2012 Chevrolet Tahoe - Audio System Advice Needed

[FeArZ]

I have two 18" DC XLs in my 2007 Tahoe and I can play rock and they won't skip a beat.

There's plenty of good choices out there, a single SA-15" would be nice. My buddy runs one and it sounds clean

Like Ricky I have 2 18's,but mine are Sundown Z.V3's in my 09 Tahoe and I can play Dubstep and Zydeco no problem.

I agree 1 15 ported and you should be happy though.

[252chevyboyz]

Hey man I have a '97 Tahoe and I got 2 12's in there but I still feel I need to upgrade. They sound pretty good with rock music and like anything above about 26hz. My box is tuned to 36hz so I cant get the lowest with my box. I wish I would have gone with one DC XL 15" with a DC 2k amp or a Sundown SAZ-2500D amp. You may want to consider 2 15's depending how loud you want it and how much air you want to get moving. My next system will consist of 2 DC XL 15's or possibly 2 DC lvl 5 15's with about a 7.5 cube ported box. Subs will be facing up and port facing back. I dont know if this will help you out but I figured I would share my plans to see if you wanted to do something similar. Something that is important is make sure you go with a Class D amp because they are much more efficient. Class A/B amp is about %50-60 efficient and a Class D amp is usually around 70-80% efficient.

Also one other suggestion is go ahead and invest in a rear battery so you dont put too much strain on the electrical. Any battery 80-120AH should be ok. I learned this the hard way by not investing in a rear battery when I bought my system and wishing I would have. My voltage on idle with the head unit volume on 0 is 14.4v but at full tilt it drops to about 13.1-13.2 and this is only with a 1200w class A/B autotek amp (about 600-650w RMS).

If you live near anyone that has a system dont be scared to ask for a demo just to get a feel of what you might want. Demoing systems I have found is the best way to find that system that is just right for you. Maybe even hit up a few car/audio shows and see whats up with a couple different systems. Sundown, Rockford Fosgate, and Ascendant Audio also make some quality subs if you want to look into those.

Hope this will be able to help you out,

James

[FeArZ]

The newer Tahoes have secondary battery trays under the hood so no rear batt needed. I think older ones have the batt tray to

[252chevyboyz]

Yea they do have a second batt tray up front. Mine has dual batt slots up front and it is a '97. I was thinking of putting the battery near the amp though to cut down on the amount of wire that needs to be run even though its almost the same amount either way. In my opinion I like my batts inside the car instead of 2 up front or having a battery tray underneath the car where the spare tire is located. If it was my build I would add a second battery but do you think the OP would be ok with maybe putting one Yellow Top batt up front instead of adding a second battery?

-James

[MarkoStefo]

OP, where are you located?

I am located just outside of Detroit, Michigan.

[MarkoStefo]

Hey man I have a '97 Tahoe and I got 2 12's in there but I still feel I need to upgrade. They sound pretty good with rock music and like anything above about 26hz. My box is tuned to 36hz so I cant get the lowest with my box. I wish I would have gone with one DC XL 15" with a DC 2k amp or a Sundown SAZ-2500D amp. You may want to consider 2 15's depending how loud you want it and how much air you want to get moving. My next system will consist of 2 DC XL 15's or possibly 2 DC lvl 5 15's with about a 7.5 cube ported box. Subs will be facing up and port facing back. I dont know if this will help you out but I figured I would share my plans to see if you wanted to do something similar. Something that is important is make sure you go with a Class D amp because they are much more efficient. Class A/B amp is about %50-60 efficient and a Class D amp is usually around 70-80% efficient.

Also one other suggestion is go ahead and invest in a rear battery so you dont put too much strain on the electrical. Any battery 80-120AH should be ok. I learned this the hard way by not investing in a rear battery when I bought my system and wishing I would have. My voltage on idle with the head unit volume on 0 is 14.4v but at full tilt it drops to about 13.1-13.2 and this is only with a 1200w class A/B autotek amp (about 600-650w RMS).

If you live near anyone that has a system dont be scared to ask for a demo just to get a feel of what you might want. Demoing systems I have found is the best way to find that system that is just right for you. Maybe even hit up a few car/audio shows and see whats up with a couple different systems. Sundown, Rockford Fosgate, and Ascendant Audio also make some quality subs if you want to look into those.

Hope this will be able to help you out,

James

Thanks for the detailed post, my only concern with going with 15" subwoofers is that they may be overpowering in my case. I listen to a lot of rock/metal music and while bass is important, I want to be able to hear every other aspect of the song. So while I want be able to have a loud high quality bass sound, I don't want it to the point where I can't hear any other sound in the song due to overpowering subwoofers and bass sound. I am really striving to create a sound quality system that plays nice, clean, and loud. I may be making some mistakes, so please inform me if I am.

[252chevyboyz]

It's not a problem at all. I'm here to help out around the community any time I can but did you Tahoe come with the Bose speaker system? If not would you be interested in installing some tweeters and mids/highs? 15's may be over powering if your mids/highs and tweets arent good quality and on a separate amp. Rockford makes some good mid speakers and tweets and if you pair with the right processors and rockford amps they sound great. For example the mids/highs/tweets sound amazing in Mr. Meade's Tahoe. I am kinda like you though because I dont want my mids/highs being drowned out. I like my fair share of mid bass and tweets. Have you looked at 2 DC XL 12's on maybe 3-3.5k RMS? you really could probably get by with 2 lvl 4 12's on 2.5k RMS. What is your budget if you dont mind me asking? You can probably tell I'm a fan of DC subs but as I said before Sundown, Rockford, and Ascendant Audio have great subs also. Sundown and DC amps are my fav so far followed by Crescendo amps. BTW the mids/highs/tweets I will be installing my Tahoe will be all Rockford and Rockford powered.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but for the boxes on these subs I would probably go with the following:

XL subs: 3.5-4 cube box (ported & tuned to maybe 34-38hz)

lvl 4's: 3-3.5 cube box (ported & tuned to 32-34hz)

I might would tune the box a little higher since you like to listen to a lot of rock and high frequency songs. You probably wont have too many 20-30hz drops unless you listen to rap every now and then.

-James

[MarkoStefo]

It's not a problem at all. I'm here to help out around the community any time I can but did you Tahoe come with the Bose speaker system? If not would you be interested in installing some tweeters and mids/highs? 15's may be over powering if your mids/highs and tweets arent good quality and on a separate amp. Rockford makes some good mid speakers and tweets and if you pair with the right processors and rockford amps they sound great. For example the mids/highs/tweets sound amazing in Mr. Meade's Tahoe. I am kinda like you though because I dont want my mids/highs being drowned out. I like my fair share of mid bass and tweets. Have you looked at 2 DC XL 12's on maybe 3-3.5k RMS? you really could probably get by with 2 lvl 4 12's on 2.5k RMS. What is your budget if you dont mind me asking? You can probably tell I'm a fan of DC subs but as I said before Sundown, Rockford, and Ascendant Audio have great subs also. Sundown and DC amps are my fav so far followed by Crescendo amps. BTW the mids/highs/tweets I will be installing my Tahoe will be all Rockford and Rockford powered.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but for the boxes on these subs I would probably go with the following:

XL subs: 3.5-4 cube box (ported & tuned to maybe 34-38hz)

lvl 4's: 3-3.5 cube box (ported & tuned to 32-34hz)

I might would tune the box a little higher since you like to listen to a lot of rock and high frequency songs. You probably wont have too many 20-30hz drops unless you listen to rap every now and then.

-James

The Tahoe did come with the Bose speaker system. I am not sure if it is necessary installing new tweeter and mid/highs because the quality of the current Bose system sounds pretty good, nothing outstanding, but I believe it would be quite expensive to install nine new speakers. As far was subwoofer setup I was thinking about two 10", two 12", or one 15". Now I just have to decide on the brand. I was looking at the SSA XCON subs and the DC subs you recommended and they both look quite nice. I was also leaning towards a Sundown amplifier as well. My budget is roughly $1000-$2000, but I am looking on stay closer to the bottom end of that spectrum.

[252chevyboyz]

Yea I dont think I could bring myself to get rid of the Bose system either. My father bought an 05 Yukon XL a couple years back and I went to visit him recently. While I was there I took the Bose system for a ride with a little Decaf and -5db test tones. To be a completely stock truck it really sounded great. Underneath the cup holders it has what looks to be a small 6" maybe 8" sub woofer that is also Bose. I am not sure if your Tahoe came with a single din or double din head unit but a new double din head unit may make a little difference in the sound of the mids/highs. Just to have more control over the equalization and the ability to have much more adjustable settings. I've always wished I had a Bose system to mess around with like adding amps, processors, eq's, and such to see how good they really could sound.

As far as the XCON's the only reason I didnt recommend them was because I have never heard any that companies products. I try not to recommend any certain brand or company unless I have heard at least one of their products in person. Anyway from what I have read and seen on youtube they look like sturdy subs and with the right amp they can produce some major flex. I am hoping to hear some in person sooner than later.

I will post a couple set ups below that I think are pretty decent.

Combos:

(2) Sundown Z v.3 10" (2-2.5k RMS)

(1) Sundown SAZ-2500D (wired to 1ohm)

(2) Sundown Z v.3 12" (2-2.5k RMS)

(1) Sundown SAZ-2500D (wired to 1ohm)

(2) DC lvl 4 12" (2.5k RMS)

(1) Sundown SAZ-2500D (wired to 1ohm)

(2) DC XL 12" (3.5k RMS)

(1) Sundown SAZ-3500D (wired to 1ohm)

(2) DC XL 10" (2.5-3k RMS)

(1) Sundown SAZ-2500D or SAZ-3500D (both wired to 1ohm)

(2) DC lvl 4 10" (2-2.5k RMS)

(1) Sundown SAZ-1500D or SAZ-2500D (both wired to 1ohm)

(1) DC lvl 5 15" (2.5k RMS)

(1) Sundown SAZ-2500D (wired to 1ohm)

(1) Ascendant Audio 15" Mayhem D1

(1) Sundown SAZ-2500D (wired to 1ohm)

(2) Ascendant Audio 12" Chaos D1

(1) Sundown SAZ-1500D

(2) Ascendant Audio 10" Chaos D1

(1) Sundown SAZ-1500D

(1) Ascendant Audio 15" SMD Edition

(1) Sundown SAZ-3500D

(2) SSA XCON 10"

(1) Sundown SAZ-2500D (1ohm)

(2) SSA XCON 12"

(1) Sundown SAZ-2500D (1ohm)

(2) SSA ZCON 12"

(1) Sundown SAZ-3500D (1ohm)

(1) SSA ZCON 15"

(1) Sundown SAZ-1500D or SAZ-2500D

I hope maybe one of these suggestions might end up being yours. If you have any questions on what to do as far as upgrading electrical or anything just let us know. Also might consider Crescendo super tweets if you pick up a pair of super tweets.

-James

[252chevyboyz]

Anything sound interesting to you man?

-James