Alright guys this is my review of the Sub/Amp upgrade built by The Car Stereo Company (our very own NOSBUSA). I will try to cover everything I can. This is going to be a completely unbiased review and if along the way I think of something I would change, I’ll say it. It’s gonna be lengthy as I’m going to not only review the product, but the entire process. Let’s get started.
This whole adventure started around June or July when I was simply researching different options for my system. I created a thread asking for advice and Noah was quick to help. He was very patient and informative. He really dumbed it down to my level for me. I knew absolutely nothing about audio, and I mean nothing. Just ask how many questions I had. He was a real pleasure to deal with. He was extremely helpful when helping me pick subs and an amp. The problem came down to finding an enclosure. I had found a few pre-built boxes online and asked about them. He admitted he didn’t know much about their quality and recommended I try to find a local shop to build a custom box for me. I was very leery of that because I don’t let just anybody work on my truck. I decided that would probably be best and set out on a quest to find a quality shop in my area. Well I couldn’t. Not to say there aren’t any, but I could not find any reviews that made me feel good about the shops in my area. I was getting discouraged and decided I was just gonna get a pre made box and it would be fine.
Around mid August or so I decided I would start to do my audio upgrade. I was gonna use a Supercrew Sound pre-made box. But I saw a post about Noah wanting to become a Vendor and decided I would chat with him about it. I made the first approach about him building my box. He offered to build it if I made it out his way. I don’t see myself being out there anytime soon and asked if he could build it and ship it. He agreed, but told me it would be a good length of time before it would be built, as he still had to take over ownership of the shop and get a truck in there with an owner willing to let him experiment. This was back in August, fast-forward to mid November and I get the notification that he has started my build.
Right here I wanna say these aren’t wait times you’ll be seeing. It took this long for legal reasons with ownership and finding a truck to use for fitment. Ok, back to the review.
Once he started my build, it was a very quick process. I’d say it came before I knew it but who am I kidding, I was chomping at the bit to get it in. I got the notification that it had been picked up by UPS pretty soon and it was on it’s way. Ups actually got it to me a day early despite it being sent Thanksgiving week (props UPS, for now).
Now a little bad, Noah your gonna have to package it a little differently. It’s not your fault, UPS damaged a bracket pretty bad during shipping (this is where they lose their props). Inside the box, everything was pretty solidly packed, full of foam. There are mounting brackets on the side (more on these later) and one had been bent pretty severely during shipping. Noah, your just gonna have to put a little wood there to protect during shipping, or some thick Styrofoam. Everything else in the box was fine, and the bracket wasn’t too hard to bend back in place with a little heat from a kitchen torch.
Initial impression: Wow this thing is solid. It’s very heavy and extremely sturdy. I feel like I could drop it straight on to the concrete and it be fine. It holds 2 12” subs, and stays under the drivers side 2/3 of the rear seat. This means you still have the underside of the 1/3 seat for storage if you chose to mount your amp in another location. First things first, call him to let him know it made it and the monkeys bent it up a little. On the phone he informs me that the front is actually shaped with a little cut out at the bottom, so the OEM floormats fit perfectly normal and can be removed easily without lifting up on the box. That’s a cool little feature we never even talked about, but he added in on his own, I like that small little attention to detail.
So the system gets here, and is missing something, a wiring kit. No big deal, he simply forgot to put one in the box. He sends one out next day. It arrives 2 days after it was supposed to and Noah goes postal on the USPS.
Now Install: My first plan was to have a shop install it all. I had never done audio, and not much wiring either. Noah told me that it’s an easy install and said if I attempted it myself to give him a call for pointers if needed. Bird has an excellent thread on installing a subwoofer/amp in his old scab. After reading that
I decided to give it a go, worst thing that could happen is I can’t get it and take it to a shop anyways. The install is fairly easy (looking back on it, it was a real bitch to get the power cord thru the firewall) and I only purchased 1 additional thing. Everything else was sent by Noah. The only thing I purchased was a little piece I got at O’Reilly’s called an Add-a-Circuit. This is the same thing Bird used in his thread, just made by different manufacturers. This is needed for the remote turn on wire. Back to those bracket’s I referenced earlier. There are brackets on both sides of the enclosure to bolt it to the seat frame using existing bolt holes. This will be great for offroading because it will keep the system from sliding around and getting damaged. Another great feature that the premade boxes out the don’t have. I had one wiring problem and gave Noah a call on a Sunday (hey he said give him a call whenever I needed to). To my surprise he answered the phone and spent probably 15 minutes on the phone troubleshooting. That's Customer Service.
Here's Birds thread for anybody who wants to attempt their own install. http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f12/...ubwoofer-amp-installation-instructions-10177/
Final Impression: This system rocks! I can render the rearview mirror completely useless. It sounds good at every frequency I’ve heard so far. It can completely drown out the other stock speakers, so I can’t turn it up all the way and listen to my music. I’m blown away at how much of an upgrade this thing is and I truly have no complaints as of right now. If I find something I don’t like once the new wears of, I’ll update you all.
I would do this upgrade again in a heartbeat and I would 100% recommend this to anyone who wants more out of their system than the factory provides. This is a great product with OUTSTANDING customer service.
Yeah yeah, I know
ics-****: I will be adding pictures and video soon.
I’d like to sincerely thank SVTCALI for letting us use your truck to get the fitment right. I’d also like to invite you to add your review below if you wish.
This whole adventure started around June or July when I was simply researching different options for my system. I created a thread asking for advice and Noah was quick to help. He was very patient and informative. He really dumbed it down to my level for me. I knew absolutely nothing about audio, and I mean nothing. Just ask how many questions I had. He was a real pleasure to deal with. He was extremely helpful when helping me pick subs and an amp. The problem came down to finding an enclosure. I had found a few pre-built boxes online and asked about them. He admitted he didn’t know much about their quality and recommended I try to find a local shop to build a custom box for me. I was very leery of that because I don’t let just anybody work on my truck. I decided that would probably be best and set out on a quest to find a quality shop in my area. Well I couldn’t. Not to say there aren’t any, but I could not find any reviews that made me feel good about the shops in my area. I was getting discouraged and decided I was just gonna get a pre made box and it would be fine.
Around mid August or so I decided I would start to do my audio upgrade. I was gonna use a Supercrew Sound pre-made box. But I saw a post about Noah wanting to become a Vendor and decided I would chat with him about it. I made the first approach about him building my box. He offered to build it if I made it out his way. I don’t see myself being out there anytime soon and asked if he could build it and ship it. He agreed, but told me it would be a good length of time before it would be built, as he still had to take over ownership of the shop and get a truck in there with an owner willing to let him experiment. This was back in August, fast-forward to mid November and I get the notification that he has started my build.
Right here I wanna say these aren’t wait times you’ll be seeing. It took this long for legal reasons with ownership and finding a truck to use for fitment. Ok, back to the review.
Once he started my build, it was a very quick process. I’d say it came before I knew it but who am I kidding, I was chomping at the bit to get it in. I got the notification that it had been picked up by UPS pretty soon and it was on it’s way. Ups actually got it to me a day early despite it being sent Thanksgiving week (props UPS, for now).
Now a little bad, Noah your gonna have to package it a little differently. It’s not your fault, UPS damaged a bracket pretty bad during shipping (this is where they lose their props). Inside the box, everything was pretty solidly packed, full of foam. There are mounting brackets on the side (more on these later) and one had been bent pretty severely during shipping. Noah, your just gonna have to put a little wood there to protect during shipping, or some thick Styrofoam. Everything else in the box was fine, and the bracket wasn’t too hard to bend back in place with a little heat from a kitchen torch.
Initial impression: Wow this thing is solid. It’s very heavy and extremely sturdy. I feel like I could drop it straight on to the concrete and it be fine. It holds 2 12” subs, and stays under the drivers side 2/3 of the rear seat. This means you still have the underside of the 1/3 seat for storage if you chose to mount your amp in another location. First things first, call him to let him know it made it and the monkeys bent it up a little. On the phone he informs me that the front is actually shaped with a little cut out at the bottom, so the OEM floormats fit perfectly normal and can be removed easily without lifting up on the box. That’s a cool little feature we never even talked about, but he added in on his own, I like that small little attention to detail.
So the system gets here, and is missing something, a wiring kit. No big deal, he simply forgot to put one in the box. He sends one out next day. It arrives 2 days after it was supposed to and Noah goes postal on the USPS.
Now Install: My first plan was to have a shop install it all. I had never done audio, and not much wiring either. Noah told me that it’s an easy install and said if I attempted it myself to give him a call for pointers if needed. Bird has an excellent thread on installing a subwoofer/amp in his old scab. After reading that
I decided to give it a go, worst thing that could happen is I can’t get it and take it to a shop anyways. The install is fairly easy (looking back on it, it was a real bitch to get the power cord thru the firewall) and I only purchased 1 additional thing. Everything else was sent by Noah. The only thing I purchased was a little piece I got at O’Reilly’s called an Add-a-Circuit. This is the same thing Bird used in his thread, just made by different manufacturers. This is needed for the remote turn on wire. Back to those bracket’s I referenced earlier. There are brackets on both sides of the enclosure to bolt it to the seat frame using existing bolt holes. This will be great for offroading because it will keep the system from sliding around and getting damaged. Another great feature that the premade boxes out the don’t have. I had one wiring problem and gave Noah a call on a Sunday (hey he said give him a call whenever I needed to). To my surprise he answered the phone and spent probably 15 minutes on the phone troubleshooting. That's Customer Service.
Here's Birds thread for anybody who wants to attempt their own install. http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f12/...ubwoofer-amp-installation-instructions-10177/
Final Impression: This system rocks! I can render the rearview mirror completely useless. It sounds good at every frequency I’ve heard so far. It can completely drown out the other stock speakers, so I can’t turn it up all the way and listen to my music. I’m blown away at how much of an upgrade this thing is and I truly have no complaints as of right now. If I find something I don’t like once the new wears of, I’ll update you all.
I would do this upgrade again in a heartbeat and I would 100% recommend this to anyone who wants more out of their system than the factory provides. This is a great product with OUTSTANDING customer service.
Yeah yeah, I know
ics-****: I will be adding pictures and video soon.I’d like to sincerely thank SVTCALI for letting us use your truck to get the fitment right. I’d also like to invite you to add your review below if you wish.
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