01 Quad cab Ram and going to get serious about stereo upgrades from the factory system this spring. Not a 'system' guy, no clue what do do component wise, but confident I can install it.

Curious what you've done for after market systems. Don't want the 5k system that you can hear for miles away, want a nice sound that would just sound like a killer factory system, some base but not vibrating the block. Tips would be greatly appreciated, as well as your negative experiences with different equipment.

Currently have an Alpine x001 deck (ipod interface head unit, no cd), have an alpine 4 channel I plan on installing for the speakers, but not sure what speakers I should get. Been told to stick with 6.5's and figure out a sub set up, but not sure how I want to do a sub set up because I don't want to take away from my interior space.

Again, tips appreciated, just don't trust best buy sales staff.

 

id buy one of those boxes that is formed to go underneath your rear bench seat (ebay) and maybe just throw in some 10's. Depending on what subs you get will determine what amp you should purchase. I have 2 12's that sit on my rear seat and take up 3/4s of it and is powered by a sony xplod 1200 watt amp. Hits really hard but i dont think your wanting that much bass. If i were you i would throw in tweeters too for that extra clarity

 

i did a basic single cd pioneer 45 watt cd player. rockford 2 channel amp p200.2 i think? rockford 6x9 4 ways in the door. disconnected the rears. i bought the speakers new on ebay ($75), amp used on ebay ($60), cd new at best buy ($125). amp wiring kit on ebay ($20?), dash kit and wiring adapter at best buy ($40). installed it all myself. it took a couple of days and you have to remove door panels, seat belts, rear storage boxes. mounted amp under drivers seat. it sounds great and will play cleanly far louder than you can stand it. i didn't do a subwoofer, it seemed to drive up the cost, complexity, and clutter.

 

Mine is in my sig. Its a little too monstrous to call "awesome Factory radio", but its loud, clean, and doesnt rattle and sound like crap like most little import ricer cars you see running around.

 

Been exploring the premade boxes with 10's. Seems like that will at least ensure I get decent base but not the over the top stuff. Found a MTX Thunderform box that someone put some JL 10's that would fit perfect. Decent enough price too.

My truck currently has the factory Infinity 'premium' system with the tweeters in the door pillars, was planning on trying to reuse the location with an aftermarket tweeter. Anyone think that's a bad idea?

 

my buddy has a mtx thunderform box for under the rear seat he is trying to sell. it holds 2 10's and he will throw in two subs with it. How much you looking to pay?

 

In my truck i totally redid the whole system which means getting rid of all of the stock speaker wires and putting in new... For my head unit i have a pioneer one which is nothing special it was like $150 for speakers i have Alpine type-s 6x9 up front, Alpine type-R 6.5 in back, and a 10 inch Alpine type-s sub in a custom box i made to fit under the front passenger seat. i have 2 Kenwood amps under the back seat one for the speakers and one for the sub... i absolutely love my system and it rocks... the stuff isnt really too expensive... if you want it cheap get it from onlinecarstereo.com they have the best prices ive seen... it sounds like a lot of work, but its really not that bad it just takes some time i did mine in one day with breaks and working slow... good luck hope it helped.

 

The thunderform box I found locally is under $200. Be hard to buy one with shipping for less then that.

 

After spending the weekend researching online and this site (the 300 threads similar to this one I should have discovered by searching first), believe I know what I'm going to do. Infinity Kappa speakers, component 6.5's/tweets up front, 6.5's in the rear. Scrapping my Alpine amp from a previous project and replacing it with the Infinity Kappa 5 channel amp, and building a custom box with the Kappa 10" sub.

Found everything online for under 900, which includes some dynamat for the doors. Have everything I need tool wise from remodeling my house to build a sub box for the underseat, going to make something along the lines of the JL audio stealth box. Was leaning initially towards components front/rear and an MTZ Thunderlink powered sub under a seat, but after researching, feel I can build a box for less, that will probably sound at least as good. I've had Infinity speakers in the past and liked them, and like the fact that this system will allow me to have a single amp under the front driver seat, sub under the middle console. I ultimately elected not to do a Thunderform or simliar box, because I want to be able to flip up the back seat and store stuff in the half cab without worrying about my system.

If anyone has any input or critiques, let me hear it. Going to wait a week or two to order everything, as I continue to do research to make sure this is what I want. It's my first system where I'm working with an amp, so I'm learning as I go, but have picked up enough tips from the forum searches that I'm confident it'll be ok.

I'll take pics as I'm doing the console box and post if people are interested, assuming of course it doesn't sound like crap when I'm done lol

 

Ive got Earthquake speakers that I need work off a mini amp I have...this weekend I just installed the Qlogic box in the center console...was gonna put a 12 in it but an expert said..umm no you dont have enough air room for it to sound good so I took his suggest and put a high end 8 in it...it bumps hard...will take pics if I can.