Need Help Finalizing My System

These hideaways are so small I can fit two of them mounted to the back of the seats probably. I wonder if I should look into 2 hideaway subs and a 4 channel for the doors. It would be about the same cost as the traditional box.

 

You will be very unhappy with the hideaway. I install a ton, and most people are happy with them, but they absolutely do not “slap” or hit hard.

The 4awg wiring you have is plenty. We use 4awg for up to 1500w systems.

The kicker monoblock you mentioned does it’s job well. Probably the most popular single piece of product I sell.

The kicker 4 channel leaves some to be desired. Mainly, it’s huge. Far bigger than i prefer.

I’m running the Kicker KXA 800.5 and am extremely happy with it. Pushing a single shallow 12 and kicker KS speakers. Runs $500

That 12 will absolutely hit hard if I so choose

It’s the 43TCWRT124 and runs $187

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve gad good luck with the pioneer 5 channel (gm9605 maybe!) for the money. Not sure how it stacks up to the NVX but I’ve installed probably 10-12 of these so far and never been unhappy for the results we wanted.

 

It honestly seems like an issue with settings. If it was, I’m not sure. But that’s how the situation sounds in my mind. Be it radio settings, amp settings, or both.

 

I have this powering my whole system and it fits under PS front seat. My sub is an MB quart 10” but this amp has enough muscle to power to 8’s.

I have abused this amp and it is solid. You can find it cheaper elsewhere;

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/ite...MI1diZ8oq23wIViyaGCh0GkgVwEAQYASABEgLj7fD_BwE

 

There will be no banging with those little pre-made tiny subs. They'll fill in the low end a little, but miracle-workers they are not. That NVX should be giving you plenty of power for those subs you have - which if in a proper enclosure should be a good deal better than any 1-piece solution.

As for the polyfil, it does work but again not a miracle worker. If you box is way too small nothing will help. The poly will help you overcome volumes that are too small by maybe 15%. Too much of it however and it will decrease available airspace.



Seems like 1.75 lb per sq feet is the most you can use without shrinking the box.

Seems like install & initial setup is more your problem here than equipment. Then again speakers are the most important part of the whole deal (aside from install) and you're using some lower end stuff there. Expectations can only be so high. If you want real bass out of that truck you're probably going to need to build a sub enclosure in the cab - maybe make an armrest for the rear seats out of one. Or buy one of the options on the market. You just don't have the space behind those seats and the seats themselves are absorbing and distorting sound.

Knu OFC 4 ga is good for 150A. I'm using a single run on ~1,200W with no issues.

 

I'm just going to run down my impression of the things you have assembled so far. What I always try to do is get brand/model line matching speakers for the doors, because at least then you are starting out with voice/impedence/sensitivity matched speakers in your stage area. So, I recommend trying to stick with one brand and quality tier for all of your doors. For reference, here's an overview what I think about the process of choosing stuff for your audio system.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/choosing-speakers.121869/#post-2355871

Front Doors: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-6iIBa9ZPBKM/p_2064CSS684/Kicker-40CSS684.html

Most of the feedback on these speakers recommends baffling them. I've never been a huge fan of Kicker because I never met any that I thought sounded great out of the box. I did install some Kicker components in my step daughter's car a while ago and my impression was that they had soft mid-bass response. I did not install baffles. I installed coax Kickers in the rear of the same car and they were definitely worse with regard to having any body. I think Kickers require extra work when you install them in a vehicle so keep in mind that you will probably have to do some dampening in the door. I don't have an opinion on adding baffles because I've never had to use them in any of my vehicles.

Rear Doors: https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Speakers/A-Series/TS-A6886R

These look good on paper but 60W is not enough power handling for loud music. I think Pioneer makes an excellent quality factory replacement speaker designed to be used with lower power and lower demand with regard to volume.

Subs: https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Subwoofers/Shallow+Mount/TS-SW2002D2#specs

I've had a couple compact subs in the past and always felt like they just suck. Mostly I'm talking about the shallow powered subs though. I think one could get these loaded into the right box and get good sound out of them but I feel they are inadequate for your stated purpose of having them pump for your girlfriend/wife (I forget which) who mostly listens to rap and music with heavy bass. The recommended enclosure for these drivers is less than 0.5 cubic feet. This is a small box with not a lot of room to breathe and frankly, little wayne is going to sound like shit with subs designed for punchy bass.

Amp: https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_40253_NVX-JAD900.5.html

I don't know anything about this company or this amp and all I can say is that in general a <$200 5 channel amp doesn't seem like enough money to get a quality product, and this is where the rubber hits the road in terms of car audio. I don't see anything egregious about the numbers and it should work fine, but I also don't think 70W@4Ohms per channel is enough sack for wanting loud music. I like to see at least 300-500W of power into 4 Ohms for sub and this one looks to be around 450 at 2 Ohms, and I'm not a fan of running 2 Ohms.

Overall I'd suggest you step back and consider your goal here, determine if these components are able to meet these goals and consider making some changes or accepting compromise.

 

You guys are awesome.

@destin_meeks well.....lol, at least my wiring is good then right? I might try that pioneer but I am honestly realizing that this system isnt going to be as easy as some I have half assed in the past and made loud. I have put in subs before and wired amps to stock speakers but this is the first all out system that I have ever done. The subs I have put in in the past have always been from pawn shops, usually 12's just because in a NOOB mind bigger is just better, same with amps I always just put the biggest one they have at the pawn shop in. I have never paid attention to output/rms or handling and I have always tuned stereos based on what sounds good to me. This very well may be due 100% to my inadequate tuning abilities and the shitty box i built. I have an issue when the systems i put in for $200 sound better than the brand new one i just spent a thousand bucks on, even with me tuning them poorly. I guess in my head I thought that a poorly tuned brand new system would sound better than a poorly tuned used system. I know I can put a normal box with a 12 on the rear floorboard running on a massive off brand amp and I would be happy with the sound but hate the look and inconvenience. I mean I could just get a bass tube and pull it out when I need the space. I guess i just need to figure out if I am willing to deal with the downsides of having the sound I want.

@hyper15125 Thanks for the input. That amps advertised output is less than the NVX that I currently have. Where do you have your sub in the cab? What type of door speakers are you running? I think I am going to hook up a different sub and box to this NVX amp and see what it does, maybe my poor box build just robbed the entire setup.

@rob feature I absolutely overfilled the box...Once again incorrectly I assumed that more was better and stuffed the hell out of it. I thought I was 'deadening' the chamber lol. You hit the nail on the head, install and setup are killing me. There is no way that my stock system should sound better than what I have in there now. I am going to try to connect a professionally build sub box to the amp today and see what it sounds like. I need to do a better job with the install and setup before I can judge, I agree. I already pulled the subs out of the box I built and put the box in storage, back in a dark corner. The other thing I have to consider is that your right about the seats absorbing and distorting sound no matter what I put behind them...This stereo has been such a pain in the ass. Thank you for all your help so far.

@dolbytone If I had it to do over again I would strongly consider your suggestion of consistency, the thought behind that makes absolute sense. I am too deep into the door speaker install to go back on them right now. I actually prefer the sound of the cheaper door speakers, the pioneers, I am running in the back. The components in the front are too far apart I think. I am going to pull the door panels sometime soon and deaden the doors and baffle the speakers, and im going to deaden the back cab wall as well. Those pioneer 6x8s actually sound really good, even with my poor tuning. If I did redo the door speakers right now I would put those same pioneers in the front and add some tweeters maybe if need be, but I doubt I would even need separate tweeters. But alas I have already mutilated the hell out of the stock mounting baffle and the stock tweeter grill to accommodate the kickers. Can you elaborate on your preference of 4 OHMs when talking about subs? I am under the impression that 2 OHM setups allow for more power to be utilized. Your right, i can expect excellence from mediocrity. Honestly I want the door speakers to sound a little better and I am pretty sure I can obtain this by just deleting some of the driving/road noise and deadening the doors. When Im honest with myself I want the option to have door rattling bass but I dont want to have unsightly subs sitting in the back seat. So I really just need to pick the lesser of the two evils and make the best of it. Im gonna find someone who actually knows how to tune a system here locally and see what they can do for me.

 

I have a 2nd gen, my sub is behind my rear seat on the drivers side. I have a Pioneer Carplay head unit with the “auto eq”......awesome And have Kicker CS components in the front and Kicker CS coaxials in the rear.

 

You're squeezing a balloon with power in a system like this. You can't just magically create power by lowering impedance, there are consequences. Most notably is that your amp will run hotter and have less control of the speaker due to a lower damping factor in the system.

 

Okay so I've messed with the tuning for a few more hours. I have the rear pioneer 6x8s sounding amazing the kicker components in the front sound like shiiiit qho matter what I do they sound weak, very weak. I haven't tried to flip the polarity yet though. Any ideas?

 

Do you have the crossovers wired correctly?
And make sure the crossovers in the amp are full-pass. The CS highs are harsh, and the bass needs a boost to sound good (as best I can remember)

 

I am 99.9% everything is wired correctly but now I'm second guessing myself bc they sound soooooooo weak. I have the amp running full to both the front and rear. I'm exaggerating that because the sound quality warrants it. It's not just the bass. Literally everything. If I keep the exact same tuning and fade all to the front then all to the rear the difference is insane. The rear speakers are much much better, in both high and low tones. I'm going to check my wiring tomorrow and flip one of the front components cables at the amp to see if maybe I wired it wrong. If that doesn't work I'll pull the panel to get to the speakers and see what I wired for sure. I cant believe the difference.

 

Did you put the crossovers in the door (hope not)? If I need to identify a speaker I use a AA battery and thump the wire to see what it's wired to. I had the same thought as Destin, make sure the components are wired to the correct terminals on the crossover. Also, it's exceptionally common to set the tweeter output to -3 or -6 on the crossover to achieve balance with the woofers.

 

Okay. got the components figured out. I am embarrassed to admit that it was absolutely my fault. I had the rear channels turned up and the fronts turned down at the amp so adjusting from the head unit made no difference. I leveled out the amp and now the door speakers sound amazing. I am going to pull all the stuffing out of the sub box i built and try it again. Maybe this time I will wire the subs for a total impedance of 4 OHMs instead of 2 and see how those changes help. Im not going to give up on this amp quite yet. I almost ordered a dual 8 inch box from supercrewsound but read that it is still necessary to use speaker grills to protect the cone. If i put grills over the cones on the box i built i may just have to dent in the support brackets at the back of the seat a little for extra clearance. Worth a shot before I drop $180 for a built box. I am still researching what sound deadening material I want to use. I have been seeing this peel and stick option thats available for cheap at lowes, its a roofing material. I have read that its asphalt base will make the cab stink but all the actual video reviews I have watched say that the smell isnt bad at all. I live in Idaho so the temperature varies from below freezing-110F. Some people say that the adhesive fails it hot climates but once again all the videos I have seen show the adhesive holding up after several years. Any of you have experience with peel and stick as sound deadener?

 

It is always better to be wrong about a setting than to be wrong about your wiring!

As for the product at Lowe’s, I’ve pulled a few square feet out of a few vehicles and it’s alwasy been crap and half of it isn’t even still hanging on (alabama heat)