Bought this ugly S10 mini truck with walk through & snugtop a few months back and started with the system build. It will be LS Swapped with a 80e trans, painted white and old school ARE 3 spokes over the winter. All new Orion XTR gear with a Pioneer deck. Had a company called EZ DB’s design the box and it went together great. Highly recommended this service as everything was done quickly and precise. No DSP’s as of now but the goal was to play old school rap at 150db’s. Just reliving some of my youth with this new project and excited to see how it comes out. Digging the splatter paint!

Hey everyone, sorry if this is a repetitive post. This is my first time wiring subs and an amp.
I’ve got a Skar monoblock 1200rms @ 1ohm amp and 2 skar 10” shallow mount 500rms subs. The subs are wired down to 1 ohm (tested with a multimeter) so they should have plenty of power.

After wiring all the rest I went to test the output of the amp with a multimeter to tune the gain right. I did this with a 0db 50hz test tune with 0 gain, 0 crossover, max bass knob, max “sub” power on my headunit (which just adjusts the power of low frequencies across the whole audio system) and 80% volume. My target hz was 31 volts to match the subs max power. I was confused to see the initial reading was 0.2 volts. I kept cranking the gain to max until it reached 29 volts at max gain. I can tell this is an accurate measurement even in the sound because at half gain it measures 10 volts and it’s noticeably 1/3 as quiet as it should be.

Admittedly the headunit is a cheap Chinese headunit off Amazon. My truck is old and I am broke so I really didn’t want to spend more than $300 on a head unit. Everything else about the headunit is great including sound quality across the speakers. Is it possible it’s just not outputting enough power or is something else? Is it safe to leave it at max gain since it still doesn’t even output what I need it to?

I’m looking for advice on adding a subwoofer to the factory non Bose system in my 2023 Mazda CX 50 (small SUV).
We listen to everything from rap and electronica to pop and podcasts. I want a noticeable improvement in bass, but cargo space is important, so I’m looking for something compact that can be easily removed when needed or transferred to another vehicle later. I’m prioritizing musicality and accuracy over volume.
I’m considering these two:

• JL Audio ACS110LG TW1

• Alpine PWV SB10

Both are powered, sealed 10 inch enclosures with around 400W RMS. They seem like a good balance of size, performance, and portability. I’ve heard good things about JL’s quality, while Alpine’s DSP technology is interesting.
Has anyone used either of these? Which would you choose, and are there any other setups I should consider in this price and size range?
I’m planning to have a local shop handle the installation and my all in budget including install and wiring kit would be around $1K.

I’m looking at installing a Kenwood DMX8710s and I’m trying to determine which route to take. I have a 2012 4Runner, and I’d like to keep my basic steering wheel functions

Do I Order everything from Crutchfield and self install with the Maestro RR2.

Or go to Best Buy and do an install. It looks to come out cheaper but doesn’t include the Maestro in their parts list. The website seems to claim it will work with full functionality.

Is BestBuy using an alternative to the Maestro, or are the steering controls likely not going to work? Obviously this is a question for them, but if anyone else has BB installs what has been the experience regarding Maestros and steering wheel functions.

Better to self install or bother with BB?

What’s the best way to go about installing 2 12 inch subs and a 5000 watt rms amplifier in my 2026 BMW m340i? I called a local car audio shop and they said that it’s difficult with bmw because it’ll give a voltage codes. I have an auxiliary battery and also a capacitor, but I don’t know how to approach this. The guy from the shop said he could install them, but the car could freak out. Anyone have any knowledge on this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

First of all thank you to everyone that reached out to help me with planning this out, I am going to go forward with this setup.

This is for a Infiniti Qx70 with the bose upgrade. I have not thought up how im going to get the rca from the existing amp yet, Theres a company making Harnesses called OWC but not sure which one to get. u/OWC_Upgrades If you have the chance to please let me know lol.

Using;

Speakers: 8" Mids Itek Brazil Supra series IX805s ;4

Horns: AP Audiopipe 70W APHC-4550 ;2

Tweeters: AudioPipe 3-3/4" Aluminum bullit titanium horn tweeters;2

AMP: Itek Inex 4C4500 ;1 , and 2 generic 2 channel amps from amazon

DSP : Taramps Pro 2.8s

Taramps amp MD 1800.1 ;1

Itek Audio Brazil 5001 Equalizer

5 Band in dash graphic equalizer with high output line Driver and front auxiliar input

Micro Precision 3.28 MKII Tweeters

I got a new speaker setup in 2 Front 2 Rear with 2 Tweeters and a 8 inch Sub. What would you guys recommend my HPF-Front and Rear and the LPF be at for the best sounding bass while still hearing a good amount of the music and quality in it. Thank you!

Hey guys, I bought a classic truck. Want to put a stereo system in, I don’t need huge base or a sub, just
Looking for something that plays good quality sound.

I am Canadian so my choices may be more limited. Preferably just some stuff I can buy off Amazon. I’ve attached a pic of the interior so you can see what I’m working with. Not looking to drill holes in anything so thinking of some speakers under the seat or dash? I think the smaller the speakers the better

I appreciate you’re help :)

Not sure if "tech support" is the right flare.
2017 Toyota Highlander with JBL

Replaced the dash stereo with a Viabecs kit for our Toyota a couple of months back. Works great. 360 cam and steering wheel controls are all good.
Replaced the front doors with JBL Stadium GTO 930-6" X 9"

Replaced the back doors with JBL GTO 9 Series GTO629 6 1/2"

Today I got 2 pairs of Infinity Reference 3.5" REF-3032CFX

I replaced the two dash speakers already. The other pair are meant for the lift hatch (tailgate, backdoor, whatever you want to call it).

I haven't replaced the amp, and I was trying to avoid it, at least for the time being. Money is really tight and our son starts university in a couple of weeks. However, I do know that the JBL amp is hard coded with their DSP settings, so the doors are not getting full signals, which is really killing the performance of the great door speakers.
It also seems like the JBL amp might behave like a 5.1 home stereo system where it sends the vocals to the center dash speaker. I had disconnected it thinking that it wouldn't be needed with all the other speakers being much better than the stock ones. But with it missing the vocals now seem flat. So, now I'm wondering if I should skip upgrading the back hatch ones in and use one from the remaining pair for the center channel, upgrade the back hatch ones and put the original center back in, or try to figure out something else.
Car audio is new to me. I'm very familiar with home A/V though.

Hello CarAV! I have a question about a potential use of alubutyl, and I figured this sub probably has one of the highest concentrations of people who are familiar with handling alubutyl.

Here's the situation: We just moved into a new rental flat that has its own ventilation system. The box with the fans (air handling unit?) looks something like this: https://www.systemair.com/en/products/residential-ventilation-systems/air-handling-units/save

It's not that loud, but it has a definite electric hum and is located on the wall just outside the bedroom. It can clearly be heard when trying to sleep. It seems to be the vibrations of the fans inside the box coming out through the metal walls of the box and into the air.

I've been researching possible sound dampening methods to decrease the noise. (I know we can't get it 100% quiet because some sound will always transfer through where it's joined to the wall/ceiling). I picked up a very cheap and thin bitumen/asphalt sheet that was in the car section of the hardware store, and tried sticking it to two sides of the ventilation box. I think it helped a tiny bit, but didn't make that much of a difference.

What I've been looking at lately is alubutyl panels for vibration reduction. Theoretically, this should work, right? There are two issues with this, and I've got questions about both:

1. The butyl sticks tightly to metal and is difficult to remove. Any soundproofing solution should be reversible as we are renting. Would it work if I put a laminate film type thing directly on the ventilation box, and then stuck the butyl to the film? Then I could pull the laminate film off without having the butyl stuck to the metal directly. Would this interfere with the vibration reducing effect of the butyl?

2. The edges of the aluminum in the alubutyl are apparently quite sharp. This ventilation box is located in a closet, so we don't want sharp edges to get stuck on clothing. Has anyone had experience putting alubutyl on an exposed surface / any tips on managing the sharp edges?

I'm aware this isn't really about cars or AV systems, but I didn't know where else to inquire. I'm hoping someone with relevant knowledge would be able to advise! Thank you! :)

Looking to upgrade the front speakers in my 2006 Civic. I already have two 10” subs handling the bass.

I want 6.5s + tweeters that can get really loud while staying clean, crisp, and detailed, especially with the windows down. I have an 8-channel DSP and plan on getting a 4-channel amp. Budget is around $250–600 for the speakers/tweeters.

What would you guys recommend?

My system is 2 jl jd amps. A 4 channel 400 and mono 500 along with a fix 86. This is in a 2017 f150. The whole system will randomly lose power and then come back on at random times. Nothing is going into protect mode. When I loosen the power wire at the distribution block and retighten the system comes back on and may stay on for 30 minutes or 2 minutes but eventually goes off again and will randomly come back on hours later. Any suggestions? I’ve check voltage and such and the numbers seem good which is why I’m very puzzled.

Hi everyone.

I recently replaced the HK amp of my F33 2017 bmw 440i convertible for one from a 2016 328i wagon but with the same exact identification numbers and everything. The first one got water damaged and wouldn't properly connect to the car. Even connected, I would have no audio, infotainment, or anything really related to the amp itself. Now with the replaced one, everything but the audio came back. Ran it for codes and Bimmercode said the amp just needed to get coded in. I took it to a guy that was recommended to me and he tried coding it but it didn't work as it should've. Everything was still the way it was before where everything except the audio worked. He suggested that it could be that the amp isn't able to send a signal to the head unit and suggested getting that replaced (and installed + coded through them of course) too. I ran it for codes through Bimmercode again shortly after I left their shop and cleared a number of errors that were not there before the guy tried coding in the new amp. Not trying to blame the guy, especially since the codes all cleared and last I checked there wasn't any faults after clearing them all, yet still, everything except the audio works. Not suggesting that they're trying to fleece me, but through them I was given the contact to another guy that has head units available. The head unit he linked me is oem from a 2018 bmw m550i xdrive. The listing states it is for g12/g30 navigation headunit radio audio cd head unit hu evo hw 3.2. I brought up that mine is a f series 2017 and he said its no issue and that it'll work, though a quick google search told me otherwise. What are my options here? How do i go about fixing the audio and having a fully functioning HK amp again?

Thank you in advance!

I'm looking for fun daily driver and I'm not happy with the fact that you can no longer customize and add you own car stereo to new cars these days.. Everything out there is horrid with the new cars as it is baked in with everything else in an 'infotainment' system.

Am I a fool because my heart is set on wanting to use my Pioneer DEH 80-PRS with Eclipse EA-3422 amp? I feel like I'm just too old school and that the only option for me would be to find a 90's Japanese made Civic with probably way too many miles on it or something of the like that I can actually have my way with when it comes to car audio. Of course those are Classics now and priced through the roof/hard to find.

Is there a work-around for people that want to get that old school sound quality out of a newer cars infotainment system without breaking any of its features?

Picked up this set off Facebook for $200.

Alpine 10" Type R

Alpine MVR-v500

LC2i

This is going in my 2018 WRX. I picked up a 5 gauge install kit to go along with it. It's my first system in 7-8 years and I can't wait.

To my southeast Michigan people, where do you take your car to have a audio system installed?

Hi, I did a custom DAC setup, connecting a (high quality) bluetooth DAC to my head unit's amplifier (where the casette output went previously). When the DAC runs on battery power, all's well, but when it's connected to my USB port for charging, it starts buzzing. Buzzes more the higher RPMs I have, but it can even buzz when engine is off (and thus the alternator).

I am attaching a diagram, I have next to no idea about audio stuff so I thought I'd ask here on how to break this loop or fix it. Should I find out what ground I soldered the 3.5mm jack from the DAC to the HU, and make sure its the same ground as the charging port uses? I believe it should be (HU is connected to the same power as the USB port, I even believe they're on the same wire) but maybe the HU "cleans" it somehow?

The car is a stock BMW E46 (320d), 2001. I don't have the wiring diagram for the HU on hand.

Here's my diagram, attached.
Thanks in advance.

Edit: I found a USB port on aliexpress which has "galvanic isolation" which I guess means it transmits power via an intermediate magnet. Will that help to put on the power path?

Anyone running or have experience with this unit? How does it compare against a stand alone dsp?

Hi all. I've hit a dead end, and I'm hoping you can help me. I recently installed an Amazon purchased Android Carplay equipped stereo for my daughter's 2012 Beetle. I discovered that the supplied harness couldn't power the amp in the car, so I bought a Crux SWRVW-52 harness. I finally got it all installed last night.

Here's the dead end. The rear speakers aren't pushing out any sound, but the front ones are. Per Grok, I need to access the factory settings and tell it what kind of car it is installed in. However, I don't have the correct code to access these settings. I've tried the codes Grok told me to input, and it didn't work. Also, the seller on Amazon wasn't much help.

Anyone know what I can do? Here's the link to the radio on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H4Y3JF1F?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Attached is the screenshot of the latest firmware.

I've tried: 8888, 0000, 1234, 3368, 1688, 7890, 8317, 5678, 8288, and 1688.

Any ideas?