I'm growing a little bit tired of the way my system sounds. For starters I have:

Kenwood single DIN HU
CDT Convertable 6.5" Component set up front
Bazooka subs in the sails
Kenwood 4" speakers in the hatch
stock Monsoon Amp

At this point, I think an amp upgrade will work wonders for sound. What have you guys done to replace the amp and what are your components?

New amp using stock wiring and all stock speaker locations?
New amp with new wiring to front components and stock sails?
etc.

Thanks for your help guys...

 

An aftermarket amp can certainly provide more power but it will not improve sound quality nor will it change the overall "shape" of the sound (balance and location of bass, mid, treble) unless you also change the speakers. DO NOT install an aftermarket amp and use the factory wiring - you're just defeating the purpose. If you really want a change/upgrade then replace the speakers, add a true sub and add at least one aftermarket amp with all new wiring. Remember that you need at least ten times as much power to double the volume.

 

Thanks WhiteBird, I guess I should have clarified, but I currently have all of the products I listed above, installed. The only stock piece left is the Monsoon Amp and wiring.

I debating on what type of setup to go with:

5-channel amp using the low channel to drive the bazooka subs in the sails
4-channel amp
3-channel using the low channel for the sails and ditch the rear hatch speakers
etc.

 

No, I knew what you meant. My point was that merely changing to a different amp (even with rewiring) will not make a fundamental change in the quality or shape of your sound. You will still have mid-bass speakers in the sail panels rather than a true sub, components with mids and tweeters in the doors and (possibly) rear fill speakers in the hatch. You may have more power (and hence more volume) but it will still sound the same only louder.

To really change the sound, you will have to make other changes besides the amp.

 

So in your opinion, a quality set of components in the front doors with a quality sub in the driver side cubby all powered by a quality 3-channel amp will sound better than what I have now?

 

Personally, no I wouldn't say that. But many people would. There are those who feel that the only "right" way to do a sound system in a car is to have everything except sub(s) in front of you to create a front sound stage. The claim is that this is most natural because it's the way you listen to a concert. However, that ignores the huge number of people who enjoy surround sound (like going to a theater). It's personal choice - don't ever let somebody else (including me) tell you how you should set up your sound system.

I always enjoyed my Monsoon system once I replaced the speakers and installed a double DIN head unit. Even several upscale car systems I have had since have not been as pleasing to my ear as the Monsoon - that includes a Harmon Kardon system in a BMW, a GMC Bose system, a Ford/Sony system, and a Ford Shaker system (although the Shaker comes close). Your best bet is to find someone in a local LS1 group that has a front speaker / rear sub setup so you can listen to it and see whether you like it.

 

I'm just asking for opinions. The only f-body with any type of "system" I've ever been in is mine. In that case, I think it's ok to ask others what they feel sounds better. My current setup tends to break up at higher volumes. In my previous experience and amp helps with that. Thank you very much for you input.

I really want to dampen the car more as well. That'll only help.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that you shouldn't look for options and opinions. I only meant that merely replacing the amp really wouldn't accomplish what you're looking for. Certainly if you want to revamp your system there are lots of options and F-bodies in general respond well to sound system upgrades (e.g. the hatch really emphasizes the bass output of a sub mounted in the back). What you can do is really only limited by your budget and how much time you can put into it.

 

It's all good. In your experience, are there any critical areas where sound dampening really shines? I've seen folks do the entire floor board; I'm not sure I want to get into that project just yet.

 

Doors are the most important to properly deaden

 

I added raammat BXT and ensolite to the doors, but honestly, I didn't really notice that much of a difference. Maybe I did it wrong. Any tips?

 

Hey Gents, maybe one of you guys can steer me in the right direction, I purchased a kenwood double din dnn770hd and Im using the existing monsoon amp. I have upgraded all the speakers while maintaining the proper ohmage throughout. I have used a standard wring harness adapter and was very thorough in wiring the car. There are a number of things that lead me to believe a few things are incorrect, the factory plug has a grey wire ( amp sensor) the adapter has no such corresponding wire. Add to this the fact that the speakers hiss, and two batterys later I still need to boost the car......
Suffice it to say the unit sounds fantastic but something is draining my battery and I don't know where I could have gone wrong....

 

Not that it makes much difference but do you have a convertible? Convertibles are the only models that have an amp sensor wire - otherwise the gray wire you see in the factory harness is from the dimmer switch for dash illumination. There may not be a corresponding wire in the harness adapter - it would be a plain orange wire but most aftermarket head units don't use it, they use the orange/white wire instead. The reason it doesn't matter is that no aftermarket head unit uses the amp sensor wire - only the factory head unit uses it.

It sounds like you may have either the harness adapter mis-wired or you have multiple independent problems. It is more likely for the simpler explanation to be the case (Occam's Razor) so the first thing to do is double (and triple) check your wiring connections to ensure the HU wires are all connected to the correct harness adapter wires and that all connections are solid and well insulated (twist and tape is never good enough).

If that all checks out then you apparently have at least two separate problems - the speaker hiss and the battery discharge. Speaker hiss can be very difficult to isolate. The most common cause is a bad ground on the head unit chassis - try running a ground wire from the HU (it will usually have a stud or screw for that purpose) to a solid metal ground... don't rely on the ground wire in the harness. If that doesn't solve the hiss problem then you'll have to experiment with various possibilities. Did it hiss with the factory HU? Can you put the factory HU back in and make the hissing stop? If so, you may have a defective Kenwood HU.

Diagnosing the battery drain is not difficult but it is time consuming. You need a multimeter (ammeter) so you can measure current draw from the battery. Remove the positive cable from the battery and connect the ammeter between the cable end and the battery terminal. This will allow you to monitor current flow. Then start removing fuses until you see the current flow drop to an acceptable level (there will always be some flow for the clock and memory in the radio and to the Body Control Module for the keyless entry system and alarm if equipped). Whichever fuse you last removed will tell you which circuit is drawing the excess current - then you get to track down why.