Sub $200 stereo makeover

[MankDeems]

I've been surfing the net looking for deals and scraped up some Warren G approved bargain bin stuff

Facebook marketplace brought me these Tsg400's for $25, they are drop in replacements, I thought at first they could use some speaker ring adapters but my rear occupants prefer the higher sound quality and like them a little quieter.

Best buy brought me TSG650 6.75" door speakers for $35 How to install for free

And Mr.Bezos brought me a single GMA3702 500w pk 190rms amp for $45

The speakers were from left over all in ones, back in school I was known for cutting bigger speaker holes in Walmart AIO boxes and cranking the gain until the student resource officer would come over.

So these are the leftovers that have been on a shelf for almost 10 years. One is 4 ohm, one is 8ohm, I ran them in series and bridged them mono on the amo so they do act as one single speaker, at 12ohm fit the 4-16ohm spec for bridged. sadly I couldn't run dual l&r channel due to the mismatched rating.

$30 in MDF, $7 in felt and 3$ glue is a total of $40 for the box, I even had to pull the plastic bucket to get it to fit but you can do it... I'm looking for a 2nd sill plate to cut guilt free, I've only seen a few listed anywhere for $100 each...

I put my spare tire jack, tools, tire patch kit, jumper cables, air compressor etc all on the other side and the cab appears stock until you lift the seat.

I intend to run it this way for at least a year as I have another project that desperately needs attention. In the future I'd like to build a rack for a DSP and upgrade to 2 12" 4ohm woofers (one per side next time) and add a 2nd GMA3702 amp for a true L/R dual channel "1000w" experience. But this has been a fun couple days off, link your stereo builds I'd love to see what you guys have done!

Edit: I see this Pic of my "truck" gear didn't upload

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[Clarkdonbran]

Nice work! You had me at the Warren G reference. That was a fairly deep cut too. Most people only know Regulators. That song is playing in my head right now. Pioneer speakers bumpin as I smoke on a pound.
Fuck, I want a pound.

 

[DrFaustus]

Two 12" subs in a box less the .5 cubic feet???

 

[MankDeems]

Two 12" subs in a box less the .5 cubic feet???

the 10's would be more pragmatic... I've been interested in 2" PVC boom tube vents but 1cu ft would be tight as it gets

Nice work! You had me at the Warren G reference. That was a fairly deep cut too. Most people only know Regulators. That song is playing in my head right now. Pioneer speakers bumpin as I smoke on a pound.
Fuck, I want a pound.

Move to Colorado!
-a guy that lives in a field 20min outside of Denver

 

[colinl]

LOL, well I admire your enthusiasm.

But no, wiring two very different subs in series does not actually make the amp see them as one. The ohm rating of a speaker is a generalization. In reality, the impedance varies based on the frequency it's reproducing and the efficiency of the speaker (which has a lot to do with how it is constructed).

I bet that sounds terrible. You can get a Skar 10" on Amazon for $45-80 depending on the model. One of those I'm sure would be an improvement if you care at all about sound quality and not just making noise.

Also, please get some speaker wire actually rated for the current you're passing. You're going to melt something with that 22 gauge!

 

[MankDeems]

LOL, well I admire your enthusiasm.

But no, wiring two very different subs in series does not actually make the amp see them as one. The ohm rating of a speaker is a generalization. In reality, the impedance varies based on the frequency it's reproducing and the efficiency of the speaker (which has a lot to do with how it is constructed).

I bet that sounds terrible. You can get a Skar 10" on Amazon for $45-80 depending on the model. One of those I'm sure would be an improvement if you care at all about sound quality and not just making noise.

Also, please get some speaker wire actually rated for the current you're passing. You're going to melt something with that 22 gauge!

As I mentioned I have other priorities and this was virtually free. At this point I've owned it for a year and have put 25,000 miles on it so "some noise" is better than the factory system....

I'd like to get a 2nd identical amp and 2 of these 10" pioneers so I can build 2 boxes for a true left and right channel but I'd like to buy a table saw so im not doing this with a jig and circular saw next time for a cleaner finish...

Thank you for pointing out my thin speaker wire, it's just off a spool I had in my garage. I usually just mess around with AIO systems and buy a wiring kit this is my first time ever building a box and 2nd time doing a standalone amp. Here's a video of how it sounds

 

[colinl]

As I mentioned I have other priorities and this was virtually free. At this point I've owned it for a year and have put 25,000 miles on it so "some noise" is better than the factory system....

I'd like to get a 2nd identical amp and 2 of these 10" pioneers so I can build 2 boxes for a true left and right channel but I'd like to buy a table saw so im not doing this with a jig and circular saw next time for a cleaner finish...

Thank you for pointing out my thin speaker wire, it's just off a spool I had in my garage. I usually just mess around with AIO systems and buy a wiring kit this is my first time ever building a box and 2nd time doing a standalone amp. Here's a video of how it sounds

Sounds like a good upgrade path.

Serious about the speaker wire though. Get a short length of 10 gauge!

 

[RZ2O16]

I've been surfing the net looking for deals and scraped up some Warren G approved bargain bin stuff

Facebook marketplace brought me these Tsg400's for $25, they are drop in replacements, I thought at first they could use some speaker ring adapters but my rear occupants prefer the higher sound quality and like them a little quieter.

Best buy brought me TSG650 6.75" door speakers for $35 How to install for free

And Mr.Bezos brought me a single GMA3702 500w pk 190rms amp for $45

The speakers were from left over all in ones, back in school I was known for cutting bigger speaker holes in Walmart AIO boxes and cranking the gain until the student resource officer would come over.

So these are the leftovers that have been on a shelf for almost 10 years. One is 4 ohm, one is 8ohm, I ran them in series and bridged them mono on the amo so they do act as one single speaker, at 12ohm fit the 4-16ohm spec for bridged. sadly I couldn't run dual l&r channel due to the mismatched rating.

$30 in MDF, $7 in felt and 3$ glue is a total of $40 for the box, I even had to pull the plastic bucket to get it to fit but you can do it... I'm looking for a 2nd sill plate to cut guilt free, I've only seen a few listed anywhere for $100 each...

I put my spare tire jack, tools, tire patch kit, jumper cables, air compressor etc all on the other side and the cab appears stock until you lift the seat.

I intend to run it this way for at least a year as I have another project that desperately needs attention. In the future I'd like to build a rack for a DSP and upgrade to 2 12" 4ohm woofers (one per side next time) and add a 2nd GMA3702 amp for a true L/R dual channel "1000w" experience. But this has been a fun couple days off, link your stereo builds I'd love to see what you guys have done!

Edit: I see this Pic of my "truck" gear didn't upload

Nice work with the subs.

 

[Montana]

Buy once cry once! Pawn shops are your friend. They will negotiate if you know how to

But as others said, speaker wire and the box size. One 12" maybe, but two in that small space probably sounds awful and very distorted. Not trying to be rude.

On your path to upgrades, consider an 8" sub. I've been talked into it by forum members as well over my choice of 10" sub. Much better choice for the space.

 

[billbillw]

I would never use two different subwoofers wired like that. You are better off with a single 4ohm. The interaction between the box the amp and the speakers is going to cause all kinds of issues in the long run. Also, there is no real reason to go with a dedicated L-R subwoofer wired in stereo. Bass below 100Hz is omni directional. Mono bass from a bridged amp is usually better than a stereo pair unless your are talking about a large room where you can DSP to room correct the bass response. In a small truck, it has no advantage.

 

[MankDeems]

Sounds like a good upgrade path.

Serious about the speaker wire though. Get a short length of 10 gauge!

It's my day off, I'm on my way to get a big spool of it, I'll have some for when I go down the upgrade path

Buy once cry once! Pawn shops are your friend. They will negotiate if you know how to

But as others said, speaker wire and the box size. One 12" maybe, but two in that small space probably sounds awful and very distorted. Not trying to be rude.

On your path to upgrades, consider an 8" sub. I've been talked into it by forum members as well over my choice of 10" sub. Much better choice for the space.

Those PVC Bass tubes have peaked my interest, unfortunately the biggest size PVC they make is 8" and I had 10" woofers at my disposal. Will look into 8" options!

I would never use two different subwoofers wired like that. You are better off with a single 4ohm. The interaction between the box the amp and the speakers is going to cause all kinds of issues in the long run. Also, there is no real reason to go with a dedicated L-R subwoofer wired in stereo. Bass below 100Hz is omni directional. Mono bass from a bridged amp is usually better than a stereo pair unless your are talking about a large room where you can DSP to room correct the bass response. In a car, it has no advantage.

I guess I did it because it was what I had laying around and that's the way the Legos fell together

To bring more clarity to the upgrade path, I'd like to build 2 completely new boxes, one speaker each side, put my tools behind the seat again

I'd most likely order a duplicate of the amp I already have and run left and right channel 10" woofer bridged@190rms each with the amps on the box so I can put my tools behind the seat instead of under again. In this case would it make sense to have left and right channel or would I need to upgrade my amplifier to something that produces 100hz per channel for it to be multi directional? Even if there's no sound benefit I can't help but think it would be a fairly easy way of installing it

Napkin math

 

[thev8man]

I've been surfing the net looking for deals and scraped up some Warren G approved bargain bin stuff

Facebook marketplace brought me these Tsg400's for $25, they are drop in replacements, I thought at first they could use some speaker ring adapters but my rear occupants prefer the higher sound quality and like them a little quieter.

Best buy brought me TSG650 6.75" door speakers for $35 How to install for free

And Mr.Bezos brought me a single GMA3702 500w pk 190rms amp for $45

The speakers were from left over all in ones, back in school I was known for cutting bigger speaker holes in Walmart AIO boxes and cranking the gain until the student resource officer would come over.

So these are the leftovers that have been on a shelf for almost 10 years. One is 4 ohm, one is 8ohm, I ran them in series and bridged them mono on the amo so they do act as one single speaker, at 12ohm fit the 4-16ohm spec for bridged. sadly I couldn't run dual l&r channel due to the mismatched rating.

$30 in MDF, $7 in felt and 3$ glue is a total of $40 for the box, I even had to pull the plastic bucket to get it to fit but you can do it... I'm looking for a 2nd sill plate to cut guilt free, I've only seen a few listed anywhere for $100 each...

I put my spare tire jack, tools, tire patch kit, jumper cables, air compressor etc all on the other side and the cab appears stock until you lift the seat.

I intend to run it this way for at least a year as I have another project that desperately needs attention. In the future I'd like to build a rack for a DSP and upgrade to 2 12" 4ohm woofers (one per side next time) and add a 2nd GMA3702 amp for a true L/R dual channel "1000w" experience. But this has been a fun couple days off, link your stereo builds I'd love to see what you guys have done!

Edit: I see this Pic of my "truck" gear didn't upload

Booyah 2A

 

[volksnuts]

Buy once cry once! Pawn shops are your friend. They will negotiate if you know how to

But as others said, speaker wire and the box size. One 12" maybe, but two in that small space probably sounds awful and very distorted. Not trying to be rude.

On your path to upgrades, consider an 8" sub. I've been talked into it by forum members as well over my choice of 10" sub. Much better choice for the space.

I’ve got 2 12’s under the seat and they sound really good
Of course them fitting under the seat is a term used loosely

 

[Exranger]

I've been surfing the net looking for deals and scraped up some Warren G approved bargain bin stuff

Facebook marketplace brought me these Tsg400's for $25, they are drop in replacements, I thought at first they could use some speaker ring adapters but my rear occupants prefer the higher sound quality and like them a little quieter.

Best buy brought me TSG650 6.75" door speakers for $35 How to install for free

And Mr.Bezos brought me a single GMA3702 500w pk 190rms amp for $45

The speakers were from left over all in ones, back in school I was known for cutting bigger speaker holes in Walmart AIO boxes and cranking the gain until the student resource officer would come over.

So these are the leftovers that have been on a shelf for almost 10 years. One is 4 ohm, one is 8ohm, I ran them in series and bridged them mono on the amo so they do act as one single speaker, at 12ohm fit the 4-16ohm spec for bridged. sadly I couldn't run dual l&r channel due to the mismatched rating.

$30 in MDF, $7 in felt and 3$ glue is a total of $40 for the box, I even had to pull the plastic bucket to get it to fit but you can do it... I'm looking for a 2nd sill plate to cut guilt free, I've only seen a few listed anywhere for $100 each...

I put my spare tire jack, tools, tire patch kit, jumper cables, air compressor etc all on the other side and the cab appears stock until you lift the seat.

I intend to run it this way for at least a year as I have another project that desperately needs attention. In the future I'd like to build a rack for a DSP and upgrade to 2 12" 4ohm woofers (one per side next time) and add a 2nd GMA3702 amp for a true L/R dual channel "1000w" experience. But this has been a fun couple days off, link your stereo builds I'd love to see what you guys have done!

Edit: I see this Pic of my "truck" gear didn't upload

 

[Exranger]

Good job man! Yes you could use some thicker wire on the subs. Also add some damping material or more in the box to help with less space. Yes, The ohm difference will have the speakers working a little differently from each other. Make sure your grounds are good and tight. Let’s have the (experts ) post their builds, then comment.

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