Rockford Fosgate RZR Tunes

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Big_Daddy_Jp

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I’m a huge stereo nut. I’ve put systems in just about everything I’ve owned. That goes for the new Pro R I just got! This time I decided to give Fosgates kit a try. There was no beating the package I got for the price if I tried as long as it performed. So here is my take on it and I hope it helps if anyone is thinking to add some tunes. I purchased the stage 5 kit. This kit replaces the stock front 6.5’s and tweeters and adds a set of 6.5 coaxials in the rear along with a 12” sub and amp. The stock speakers are 4 ohm. The replacements are 2 ohm along with 2 ohm rear speakers doubling the output of the stock system. Now the stock speakers actually weren’t half bad once the EQ was tuned in as it comes with a flat tune from the dealer. First I installed the rear speakers and replaced the front tweeters just to hear the difference. Believe me it made a huge difference. This alone would probably be enough for most people especially if they could care less about a subwoofer. The instructions for install were very easy to follow and the install was super easy as most was plug and play. The only harness to install was the one for the sub which was very simple as there is already a positive and negative connection for the wiring under the dash. The hardest part of the install was getting the sub under the dash and in place by yourself. Now for the performance of the sub. The sub is lacking at lower volume levels and the amps have no tuning abilities. The other problem is it doesn’t hit low bass notes. The reason I went with the 12” sub was to hit those notes but the box is too shallow for that. Now I can say that it hits hard as the volume goes up and the sound is clean. The factory tuning of the amps seems pretty spot on! The system sounds great with rock and country. The 12” sub has good punch. As I said earlier, hip hop sounds good but lacks when the low notes hit. All in all, very impressed with the clarity, volume, plug and play install, and price point. As a comparison, my other RZR had an Alpine 900 watt 5 channel amp, two sets of 6.5” Fosgate power coaxials, a wet sounds sound bar, and a JL audio 10w3. I bought all of these components and installed them myself using SSV speaker pods and subwoofer box. I had twice as much money into my old system and spent twice as much time installing it all. In the end, the Fosgate stage 5 is louder and more clear and full sounding. Hope this helps!

 
I'm looking to do something like that in my rail. I'm leaning more towards tower types speakers with sub and highs in one but I'll check this setup out. I appreciate the info!

 
Chingon619 said:
I'm looking to do something like that in my rail. I'm leaning more towards tower types speakers with sub and highs in one but I'll check this setup out. I appreciate the info!
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If your looking for tower speakers, Rockford Fosgate has 8” and 10” cans. They are an 8” or 10” mid with a horn tweeter. They are pricey but should be super loud! I think they are like $1300 to $1700 for a pair depending on size and they are 300 watt rms and like 1200 watts peak! Crazy

 
Big_Daddy_Jp said:
I’m a huge stereo nut. I’ve put systems in just about everything I’ve owned. That goes for the new Pro R I just got! This time I decided to give Fosgates kit a try. There was no beating the package I got for the price if I tried as long as it performed. So here is my take on it and I hope it helps if anyone is thinking to add some tunes. I purchased the stage 5 kit. This kit replaces the stock front 6.5’s and tweeters and adds a set of 6.5 coaxials in the rear along with a 12” sub and amp. The stock speakers are 4 ohm. The replacements are 2 ohm along with 2 ohm rear speakers doubling the output of the stock system. Now the stock speakers actually weren’t half bad once the EQ was tuned in as it comes with a flat tune from the dealer. First I installed the rear speakers and replaced the front tweeters just to hear the difference. Believe me it made a huge difference. This alone would probably be enough for most people especially if they could care less about a subwoofer. The instructions for install were very easy to follow and the install was super easy as most was plug and play. The only harness to install was the one for the sub which was very simple as there is already a positive and negative connection for the wiring under the dash. The hardest part of the install was getting the sub under the dash and in place by yourself. Now for the performance of the sub. The sub is lacking at lower volume levels and the amps have no tuning abilities. The other problem is it doesn’t hit low bass notes. The reason I went with the 12” sub was to hit those notes but the box is too shallow for that. Now I can say that it hits hard as the volume goes up and the sound is clean. The factory tuning of the amps seems pretty spot on! The system sounds great with rock and country. The 12” sub has good punch. As I said earlier, hip hop sounds good but lacks when the low notes hit. All in all, very impressed with the clarity, volume, plug and play install, and price point. As a comparison, my other RZR had an Alpine 900 watt 5 channel amp, two sets of 6.5” Fosgate power coaxials, a wet sounds sound bar, and a JL audio 10w3. I bought all of these components and installed them myself using SSV speaker pods and subwoofer box. I had twice as much money into my old system and spent twice as much time installing it all. In the end, the Fosgate stage 5 is louder and more clear and full sounding. Hope this helps!
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can you back fill woofer space with insulation pieces like we used to many moons ago, its been so long ago i was really into the scene, so i don't remember why we did the insulation lol

 
zilla68 said:
can you back fill woofer space with insulation pieces like we used to many moons ago, its been so long ago i was really into the scene, so i don't remember why we did the insulation lol
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So filling the box with polyfill fakes the sub into thinking the box is a little bigger. I’m not sure if the box already has some in it or not as the box comes pre assembled. Even still, I don’t think it would fix the problem. Plus I need to break the sub in to see what it will really do before I start messing with it. Thanks for the idea though!

 
The sound quality is impressive with these setups.   

 
Rockford Fosgate has done a great job putting these kits together and making all of it plug & play...and they work! 
I'm not a huge fan of RF but I get it. 

Over the years I've installed Kenwood systems in my rails, a Kicker system in my Can Am and currently have a full JL Audio system in my current rail. JL has some great equipment and happy with my current setup.....but those RF system do get loud! 

Sorry to hear your 12" Sub isn't getting low enough....issue is box space and I would guess a little underpowered.....only so much space to work with....glad you like it overall.  

:dude: :makerain:

 
High Sierra Dad said:
This theory is a fable. All the polyfill does is prevent the backwaves of the sub from coming back to hit the cone. This, in turn improves performance, which some equate to "tricking the sub into thinking it's in a different sized enclosure". Air volume will always be just that... and what controls the sub. The polyfill affects the movement of said air.

Polyfill also breaks down and creates premature wear on your voicecoil so... build an enclosure with the appropriate features INSIDE the box to break up those backwaves and you'll never have any issues.
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Not sure I want the back and forth that will come if I disagree. It’s like Chevy vs Ford. Although your explanation of the waves is spot on. 

 
Meter Tech said:
Rockford Fosgate has done a great job putting these kits together and making all of it plug & play...and they work! 
I'm not a huge fan of RF but I get it. 

Over the years I've installed Kenwood systems in my rails, a Kicker system in my Can Am and currently have a full JL Audio system in my current rail. JL has some great equipment and happy with my current setup.....but those RF system do get loud! 

Sorry to hear your 12" Sub isn't getting low enough....issue is box space and I would guess a little underpowered.....only so much space to work with....glad you like it overall.  

:dude: :makerain:
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I believe you are correct about the box and amp. I too love JL Audio. Although, I think that some of their quality has gone down hill.

 
Big_Daddy_Jp said:
I believe you are correct about the box and amp. I too love JL Audio. Although, I think that some of their quality has gone down hill.
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It's my first all JL system, nice stuff but their pricing is a bit absurd!  :ng:

 
Meter Tech said:
It's my first all JL system, nice stuff but their pricing is a bit absurd!  :ng:
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Back in the day, JL was worth the money. In the last few years, things have gone down hill. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but things don’t last near as long as they used to. 

 
High Sierra Dad said:
Not sure how you can argue with physics, but okay.

I've been BUILDING, not BUYING subwoofer enclosures for over 30 years now. I was fortunate enough to have this Gentleman as my customer, 12 years into my Audio education... I spent weeks learning and absorbing all I could and it's stuff you'll never hear about in the standard "Mobile Audio" world...

About Guy Charbonneau – Le Mobile
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I have no doubt from how you speak that you have more time invested into this sport than I do. I can say that I have been building enclosures recreationally for around 30 years. I’m not your typical buy off the shelf guy you may think I am. I did build my first sub box in my 2014 xp1000 but only because nobody made anything yet. There isn’t much room to play with so it’s much easier to buy stuff already built. It would be dumb to spend countless hours trying to build a sub box that would incorporate a glovebox just to make the most airspace you can. Way too much time and money for that. As for the discussion on sound wave. A shallow enclosure effects the sub in that the wave comes back and hits the cone quickly robbing performance of the sub. A deep enclosure takes longer for the wave to come back. Also allowing the wave to disperse outward as to not directly effect the cone. Now polyfill does just that. It disperses the wave to not directly effect the cone. So does it actually trick the sub into thinking it’s in a bigger box? Of course not! It’s just a way to easily break down the effect of the sub to people who don’t understand. Now I do have a question for you. Let’s say you have a 10” sub that calls for 1 cubic foot sealed. So a standard box is 12”x12”x12”. The sub Is 4.75” deep. In this box you have 7.25” between the sub and the wall of the enclosure. Now let’s say you want to build a box behind the seat of a truck. So now your box will be 16” tall and 22” wide and 5” deep. You now only have .25” between your sub and back of the enclosure. Both boxes are 1 cubic foot as the speaker calls for. So will the wave be effected differently? Also, will the wave be effected differently if you moved the sub all the way to one side vs in the middle of the box?

 
High Sierra Dad said:
Since we are getting into details...

Let's start off with your enclosure. Your "fictional sub" requires 1.0 cubic ft of airspace. That does not mean your internal dimensions WILL be 12" x 12" x 12". The subwoofer itself has volume displacement. A typical 10" sub is about .050 cubic ft. So does speaker wire. If you built an enclosure that requires 1.0 cu ft of air, the enclosure is now undersized, which will quickly be heard. I know I'm arguing semantics here but if that's how you're building your enclosures, we can expect the sub to sound "off". Going off the reservation a bit... I build my enclosures 20% bigger than specs call out for, as this is something I learned from a LOT of IASCA (Car Audio Competitions) Installers back in the 90's. This is a whole other subject.

As far as your enclosure design questions, yes... a more shallow box will definitely have the sound quality affected. But this easily falls into Rule #1 of Car Audio... "Sometimes you just can't put a great sounding enclosure in a vehicle, without chopping it up". I DO NOT build enclosures to go behind the seats of a truck. I will build one with a MDF frame and use fiberglass for the bottom, under the seat but the limitations behind a seat are an installers worst enemy. The subs fire into the seat, reducing their effectiveness and MOST installers build the enclosure so the baffle (and the sub) mounts right against the seat, limiting the excursion of the sub itself (you'll see rings on the back of the seat from the surround). This kills subs and performance. In this case, I would sell a group of 8' subs (4-6), mount them low in the enclosure and use a 1 3/4" baffle to countersink the subs into the enclosure. Maybe even a group of 6" subwoofers, if it calls for it. When guys want a lot of bass in the cab of their truck, I build the enclosure in the bed of the truck and do a "blow through" into the cab. You can't always have it your way. Some vehicles just won't allow it. Which falls into your main issue:

A RZR has ZERO transient response or transfer function (as a regular vehicle would) so what you're expecting in an offroad vehicle in comparison to a street vehicle, will never happen.

As far as the location of the sub IN the box: if your enclosure is built properly and has all of the appropriate bracing and baffle thickness, the location doesn't matter. Now, if you're building a basic enclosure with no internal bracing and a 3/4" baffle, of course it will sound better off to the side, rather than mounted in the middle. You'll have that corner bracing that I believe you're hinting at in your question.

The best way to get good sound out of a shallow enclosure is to use a subwoofer with a vented pole piece, acoustic foam on the back wall of the enclosure or add features into the enclosure itself that breaks up those back waves (strips of mdf "triangles" along the back or anything but a smooth surface). I will always argue against Polyfill. But, then again... I've had functional subwoofers in my vehicles for decades that have never had an issue. But, that's because I run at 4 ohms, no matter what and don't use Teddy Bear stuffing to help me out.

Dammit... you make me want to go build an enclosure for the Image Dynamics 10 I have sitting on a shelf... :lol:
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My questions were merely just that. Not testing knowledge or questioning responses. I too understand about woofer displacement. I’m just asking merely because a lot of Manufactures will tell you the sub requires “X” for air space. Then you go to the box build for that sub on their site and the airspace doesn’t account for the subwoofer displacement. Just wondering your thoughts. Also, my questions were based on speaker depth in a box even though the airspace is correct. Lastly, I wondered about the sub to one side vs the middle. All purely for your insight on the different scenarios. As for the fictional speaker, it was all just numbers for comparison sake. I do appreciate your response as I said this stuff has always been done for fun for me. As for the strips across the back of the box to break up the waves, that’s just genius! Never thought or read of that before. Good lessons! 

 
High Sierra Dad said:
Honestly. JL is one of the best audio companies out there and their pricing reflects that.

If you look at a 6.5" speaker price as an example... JL, Focal, Alpine and Morel all have $150 coaxials on their low end of the price range. All of those companies also have component sets that are $XX,XXX, as well.

A comparable JBL, Pioneer or Kenwood (lesser quality) 6.5" will be in the $75 - $100 range... and will also sound like a $75 speaker.

As far as amps and subs go, JL has a few different lines to hit different price levels and even their low level stuff is actually pretty darn good for the price.

I only buy JL, Zapco, Alpine and Morel products these days. May be trying out some AudioFrog components here soon and possibly a Fosgate Power series amp... but JL usually always gets my money for subs and amps.
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What are your thoughts on Sundown and Skar? I built a box for my cousins truck with Sundown subs a few years back. They seemed like they were good quality and sounded pretty damn good. Just don’t know how long they lasted as he sold his truck not long after. Now with Skar, the lower series stuff seems pretty cheap but for the money you would spend on say a JL 12w3, you can get one hell of a Skar 12. Thoughts? Also not coming from the competition world, there seem to be quite a bit of companies out there that everyday joes like me wouldn’t hear of. How do you look these up? 

 
High Sierra Dad said:
Honestly. JL is one of the best audio companies out there and their pricing reflects that.

If you look at a 6.5" speaker price as an example... JL, Focal, Alpine and Morel all have $150 coaxials on their low end of the price range. All of those companies also have component sets that are $XX,XXX, as well.

A comparable JBL, Pioneer or Kenwood (lesser quality) 6.5" will be in the $75 - $100 range... and will also sound like a $75 speaker.

As far as amps and subs go, JL has a few different lines to hit different price levels and even their low level stuff is actually pretty darn good for the price.

I only buy JL, Zapco, Alpine and Morel products these days. May be trying out some AudioFrog components here soon and possibly a Fosgate Power series amp... but JL usually always gets my money for subs and amps.
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I agree, you get what you pay for.....BUT...even the best can sound like shiat if not installed properly with correct tuning! 

I've designed and built a few Kenwood and Kicker systems that did not disappoint as well......again, proper install and tuning goes a long way. 

I didn't hold back on my latest system; I was excited to be back in a Sand Rail so I  :makerain: when designing and building the sound system. 

JL Audio

(1) M700 / 5 Marine Class D

(6) M3-650X 6.5" 

(1) 10TW3-D4 

The amp is way impressive and the 10TW3 just flat out kicks ass! The M3's are nice, be curious how different the M6's would be. 

I built all custom enclosures for everything except for 1 pair of JL Pods and overall it's impressive. My ears aren't what they used to be, so I have to rely on others for final tuning. 

But I have a slight advantage over the average bear, I worked in Car Audio many moons ago and competed professionally for a couple of seasons with multiple wins....the good ole days!  :dude:

 
Meter Tech said:
I agree, you get what you pay for.....BUT...even the best can sound like shiat if not installed properly with correct tuning! 

I've designed and built a few Kenwood and Kicker systems that did not disappoint as well......again, proper install and tuning goes a long way. 

I didn't hold back on my latest system; I was excited to be back in a Sand Rail so I  :makerain: when designing and building the sound system. 

JL Audio

(1) M700 / 5 Marine Class D

(6) M3-650X 6.5" 

(1) 10TW3-D4 

The amp is way impressive and the 10TW3 just flat out kicks ass! The M3's are nice, be curious how different the M6's would be. 

I built all custom enclosures for everything except for 1 pair of JL Pods and overall it's impressive. My ears aren't what they used to be, so I have to rely on others for final tuning. 

But I have a slight advantage over the average bear, I worked in Car Audio many moons ago and competed professionally for a couple of seasons with multiple wins....the good ole days!  :dude:
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Would love to see pics of this in your rail and/or build pics. 

 
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