Car Audiophile Question

You would get better info on an F150 board. May depend on what engine and trim level you have. Some of Eco-Boost models have fake V8 sounds that come from the audio system based on RPMs that have caused some problems with stereo upgrades. Link to F150 Forum stereo/audio section LINK

Just don't drive by my house and rattle my windows.

F150 + Monster sound = Small peen

Fords have a fake noise when accelerating to mimic the V8?

Lol

I haven't been into car audio for a long time, but Focal used to be very highly regarded. JL was good, too.

Don't buy the stuff through Mobile One. Get it online and pay them to install it if needed. It will save you a ton of money.

The two problems I see with the setup are
a) you don't need 4 midrange speakers. They're trying to rip you off there. Just get one pair for the front doors.
b) The 5 channel amp probably will probably be overkill. I just briefly looked at JL's site and their 5 channel amp is 100x4 + 500x1 for the sub. That's going to be overkill. The only reason to use that amplifier with the setup you should be getting (2 midrange speakers + one sub) would be to bridge the mids. That would give you 200Wx2 + 500W to the sub (assuming they are all 4 ohm, which I suspect they are). You would probably be happy with half that power.

Thanks for all the replies. Anyone know anything about adding an amp with the piped in engine sound?

Cheaper option from Sonic electronix ($950):

JBL P660C
JBL P662
JL 8W3v3-4
Rockford Fosgate Punch P1000X5


More expensive from Curtchfield ($1400):

Focal 165AS
Focal 165AC
JL 10W3v3-4
JL XD700/5v2


With that, factor in another $150-200 for a 1/0 AWG amp kit, another $100 for the harness, and probably $350 for the install. Unless you are anal and listen to music very loudly, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference between those two systems. The one thing I don't like about the Focal kit is the metal tweeters. I like the sound of silk/textile much better. It is equally as sharp, but not as harsh. All depends on what you like though.

Honestly, the amps (and head unit) compromise around 1% of the sound quality of your system. Power is power unless you have an AWFULLY designed amp. 99% of your system's sound quality will be based on speakers and install.

That doesn't mean that amps are insignificant. A lot of cheap amps heavily fib on their power output. The more power that you have available, the less likely you are to clip your amplifier at a given volume.

Obviously you haven't heard good subs. Even though my 6.5 was $45, it still sounds really good for what I listen to. I also listen to everything very loudly all of the time. The only thing it doesn't do is hit below 40Hz.

Reason I got it was because I was able to fab up a mount and stick it in the spot for the stock Bose sub. I also put my sub amp where the factory Bose amp was. Took a long time, but you can't see either of them, and can't even touch them without spending a while pulling the console apart


I have owned a couple of 10s that hit harder, lower, and were louder than many other bigger dual 12 setups. One was an aluminum Eclipse 10, and the other was a w7 10. It's all about moving that air

I know, I just thought that was funny. I had 2 12 inch W7s with a couple thousand watts going to each in a Tahoe I owned about 10 years ago and those things fricking POUNDED!!! I bought it with only 5000 miles and the guy had put over $10,000 into the system and spent over $5000 on the rims and tires. He sold it to me for what he paid for the truck new so I thought the $15k+ extra in add-ons was worth the 5000 miles and 6 months he owned it and it sure was. I wish I had pictures of the box, it was show quality.

Ya the guy I bought it from was this Armenian dude that owned a stereo and rim shop in L.A. so he went all out, it was pretty awesome!