Stereo Thread - tunes for your FJ60/62

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mmw68

mmw68

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Greg asked me to start a Stereo Thread. :D

I have not started on my Michelle's FJ62, but I did install a nice system in my last FJ62. Most of that has been moved to my FZJ80 - you can read about it here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=97436

I also had just a few photos from my old FJ62 install...so what types of systems is everyone else doing? My only advice is that I love to mount the tweeters in the kick panels facing up at a angle up, so it gives a good front imaging and the sound stage is from the front.

I also use dynomat on the doors, IMO it makes a big difference. I always try and add a knob so I can adjust the Bass on the fly. It basically controls the gain to the amp running the sub. I usually run a sealed box with a 12 inch sub.

Equipment list:

Alpine CDA-9857 Head unit with Sat radio and Ipod control
A/D/S – PH15 Six channel Amp 6 x 50 watts
A/D/S 642CSi – Active Cross with Remote Bass control
EQL Equalizer/Pre Amp
Boston Acoustic Pro60 6.5”2-way component system
Boston Acoustic SL65 6.5” - 2 way car coaxial speaker
Boston Acoustic G2 12” Sub woofer

diamgram.jpg


Sub control and box:
21844431-L.jpg

black_catcher_lg.jpg


Amps and cross overs under seats:
21844466-L.jpg


Dynomat:
21844460-L.jpg


-Mark
 
did you make that TEq bottle cap catcher or find it somewhere? we have the same bottle opener here at our house with the cap catcher that we made ourselves with the logo on it. funny to see us cruiser people think the same...
 
That cap catcher is a official "Cruisercrap" product. I need to get some more in stock, pm me off line please. Only problem is when the sub gets real loud..the caps bounce out of the catcher! :D
 
So what is the best cheap headunit?? (under $150)
 
Tweets in the kick panel is just way too low. Flush mount them in the door panel and be done. ADS? youre dating your self!!! I LOVE ADS. the PQ10, PH15 were great amps. The ADS 320I's were the best separates ever made. I still haven't heard anything better. AS far as I know ADS is out of business.
Im slowly accumulating all my gear for a system. I'll do a write up on it when I finally start. Im waiting becuase this rig has been smoked in for 20 years and I want to gut it all at once. New carpet, new headliner, new seats, dynamat, security system with power locks all the way around.
 
Last edited:
I disagree about the tweeter - but everyone's ear is different. I like a very prominent front stage almost as if the sound was coming from the dash - or from ahead of you. Have you seen the new OEM audio system where the tweeters are mounted very close to the rear side mirrors? That is a great spot, but on my FJ62 I just found that a door mount was not close enough to the dash for my ear. and I wanted them pointed towards the middle of the car - not at each other, if I flush mounted them the would be pointed at each other. On all my systems I try and point the speakers to the dome light, or where you head is, to me this gives the best sound.

Here is some good begging reading on the subject...and I Quote

http://ezinearticles.com/?Beginners-Guide-to-Car-Audio-Installation---DIY&id=140825

"If the left speaker is only a couple feet away from your ears, while the right speaker is several feet away from you, then the sound will arrive at different times giving you poor sound. IMO The best solution is to figure out a location where the difference between the distance of the right speaker to your ears and left speaker (also known as path length difference), are minimal. This is where kick panels become the preferred location."

Mace - Iam not sure what is the best $150 radio, but in my FZJ80, I picked up a nice ALPINE on sale for under $150, and it had the ipod input. I don't think Alpine is the brand it once was...but It's working well for me.

-Mark
 
The problem with the kick panel location is #1 your feet and the dash block some of the sound. #2 the tweeters get hammered by wet/ muddy feet, kicked etc. Tweeter life and poor sound have always been an issue when a customer wanted them located in the "kick" panel. I wish the kick panel location actually did work becuase its a much easier location to install them, angling them might help as you mentioned. plenty of car stereo competitions have been won with the tweets in the door, so I dont buy the poor sound theory. how much delay are we talking here? I mean were talking the difference of a couple feet maximum. the human ear simply cant differentiate that minscule amount of delay.
A custom pillar would be sweet and looks good too. is there such a thing for the 60?
 
None of my customers ever complained about tweeter in the kick panels. We would make custom fiberglass kickpannels with grills, and they were high enough on the panel to not be kicked or too get wet. We would also mount them high enough and forward enough to be past your feet and miss the dash..I see if I have a good picture.

Custom pillar would be very cool, like I said before, there are so many ways to - I don't think there is any wrong way, just choices. ;)

This is example of what I used to do - stolen from the Tacoma fourm. http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181238

kicks2006tt7.jpg


chukardog said:
The problem with the kick panel location is #1 your feet and the dash block some of the sound. #2 the tweeters get hammered by wet/ muddy feet, kicked etc. Tweeter life and poor sound have always been an issue when a customer wanted them located in the "kick" panel. I wish the kick panel location actually did work becuase its a much easier location to install them, angling them might help as you mentioned. plenty of car stereo competitions have been won with the tweets in the door, so I dont buy the poor sound theory. how much delay are we talking here? I mean were talking the difference of a couple feet maximum. the human ear simply cant differentiate that minscule amount of delay.
A custom pillar would be sweet and looks good too. is there such a thing for the 60?
Click to expand...
 
holy s***, I bow to your superior Install and fabrication prowess. Thats is amazing work right there. You didnt use to live in Wa state did you? is your first name Dave? Im very impressed, I can see how this would sound just fine. I had in my mind flat kick panels...

Damn, keep up the pics.
 
NO..no - that's not mine - Iam not taking credit for that tweeter install, but it's just a example. Nope Iam a Texan, and my name is Mark. ;)

Anyway back to the original idea for this tread - post up ideas of your stereo install!
 
Ghetto install

Well, nothing to ooh and ah about in my truck. I did a fairly peripheral install to avoid cutting up the "factory integrity" of the of the interior.

The head unit is a Sony CDX-GT400 (~$180 2 years ago IIRC) mounted under the dash with the old CB that was in the truck when I bought it. Nothing fancy, but it has an aux. jack for my i-pod, a separate controllable (cut off frequency and level) sub output, and "Dynamic Soundstage Organization" which brings the sound of front speakers up so they "seem" to be more around the top of the dash (that makes a nice difference, especially considering where the speakers are).

The front speakers are cheapo 5 1/4" Jensons (?) that I picked up at Princess Auto for ~$30. I mounted them in sealed enclosures made out of 4" ABS pipe and end caps, and zip tied them under the dash wherever they would fit.

The rear speakers are more cheapos from Princess Auto, what I could find that fit in the factory location. They induce some rattling in the quarter panels when cranked with something bassy, but they are soon to be replaced.

I picked up a MTX sub and amp combo from Future Shop a while back when they were clearing them out for $150. The sub is 12" and came with an enclosure (which I stuffed with poly fill and an angled pizza box to kill the resonance and artificially bump the volume of the enclosure:idea::cool:), and a Road Thunder RT 202 200 watt amp to drive it. Not sure how good this stuff is, but it does me fine. I keep the sub enclosure under a canvas tarp in the back and the amp is under the passenger seat (puts out nice signals when it gets swamped:rolleyes:).

Just today I picked up a pair of Pioneer 6x9s for the back. I have a rear storage unit/sleeping platform all planned out, and I am going to build the 6x9s into it. :bounce::bounce2: Not sure if I just drive them off the head unit and keep the sub, loose the sub and amp the 6x9s, or make it easy to swap what is driven for when I need to remove the sub for hauling space.

blah, blah, blah.... That's what I got.

Sorry the pics are a bit crappy, gets dark way too early this time of year up here.
HeadUnit.webp
DSfront.webp
PSfront.webp
 
I made kickpanels for mine with 4" JBL GTI's. The tweeters where fitted in the dash.
In the rear there were som 6.5"(?) GTI's, and two separate 12" GTI1200, one either side in tall narrow vented kabinets that covered the rear windows, a PITA to fit, but hey, it was a hobby.
All driven by Phoenix gold amps and an Alpine headunit.

Before you call me a complete nut for spending that kind of money on sound, instead of hardware, it was all bought second-hand (with receipts!!!) by a good friend, well at one point he did'nt have a car, so i borrowed it!:cool:
 
Mark,

Rather than bombard you guys with stereo questions (which I'd have plenty of), can you tell me what the best ih8mud of car audio is? Is there a forum for guys who aren't interested in bass and bling but just want a good sounding stereo? Or even a review site that you guys trust?

I know home audio fairly well but whenever I walk into a car audio store I feel like I'm about to screwed over. Never been in a car audio shop that felt right.

thanks!
Jason
 
Figured you might want a similar thread linked over.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=40382

Hope this helps, I had most of the items to do mine, but it has become mor eof a wheeler than a long distance driver, so I dont really feel the need of the huge system, and having to worry about it getting messed up. I am also older now, and dont really care about that kind of stuff like I used to back when I was younger. (My hearing thanks me for that too!)
 
Since we're talking in general about stereo installs, how about installing one into a Tuffy console?

I've got the Tuffy with the stereo slot, nicely installed in my truck. But nothing's in the slot yet.

Some questions:

Where can you get an extension wire for your radio antenna?

How do you get the stereo to fit into the slot without bouncing around? The Tuffy instructions said something cryptic about a strap on the back of the stereo, but I'm not sure what they were saying.

Will the flipdown faceplate stereos work in a Tuffy console?

Thanks.
 
forestdan7 said:
Since we're talking in general about stereo installs, how about installing one into a Tuffy console?

I've got the Tuffy with the stereo slot, nicely installed in my truck. But nothing's in the slot yet.

Some questions:

Where can you get an extension wire for your radio antenna?

How do you get the stereo to fit into the slot without bouncing around? The Tuffy instructions said something cryptic about a strap on the back of the stereo, but I'm not sure what they were saying.

Will the flipdown faceplate stereos work in a Tuffy console
Thanks.
Click to expand...

extension - radio shack

Use a sleve type install. Most decks these days come with a sleve. It has tabs that you bend down to secure the sleve in the spot you want to install it, then the deck slides in. I've never need to use a strap to secure a deck.

The last deck I put into a Tuffy required some grinding on the Tuffy, and I wasn't able to install the small trim piece around the deck using the clips. I glued the trim piece in.
 
I just did a stereo install in my 62 a few days ago. I had read a lot about the brackets for the deck being a problem but found it to be extremly easy. Alpine decks have holes in the side that match perfectly to the factory bracket if you mount the deck on the bottom and the cubby on the top. So I just did that.

I used a Alpine 9835
Diamond 10" D6
Diamond D3 800.1 amp
and pioneer coax up from and 3 ways in the back.


It sounds very good to my ears for being a cheap install. ACtually turned out being one of the easiest installs I have done in a car which was nice.

Ill post pics soon.
 
euclid said:
extension - radio shack

Use a sleve type install. Most decks these days come with a sleve. It has tabs that you bend down to secure the sleve in the spot you want to install it, then the deck slides in. I've never need to use a strap to secure a deck.

The last deck I put into a Tuffy required some grinding on the Tuffy, and I wasn't able to install the small trim piece around the deck using the clips. I glued the trim piece in.
Click to expand...

Good info. Thanks, euclid.
 
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