Your Raptors Audio System

[Taxman]

the dots represent the frequency being played through the system with pink noise. the higher the dots, the more that particular frequency is present. the lower the dots, the less the frequency is present. no dots means no frequency

So, it would be desirable for say, a tweeter, to have a steep upward curve at about 2000Hz, then completely straight through about 20,000Hz, then a steep downward curve? Right?

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

So, it would be desirable for say, a tweeter, to have a steep upward curve at about 2000Hz, then completely straight through about 20,000Hz, then a steep downward curve? Right?

not necessarily. above 20,000hz the human ear cant not detect. as well as below 20hz. the tweeters on the truck are not as bad as the bass, but i have yet to test it with the inline caps in place. i will need another 2012 and 2013 truck to test.

when upgrading your audio system, there are eq curves you can put in place by using the processor. a 12db slope per octave is more of a gradual curve. a 24db slope per octave is more intense. the higher the slope per octave, the sharper the curve, which in turn the sharper the frequency cut offs. but the eq curve you make (when upgrading the system) is all dependent on the type of equipment (speakers mainly) you are using

 

[FastEddie]

Noah thanks for the pics. I've got a DBX 14/10, am a big fan of RTA's.

As an owner of a '14 that tweeter frequency response picture is fugly. Why so peaky?

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

Noah thanks for the pics. I've got a DBX 14/10, am a big fan of RTA's.

As an owner of a '14 that tweeter frequency response picture is fugly. Why so peaky?

i couldnt tell you why really. but my guess is that they want the front door woofer to play an almost full range signal and the tweeter is just there to add just enough sound to be noticeable. i think they have the points set to try to maximize the "surround" sound. but it is definitely not a pretty sight. we took multiple freeze frames but this is what it looked like on a regular basis with the pink noise

 

[Taxman]

What do you recommend for those that want to maintain the stock look? I have the Sync system with the Sony sound system and am looking for better sound. I am not willing to part with the head unit as it is the Sync system. I am willing to replace the amplifier and speakers as well as eh sub, but would like to retain the stock speaker grills. Is there a swap out scenario where I can do this?

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

What do you recommend for those that want to maintain the stock look? I have the Sync system with the Sony sound system and am looking for better sound. I am not willing to part with the head unit as it is the Sync system. I am willing to replace the amplifier and speakers as well as eh sub, but would like to retain the stock speaker grills. Is there a swap out scenario where I can do this?

everything i have done has maintained the stock look. other than a different sub box, nothing is noticeable. however, my truck has tweeters cut into the door panels, but not something you need to do. its all a matter of how far you want to take your system. it can go from an expensive upgrade, to an insane upgrade pretty quick. i usually get a number from most people and work a system around that number, however in all honesty, be prepared to spend $4,000 minimum (including labor) to get an upgrade i would consider decent enough to put into the truck. that being said, you can still get equipment installed for a lot less, but i think if you are going to go this route, you might as well just do it once and never second guess yourself and ask yourself "what if" all the time.

 

[mike.s]

Noah, when you adjust the volume in your system, are you using the factory volume knob or something from Mosconi?

Also, where is the cap located for the tweeter in a 2013? When I installed my JL speakers, I don't recall seeing that.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

Noah, when you adjust the volume in your system, are you using the factory volume knob or something from Mosconi?

Also, where is the cap located for the tweeter in a 2013? When I installed my JL speakers, I don't recall seeing that.

the cap is on the wires coming from the tweeter. its covered in orange heat shrink. with my setup, i can use either volume knob. the way i tuned it, allows for a non noticeable (for most people) difference regardless of which knob i use

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

since i have done many trucks with the mosconi processor, i have dialed in what i think is a good setting for the frequencies. a good baseline of frequency settings are listed. keep in mind these are suggested settings. once a final tune is ready, they may change a bit.

this is for a bi-amped setup


tweeters
high pass at 24db per octave slope crossover at 3500hz

front door woofers this gets tricky since we want it to play inbetween a set of frequencies
high pass at 24bdslope at 120hz and lowpass at 3200hz
what this does is it makes the speaker play as low as 120 hz and up to 3200hz with a 24db slope on each side. the slope means how much the speaker will play outside those frequencies. on the bass side, a 12db slope is a gradual curve and will allow the speaker to play lower than 120 hz. but the farther away from 120hz, the less it plays. on a 24db slope, this curve is more sharp, therefore playing much less frequencies below 120hz. this is the same for the high side as well.

(for a non bi amped setup, i would suggest highpass 120-125hz)

rear speakers. these are usually a coax set and a lot of times they dont need much adjusting. but i start off with high pass 110hz with a 24db slope.

sub. same as the rears. dont need much adjusting. but i normally set the sub at a low pass at 85hz

what these settings do, is it allows the speakers to play at their optimum level while reducing the possibility of damage due to distortion. distortion comes in many forms, but the biggest one is making the speaker play frequencies it can not reproduce while at a high volume level. if you are trying to get extreme volume out of your system, then you need to have the right equipment. meaning those $2000 focal speakers are not the ones to get. if you are trying to get loud volume then the crossover settings would need to change on the lowpass settings. maybe start at 140hz instead. but most spl systems wont use this type of processor. this is for the sq side of things.

 

[Taxman]

everything i have done has maintained the stock look. other than a different sub box, nothing is noticeable. however, my truck has tweeters cut into the door panels, but not something you need to do. its all a matter of how far you want to take your system. it can go from an expensive upgrade, to an insane upgrade pretty quick. i usually get a number from most people and work a system around that number, however in all honesty, be prepared to spend $4,000 minimum (including labor) to get an upgrade i would consider decent enough to put into the truck. that being said, you can still get equipment installed for a lot less, but i think if you are going to go this route, you might as well just do it once and never second guess yourself and ask yourself "what if" all the time.

In an effort to have all information relative to the Raptor's audio system contained in a single thread, would you be able to form a generic list of equipment needed to improve the replace the individual components in the Raptor? No need to mention brands or quality here. For instance:

(1) five-channel amplifier
(2) tweeters for front (specify size)
(2) mid-base woofers for front (specify size)
(2) 3-way speakers for rear (specify size)
(1) subwoofer speaker (specify size), new enclosure?

How about wiring harnesses? Does anyone make them to tie to the Sync head unit?

Will a wiring harness allow me to use clean line inputs to the amplifier, or do I have to use speaker-level inputs?

Thanks!