My Audio System is Done....For now

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
K

Keola P

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2008
Messages
732
Reaction score
0
Location
Honolulu, HI
So I'm done with my audio system and I wanted to share a few pics of the components and new upgrades...



This is the head unit, which I'll post for those who haven't seen it yet...



[Broken External Image]:



New for 09', this head unit has all the features you would want except for nav. Exceptional picture quality, ipod and bluetooth compatible, aux and usb inputs just to name a few features, all at a very reasonable price...



[Broken External Image]:



Here's what I bought to replace the stock door speakers...



[Broken External Image]:



These speakers are AMAZING!!! So clear, crisp, and dynamic...I have a whole new respect for Pioneer and their Premier line.



[Broken External Image]:



Here's what's new...



[Broken External Image]:



Got this box off of ebay for $90.00. Made to fit under the right rear passenger seat, .45 cubic feet, just the right amount of airspace for the sub I chose...



[Broken External Image]:



For bass, I went with Pioneer Premier's IB flat shallow mount sub, new for 09' model. Was debating between these and the p3 shallow mounts. Decided to go with these based on the reviews, handles much more power than the p3's too, compliments the Premier coaxials in the doors as well...



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



300 watts RMS, 1200 Max, mounting depth about 3". For the size, this little bad boy brings it. Surprisingly deep and accurate bass, seems a bit twisted and unreal for that sort of sound to come out of this little box...



[Broken External Image]:



I sort of changed my game plan as far as my amp set up. I was originally running about 60 watts RMS to the door speakers with pioneer's GM-6400F 4 channel amp and was gonna add the GM-5400T 2 channel bridged to 360 watts for the sub.



Due to space constraints, I decided to go with the Alpine PDX-5...



[Broken External Image]:



4 channel + mono, 75 watts rms x 4, 300 rms x1, class D design. Very underrated power output, this is the actual output according to the birthsheet...



[Broken External Image]:



With a footprint measuring just 10-1/8 x 2-13/32 x 7-35/64, it's hard to fathom what this thing can do. It's running all of my speakers, and is providing more power than my initial set up would have been putting out, using about 2/3 less space than originally planned. This amp runs very cool as well...



[Broken External Image]:



Here's what the installation looks like...



[Broken External Image]:



Can't even tell there's anything under there, and I can still fold the seats down and use the rear compartments...



[Broken External Image]:



Aesthetically, this system blends well with the interior IMO, all interior features remain intact, and you can barely tell anythings in there until you hear it...



Being the :wacko: that I am, I'm already thinking of upgrading the system...



But I'm a happy camper...for now :banana:
 
Howzit Bro ! - Small world, and an even smaller "island" meeting you at the store I've been with since '01. More than just coincidence though, your ST is a "GEM" with "all the right parts in all the right places", caught my eye when you first pulled up. Seems U R pleased with the equipment and installation "da boys" did. Best always and enjoy. Aloha, Steve :cool:
 
wow great system. So you say the sub hits hard? Ive never tried the smaller ones before. Here is a pic of mine. [Broken External Image]:



BTW I dont usually have people in my back seat, So I dont have to take it in and out.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks great HST. :cool:



I've been wanting a double DIN nav/DVD/ipod unit for quite sometime now. most are much too expensive for me at this point.
 
Very nice system! I've heard good things about the Premier line. I was thinking about the Alpine PDX amp line but in the end I chose JL's 500/1v2 for it's underrated rms power and the fact it makes the same power from 11-14.4 volts. I also chose it because it can play the same power at 1.5ohms to 4ohms. This means I have unlimited options for sub combinations.



Although, I don't think I'll be changing my system out anytime soon. My install is tomorrow.
 
Nice system. :cool:



Can't even tell there's anything under there, and I can still fold the seats down and use the rear compartments...
Click to expand...



So are you saying that you can still fold the seats all the way down? If so, can you post pictures? I didn't think there was enough room for any sub box under the seats and still be able to fold them all the way down to the latched position.
 
Thanks for the comments Guys...



Jerry, I'll try to search for the dimensions when I get home from work today...



TT, with the box under there, I can still fold the seats down to use the compartments. If I want to lay the seat backs all the way down, all I need to do is slide the speaker box forward.



Never had the need to lay the back seats completely down though, my main concern was still being able to use the backseat compartments :)
 
Thanks HawaiianST, that would be great if I could get the dimensions so I could just build my own box. would like to build one for each side so I can still use the rear compartments.
 
Yea, I think were all asking for dimensions. I got 3/4 ply waiting for use! Send em my way too, please? Also, did you do all the wiring yourself, or did you have the pro's do it? If you did all that work yourself, what type of wiring did you use, and how did it all go? I want to do the same (except add Navi), but last car I worked on was my old Mustang, and spent about 3 days wiring a simple amp and 4 speakers. Trying to save a few bucks here, as my old track had about a grand in system and installation costs.



And it really looks great in there! What are the 5 switches under the steering column for?
 
I'm about as non-audiophile as they come, and generally think audio upgrades are a waste of time and money. But even I think that looks sweeeeeeeeeeeeet... :) Well done!
 
Very nicely done. How does the Alpine PDX-5 sound with all of the speakers? I'm running a similar setup as you (in-dash screen, components in front, coaxials in rear, 10" sub underneath rear seat) and am looking for a 5 channel amp to power all of the speakers. I would also prefer to have it fit under the driver's rear seat where my mono block amp sits now. The only problem that I have found with the PDX-5 is that out of the few 5-channel amps I am interested in, they are the most expensive.
 
Jerry, to answer part of your question, before Hawaiian had the same amp that I have currently, which I installed myself. If you've done it before, you'll at least have an idea of what you're getting yourself into.



Took me about a total of 14 hours, or two days to be completely done. Part of it was that I didn't want to rush through it and wanted it to be done right. By end of the first day, All I had left was to wire three more speakers (which was a PITA, but doable).



Used 8 awg for the power and ground. 16 awg for the speaker wire.



Hope that helps
 
Thanks Josh. I am working on refreshing my memory with installing all that stuff, gauge wire for whatever amp I get and length of wire needed, all that crap. Not looking forward to the bending and flexing part of installing, not as mobile as I used to be! Thankfully this is phase three, I am still working on phase 1 with the performance upgrades!:banana:
 
JerryA, what switches are you speaking of?



STCTC, All I can say is you have to hear it for yourself somehow, or just take my word for it ;)



I was a bit skeptical as well when I first even considered using just a one amp set up. Didn't think there was a snowball's chance in hell this little thing was gonna impress me, but I went with it anyway, since I knew the shop would change it back to my initial set up if I wasn't happy.



I haven't pushed my system to the limit yet as I'm still breaking in the sub, but I did crank it up pretty good on several occasions and I have yet to hear any sort of distortion or feel the amp get hot.



Yeah, it's a bit pricey, but there's a reason why some amps are 200.00 or less, while others are 500.00+ for what may appear to be the same thing...



A good investment if you're into quality sound and flexible installation options.











 

Latest posts

Top