DIY stereo upgrade for under $500.00

[Guy]

What did you do with the other speaker since you only need one? I'd be willing to go halvsies with someone on the middle 3.5". lol

---------- Post added at 03:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:59 PM ----------

Alright, this thread has inspired me to upgrade my stereo (as well as stop lurking and actually join the forum). I picked up everything needed aside from the center 3.5" and I doubled down on the dynamat including 2 of the dynaliners to go under the carpet. Hopefully it'll all sound amazing when it comes in and I throw it in.

I still have it. Just sitting in my garage.

 

[Toadster]

Smurf,

Nope I bought The dynamat just last week and played with it today on the front doors.

The sub enclosure took one roll for 20+ bucks on amazon that I did awhile ago.

The front doors was 4 rolls total... under a hundred bucks... but not part of the DIY for under 500.

The dynamat in the doors is now me just fooling around a bit. I''m being honest when I say I started taking readings because by ear I couldn't really tell any difference. Lol. So I wanted to see if it was doing ANYTHING... and it did... albeit very little.

Is it worth the money to do the doors?

Not really... It's a 500 dollar stereo mod... not a 10,000 mod... so I think that's the discriminating factor....

Now admittedly I haven't driven the truck yet... if for some reason it makes for a quieter ride I'll let you know.... but I doubt it.

But it DID make a difference with the sub enclosure as did the polyfill. Those you can hear without a meter. It improves the character and accuracy of the bass.

Those are all my two cents.

any measurements on road noise difference?

 

[Mcdonaho]

any measurements on road noise difference?

How did you dynomat and poly fill the sub? My audio shop didn't do that they just dynomat the doors and I have extra left over. Do you just put the dunk mat over the sub?


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[Guy]

I covered every inch of the stock enclosure with dynamat extreme.

I did this at the advice of the folks over at crutchfield and it did make the bass more accurate. More of a thud and less plasticky.

 

[Lanabat]

My LB Raptor is finally coming in tomorrow (fingers crossing) and am also looking to upgrade the stock stereo system after reading through every posts in this thread. I really enjoyed reading this thread and all the information provided by various members, especially Guy and Smurfslayer, so thank you!

I do have a question though. I understand that the purpose of this thread is to keep the budget under $500.00, but I noticed several members are also upgrading the subwoofer and amp (which bring the cost over $500.00). If that's the case, why not upgrade every speakers to Polk Audio DB line? It costs approx. $160 more and based on the description, it has a higher maximum RMS wattage. Is it because of the smaller frequency range?

Any information or assistance provided would be greatly appreciated. I would like to get the best bang for the bucks.

 

[Mcdonaho]

Well back to the audio shop after this Texas Raptor Run. It smells like burnt electrical wire behind my back seat something is smoking not sure what it is. I got a car full it doesnt start smoking till heavy base song comes on. Wonder what it could be...


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[nofire]

My LB Raptor is finally coming in tomorrow (fingers crossing) and am also looking to upgrade the stock stereo system after reading through every posts in this thread. I really enjoyed reading this thread and all the information provided by various members, especially Guy and Smurfslayer, so thank you!

I do have a question though. I understand that the purpose of this thread is to keep the budget under $500.00, but I noticed several members are also upgrading the subwoofer and amp (which bring the cost over $500.00). If that's the case, why not upgrade every speakers to Polk Audio DB line? It costs approx. $160 more and based on the description, it has a higher maximum RMS wattage. Is it because of the smaller frequency range?

Any information or assistance provided would be greatly appreciated. I would like to get the best bang for the bucks.

I'm sure the Polk speakers you mentioned are generally better speakers, but the Pioneer speakers listed here have a SUPER high sensitivity level. In layman's terms they play louder with the same amount of power, which is incredibly important when you're trying to run with the stock amp.

---------- Post added at 12:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:48 PM ----------

Well back to the audio shop after this Texas Raptor Run. It smells like burnt electrical wire behind my back seat something is smoking not sure what it is. I got a car full it doesnt start smoking till heavy base song comes on. Wonder what it could be...


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Hmm.... It sounds like everyone is driving that amp HARD. I'd back down the power on the amp just a bit if you have it turned up all the way.

 

[Lanabat]

I'm sure the Polk speakers you mentioned are generally better speakers, but the Pioneer speakers listed here have a SUPER high sensitivity level. In layman's terms they play louder with the same amount of power, which is incredibly important when you're trying to run with the stock amp.

Thank you for the reply nofire, I greatly appreciate it. So if I'm to get the Polk speakers, it would be better for me to get a new 4 channel amp?

 

[nofire]

Thank you for the reply nofire, I greatly appreciate it. So if I'm to get the Polk speakers, it would be better for me to get a new 4 channel amp?

That all depends on budget and how loud you like your music. If you're going to go serious, you can more or less run everything separate (new amps, interface, etc) and just leave the stock amp out of the way (but still hooked up because it'll throw codes if you unhook it). But the point of this thread was very decent sound at minimal cost.

Then again, you can always try doing everything like in here but with the Polk speakers and see if it goes loud enough for you. Most people don't listen to the volume up at full tilt anyways, so it might be perfect for you.

 

[Kansan]

I covered every inch of the stock enclosure with dynamat extreme.

I'm guessing when you say "rolls" earlier this is what you used?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00020CAVA/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

How many total rolls did you use for the enclosure, doors ad all speakers? I was thinking of just getting this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00URUIKAK/?tag=fordraptorforum-20