My stereo upgrade process in Maverick XL

[MikeyG]

Started to working on my stereo system and thought I would share the process here and also get some advice along the way. I’m no stereo expert and have only done one system probably 12 years ago that was in my previous truck. I have never hooked up amps to a factory radio so I’m still trying to figure out what route I’m going to go with but I’m looking for something not expensive and user friendly so I’m thinking lc7i. The amps I’m using are alpine mrp300 (4 channel) alpine mrp500 (mono amp) and a 10” sundown sd2 that I took out of my old f150. This is just a basic build that I’m not looking to spend a lot of money on it. I bought lower end morel 6.5” components and 4” rear speakers. I also have some 0 gauge power wire that I took out of my f150 that I might use.

here’s the sub, components, rear speakers and power wire.

getting an idea for the amp rack. This is just a scrap piece of mdf I had laying around so once I figure how I’m going to do the rack I’ll get a new piece of mdf.

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[MikeyG]

ordered a loopback harness from plug and play kits. This will tap into the speakers for me and bring the signal back to my amps.

Sound deadened the bins under the rear seats.

 

[MikeyG]

now for the box. This is my first box that I ever built. My 10” sundown called for .5 cu ft so in order to get the right volume I had to use 1/2” mdf.

had to cut out all the sides and the bottom of the plastic bin in Oder for the box to fit.

Now for the top trim piece to finish everything off. This is all 1/2” mdf

last the holes cut and cover piece covered in leather

 

[colinl]

You're off to a pretty good start. What did you cover the box with? That looks pretty nice and it's fairly close to the factory blue plastic color.

 

[alligarbage]

That looks amazing!

 

[MikeyG]

You're off to a pretty good start. What did you cover the box with? That looks pretty nice and it's fairly close to the factory blue plastic color.

Thank you! Here’s the link to Amazon where I got the faux leather
Osunnus Faux Leather Upholstery Fabric by The Yard 55" Wide PU Faux Leather Sheets for DIY Crafts Christmas Home Decor Furniture Cover Car Marine Upholstery, Navy Blue https://a.co/d/14zslkZ

 

[MikeyG]

That looks amazing!

Thank you! I definitely impressed myself lol

 

[shizelbs]

So clean. Nice job.

 

[Phileaux]

Looks better than stock. Thumbs up

 

[Montana]

Awesome. Now make me a box lol.

 

[rclee]

That is a great job! You are quite the craftsman.

 

[Azmig88]

A++++++

 

[rallyshark]

Great work! That sub looks like it belongs there, and great choice on the mids/highs too! Can you tell us more about that harness you got, and where you got it from specifically? So it carries the signal to the amps, but I'm assuming you will have to run the speaker wires back to the front from the amp for the fronts, right? Where are you going to connect the amplified channels to for the fronts at? Don't get me wrong, I know how to make it all work, I'm just curious about how much trouble that harness is saving, and if it would be worth it for me to do. Currently, I plan to run a 9 conductor speed wire, and simply snip the front speaker wires at the harness and take it from there.

I bet it will sound so much better than stock now! I will say, a DSP before those amps will open up a whole new world to you though Once you go DSP, you never go back, haha. Having full control over the sound profile is awesome(a must even), and you can really dial it in to it's full potential. Either way, really nice work man!!

 

[WNYEscapee]

Nice looking box. The vinyl was an excellent touch. How's the overall improvement in sound quality?

I haven't done anything audio related in probably almost 25 years, though adding some bass to this audio system would be a big plus -- it's definitely lacking a bit there. However, the factory audio isn't as bad as I was expecting, but still nowhere new the bass of my previous Ram.

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