Anyone running a nice sounding stereo setup?

frdnut · Post by **frdnut** » April 13, 2011, 10:27 pm

Just wondering what people have come up with when running nice stereo systems...The wife's 65 has a cd player in the dash and speakers in the door but they are practically drownd out by the seat and the rumble of the 390..I would like something that sounds nice but is kinda hid from view as far as speakers and amps to keep a somewhat original look..

qwertyd10n · Post by **qwertyd10n** » April 13, 2011, 11:18 pm

frdnut,

I put a RetroSounds head unit in my truck along with a dual voice coil speaker in the stock location under the dash and a set of Undercover II speaker enclosures under the seat:

http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/category/id/1

http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/category/id/8

http://www.vintagecarradio.com/store/pr ... 8290c597fc

I've got it all wired up and it sounds pretty good to me, but I haven't had the truck out for a drive yet to see how it works with road/engine noise. I might need an amp as well.

Here's a post with some pics of the head unit installed:

http://fordtruk.com/forums/viewtopic.ph ... etrosounds

Cheers,
Dion

Brian Taylor · Post by **Brian Taylor** » April 14, 2011, 6:39 am

I am still putting mine together but the main thing with stereo in these trucks is sound deadening. I love the sound of a good engine too, but since I still have a 300 6 I ahve added insulation on every interior piece of sheet metal.

The Big M · Post by **The Big M** » April 14, 2011, 10:31 am

I agree that sound deadening material would help.

If you really want to keep everything hidden, a good option is to put an amp under the seat, wire it to speakers of your choice, and plug an mp3 player directly into the amp. That way you can just tuck the audio cable out of sight when you're not using it. I imagine the same idea would work for a satellite radio unit.

Uncle Skip · Post by **Uncle Skip** » April 14, 2011, 11:25 am

My radio just couldn't pull the 6x9's in the doors, so I put in a small 400 watt 2 channel amp and bridged a small 10" subwoofer, mounted behind the seat. Here is the completed installation.
Doesn't take up a lot of room, and has improved the sound a ton.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I need to trim the wire ties and clean up the sawdust......

[albumimg]9030[/albumimg]
[albumimg]9031[/albumimg]
U@ss

frdnut · Post by **frdnut** » April 14, 2011, 11:31 am

I am not worried about hiding everything as it already has a CD player mounted in the dash..I was just looking for good out of the way speaker locations and maybe places to hide an amp..The truck still has the gas tank behind the seat so no room for a sub or amp back there at this point..

Max · Post by **Max** » April 14, 2011, 11:53 am

I think in your case you'll have to work with under the seat for the amp/speakers and the door panel area for speakers.

Uncle Skip · Post by **Uncle Skip** » April 14, 2011, 12:48 pm

Under the seat brings up another problem for an amp.
I've been told they create a lot of heat, so I'd be careful about mounting it directly to the carpet.
At least ask a stereo expert first.
Make a cutout in the carpet and put it directly on the sheet metal???

BlueGhost · Post by **BlueGhost** » April 14, 2011, 1:17 pm

Mine is a little different. I installed a car pc with a pair of 10's behind the seat where the gas tank use to be and 5.25 inch components up front where the vents in the kick panels use to be. If you have ac, or just don't use the kick panel vents it makes a nice spot to mount 5.25 inch speakers. I just traced the vent onto some 1/4 inch mdf, cut it out, then covered it in vinyl and used it to mount the speakers where the vent use to be. I installed the speakers with baffles to help shield them form moisture that come down from the cowl vent, it also help get rid of the hallow sound they had firing into that open area.

her are a few pics of the install, unfortunately I don't have any of the speakers in the foot wells.

[albumimg]7987[/albumimg]

[albumimg]7988[/albumimg]

[albumimg]7989[/albumimg]

BlueGhost · Post by **BlueGhost** » April 14, 2011, 1:24 pm

Oh and if you are looking for subs, I really like these 10's. They are just over 3 inches deep and work well in small boxes. Mines are in about .5 cubic feet per sub ported, and will work in about .3 cubic feet sealed. I went ported to get more output.

I bought them from parts express: HERE

Brian Taylor · Post by **Brian Taylor** » April 14, 2011, 4:41 pm

I have 6x9 in the door and a pair of 6.5 in the kick panel of the center console and plan to add a small (8") sub in the console box at the rear of the cab.
Sound is fair but still needs the cab to be finished to really enjoy the sound.

jeepbut · Post by **jeepbut** » April 14, 2011, 8:52 pm

I am running an AM out of a 64 Falcon hacked into the dash with a dull ax. I can not in good faith reccomend this sound system. Thanks, Lyman.

slick4x4 · Post by **slick4x4** » April 14, 2011, 10:19 pm

no radio at all in mine..... i get to listen to the wife

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » April 15, 2011, 5:04 am

No amp and I haven't even hooked up a working radio yet, but this is where I stuck mine....

jkimbrel65 · Post by **jkimbrel65** » April 15, 2011, 7:28 am

slick4x4 wrote:

no radio at all in mine..... i get to listen to the wife

I solved this problem with louder pipes

slick4x4 · Post by **slick4x4** » April 15, 2011, 8:14 am

jkimbrel65 wrote:
slick4x4 wrote:

no radio at all in mine..... i get to listen to the wife
I solved this problem with louder pipes

yea.... but you got a nice big ole V-8.....
the 223 dont have a chance

jkimbrel65 · Post by **jkimbrel65** » April 15, 2011, 8:47 am

.... but you got a nice big ole V-8.....
the 223 dont have a chance

Put some buckshots on the truck that sould drown her out

matt2491 · Post by **matt2491** » April 15, 2011, 9:24 am

I bought and installed a Kenwood kit that included a head and two speakers which I mounted in the doors. It sounds good enough for me! Except once I get up to 65mph and above the wind & road noise really begin to compete with the sound system, and I have to turn it up to the point where its almost not worth it. But if I'm listening to rock & roll, then by all means, let her crank.

I think these trucks are inherently NOT designed to be cruising down the road at 70+mph. There is no way to fix the fierce wind noise because its integral to the cab structure. That's one of the few disappointing aspects of driving the truck. I can keep up with traffic no problem, but my hearing gets tired of it.

But around town, the music is great!

Motocentro · Post by **Motocentro** » April 15, 2011, 9:57 am

I installed a 600watt amp under the seat, one 6X9 quad coil in each door panel. Used sound deadener on every panel in the cab. Sounds great.

There is no difference in sound quality if you mount the speakers facing the seat or towards the front. Believe me. They still shoot into the seat either way. I mounted them "backwards" so that they are less visible. I plug in my iPod/MP3/iPone directly to the amp. everything is pretty much hidden. I have a small jogging stereo for radio and the drive-in.

Next step is to install this dual channel 6x9 in the original speaker location:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-VNnd47pRFT ... R-69N.html
which should help with the sound definition and let me hear the small stuff a little better without blasting it. It sounds great and I get compliments when it's used at outdoor parties as well as hauling ass through Atlanta traffic (yes, from passengers, not pedestrians).

Motocentro · Post by **Motocentro** » April 15, 2011, 9:58 am

matt2491 wrote:I bought and installed a Kenwood kit that included a head and two speakers which I mounted in the doors. It sounds good enough for me! Except once I get up to 65mph and above the wind & road noise really begin to compete with the sound system, and I have to turn it up to the point where its almost not worth it. But if I'm listening to rock & roll, then by all means, let her crank.

I think these trucks are inherently NOT designed to be cruising down the road at 70+mph. There is no way to fix the fierce wind noise because its integral to the cab structure. That's one of the few disappointing aspects of driving the truck. I can keep up with traffic no problem, but my hearing gets tired of it.

But around town, the music is great!

Oh yeah, X2 BUT sound deadener all over helps. The wind is just a bitch at 70mph+.