I have a 2005 2500HD ext. cab short bed. i have never had a aftermarket sound system in any vehicle. and have blown my stock speakers in my front doors. it has the stock radio and speakers, the radio is the double din size. i would like to install a system in my truck, new door speakers, rear door speakers and sub box and radio/cd player.. amp etc.... i just dont trust the huys at Best Buy for info. i have looked at Crutchfield and not sure what fits , alot of components say modified fit... My question is can some of you who have the type of system tell me what you have what size speakers, size of amp, what sub box will fit. and around how much it will roughly cost me. i will do the install.. thank you for all of your help on this topic.... just not sure what brand to get what is good and what is crap.. i just want to be able to turn up the radio with the windows down and here the music over the wind. and ofcourse some bass wont hurt either.. thanks.

^ bump^ anyone?

Use the "Outfit my vehicle" feature on Crutchfield. It's reliable. You will need a couple of harness adapters to keep everything inside working. A Metra/Axess GMOS-01 if you don't have Bose or GMOS-04 if you do have Bose. If you buy the deck from Crutchfield you get a good discount on the installation parts. I would recommend a Sony 630I deck if you want iPod connectivity. Run the harnesses and adapters together on the bench and solder it together and extend the wires so you can mount the adapter behind the knee panel or glove box. There is another adapter you need if you have steering wheel controls; PAC SWI(brand of stereo or model from PAC to complete the part number).

You have 6.75" in the front doors and 4x6" in the suicides. I recommend Infinity Reference for the mids and highs if you don't want to spend a lot. All of this is on Crutchfield.

In my '05 EC/SB I had a Sony 820IP deck, JL Audio 6.75 components in the front doors and 4x6 plates in the suicides. Low-end was a JL Audio Stealthbox with 12" sub and a JL Audio 250v1 amp under the rear seat. All streetwires accessories.

I run a similar system in the '08 CC/SB but I switched to Infinity Reference 6.5" for all the doors. The '08 is much quieter inside and I spent what I saved on the doors to get the dual 10" Stealthbox and a bigger amp.

x2 on the crutchfield, but as far as a deck pick something more reliable for the radio its self. I have had several differnt brands including sony, pioneer, aiwa, and clarion some better than other but he two that stuck out to me were Alpine and ECLIPSE.

I've heard of people having problems with Sony, but I never have. I have ran Sony, Pioneer and Alpine. I still have an Alpine 7904 that works.

pm sent to you

What's the budget? Makes a ton of differnece in suggestions.:rolleyes: A bunch of us have systems, ranging from factory deck with upgraded speakers to mucho $$$ systems. Right now I don't have any suggestions without more information.
John

I was gonna start a new thread but this thread is really close to what I was going to ask. I have a '96 with stock radio and speakers. The speakers are blown. I want to replace speakers and leave stock radio because I like the stock look. I heard that stock radios are not good for quality sound, is this true? Is there a way to figure out the factory radio wattage? If I were to buy an aftermarket radio are those HD radios worth getting? I plan to purchase from crutchfield and hopefully spend less than 300. I would really appreciate anyones input.

I was gonna start a new thread but this thread is really close to what I was going to ask. I have a '96 with stock radio and speakers. The speakers are blown. I want to replace speakers and leave stock radio because I like the stock look. I heard that stock radios are not good for quality sound, is this true? Is there a way to figure out the factory radio wattage? If I were to buy an aftermarket radio are those HD radios worth getting? I plan to purchase from crutchfield and hopefully spend less than 300. I would really appreciate anyones input.

The stock radio is going to be somewhere around 7 watts RMS and probably 15 watts peak. Sound quality wise, you could do a lot better with an aftermarket radio which will have a higer quality receiver, more power and aux input for a cd changer, ipod, USB, etc. But if you want to keep the stock look, then aftermarket speakers will make it sound better, just don't expect "blow me away" results.

HD radio, is it worth getting? That depends. Are there any stations that transmit in HD where you travel? If there are no HD stations, then no. If there are HD stations, go for it. HD radio is CD quality with the strongest signal with a little loss of quality as the signal degrades, but still better than FM stereo. HD radio receiver in the past has normally an add on to higher level units, which are not be in your price range. But a lot of new radios are in that $300 range with built in HD receivers.
John

i would say around $1000.00 would be around the max i would want to spend.. is this possible? thanks...

i would say around $1000.00 would be around the max i would want to spend.. is this possible? thanks...

You can certainly put together a good system for 1000.00.

First of all get this amplifier kit.
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KLM-K8

Something like this sub should work for app.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2067C124/Kicker-Comp-07C124.html?tp=111

Here is a good amp. Run the sub bridged on channels 3 and 4 then run your front speakers on 1 and 2. Run the rear speakers off the headunit.
http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/store/products/Sundown-Audio-SAX%252d50.4.html

You can do what you would like for a subwoofer box, but I highly recommend building your own. It is much cheaper and will sound better. There are several programs online that will design a box for you. You can run ported or sealed. Sealed generally takes less space, but ported will be louder. Also, depending on how the box is tuned, sealed will have a wider spectrum.

I would search through Crutchfield's selection of headunits. Find one that has features you like and has pre-amp outputs. Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood, and Sony are examples of good companies. The same goes for speakers. Go to a local shop and listen to some, see what you like and then buy it online. Most shops that I have seen are not that knowledgeable nor have good prices. Also, do not buy a capacitor. There are a marketing gimmick.

One of the general rules to remember is you get what you pay for. I assume you plan on installing this yourself? You will certainly save money, and learn during the process.

Invest in a good headunit. Pioneer makes lots of good decks. Speakers are also nothing to go cheap on, components (mid bass and separate) are the only way to go up front, rear speakers a 1-way is fine. To save money you can run them off the headunit, it will work fine. A single 12" or 10" sub on 500-1000 watts won't cost too much. You can always add a 4-channel amp later down the line... Call a local stereo shop, they can set you up with something good and possibly cut you a deal if you buy everything and have them install it

What area do ya live in?

thanks guys, i live in Hawaii

Ok ill admit, im looking for the easy way out, i am hoping that one of you who has the same truck i do, will just tell me what speakers, amp ect. you have, there are way to many choices out there , it drives me nutz....
i know nothing about this stereo stuff.. have no idea how to hook up amps etc... if i buy a 500 watt sub, do i need a 500 watt amp? if i have 100 watt door speakers do i need a 100 watt amp to power them? do i need seperate amps for the door speakers and a seperate amp for the sub? these are the things i need to know.... i thank you in advance for the input and help,

If I were you, I would buy 5.25in speakers for the rear doors with 4x6 adapters.

Hooking up an amp is very easy, rca signal to back of the head unit to amp, remote turn on lead to turn the amp on. Power wire to battery and amp. Speaker wires from amp to speakers you want to amp.

You can amp speakers with a little more or less wattage, just don't amp them with too much, or you will create excess heat and blow the speakers easier.

You don't need to amp the door speakers if you don't want to, but with your budget of $1000, you will be able to if you don't go overboard with the rest of your system.

As for head units, I love Alpine, but Kenwood and Pioneer are good too.

As for boxes, you can find Chevy ext cab boxes on ebay pretty cheap if you don't want to make your own. Sealed bass is more precise, and as said above, ported is louder.

Buy from ebay, it is usually cheaper than the Pakistani down the street at a car audio shop (trust me, I just went through that).

Don't be overwhelmed, there are a lot of choices out there, but that only helps you get the best you can for your budget.

Hope this helps,
-Brad

As long as you don't buy a bigger amp then your speakers can handle you will be fine. I always buy speakers that will handle more power then the amp will make

As long as you don't buy a bigger amp then your speakers can handle you will be fine. I always buy speakers that will handle more power then the amp will make
That's usually what I do, so that I can push it without worrying about blown speakers. That and I never push the volume level above 3/4s

thanks guys, im starting t o get it.. I can build a box, well i sure hope so, im a carpenter for christ sake...... so that can save some money...
ok last question..
so ill go with 6.75 in the front doors.
either 4x6 or 5.25 with the 4x6 adapter plates in the rear doors.
do i need tweeters any where, or will i get enough high's from the door speakers.
and a sub box under the rear seat. just not sure what size. dual 10's or single 12.?
so i will have 3 sets of speakers, then do i need one large enough 3-4 channel amp, meaning each channel goes to each speaker. ?
or small amp to each speaker, then big one to sub.??
thanks again fella's, you a huge help....

Single 12 will be just fine if you want good bass. I have a 10 that works pretty good, especially for the price I got it for. Get a 4 channel amp for the door speakers if you don't want to use the head unit's amp, then get a 2 channel amp and bridge the channels for the sub, or get a mono amp.

thanks guys, im starting t o get it.. I can build a box, well i sure hope so, im a carpenter for christ sake...... so that can save some money...
ok last question..
so ill go with 6.75 in the front doors.
either 4x6 or 5.25 with the 4x6 adapter plates in the rear doors.
do i need tweeters any where, or will i get enough high's from the door speakers.
and a sub box under the rear seat. just not sure what size. dual 10's or single 12.?
so i will have 3 sets of speakers, then do i need one large enough 3-4 channel amp, meaning each channel goes to each speaker. ?
or small amp to each speaker, then big one to sub.??
thanks again fella's, you a huge help....

You can get either component speakers or coaxials. Components will have the tweeter and mid separate. Coaxials are together. With components you can move the tweeters wherever you like for the best possible sound.

Use 3/4" MDF to build the sub box with. Just about any average Joe with a drill and circular saw can make a box. For a sealed box just calculate the cubic feet the sub needs from your dimensions and there you go. Ported is more complex because you have to make the port a certain size for the correct tuning.

I would get a 4 channel amp to power all of your front speakers, then run the rears off the headunit. And as said a 2ch or mono amp for the sub.

A lot of good suggestions here and a ton of good deals on the internet. The only thing I can add, is go to some local shops, big stores (best buy, etc) and actually listen to speakers. What sounds good to someone else may sound like azz to you. Also get "hands on" with the head units you are interested in. Their pricing will give you an idea of how your budget will be spent, then look for deals on the internet. Remember to buget for the small stuff like power/ground/turn-on wire, speaker wire, RCA cables, connectors, wiring distribution, head unit mounting kit (buy kits, it's pretty much cheaper that way). Spend your money once.
John

A lot of good suggestions here and a ton of good deals on the internet. The only thing I can add, is go to some local shops, big stores (best buy, etc) and actually listen to speakers. What sounds good to someone else may sound like azz to you. Also get "hands on" with the head units you are interested in. Their pricing will give you an idea of how your budget will be spent, then look for deals on the internet. Remember to buget for the small stuff like power/ground/turn-on wire, speaker wire, RCA cables, connectors, wiring distribution, head unit mounting kit (buy kits, it's pretty much cheaper that way). Spend your money once.
John
Also keep in mind that the same speakers can actually sound totally different depending on the head units settings, acoustics, and amount of power.