Budget Audio Upgrade - Parts List - Suggestions?

I'm looking to do a very modest upgrade to the audio in my 2013 DoubleCab. I will be retaining the factory head-unit and am looking to upgrade just the front door speakers and adding a single subwoofer behind the rear seats. I wanted to list out the parts list that I am considering (and how I've priced them), then ask the gallery for tips on the little things that I may have missed or if there are compatibility issues and also if there are recommendations for how to better allocate my money.

I've always been a big home audio guy, but dabbled in car audio back in the day. It has been a while, though, so, while I'm comfortable doing the install, I'm a bit out of touch otherwise.

Powerbass XL-10T shallow mount 10" subwoofer - $60
Sony XSGS1621C 6.5" 2-Way Component speakers - $65
Sony XMGS100 Subwoofer Amplifier - $105
Blaupunkt GTA2 Amp for the door speakers - $40
AudioControl LC2i - $70
HushMat 36 sq. ft bulk kit - $110 (I'm totally lost on sound deadening stuff, but would like to do the front doors and rear wall)
8 ga amp install kit (x2, right?) - $9 each

We'll assume I have all of the speaker wire, RCA cables, and connectors. I probably do or have access to them.

I will be looking to build a custom sealed box for the sub. I went with a 10" to (hopefully) be able to meet the enclosure volume requirements easier and because I'm looking for some decent, tight bass. I'm not needing terribly low, booming bass. Would a good 8" be a better option?

Before buying material to build the box, that puts me just under $500.

What am I missing? Does that parts list seem reasonable and will everything work together? Is the upgrade worth the money? I'd like to cap my budget there, but would be willing to go a little higher if it is worth it. If there is a chance to save a few bucks, even better!

The other sub I considered is the Rockford Punch P3SD2-10 for $105.

All input is greatly appreciated. I'm kind of lost, so I'll value whatever you have to say.

 

Looking to start making some purchases. This must either be a really good or a really bad list.

I did realize I need speaker brackets. Amazon, I suppose. I'll keep reading up on sound deadening. I definitely want to add something while the panels are off.

 

To cut down on amp wiring have you considered a 5 channel amp?

Any upgrade is worth really, i really value my music so the upgrade was done within a week of getting the truck.

Only real advice id have is build the box on the passenger side, more room to work with. Also spring for an lc7 if you are powering the rears off the amp and want to retain the 4 channel controls in the HU.

 

A nice head is where you should start. Quality head, cheap speakers sound better than crappy head and quality speakers every time. Speakers can only try to reproduce what's being sent to them.

 

I hadn't considered a 5-channel amp because I hadn't planned on amping the rears, but 2 unused channels doesn't hurt anything. Of course, if I do that, it is incrementally more to get the LC7i, so I could go ahead and send some power to the rears, so long as the factory speakers can handle it. I fade everything to the front almost exclusively. 95% of the time, it is just me alone or with one passenger. 4.9% of the time, my 3 year old and/or 1 year old are in the back seats. 0.1% of the time an adult will be in the back. I'm content with just using the factory rear speakers to let my daughter sing along to Tom Petty.

Who doesn't love good, quality head?

I'm mostly uninterested in changing out the factory head unit. I prefer the stock look/function over aftermarket headunits, but I certainly can appreciate what you're saying about the sound being only as good as the signal. My biggest audio upgrade is walking in to the second living room. I don't think that a truck provides a very good environment for critical listening, BUT I think there is room for improvement over stock. There seems to be a lot of people happy with a simple upgrade that keeps the factory head unit. Do you think this is purely a placebo effect or folks being fooled by volume? Worst case scenario, with everything I'm proposing, I could swap out the headunit down the road and sell the LC7i to make a few bucks back. The rest could just stay in place.


Thank you both for the input.

 

I kept the stock HU also... had my windows smashed for my radio one too many times. Another option is a sound processor like a predision power instead of an active LOC. Itll be double the price but it sound better. That being said, a nice front stage sounds pretty damn good on my stock HU off an lc7i..

 

I can get an LCQ1 for $180 if I go that route. Adds $110 to the original budget, but does give some flexibility.

What is your system comprised of?

 

Image dynamics 6.5 components front @75watts
Image dynamics 6.5 coaxial rear @75 watts
Kicker CompR 10 2ohm dvc in series 4ohm @300 watts in a ********* box behind rear driver side
Pioneer GMD9605 5 channel 75x4 @ 4ohms and 300x1@ 4ohms
AudioControl LC7i
AudioControl EpiCenter

Im in about 1500 on my audio but i overspent and had a shop install half of it. I picked the truck up on a thursday and it was at the audio install the following sat. I was coming off a bmw with 12 speakers and 2 amps, 5 mins listening to stock audio in the Taco and i knew a change was needed quickly.

 

I built this for my double cab. If I had it to do over again I would do a single 10" or 12" in a ported box.

 

I couldn't disagree with this statement more. Speakers are your most important component. Most head units output roughly the same power and will be mostly indistinguishable from one another all things held equal.

OP, since you're trying to stay cheaper here, may I suggest an alternative strategy? Since you'll be deadening your doors anyway, go ahead and seal them. It takes some time, but is well worth the effort. Buy a decent set of 2-way component speakers or raw drivers and throw LOTS of power at your mids. Maybe consider using a 4-channel amp to run an active setup. You may find that you don't need a sub doing this. Sealing the doors in conjunction with plenty of power will give you that punchy bass you're looking for. For reference my $20 5.5" Silver Flutes with only 75W available to each will shake the mirrors with the sub off!

 

You have any links or info on sealing doors? I miss mid bass

 

Was the EpiCenter a must have for controlling the sub? Also, any sound deadening? You're local, maybe we could do a deadening/install day .

Thanks for the pictures. Any idea on the dimensions of the subwoofer side of the setup? If I'm building my own enclosure, any measurements will be extremely helpful.

I like this idea. Do you have any more information on sealing the doors? I am certainly open to this solution!

Hoping to see some links myself!

 

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...7-simple-cheap-effective-door-treatments.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...al-holes-door-panel-when-sound-deadening.html

And probably the best video I've run across

 

Yeah send me a PM.

Epicenter is a digital bass processor/restorer. Its not necessary but its pretty.

 

Thank you for all of this. I'll take some time to do some reading/watching.

Will do when I get a handle on when I will be able to do the work. I'm taking classes right now that dominate a lot of my time.

If you're wanting to add some deadening to yours, I can look at buying in a bigger package, then split it with you. Might save us each a few bucks.

 

Ive got deadening, thanks though. I use gt mat in the truck and my last car, fairly cheap on Amazon.

Ive got the audio dialed in for my music style so i think im leaving it alone for a while. In ft worth, dallas and everwhwre in between just lmk.

 

Also a good read here if you want to learn a bit more about what dampers do and how they stack up against one another. This is also the only reasonably thorough independent testing of dampers I know about. It's a really long read, but is summed well in the last post...which I'll paste below:

My current top three, based entirely on performance and heat testing, in the order I would put them.


1st - Sound Deadener Showdown CLD Tiles
2nd - Silent Coat 4mm
3rd - KnoKonceptz Kolossus

With the products I have left to test, I don't see SDS CLD Tiles being knocked off top spot. In fact, its been top spot since it was first tested. With heat testing mostly finished, Kolossus got knocked down a notch to Silent Coat 4mm. But neither can come close to matching SDS's heat tolerance, and that is a big deal for me. As I've said before, I firmly believe that products that withstand a wider range of temperatures, will also damp vibrations better at a wider range a temperatures. I can't objectively prove it without building a far more expensive test rig, but all the information available points to that being true. Living somewhere where temps get to 110F in the summer, that is important to me.


As I said in the first post, I would be using the top testing overall product, regardless of price, in my personal builds. In a few weeks, I will be installing some SDS in my personal (well my wife's) car, and will be taking before and after measurements.

Price wise, the top three breakdown as following. I've excluded bulk packs, and limited amounts to 35 square feet. In a normal install, more than that shouldn't be needed.

1 - KnuKonceptz Kolossus - $5.42-$4 per square foot, for normal amounts.
2 - SDS CLD Tiles - $6.36-$5.40 per square foot, for normal amounts.
3 - Silent Coat 4mm - $5.47 per square foot*

I've listed Silent Coat as third, because they only seem to have one price point at this time, and in order to do a whole car, their price point is higher than SDS. Buying 16.6 square feet of SDS gets you to $5.40 per square foot, where 15.36 square feet of Silent Coat is $5.47. Anything over that is still $5.47.

The pro's of SDS is direct customer service from the owner and original CLD tester, along with a killer no frills website that is the only sound deadening website that I have found from any company not to have at least one lie, stretch of the truth, or statement of ignorance, along with the best overall product when considering the requirements of a CLD designed for car use. It's also the lightest of the top 3 products, by at least 25%. The only con I can come up with is price, but as far as I'm personally concerned the price is justified. As said earlier, this is what I'll personally be using. (Previously, I would have listed difficulty in ordering as a con as well, as some people had reported issues, but, now that SDS has a fully working cart system implemented, that is a non issue anymore)

The pro's of Silent Coat 4mm are slightly better damping (and by slight I mean right at the edge of this test's tolerance). The cons are again, price, as well as a lower heat tolerance level, highest weight of the top 3, and a weak constraining layer. Some might remember, that Silent Coat is the product I had issues with using the stamper to cut out, as the stress caused the constraining layer to tear on the edges. This is the only product I've had do this. I would not use this in an area where heavy rubbing or sliding might take place.

The pro for Kolossus is price. Its the lowest priced, high performing product, performing just under SDS in damping (performing below SDS by right at the tolerances of the testing). The cons, well, slightly less damping performance, a flammable plastic coating on the aluminum the second highest weight of the top 3, and significantly less heat stability. I don't think the product performs low enough in heat testing to fall off, but I do think SDS would perform measurably better in summer conditions. Likewise, I don't think the flammable coating is going to cause an issue (its also not the only product that has this), but it does need to be mentioned.

If you are building a car that needs to be light weight, but still want a damping material, Dynamat Xtreme is the only way to go. It is the lightest weight to performance material out there, period. It performs, in my tests, as well as Damplifier Pro, and almost as well as STP Silver, which are both heavier. It also performs significantly better than Raamat BXT2, the other lightweight product.

I would stay away from anything from GTMat. None of their products had the combined performance and heat resistance to convince me to use them in any way shape or form in a vehicle.

Peel N Seal is an obvious no, as is Fatmat.

Alphadamp is discontinued (and performed just under Damplifier Pro) and Murdermat has discontinued their best product, and has supply issues.

I would not personally use Silent Coat 2mm or 5mm, the first due to the performance, the second due to smell and heat resistance.

I would not use Raamat BXT2, Memphis Mojo Mat, KnuKonceptz KnoKnoise Resonance Control, Stinger Roadkill Expert, or STP-Atlantic Vizomat due to low performance.

I would not use STP-Atlantic Bomb due to poor heat resistance.

I would not personally use Second Skin Audio's Damplifier Pro. The product itself has nothing wrong with it, its just that there are better products out there based on my testing for the same cost. It performs around the same level as Dynamat Xtreme in my testing, and holds up to heat fine.

Even moar

 

FWIW, I sealed my doors with CLD tiles



I figured that since I'm using a 5.5" driver with 3.5mm of xmax on 75W that I wouldn't notice the difference in this technique and one that uses rigid panels. This may or may not be correct as I have new panel resonances. But I haven't tried foam yet and I think this will solve that problem (plus the door is making WAY more bass now). Also consider that you will never be able to fully seal a fully functional door but this at least separates the front and rear waves.

MLV in the doors on top of that...ensolite will be installed between the 2 at some point to address the new panel resonance issue.



I spent a little more than you OP - maybe $1,200 but still consider this a budget build. At least 1/3 of that is sub though and I could do without a sub if needed with this $165 2-way. It's just not needed

 

I recently did a budget system as well:
Pioneer HU DEHX 7600HD
Clarion EQ

$100 EQS746 Clarion EQS755 7-Band Car Audio Graphic Equalizer with Front 3.5mm Auxiliary Input, Rear RCA Auxiliary Input and High Level Speaker Inputs

EQS746
JBL components 608v
JBL 3 way coaxial GTO638
JBL 4 Channel amp gto 504ez
Rockville 10" powered sub RW10CA
8 gauge wiring

I like the way it sounds. Some may not agree. But If this helps out with ideas ...
Good luck with the system build

 

Sorry man, I never really drew up a plan. I just measured and cut each piece one at a time as I built it. It took me and a buddy about 6 hours including beer breaks. I used 3/4" Birch plywood if that helps. I was originally going to use 5/8" MDF but they only had 1/2" at Home Depot so I bought that but it was a disaster (too thin) and was splitting/falling apart as I tried to screw it together. Luckily for me my buddy had the plywood in his garage from another old project and let me use it. I made the sub enclosure go from the left edge to the seat bracket bolted to the floor and just made the leftover part into the amp rack. I estimated each side to be about .6 cu. ft. so a single box that size would probably be between 1.2 to 1.5 cu. ft.