Posted by: superjens
Xterra Xperiments (with audio) - 03/12/01 11:13 AM
I know lots of people here are curious about what can be done to their truck's audio system, like what helps and what doesn't, that kind of thing. I just thought I'd share some thoughts on what I've been through so far, hopefully if anybody here is wondering what they can do, this could help. Also, if anybody else has anything to add please do. Maybe I should rename this the Perpetual Audio Upgrade Thread. Or maybe it'll die a slow, horrible death.
Head Unit: The first thing I did was pull out the stock CD player and toss it into my girlfriend's car. I had a detachable-face unit (Panasonic DFX150U, 4x40 watts) which has the pre-amp outs, including a dedicated sub-out, and a remote control. Difference? Minimal.
IMO, if you're happy with the stock radio, keep it. Just bear in mind if you're planning on adding an amplifier, you'll need to either get one with high-gain inputs (to tap the speaker outs), or a speaker wire-to-RCA adapter, as it doesn't have any amp out connections.
Amplified Subwoofer: I had an Alpine S series 12" woofer in a sealed box from my Honda Civic rice burning days. Mounted on it was a Phoenix Gold QX2180 amp, putting out a clean 180 watts into 1 bridged channel. Sitting in the back, it sounded amazing. It was absolutely too loud for most of my passengers, and I routinely stepped out of the truck a little dizzy. Gut-churning bass.
Turning the bass off to the stock speakers allowed them to sound much better on their own as well, overall the balance between the thump the sub put out and the highs the radio was giving to the speakers was pretty good. The biggest drawback was the size of that damned box in my trunk. Plus, it was a visible target for thieves (a problem in Vancouver). I had pulled the cover over, but that just says "look, I'm hiding something!". Instead of risking a break in, the box sits in storage.
Amplified front stock speakers: The amp itself is pretty small, so I took if off the subwoofer box and hooked it up to the front speakers instead. Difference? Unbelievable. You'd be completely surprised, but those "crappy" front speakers actually put out quite a lot of bass. Not the gut-churning low-end stuff that the 12" sub was putting out, but you can definitely feel it thumping, the mirrors are shaking again and I'm driving around with a huge shit-eating grin on my face once more.
Although the QX2180 only puts out 50 watts per channel when not bridged, the sound coming from the front end now is fantastic. By the way, if you think your "4x45 watt" radio is really putting out 45 watts per channel, you're smoking crack. For now, I'm completely happy, as I didn't lose any trunk space, the amplifier is invisible, and the sound up front is fantastic. If I had a four channel amp I could drive the back speakers as well, but having just the fronts going for now is definitely acceptable.
Next up on the list is changing the front speakers/tweeters, but I'm definitely not in a hurry to do this now.
Just my $0.02
Jens
Head Unit: The first thing I did was pull out the stock CD player and toss it into my girlfriend's car. I had a detachable-face unit (Panasonic DFX150U, 4x40 watts) which has the pre-amp outs, including a dedicated sub-out, and a remote control. Difference? Minimal.
IMO, if you're happy with the stock radio, keep it. Just bear in mind if you're planning on adding an amplifier, you'll need to either get one with high-gain inputs (to tap the speaker outs), or a speaker wire-to-RCA adapter, as it doesn't have any amp out connections.
Amplified Subwoofer: I had an Alpine S series 12" woofer in a sealed box from my Honda Civic rice burning days. Mounted on it was a Phoenix Gold QX2180 amp, putting out a clean 180 watts into 1 bridged channel. Sitting in the back, it sounded amazing. It was absolutely too loud for most of my passengers, and I routinely stepped out of the truck a little dizzy. Gut-churning bass.
Turning the bass off to the stock speakers allowed them to sound much better on their own as well, overall the balance between the thump the sub put out and the highs the radio was giving to the speakers was pretty good. The biggest drawback was the size of that damned box in my trunk. Plus, it was a visible target for thieves (a problem in Vancouver). I had pulled the cover over, but that just says "look, I'm hiding something!". Instead of risking a break in, the box sits in storage.
Amplified front stock speakers: The amp itself is pretty small, so I took if off the subwoofer box and hooked it up to the front speakers instead. Difference? Unbelievable. You'd be completely surprised, but those "crappy" front speakers actually put out quite a lot of bass. Not the gut-churning low-end stuff that the 12" sub was putting out, but you can definitely feel it thumping, the mirrors are shaking again and I'm driving around with a huge shit-eating grin on my face once more.
Although the QX2180 only puts out 50 watts per channel when not bridged, the sound coming from the front end now is fantastic. By the way, if you think your "4x45 watt" radio is really putting out 45 watts per channel, you're smoking crack. For now, I'm completely happy, as I didn't lose any trunk space, the amplifier is invisible, and the sound up front is fantastic. If I had a four channel amp I could drive the back speakers as well, but having just the fronts going for now is definitely acceptable.
Next up on the list is changing the front speakers/tweeters, but I'm definitely not in a hurry to do this now.
Just my $0.02
Jens