Help Please

crankitup

I just bought a new JVC HU with a 50x4 output, and 4 - Polk db650's for my 6 yr old Toyota Tundra with 160,000 miles. My purpose was to upgrade the factory system to a decent system that would play all media types, and give good, crisp, clear sound. I like to be able to ride down the highway with the windows open, and turn it up loud so that I can hear it. I made this very clear to the sales person.

Well, I'm not happy with it at all. With the bass, and treble set at the halfway point, and the loud button on, I get serious distortion at less than half of the volume output. I took it back to the sound shop immediately and the owner listened, and agreed that it wasn't capable of putting out much sound. He is willing to work with me, but so far hasn't really given me many options other than putting my old factory system back in. (which btw WAS capable of putting out the sound that I need. wasn't all that great, but it wasn't distorted either). I suggested an amplifier, and he jumped on that idea. (more bucks for him) I asked him to give me the weekend to think about it. He suggested a Blackmore 2 channel amp, which would give me the sound, but keep the budget down. ($150) I've already spent $545, and hadn't planned to spend that much, but THOUGHT I was getting good sounds.

Since I'm pretty much where I started, please give me some recommendations. Is JVC a decent unit? Will the db650's give me the volume, and clear, crisp sound I want? Do I have to have an amp to make this system perform? Would just a low end Alpine unit produce better sound without an amp? I really didn't know what I was doing when I bought this, but THOUGHT the sales person was being up front with me. PLEASE HELP.

Thanks.

audiobliss

Well, you do need some help. Hopefully I can give you some.

First off, whenever you're going to build a good sounding audio system in your car, either for loud volume or quality sound, you're going to need an amplifier. Just about all head units are listed as putthing out 50 watts by 4 channels, but, as one member here put it, it won't do that unless it's struck by lightning. RMS (continous power) is more like 12 watts per channel for head units. All head units are about the same, so getting an Alpine won't give you any more power (though it will get more reliability, functionality, and coolness!! lol).

So, he's right about you needing an amp. However, if money is kinda tight, here's what I think you can do....(and should do)...

First, your Tundra is a pick-up truck, right? Is it an extended cab? Anyways, for such a small area to fill up with sound, you don't need four speakers. I have a 2-door Jeep Cherokee, and I'm only running front speakers. This sounds just fine, and is actually better. The back speakers will pull the sound stage toward that back of the car. Running just front speakers will give you a better sound. So, you can take back the two rear speaker you bought and get an amp. Then, you'll be all set!

If, however, your Tundra is some kind of a four-door SUV, and you often carry passengers (whose audio experience you care about), you may want to keep the rear speakers.



Anyhoo, fill us in with some more information, and we'll get ya taken care of.

swerve

take audiobliss' suggestion man

neomagus00

um... yeah, that sounds like a great idea! (no, it really does, i'm not being sarcastic for once).

and it can be that you'll get worse sound without an amp when you move from stock (as it is in your case), but once you amp, the speakers light up like you cannot imagine. one thing you should be aware of - those dbs MAY not give you as much bass as stock. no real way to tell until you listen.

if you do decide to get an amp, the tutorial referenced here will walk you through setting the gain.

audiobliss

Wow...I'm floored......two people have endorsed my recommendation........amazing....lol

But seriously, it goes to show how effective a forum with a good community is at teaching people. Feels great!


Let us know what you think, crankitup!

swerve

Originally posted by audiobliss
Wow...I'm floored......two people have endorsed my recommendation........amazing....lol

But seriously, it goes to show how effective a forum with a good community is at teaching people. Feels great!


Let us know what you think, crankitup!

i only agree'd because the first post i was a sarcastic **** and had to edit it...


and i called you audiopiss...
ahaha

-adam

much love!

crankitup

Thanks so much. You guys are absolutely the best! The Tundra is an extended cab. Stock was two front speaker, two tweeters, and two rear door speakers. 6 1/2, or 6 3/4.

If you really think that front only will do the trick, I'll give it a try. Saves me some bucks! Always looking out for that, out of necessity.

What about the Blackmore amp? Is it ok?

Thanks again. Helps a lot!

exalted512

ive never in my life heard of blackmore...
-Cody

neomagus00

Originally posted by swerve
and i called you audiopiss...
ahaha

okay, that was funny

crank - while i have also never heard the name, that blackmore should serve you well enough, most amps are capable of making speakers work. you don't need an extensive crossover network or anything, so i'd say that'll do it for you. set the highpass on the jvc to around 50 for the fronts (remember, we have no rears? ) and you're good to go.

i am assuming that you have no subwoofer?

audiobliss

Nor have I. But you won't regret just going with front speakers. While I'm not sure, I think that the db650's will give you enough 'punch'.

Did you say that your truck came with mids and tweeters mounted separately? If so, you really should go with component speakers if you can afford it. The comparable speakers would be the db6500's. However, they are more expensive, so you may hafta settle for the db650's; they're not a bad choice, though.

crankitup

ok. That's what I'm doing then. Front speakers only, and the amp.

One more question. If just the front db650's aren't enough for me, will adding two more rear db650's do the trick?

I looked up the db6500's. Looks nice, but what does it do? I'm guessing it separates? A little pricey for my budget.

Yep, tweeter's are separate on the stock setup.

Joelsbass

If you're handy and adventerous you could just mount both sets of speakers in the front... you could either mount both in a custom fiberglass enclosure in the door panel, or you could mount one pair in the factory location and a second pair in the kick pannel... fiberglassing isn't incredibly hard and i can point you to some good tutorials if you're interested in giving it a shot...

one nice thing about it is that you'll be able to take pride in showing it off to your friends, nothing beats showing them a sweet install job and being able to show that you did it yourself lol...

FYI I have a Polk MM6 component set in my Dodge Dakota Club Cab powered with 150x2 and they sound great, that's the extent of my speaker setup till i get subs and it still impresses my friends lol, projects for this summer include installing OEM power windows and locks, replacing door pannels to get rid of he hole for the window crank, and fiberglassing custom kick pannels and tweeter pods for my comp set...

spwuinmk67

Originally posted by Joelsbass
projects for this summer include installing OEM power windows and locks, replacing door pannels to get rid of he hole for the window crank,

I gotta do the same crap, unfortunatly. When I 'glassed my door panels, I made the passenger side mounting ring a little higher then the driver side, so you gotta use some skill to put the window up and down, oops. lol