GEN 2 Audio upgrade in 2017 SCREW

[Blown00gt]

Um.... if you can get Utopias and subs installed and tuned for $4000 sounds like a steal..... good luck. I’ll let you know how my K2s with subs sound in a couple weeks.

 

[Kyle@Apollo-Optics]

So I went back to the shop last night. Gave a listen to a few from components. Namely Audison (as @mrdoenutz uses above), Focal KX2, and Focal Performance. I'd rank them as KX2, Audison, then Perforance. We also talked about getting the lower powered Audison amp ($750) + mono amp instead of the Audison Forza ($1500). Shop guy stated that he's done it before, but it works out best when you use Audison speakers,, full package. That'll be around $3k installed. And I was thinking that was the way to go. I also like that the Audison amp won't take up space under the passenger seat.

Then he offered me a package deal.
Audison F8.9 ($1500)
Focal Utopia 165WXP ($1500-$2k)
Focal RCX-165 -rears ($120)
JL 12TW3D4 sub ($300)
Sub box under seat
4 Guage
T-harness and AR as needed

$4000 installed.


A part of me says I should just go with the Audison package. Save some money and the smaller amp. A part of me says I should take the deal and avoid any regrets. A part of me says I should take the deal, but replace the sub with a behind the seat sub and 10 inch.

To reiterate on sub space, I do want room for the dog to lie down in the back. An under seat sub can be removed whenever I want to do that, just not sure that makes practical sense. Not sure the dog is going to go on many long trips either.

I think I know what I'm going to do, just letting it settle in a bit.

I love the Focal Utopia 165W’s. I have a set that are probably over 10yrs old and would still be using them in this truck if I hadn’t decided to go with a 3 way setup up front.
They are an amazing set of speakers and yours will have the beryllium tweeters.
I’ve ran them with no rear fill and a single 8W7, and then again with two 10W7’s. I hope my Audio Frog GB setup will compare to them.

Power handling and output they never disappointed me. I ran them active w/ 150w to each tweeter and mid off a JL HD 600/4.

I think that setup with the single 12TW3 would be the best if you don’t mind spending the cash. Just be sure to deaden the doors.

I can’t wait to start my build. I haven’t completely decided on subs just yet, but I’m thinking 3, SI BM MKV’s under the seat. Can’t wait to finish our new house for more than one reason.

Kyle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[melvimbe]

To give an update, I pulled the trigger on the Utopia deal and dropped the truck in Tuesday night to start the install. Stopped by yesterday and they had made a lot of progress, should be done today. Only change I made from what I posted earlier is sound dampening in the front doors for an extra $150.

Can't wait to pick it up tonight.

 

[melvimbe]

Install was finished Thursday night. At first, it didn't quite sound as good as was I expecting it to. Definitely a huge improvement, but didn't sound quite as good as it did in the shop, and I was hearing some distortion at time. It's several days later now and I'm liking it much much better. I guess the speakers needed sometime to settle in (or my ears did). Also realized that the mp3 quality now makes a huge difference. Lower rate tracks didn't matter much before, but now that I hear everything, I can hear the difference.

And it's a huge hit with the kids.

I did get the sub under the seat. The only real problem with the dog is that getting him in and out. Previously, it was an easy jump to the floor with help from the rails. He still can get in that way, but less room with the seat down. Getting out is a bit of a challenge as he doesn't always think to drop to the floor first before jump out, and that's a big drop.

 

[melvimbe]

Just thought I'd drop in another update. Absolutely no regrets. Sounds seems to keep better over time. I use Amazon for audio most of the time, so get a lot of tracks in HD and Ultra HD and can definitely hear the difference. I found that I tended to run in to distortion more frequently on Ultra HD, which is a really bummer since there is no real difference to the human ear between HD and Ultra HD. I would get the distortion on some low res SD tracks as well. Fortunately, I've found the gain settings buried deep in the PX6 tablet settings, and lowering them appears to have cleared up distortion. Other minor issues really center around the PX6, not the rest of the audio system

I can always second guess myself on whether I would have been just as happy with lesser components up front, or if I would have been happy with behind the seat sub, or 2 10"s instead of a single 12". The system does more than what I need though.