UTV Sound Systems

[Marlboroman]

A lot of options these days in the UTV audio scene these days. I install a ton of systems and I thought I would share the positives and negatives of what I’ve learned over the last 10 years at my shop. 
 

By far, the most popular systems these days are the Rockford Fosgate systems. Stage 4 and 5 specifically. A short time ago, Rockford changed the stage 4 systems to a single amp set up. It is only 400 watts RMS. Though they have “jumped the shark” like Fonzy with their marketing, since they now market the Stage 4 as 800 watts. This is the max output, not RMS. This is a shame. 400 watts is what the subwoofer alone needs to have decent output. The M0 line of speakers is okay, but subpar in my opinion. They sound very muddy and are not bright enough in my opinion. 
 

The Stage 5 is now marketed as a 1500 watt system, but is truly a 1000 watts RMS System. This system gets you upgraded speakers with disco LED lights in them. It is a much better speaker than the stage 4. But for the money, there are much better systems out there.

As far as the enclosures that RF uses, the kick panel enclosures are a pain in the ass. The subwoofer enclosures in a this plastic pile of crap. The rear pods are great though. The wiring and misc items are good. 
 

For the money, I’ll give these a 6 out of ten for the stage 5 and a 3 out of 10 for the stage 4. 

I’ll post up more opinions on different systems soon. :ez:  

 

[Big_Daddy_Jp]

I think the plug and play are a good option for people that know nothing about systems and installs. I agree, the speakers they use are ok at best but the amps are severely undersized. Playing a stereo loudly in open space means you need a lot of power. I have $3500 in my stereo system and it’s pretty loud and clean. I have parked next to others that play way louder than mine and wondered what they were using. I’m running SSV pods front and rear, 6.5” fosgate Power speakers front and rear, SSV glovebox sub enclosure with a JL Audio 10w3, Wetsounds sound bar, Fosagate head unit, all powered by Alpine PDX9. 

 

[Marlboroman]

I think the plug and play are a good option for people that know nothing about systems and installs. I agree, the speakers they use are ok at best but the amps are severely undersized. Playing a stereo loudly in open space means you need a lot of power. I have $3500 in my stereo system and it’s pretty loud and clean. I have parked next to others that play way louder than mine and wondered what they were using. I’m running SSV pods front and rear, 6.5” fosgate Power speakers front and rear, SSV glovebox sub enclosure with a JL Audio 10w3, Wetsounds sound bar, Fosagate head unit, all powered by Alpine PDX9. 

I spend a lot of time on customer cars making sure the amps are tuned correctly. Not just by ear. I also overpower everything. My rule of thumb is to overpower. I’ve nearly never had damage from overpowering speakers, but when a customer brings in their jump the shark amplifiers that are way underrated it kills the speakers. The main problem is at speed, you can’t hear to speakers distorting. :ez:

 

[Big_Daddy_Jp]

This is what I found key. I turn the volume all the way up and tune the stereo from there. I tune it with the songs that have the most bass. This way when I’ve been drinking, I can’t crank it any louder than it was tuned for.