i have a 2006 ford ranger extended cab and im looking for a speaker set up and i need help knowing what to get. i know that i want a 10 or a 12 inch sub in the back that i will put in one of the jump seat cavities. i dont know what speaker to get, brand or power range i would need, and i need someone to help me with a amp to power the sub.
i plan on having a power acoustik ptid-8920b radio in it my friend has it in his f350 and i like it for the bluetooth. but im open to any suggestions on what other radios to buy i like the bluetooth and touch screen but in the rangers how the screen comes out it will be blocking my HVAC vents right above the radio.

 

Read this it will be helpful for background when looking for a sub and box.
Sealed Sub Enclosures vs. Ported Sub Enclosures | eBay
The "box" plays a big role in what you end up with.

Wattage is an often a misunderstood part of a sound system, "more is better" is for the most part not true, it just costs more.

Here is the Physics of sound watts, to double the volume you need 10 TIMES the wattage, 10 TIMES = twice as loud
So 100watts is only twice as loud as 10watts.
To get twice as loud as 100watts you would need to go to 1,000watts

Human hearing can usually detect an increase in volume at around 15%
So getting a 200watt amp instead of a 100watt amp would cost you more but you would never hear the difference since it is only a 10% increase.

If you are thinking of 250watts for a sub amp that's fine, your money, but don't be talked into a 500watt or even 750watt, the next step up from 250watts would be a 2,500watt amp, and I don't thing you would want that.
Speaker needs to be rated near the wattage of the amp you chose, the RMS rating, not peak.

The radio you listed has a sub pre-amp out so has an internal crossover, you just need a mono(1 channel) amp.
4-ohm amp and 4-ohm speaker would be best choice IMO
Avoid 2-ohm, 8ohm is fine and amp may be cheaper, you wouldn't hear a difference.

Just a heads up on Bluetooth when used for audio streaming, it will really use up battery power on the playing device(phone or Ipod), so have a charger in the vehicle and use it when playing to Bluetooth.

 

Ok and I'm use to the Bluetooth power drain I have a Bluetooth fm transmitter for my truck now so it's not a big change for me.
I'm problem going to get that radio it's nice and fancy looking for the price.
Would you suggest this speaker does the size as in 10 or a 12 inch matter to much?
I've been looking at going all power acoustiks with this speaker
REP-12 - Reaper - Subwoofers - Products
And this amp I'd not know what you mean by mono channel and stuff.
RZ1-1500D - Razor - Amplifiers - Products
It looks like it's gonna have too much rms for that speaker so I'll keep looking

 

Because of the size restriction of a truck install I would stick with a 10" but if a 12" can fit then that's fine

The 12" speaker in the link is 4ohms which is good
Rated at 200watts RMS which is fine

There are stereo amps(2 channels) and mono-amps(1 channel), stereo amps tend to cost more and for use with one subwoofer you will be "bridging" the 2 channels making 1 channel, so why pay extra, just get a mono(1 channel) amp to start with.

The amp in the link is rated at 600watts at 4 ohms so would not be a good choice for the speaker, I doubt you would blow the speaker but you could.
This one:
GT1-1000 - Gothic - Amplifiers - Products
is rated at 375watts at 4-ohms so would be fine to use with a 200watts RMS speaker

In general a speaker can handle twice it's RMS wattage at Peak, and an amp is rated as Peak wattage, so using an amp with a higher wattage than speakers RMS is OK, and some prefer it, but it shouldn't be over twice the RMS of the speaker.
So 200watt RMS speaker and 375watt amp is a good match, amp is above speakers 200watt RMS but below 400watts(twice speakers RMS).

This would be a good 10" sub speaker for the above amp:
http://poweracoustik.com/store/produ...er/rw1-10.html
4 ohm, 360watts RMS, also has a better efficiency rating than the 12", 87 for the 10" and 85 for the 12", doesn't read like much but it is a 66% difference.

And your vehicle electrical system will be better off with the lower wattage amp.

Don't get caught up in the numbers game with wattage, when someone says "I put in a 2,000watt sub" you should say, "cool" but you should think, "a fool and his money......."

If you want an impressive sound system.....................play good music, lol

 

ok so just so you check over this setup again im going to have this radio.
PTID-8920 - 1 DIN Flip-Up - Source Units - Products
with this amp.
GT1-1000 - Gothic - Amplifiers - Products
powering this sub.
REP-12 - Reaper - Subwoofers - Products

check over that and see if nothing is gonna turn into a ticking time bomb.
somthing else what do you think about these door speakers?
CF-573 - Crypt - Speakers - Products

thanks for all your help!

 

I would rethink the door speakers.

The radio amp is 52w x 4 channels(at 4ohms), so any reason you don't want to use existing door speakers?
I didn't find specs on Ranger stock speakers but I would assume they are 2-way, 6-8ohm and 30-60watt RMS

The Crypt speakers at 240watt really need a bigger amp than the radio amp.

I would see how you like the stock speakers first, then if you think you could get clearer sound(you won't need louder) then look for 3-way speakers with RMS wattage nearer 50watts.

The "power/presence" of the music will be increased by adding the sub's lower frequencies.
The longer waves(lower frequencies) simply take more power to generate, which is why subs need bigger amps.

The reason for 2-way, 3-way and the new "let me take your money" 4-way speakers is for clarity not volume.
When you have one speaker cone vibrating to recreate music all the notes can't be recreated as clearly because there has to be a compromise when when notes(frequencies) overlap.
If there is just one person speaking or one instrument playing then there is little or no overlap in frequencies, but if there are 4 sound sources, i.e. singer, guitar, bass, drums, then there will be an overlap of frequencies.
Filtering the frequencies and having 2 cones or 3 cones vibrating to recreate the sound allows more clarity since there is less compromise.
4-way, IMO, would be silly for general music play back, if you were replaying orchestra music maybe.

 

ok thanks and the only reason i was thinking about door speakers is because my driver side front speaker started buzzing in the bass so me and my buddy rigged in a 6x9 in the back driver spot and put that stock speaker in the front speaker place.
so everything else should be good and ill try to find a stock speaker to put in that 6x9's place because only 2 of the 4 holes would bolt up so its ugly and the cover wouldn't come close to covering it so i want a some what stock look and not have speakers showing and taking up all my space.
how hard do you think it would be to make a sub box like this one? and could i find someone to make it for me?
https://www.ranger-forums.com/interi...cavity-104557/

 

The above link is for a sub in an older Ranger that doesn't have rear doors.

For a subwoofer to generate the longer waves(lower frequencies) it must take up space, the air volume of the box is part of the design to give the best low range and loudness, it is not just a way to mount the speaker.

This is the problem with trucks vs cars, cars usually have trunk space that can be used for subs with minimal effect on storage space.

In a truck cab you will lose storage space if you want a sub, how much space depends on what you want as the end result.

There is a way to "virtually" increase the box size, so a smaller box can be used to get the same range and loudness as a larger box.
Loosely packed insulation inside the sub box has the effect of "virtually" increasing box size, but it is a double edged sword, you need to test how much to use to get the best results for the box size and speaker you choose.
Good video on this here:

 

i dont know what you mean by this?
unless your saying that those "doors" dont open then yes i have the same thing my back doors dont open which i geuss arent real doors then. but i have the same interior of the truck as in the back seat

 

2006 ranger without rear doors?
I thought all the later years had these, my mistake

 

I don't know a lot about audio systems, how to hook up the power , run some good looking wiring... Yes, but the actual choosing of the best equipment no ,

So I stick to a name brand I like, Pioneer, have used it for a while and like the sounds.
What I do is go on the manufacturer's site, look up the radio I have or want to own and check out what they say will work but based on your application. If I don't see what I want I contact their Customer Service and talk to them directly.

So far my experiences with this method have worked out great, the sounds to me are good and to my friends all have said the sound is great.
Think about asking the original manufacturer of the head unit, then make your purchases at least using that info.

Also, larger wire helps all the way around, too big is based on how much you want to spend and how you want the wiring to run. I go one or two wire gauge sizes larger than the manufacturer suggestions, never hurts.

I have a std cab ranger, this is what is in store for it. A 10" sub with a non-vented enclosure mounted in the rear, the front has a co-axial speaker system with separate tweeters the mid range will be in the door with a slight angle upwards and the tweeters are on the dash directed towards the passengers, works well.

To qualify my listening, I am older and like all kinds of country and oldie rock and roll from the 50s, 60s and 70s and this system should work out well in the past Rangers and should in my latest.


Ron D.,
Interesting video, I was wondering about how much to put in a smaller enclosure and what the effects would be.
Wondering if there is a way to hear the effects without the meter ?
Don't own a frequency response meter so need another way, IF POSSIBLE !
Thanks

 

Hearing is too subjective to be a valid test of this type of modification.
If you have a smart phone there are free spectrum analyzer apps that "might" work, you would have to setup a fix distance and fixed input level for measurement and then test for volume level changes in lower frequencies.
Brown noise MP3 can be downloaded and used as input.
Link here: http://www.audiocheck.net/testtones_brownnoise.php

Or you could just see what sounds best to you, the best test, lol.

Yes, speaker wire size started popping up a few years after component stereo systems started to be popular.
A few companies make a good living selling over sized speaker wires, good for them.

The physics of it is pretty straight forward, how many watts, for how much distance, to what "load"(speaker ohms)
What you are after is to make sure the speaker wire is less of a "load" than the speaker, so the amp is only "dealing with" the speaker "load".
Good calculator here:
http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/spe...rassistant.swf

Wire gauge also needs to fit into speaker and amp binding posts, any extra is wasted.
The more strands inside a wire the better it will transfer the voltage/signal with less resistance/loss.

And one thing to remember, the speaker itself is using a 24gauge or smaller wire in its winding, and inside the amp all the wiring is usually smaller than 18gauge.

16gauge 2 conductor stranded wire will be fine for any speaker(4 to 8 ohm) under 250watts
Subs would require larger wire, 12gauge 2 conductor stranded for sub speaker(2 to 8ohm) and upto 900watts.

Larger wire doesn't hurt, doesn't help either, just a matter of money, so buying a new car with a custom sound system doesn't hurt either, it's just a matter of money