have inputs that will accept speaker wires, some do not.

 

If you want to keep your factory head unit you will have to get an adapter harness to wire into the back of it. You will absolutely need a Amplifier for your speakers. If you have just two door speakers, I would recommend a 2 channel amp. If you have 4 door speakers, I would recommend a 4 channel amp. If you plan on putting a Sub in your truck, you shouldn't have any problem doing so with the factory radio. You will just need a PEQ remote to control the bass. Also, if you go to a place such as best buy they can wire it up for you. The biggest part about speakers and sub's is tuning the amp. It must be done to achieve maximum clarity and balance(Sub hitting when needed and not constantly).

As far as the brand of speakers and amp. It doesn't matter really. I personally don't like any of Sony's speakers - but they have some nice head units. I would look at a component set for your front doors. I assume the models after mine (2011) still have a tweeter and a cone woofer in the door. Wiring is the most important part. You need the right resistance(Ohms) for the speaker set up that you have.

Other than that check out crutchfield's website for your truck adapter for the factory head unit. They should have one.

 

wow, do you guys just not trust yourselves enough to do your own work? BestBuy install? you have got to be kidding me

 

Yea I don't understand the two channel four channel thing or ohms at all. I just don't really know squat about speakers and wiring. I have a double cab so i would say i have 6 speakers if you count the tweeter and speaker at bottom of door then the two in the back doors. i had a component set in a truck a long time ago and i remember it sounding really good . Ill have to consult you before I buy anything!

Who are you talking to? Were just trying to figure out options. If I don't have time to do something myself or don't want to mess something up then I will usually take it to someone that does know what their doing. I guess no one has ever done any work on your truck you always do it yourself. I'm about to go install my 5100s now....by myself.

 

I installed everything in my truck myself. I made the door brackets out of 1/4 MDF and my 10" sub box out of 3/4 MDF. The HU and steering wheel controls adapter and programmed it. I'm just assuming everyone is not as skilled as me.

 

but they do have the capacity to learn, at least i hope they do.

with proper instruction anyone can do these things

 

Ok guys i'm looking to install a system in my 06 double cab I have found a box and sub setup I like. My question is since I have a factory jbl system do i need to get the 75 dollar stereo harness kit or can I just use a regular harness? Since I'm gnna pull out hte factory sub is the jbl harness needed to do the install of an aftermarket deck?