Back in either ‘84 or ‘85, my grandpa worked at a place called Harrison Radio on Long Island, and he helped me get my dad an Audiovox AM/FM cassette deck for his 1969 Camaro for Father’s Day. The three of us installed it in my grandpas driveway and it was a very fond memory for me. This thing seemed ahead of its time with a silver face, a digital tuner, and a really nice feel to the knobs. The tuning knob didn’t turn fully, but instead rotated about 1/4 inch in either direction. My dad already had two Utah 6x9’s from the 70’s in the rear deck, and it sounded really good to me at the time, with plenty of bass. My dad still has the car and that stereo system today.
In high school I drove my Mom's little Datsun before I had enough to buy my own car. The Datsun came with an AM radio and one buzzy 4 or 5' dash speaker. My Dad put in an Audiovox head unit and some Targa 5.25" door speakers which was an upgrade, but not very loud in a car that sounded like you were running a chainsaw when driving at highway speeds. When I started driving it, I put in a Realistic 20x20 power booster (little black box with one button) and it did improve it quite a bit. My Mom was mad at me for messing with her car and radio which were "perfectly fine the way it was" but then when I got my own car and took the booster out she asked me what the hell I did to her radio it sounds like crap now! I was never more proud of her for noticing🙂 Miss ya Mom!
I had a stillwater design kicker 2 powered by an Alphasonik 2070. It was in a1976 Datsun 280Z. I couldn't even wait to get home to hook it up so I just did it right there in the parking lot of the store. It was so loud! I entered my first car stereo competition and qualified 1st. It hit around 121 db which wasn't bad for 1991! Good times!!
My first install was in ‘93, I was 12, my mom had a 92 b2200 standard cab. I installed a pair of RadioShack Optimus 8” two ways in the truck boxes behind the seat with the 120w max amplifier to match. Tapped the speakers for my high inputs. The guy at RadioShack explained how to do it and I’ve been hooked ever since!❤
I was so close to buying this, I was sweating! I'm glad it turned out to be perfect! I remember playing with these on display at a BEST store in East Texas. It had to have been 90-91... I've got an original, complete with grill, in good shape, amazing SQ, Kicker SS8, just hanging out in a closet now. Thanks for picking this up and sharing it with the old school family. Thanks for doing all you do Big D!
Oh WOW!! That's some nostalgia right there! Those FAT waffle grilles, the "flat look" passive radiator I'm pretty sure Parts Express sold in the 90s... Does it have the smell? You know what I'm talking about... That gray carpet, the plastic of the Motorola piezo tweeters, the rubber on the grilles... That is the smell of my childhood right there!
great video , never seen one of those before. Back in around 1995ish bought a full range speaker box for my 1978 Chevy truck it was a Mobile Authority Thump 2 10" subs with blue surrounds ,2 2x6 tweeters and no crossovers, powered with my Nxs by Audio Art 2x100 watts rms amp, the amp which i still have to this day, speakers were pretty weak , didnt take long to blow one of them and threw them both away , saved the box which i also still have today in my collection of stuff. Thanks for videos.
No trucks here in Italy, so those weren't a thing. But a lot of hatchbacks, especially among the youngsters and custom made wooden trunk covers were all the rage. A 3-way comp system with a 12" sub in the middle and you had all eyes on you (especially the thieves)!
I knew a guy back in the 90’s that had 2 house speakers with 12” 3 ways and an amp to push them in the back of his ford pinto. He was a long haired hippy type guy but he would rock out with and could hear him coming. 😂
Wow, brings me back. I had that same model box in the back of my "new" 1993 Chevy S10 single cab. I bought it because it was the only prefab that would fit. I can't remember if I bought it from Service Merchandise or Circuit City. Blew one of the woofers in no time, but I replaced both with Kicker subs and removed and sealed the tweeters. That thing sounded great in a small cab pickup. It wasn't earth shaking, but it actually sounded tight, clean, controlled, and had the right amount of punch. So glad you reminded me of good times and alot of great tunes in that S10. Sadly, it was stolen, but at least it was insured.
Back around 1990, a kid (I didn't know) had a mid 80s Firebird. As far as I ever knew, he had the Kicker 6.5" box specially built for Gen 3 Camaros/Firebirds. That thing SLAMMED man. I was never able to confirm anything for sure, but peeped into his car a couple times and I do know for certain he had that box system. I'm telling you, that thing rattled our school building!
Lol, I had a buddy that had the same set up. He had an 82' Firebird with a Kicker Comp box fitted for that car. It had 2x 6.5" drivers and 2x 10" passive radiators. I'm not sure how many watts he was running but it slammed so hard. Sitting in the back seat was f'n brutal. One of the loudest systems I heard on the street back in the day.
I drove an 88 Ford Ranger Single cab in HS. My first "system" was in 1992. It consisted of 2 full range truck boxes. No brand listed on them and a 140 watt amp from Frontier. No crossover with the old plug. Wired with house wire and a toggle switch to turn off the amp. Used that for about 6 months until I could afford an RF amp and real Kicker boxes. I just looked and there is a company called retro sound still making full range boxes.
They actually sound pretty good too. My friend has a pair in a 2002 Tacoma 4×4 single cab running off of a 200w full range amp . 😉 bass is surprisingly good 👍
I used MTX full range boxes, including the two 10" that had the light bulbs inside the port so you could see when you were maxing it out. I also had an Auto Tech amp. In my first vehicle, a Ford Ranger I had two 8" Rockford Fosgate full range boxes. Worked okay for me
Back in the day...memories! My friend in high-school had an old ford escort. He removed the rear seat and added 2 18 inch pyramid woofers, the windshield would flex out. Mega bass!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
A friend of mine got something similar to this for his single cab truck... Went to pep boys and got a sparkomatic 'booster' and got some passive crossovers from Radio Shack. Wires everywhere, jickity connections, but it was loud on a budget and we had a blast.
AUDIOVOX for the WIN!!! Very Nice. I have installed so many AVX products, insanity. REALLY BIG SELLER in the early-mid 80's. A Value Oriented product that had reliability and decent design going for it. AUDIOVOX... still in business today specializing in VIDEO for automobiles, boats and planes. Good memories of a time... BDBD/2024
In the early 2000’s I had a pair of MTX “truck box” speakers. Each had an 8” woofer and a piezo tweeter. I just needed something simple and durable and they sounded great for running off the head unit. No amp at all.
I used to put the realistic two-way crossovers in boxes like this and it would clean the sound up immensely. I wish you would have hooked it up to the auto tech. I had one of them from way back when and they are awesome little amplifiers.
I had this exact box in my little truck. For what it was, that thing played really good and it was "loud". It didn't play the low end really well. Good kick drum, but Techmaster ... not so good. LOL I cant recall how long I had it, but I ran it till it fell apart. Heard a slappy sort of sound in the bass and thought I had a blown speaker. Turned out the pressedboard on the back of the radiator was coming loose. I glued it back on and the noise went away. Some time later the tweeters got really crackly, so I cut the wires. Just used it for "bass" until the dust caps came unglued from the cones. LOL.... Was a great piece for a poor kid spending his money from working on a farm to learn car audio. And yes... this sort of stuff was all I could afford. My first big brand build came in my 20s when I got a Kenwood headunit and cd changer on sale and a pair of RF Series 1 10s in a box for my car. A kid has to start somewhere.... and this one brings memories. :) I had this first in a 85 Dodge D50, then a 82 Dodge Rampage. Pretty sure all I had to run this on was a EQ/Booster during this time. Real amps came later for me. I had a couple of different EQ/Boosters early on including Optimus, Audiovox and Pyramid. Use of these is most likely why I didn't have much low end performance. But it was loud.
My uncle had a dual 12" box running full range in his Aerostar. It gave a nice midbass but didn't gl low. My other uncle had a Rockwood amp pushing two 8" Pioneers free air in a Thunderbird. Wasn't loud but had very articulate bass.
Awesome channel, Big D! Around '91 I had a pair of the 8" RF Punch truck boxes behind the bench seat of my std cab '86 Isuzu P'up. Powered them with 2 bridged Alpine 3522s. A third 3522 powered a pair of Boston Acoustics 3-way 6x9s in the kicks. Source was an Alpine full pullout cassette receiver, Sony graphic EQ (11 band, maybe?), and an MTX 2-way crossover.
I'm totallly stunned those foam surrounds didn't tear😳.. I'm sure if it had lived in someones car or truck they'd be toast by now lol, but great to see an oldie can still crank 😍
Remember the full range MTX Terminator box that had four 15 inch woofers? There was some kind of switch on the side, where you could change the ohm load I believe. It had mids and horn tweeters, and everything was full range.
In the early 90’s, a friend of mine had some Jensen 8” 2-way split boxes in the hatchback of a Subaru Justy. He had a JVC two-knob cassette deck and a huge Audiovox eq/booster. That system sounded pretty damn good for not having a true external amplifier. Made me think twice about certain eq/boosters.
MANNNNN love this Had a Rockwood amp with almost the the same kicker box from Cobra Audio on my 97 extended cab Silverado . Man sounded pretty loud for it's time Did replaced the OEM speakers with Pioneer of it's time too 🤣😂
Good thing you didn’t hook that Autotek to it. That little amp is a beast and probably would have tested that foam to it's limits. Great stuff here man. Makes me feel my full 52 years of age.
Would’ve loved to have that in my truck, never had money as a kid so had to make my own stuff I took some metal coffee cans and put fiberglass inside and sealed up some 6.5in speakers and then was able to have some rear audio in the truck, it’s an 88 f150 so no rear speaker holes had to try and improve the sound of that old truck that I still have today sitting in my yard need to fix it up one day for nostalgia
I had/still have that Autotek 7050bts amp on a set of Blues 10’s with the Motorola tweets in the Blues full range hatchback box in my 87 Pathfinder. Running off of a Panasonic pull-out cd head unit. Could flip a quarter on the roof of the truck and it sounded amazing for the time period!
Cool video, I d forgotten about these, I remember seeing these as kid in 80’s one of my friend’s cousins had one like it in a Suzuki samurai and his cousins home boy had one in a chevette. Try a little experiment, put a little it of insulation in that little box
As always, I love seeing you buy this old stuff off eBay so I don't have to! I have a set of NIB Boston Acoustics speakers I just picked up and despite never coming out of the box, all the surrounds crumbled from just looking at them. I was able to refoam them, but you'd think a brand like Boston would have a better shelf life than Audiovox. I also have a pair of Rockford 8" truck boxes from this era, the foam on those is fine also.
I remember when I was a kid I used to go to circus City just to hear the full range MTX speakers that they had. They were some of them were like six and a half and they sounded really good
These remind me of a more badass version of the Pioneer TS-TRX6 my cousin's older brother had - they were amazing for drive-in theater listening! I remember seeing Indiana Jones 4 back in '08 with those bad boys just blasting on the roof of the car lol. Good memories!
A Company here in Germany is actually still selling something similar - i have 3 Different sets of these, 2 Sets of Short, single 6.5 inch Woofers with a Piezo Tweeter where i Replaced the Speakers of one Set with a Good Ground Zero Speaker set and filled the inside with Cotton and another Set with 8 Inch Woofers, no Passive radiator and Tweeters in the Front. They sound quite good and im using them as a Portable Stereo with a USB C Powerbank and a Class D amplifier held to the back with Velcro.
I've got a friend who has one of these that he picked out of the trash that he uses as a garage speaker. It sounds pretty good and can get really loud.
I’m still rockin with the same set up I had in 1991 in my 89 Firebird. The back seat is flipped down and on top of it sits a 3 way full range speaker box. It’s called Monster by Ultimate with 2 12” ported woofers, 2 mids and 2 piezo tweeters. And yes it actually has crossovers. Powered by a Sherwood SCP-1002 amp that’s 4 channels bridged to 2. Pioneer 1.5 DIN head unit. Set of Pioneer 4X6 in the front dash and a set of classic Jensen coax 6X9 in the stock location powered by the head unit. Old School no doubt but sounds much better than the factory system. I still get a headache remembering what that sounded like.
@@jdizzle3740 Thanks. That car was relegated to weekend fair weather driver before the first winter I had it. It’s probably lasted this long because it’s pretty much right behind my head and I can’t really turn it up that loud. Plus it’s lived in a garage. It certainly wouldn’t compete in any competition but still sounds pretty good to me anyway.
Crutchfield had those Alphasonic amps. I got the newer version of that PMA 2030. Very colorful. I had it running 10 speakers all mids and highs. Sounded awesome. You need to track down a JetSound 2125 amp. That was my bass amp running 2 pyle 10s in a fourth order box.
Be sure to tighten all the screws before testing, lol. Neat old box' all the guys with regular cabs wanted these. Those Motorola Pizeo tweeters are gems. Anybody remember the MTX AAL? American Acoustic Labs, Those boasted a very powerful Motorola MTX horn, along with duel 12" mtx drivers. They could take 300 to 400W RMS all day. Those Motorola horns were loud!
I remember Schucks auto parts stores used to have an audio corner with bass tubes and truck boxes. If I remember correctly, they sold Audiovox and Kraco speakers. I was just an early teen, but I remember thinking that the bass was thin and was probably not much less than 150hz. Even then I wasn’t fooled by swap meet level garbage they sold
I buy old Audiovox equipment every time I see them cheap at garage sales and flea markets. I think they are a bit better than kraco and Sparkomatic personally. I have a Hi Comp amplifier made by them. Even a prestige equalizer and a few different speakers. My favorite is dad's old dual shaft digital stereo cassette deck.
Dude! The drivers are wayyyy better than I would have thought. It’s funny, now that the Chinese, Parts Express level Piezos are on the market, those early Motorolas are now the premium ones!!
Ive got a 99 suburban with 4 6.5 kenwood in front 2 6.5 and 2 6x9 in rear doors and 4 dvc 10 inch subs ive actually been thinking about adding 2 12 inch home stereo woofers in a separate box to get that midbass fill that everything else seems to lack
I’m waiting for the Spark-o-matic bass cannon. I had Radio Shacks Version and that thing bumped! Had it in a Ford Escort and finally an S10 extended. Great with the amp built in. 👍🏽
@@wal2 I bought one on the quick in the winter of 92 and store security came over because there was a sign that said, Please do not turn on Bass Cannon. I remember being so pissed and asking, how am I going to know what it sounds like?? There was this crazy heated exchange (all regarding this 69 dollar bass cannon) that i actually had my gf’s mom go into the same store to buy it so I didn’t have a run-in with the same rent-a-cop. Long story long, I sold it (still in box)to a guy at work right around what I paid for it so I only got to hear it in the store and a friend’s dads truck. Can’t wait for your review! You are talking about the Spark and not the Radio Shack version, right?
These were awesome back in the day if you had an old truck with an old (or no) radio and single blown center dash speaker. Buy a generic head unit, amp and this at the car audio shows that used to go around maybe 500? or so in then money... long time ago. Head unit in dash, this behind the bench seat, amp where it would fit, all you need with no drilling for speakers. And yes if you used long speaker wire you could take it out and set it on the cab or hood pretty easy. Hooked basically that up for a few friends.
I could be wrong (and somebody please correct me if I am) but, I think those tweeters have a crazy high impedance that makes it act like a bass blocking capacitor. I think that's why they are all ran full range. I'm not a big fan of those Motorola tweeters, but they'll do in a pinch.
@@Blowncaraudio Yep, Radio Shack sold those tweets with instructions that said “no crossover needed.” But putting in even a simple one greatly improved the sound. Less harshness.
Brother had an 86 buick skyhawk hatch with an MTX dual 10, 3 way FR box that sounded awesome. That had a proper x-over in it unlike the Audiovox here. Id say a good 1-1.5k butterworth would do this thing a world of good as well as some Pink Panther R19 stuffed inside.
I remember seeing knock-offs of these in JC Whitney magazines. I also had an alphasonik 50x2 which didn't have anywhere near the rated power. But it was affordable and had low THD according to Crutchfield, so I fell for it.
I've built a couple of passive rad subs recently, both using a 6.5 driver and both using some old 6x9 carcasses with frazzled voice coils (probably from HU driven clipping) that I was given for the passives, one with a single rad and one with a pair, and they work pretty well considering their shoddy old components. Nothing too complicated, They were put in boxes that fit in the space available and tuned down using the rice method. Making these boxes gave me an appreciation of how effective they are, how much bass you get in a small space, and it was good to get more life out of abused speakers. Disclaimer: No Thiele-Small parameters were harmed during the production of these enclosures. What's a parameter? 😑
Back in either ‘84 or ‘85, my grandpa worked at a place called Harrison Radio on Long Island, and he helped me get my dad an Audiovox AM/FM cassette deck for his 1969 Camaro for Father’s Day. The three of us installed it in my grandpas driveway and it was a very fond memory for me. This thing seemed ahead of its time with a silver face, a digital tuner, and a really nice feel to the knobs. The tuning knob didn’t turn fully, but instead rotated about 1/4 inch in either direction. My dad already had two Utah 6x9’s from the 70’s in the rear deck, and it sounded really good to me at the time, with plenty of bass. My dad still has the car and that stereo system today.
Your dad is a legend \m/ keeping the classics alive and singing
Awesome and thanks for sharing!
Those Utah 6x9 were beasts.
You bet! Love both of your channels!
Yes they were pretty beefy. Orange baskets with a whizzer that sounded much better than it had any right to. Lol
In high school I drove my Mom's little Datsun before I had enough to buy my own car. The Datsun came with an AM radio and one buzzy 4 or 5' dash speaker. My Dad put in an Audiovox head unit and some Targa 5.25" door speakers which was an upgrade, but not very loud in a car that sounded like you were running a chainsaw when driving at highway speeds. When I started driving it, I put in a Realistic 20x20 power booster (little black box with one button) and it did improve it quite a bit. My Mom was mad at me for messing with her car and radio which were "perfectly fine the way it was" but then when I got my own car and took the booster out she asked me what the hell I did to her radio it sounds like crap now! I was never more proud of her for noticing🙂 Miss ya Mom!
Love the fact that there are people out there wanting to share the nostalgia
I love the fact people want to watch since it’s a total playground for me!
@@wal2 your like the one kid in the Mc Donald’s play place during a party that hasn’t started. Haha
I had a stillwater design kicker 2 powered by an Alphasonik 2070. It was in a1976 Datsun 280Z. I couldn't even wait to get home to hook it up so I just did it right there in the parking lot of the store. It was so loud! I entered my first car stereo competition and qualified 1st. It hit around 121 db which wasn't bad for 1991! Good times!!
These videos are like a time machine to me. Thank you for the throwbacks, Big D.
I love showing off the vintage stuff as it was new and happy you guys enjoy seeing it 👌
You need a kraco or a sparklematic to matchup with that audiovox.
My first install was in ‘93, I was 12, my mom had a 92 b2200 standard cab. I installed a pair of RadioShack Optimus 8” two ways in the truck boxes behind the seat with the 120w max amplifier to match. Tapped the speakers for my high inputs. The guy at RadioShack explained how to do it and I’ve been hooked ever since!❤
I was so close to buying this, I was sweating! I'm glad it turned out to be perfect! I remember playing with these on display at a BEST store in East Texas. It had to have been 90-91...
I've got an original, complete with grill, in good shape, amazing SQ, Kicker SS8, just hanging out in a closet now.
Thanks for picking this up and sharing it with the old school family. Thanks for doing all you do Big D!
I have some other really cool vintage car audio stuff to show off but couldn’t delay showing this one 😎
Oh WOW!! That's some nostalgia right there! Those FAT waffle grilles, the "flat look" passive radiator I'm pretty sure Parts Express sold in the 90s... Does it have the smell? You know what I'm talking about... That gray carpet, the plastic of the Motorola piezo tweeters, the rubber on the grilles... That is the smell of my childhood right there!
Yes! The smell is real!!
great video , never seen one of those before. Back in around 1995ish bought a full range speaker box for my 1978 Chevy truck it was a Mobile Authority Thump 2 10" subs with blue surrounds ,2 2x6 tweeters and no crossovers, powered with my Nxs by Audio Art 2x100 watts rms amp, the amp which i still have to this day, speakers were pretty weak , didnt take long to blow one of them and threw them both away , saved the box which i also still have today in my collection of stuff. Thanks for videos.
Awesome 👏
No trucks here in Italy, so those weren't a thing. But a lot of hatchbacks, especially among the youngsters and custom made wooden trunk covers were all the rage. A 3-way comp system with a 12" sub in the middle and you had all eyes on you (especially the thieves)!
I knew a guy back in the 90’s that had 2 house speakers with 12” 3 ways and an amp to push them in the back of his ford pinto. He was a long haired hippy type guy but he would rock out with and could hear him coming. 😂
House speakers were a thing back then and I might have tried it myself 😝
I know quite a few people who did that and it worked and got loud
Wow, brings me back. I had that same model box in the back of my "new" 1993 Chevy S10 single cab. I bought it because it was the only prefab that would fit. I can't remember if I bought it from Service Merchandise or Circuit City. Blew one of the woofers in no time, but I replaced both with Kicker subs and removed and sealed the tweeters. That thing sounded great in a small cab pickup. It wasn't earth shaking, but it actually sounded tight, clean, controlled, and had the right amount of punch. So glad you reminded me of good times and alot of great tunes in that S10. Sadly, it was stolen, but at least it was insured.
That’s awesome…except for the stolen part
Back around 1990, a kid (I didn't know) had a mid 80s Firebird. As far as I ever knew, he had the Kicker 6.5" box specially built for Gen 3 Camaros/Firebirds. That thing SLAMMED man. I was never able to confirm anything for sure, but peeped into his car a couple times and I do know for certain he had that box system. I'm telling you, that thing rattled our school building!
Lol, I had a buddy that had the same set up. He had an 82' Firebird with a Kicker Comp box fitted for that car. It had 2x 6.5" drivers and 2x 10" passive radiators. I'm not sure how many watts he was running but it slammed so hard. Sitting in the back seat was f'n brutal. One of the loudest systems I heard on the street back in the day.
I drove an 88 Ford Ranger Single cab in HS. My first "system" was in 1992. It consisted of 2 full range truck boxes. No brand listed on them and a 140 watt amp from Frontier. No crossover with the old plug. Wired with house wire and a toggle switch to turn off the amp. Used that for about 6 months until I could afford an RF amp and real Kicker boxes. I just looked and there is a company called retro sound still making full range boxes.
They actually sound pretty good too. My friend has a pair in a 2002 Tacoma 4×4 single cab running off of a 200w full range amp . 😉 bass is surprisingly good 👍
I had one that looked just like that, but it was a Pyle in the mid 80's. PS. The amp was a Sanyo PA6100.
@@UnholyTrinityS10 that's not nice bro, im pretty sure it was an ok box...
I have a set of the 8” Audiovox truck boxes (no passive radiators) from the same era. Still cranking out the tunes in the garage.
I can't believe it survived a test every time I find some cool old school speakers like that.The surrounds are shot
What a gem!!!! Shoot, that Vox-Box would be a HUGE upgrade to the stock stereo in our new Isuzu NPR box van!
Cool for some reason I remember my dad having something similar in his 79 Chevy pickup
I used MTX full range boxes, including the two 10" that had the light bulbs inside the port so you could see when you were maxing it out. I also had an Auto Tech amp. In my first vehicle, a Ford Ranger I had two 8" Rockford Fosgate full range boxes. Worked okay for me
This content is the most awesome my father had one of these in his pick up truck
Subscribed since 1981 Big D! Saludos desde Colombia!
Back in the day...memories! My friend in high-school had an old ford escort. He removed the rear seat and added 2 18 inch pyramid woofers, the windshield would flex out. Mega bass!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Forgot all about the VOX BOX. Takes me back
This really brings back memories! Be careful with all them 150 watts, sir!
As always, thank you, Big D, for sharing!
I used those watts with extreme caution 😝
A friend of mine got something similar to this for his single cab truck... Went to pep boys and got a sparkomatic 'booster' and got some passive crossovers from Radio Shack. Wires everywhere, jickity connections, but it was loud on a budget and we had a blast.
AUDIOVOX for the WIN!!! Very Nice. I have installed so many AVX products, insanity. REALLY BIG SELLER in the early-mid 80's. A Value Oriented product that had reliability and decent design going for it. AUDIOVOX... still in business today specializing in VIDEO for automobiles, boats and planes. Good memories of a time... BDBD/2024
In the early 2000’s I had a pair of MTX “truck box” speakers. Each had an 8” woofer and a piezo tweeter. I just needed something simple and durable and they sounded great for running off the head unit. No amp at all.
Efficiency baby!
oh wow! I remember these! sounds really nice and impressed with how well preserved it is. nice post!
As always great video big buddy , you always find these old school gems . Appreciate what you do, thank you
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I used to put the realistic two-way crossovers in boxes like this and it would clean the sound up immensely. I wish you would have hooked it up to the auto tech. I had one of them from way back when and they are awesome little amplifiers.
I had this exact box in my little truck. For what it was, that thing played really good and it was "loud". It didn't play the low end really well. Good kick drum, but Techmaster ... not so good. LOL I cant recall how long I had it, but I ran it till it fell apart. Heard a slappy sort of sound in the bass and thought I had a blown speaker. Turned out the pressedboard on the back of the radiator was coming loose. I glued it back on and the noise went away. Some time later the tweeters got really crackly, so I cut the wires. Just used it for "bass" until the dust caps came unglued from the cones. LOL.... Was a great piece for a poor kid spending his money from working on a farm to learn car audio. And yes... this sort of stuff was all I could afford. My first big brand build came in my 20s when I got a Kenwood headunit and cd changer on sale and a pair of RF Series 1 10s in a box for my car. A kid has to start somewhere.... and this one brings memories. :) I had this first in a 85 Dodge D50, then a 82 Dodge Rampage. Pretty sure all I had to run this on was a EQ/Booster during this time. Real amps came later for me. I had a couple of different EQ/Boosters early on including Optimus, Audiovox and Pyramid. Use of these is most likely why I didn't have much low end performance. But it was loud.
Love the memories! Thanks for sharing!!
Alphasonic, I do recall being sold through the J.C. Whitney catalog back in the day. 👍
Cool ! I remember pioneer having some nice ones !
No crossover either. I had a swap meet version like this and it sounded horrible. All mid bass and ear bleeding highs. Great video. Love it.
I'm amazed someone still had this in the original box.
Im definitely impressed Big D. It did alright even on my system here.
My uncle had a dual 12" box running full range in his Aerostar. It gave a nice midbass but didn't gl low. My other uncle had a Rockwood amp pushing two 8" Pioneers free air in a Thunderbird. Wasn't loud but had very articulate bass.
It's really fun to see this kind of stuff, I love the "old" car audio hardware. And... Not bad at all for this boombox! 😬
I crammed one behind the bench seat on my Nissan D21, I wasnt bumpin, but I was Vibin.
Awesome channel, Big D! Around '91 I had a pair of the 8" RF Punch truck boxes behind the bench seat of my std cab '86 Isuzu P'up. Powered them with 2 bridged Alpine 3522s. A third 3522 powered a pair of Boston Acoustics 3-way 6x9s in the kicks. Source was an Alpine full pullout cassette receiver, Sony graphic EQ (11 band, maybe?), and an MTX 2-way crossover.
Awesome 👏
The round thing in the middle got me!!! 😂
I'm totallly stunned those foam surrounds didn't tear😳.. I'm sure if it had lived in someones car or truck they'd be toast by now lol, but great to see an oldie can still crank 😍
Yeah it’s obvious this was in climate controlled environment as it looked and even smelled brand new
Remember the full range MTX Terminator box that had four 15 inch woofers? There was some kind of switch on the side, where you could change the ohm load I believe. It had mids and horn tweeters, and everything was full range.
In the early 90’s, a friend of mine had some Jensen 8” 2-way split boxes in the hatchback of a Subaru Justy. He had a JVC two-knob cassette deck and a huge Audiovox eq/booster. That system sounded pretty damn good for not having a true external amplifier. Made me think twice about certain eq/boosters.
MANNNNN love this Had a Rockwood amp with almost the the same kicker box from Cobra Audio on my 97 extended cab Silverado . Man sounded pretty loud for it's time Did replaced the OEM speakers with Pioneer of it's time too 🤣😂
I remember seeing this Audiovox speaker setup sold at Service Merchandise back in the day.
Good thing you didn’t hook that Autotek to it. That little amp is a beast and probably would have tested that foam to it's limits. Great stuff here man. Makes me feel my full 52 years of age.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen ima build a custom thing like this but with a 10 inch subwoofer
Do it!
@@wal2 oh I am definitely 🦾🦾
I remember way back that Finger hut magazine had this In a bundle with a audiovox coaxials, amp and radio
Would’ve loved to have that in my truck, never had money as a kid so had to make my own stuff I took some metal coffee cans and put fiberglass inside and sealed up some 6.5in speakers and then was able to have some rear audio in the truck, it’s an 88 f150 so no rear speaker holes had to try and improve the sound of that old truck that I still have today sitting in my yard need to fix it up one day for nostalgia
I had/still have that Autotek 7050bts amp on a set of Blues 10’s with the Motorola tweets in the Blues full range hatchback box in my 87 Pathfinder. Running off of a Panasonic pull-out cd head unit. Could flip a quarter on the roof of the truck and it sounded amazing for the time period!
Cool video, I d forgotten about these, I remember seeing these as kid in 80’s one of my friend’s cousins had one like it in a Suzuki samurai and his cousins home boy had one in a chevette. Try a little experiment, put a little it of insulation in that little box
Wow what a time capsule!!
As always, I love seeing you buy this old stuff off eBay so I don't have to! I have a set of NIB Boston Acoustics speakers I just picked up and despite never coming out of the box, all the surrounds crumbled from just looking at them. I was able to refoam them, but you'd think a brand like Boston would have a better shelf life than Audiovox. I also have a pair of Rockford 8" truck boxes from this era, the foam on those is fine also.
This would sound good in my warehouse I work in lol great video as usual ❤❤❤ I use an amp from the 80s that's 60w and two bookshelf speakers
I remember when I was a kid I used to go to circus City just to hear the full range MTX speakers that they had. They were some of them were like six and a half and they sounded really good
The hand over the tweeters was a nice touch. We all did it.
Prob best sounding that way 🤣
Got mine in 92 from sears and it was in my 84 GMC truck… thought i was joe kool with that setup.
These remind me of a more badass version of the Pioneer TS-TRX6 my cousin's older brother had - they were amazing for drive-in theater listening! I remember seeing Indiana Jones 4 back in '08 with those bad boys just blasting on the roof of the car lol. Good memories!
A Company here in Germany is actually still selling something similar - i have 3 Different sets of these, 2 Sets of Short, single 6.5 inch Woofers with a Piezo Tweeter where i Replaced the Speakers of one Set with a Good Ground Zero Speaker set and filled the inside with Cotton and another Set with 8 Inch Woofers, no Passive radiator and Tweeters in the Front. They sound quite good and im using them as a Portable Stereo with a USB C Powerbank and a Class D amplifier held to the back with Velcro.
I've got a friend who has one of these that he picked out of the trash that he uses as a garage speaker. It sounds pretty good and can get really loud.
Reminds me of the Norman Labs box I had in my 240Z. I think it was running on a HiFonics Vulcan.
I’m still rockin with the same set up I had in 1991 in my 89 Firebird. The back seat is flipped down and on top of it sits a 3 way full range speaker box. It’s called Monster by Ultimate with 2 12” ported woofers, 2 mids and 2 piezo tweeters. And yes it actually has crossovers. Powered by a Sherwood SCP-1002 amp that’s 4 channels bridged to 2. Pioneer 1.5 DIN head unit. Set of Pioneer 4X6 in the front dash and a set of classic Jensen coax 6X9 in the stock location powered by the head unit. Old School no doubt but sounds much better than the factory system. I still get a headache remembering what that sounded like.
Awesome 👏
that's kind of impressive that it's still going strong. Actually, that's kinda awesome
@@jdizzle3740 Thanks. That car was relegated to weekend fair weather driver before the first winter I had it. It’s probably lasted this long because it’s pretty much right behind my head and I can’t really turn it up that loud. Plus it’s lived in a garage. It certainly wouldn’t compete in any competition but still sounds pretty good to me anyway.
Crutchfield had those Alphasonic amps. I got the newer version of that PMA 2030. Very colorful. I had it running 10 speakers all mids and highs. Sounded awesome. You need to track down a JetSound 2125 amp. That was my bass amp running 2 pyle 10s in a fourth order box.
I bet that was pretty awesome in the back of a standard cab truck back in the day.
Haven’t seen one of these since the late 80s. Putting a real amp behind it made a huge difference compared to the booster setup I heard it on.
Be sure to tighten all the screws before testing, lol.
Neat old box' all the guys with regular cabs wanted these.
Those Motorola Pizeo tweeters are gems.
Anybody remember the MTX AAL? American Acoustic Labs, Those boasted a very powerful Motorola MTX horn, along with duel 12" mtx drivers. They could take 300 to 400W RMS all day. Those Motorola horns were loud!
I had 2 10 inch with piezoelectric tweeters. They mtx and they rocked
That was sweet😊 thank you very kindly sir 👌
I remember Schucks auto parts stores used to have an audio corner with bass tubes and truck boxes. If I remember correctly, they sold Audiovox and Kraco speakers. I was just an early teen, but I remember thinking that the bass was thin and was probably not much less than 150hz. Even then I wasn’t fooled by swap meet level garbage they sold
Retro Manufacturing still makes full range truck speaker boxes ;)
Absolute .
I wanted one of these back in the day
I buy old Audiovox equipment every time I see them cheap at garage sales and flea markets. I think they are a bit better than kraco and Sparkomatic personally.
I have a Hi Comp amplifier made by them. Even a prestige equalizer and a few different speakers. My favorite is dad's old dual shaft digital stereo cassette deck.
I used to have a HI comp 180 amp. Pretty good stuff
Dude! The drivers are wayyyy better than I would have thought. It’s funny, now that the Chinese, Parts Express level Piezos are on the market, those early Motorolas are now the premium ones!!
Ive got a 99 suburban with 4 6.5 kenwood in front 2 6.5 and 2 6x9 in rear doors and 4 dvc 10 inch subs ive actually been thinking about adding 2 12 inch home stereo woofers in a separate box to get that midbass fill that everything else seems to lack
Hey Big Dee Could u make a playlist on RUclips or Spotify of all your test songs?
Very cool. MTX was the king of these full range boxes - I had the SB45s and the dual 12 box (not sure the model #)
No doubt!
I’m waiting for the Spark-o-matic bass cannon. I had Radio Shacks Version and that thing bumped! Had it in a Ford Escort and finally an S10 extended. Great with the amp built in. 👍🏽
Ha! I found one recently so you’ll see it in a future video
@@wal2 I bought one on the quick in the winter of 92 and store security came over because there was a sign that said, Please do not turn on Bass Cannon. I remember being so pissed and asking, how am I going to know what it sounds like?? There was this crazy heated exchange (all regarding this 69 dollar bass cannon) that i actually had my gf’s mom go into the same store to buy it so I didn’t have a run-in with the same rent-a-cop. Long story long, I sold it (still in box)to a guy at work right around what I paid for it so I only got to hear it in the store and a friend’s dads truck. Can’t wait for your review! You are talking about the Spark and not the Radio Shack version, right?
In my 80s toyota pickup I ran the radio shack full range 8 inch boxes and radio shack amplifier
👌😬👍
The installer that I was an apprentice under, had the original Kicker box behind his couch to test, before it hit the market.
KICKER also made speakers called Hideaways which were for home audio
The audio dealer I worked for in 1990 still had one of these for sale.
These were awesome back in the day if you had an old truck with an old (or no) radio and single blown center dash speaker. Buy a generic head unit, amp and this at the car audio shows that used to go around maybe 500? or so in then money... long time ago. Head unit in dash, this behind the bench seat, amp where it would fit, all you need with no drilling for speakers. And yes if you used long speaker wire you could take it out and set it on the cab or hood pretty easy. Hooked basically that up for a few friends.
I could be wrong (and somebody please correct me if I am) but, I think those tweeters have a crazy high impedance that makes it act like a bass blocking capacitor. I think that's why they are all ran full range. I'm not a big fan of those Motorola tweeters, but they'll do in a pinch.
@@Blowncaraudio Yep, Radio Shack sold those tweets with instructions that said “no crossover needed.” But putting in even a simple one greatly improved the sound. Less harshness.
@@nancy4don Nice! I thought that was how they worked! Thank you!
Becker made the same setup, i had it in my '86 pontiac t1000 (chevette)
I had one back in 1981.
Not bad at all for 30years old 💪
back in the day my dad had that box in a ford truck we had
Hilarious how on the front it says "DANGER 150WATTS" 😂
Brother had an 86 buick skyhawk hatch with an MTX dual 10, 3 way FR box that sounded awesome. That had a proper x-over in it unlike the Audiovox here. Id say a good 1-1.5k butterworth would do this thing a world of good as well as some Pink Panther R19 stuffed inside.
I remember seeing knock-offs of these in JC Whitney magazines. I also had an alphasonik 50x2 which didn't have anywhere near the rated power. But it was affordable and had low THD according to Crutchfield, so I fell for it.
Considering the factory speakers in trucks back then this would have been a massive upgrade even on the factory stereo.
Those used to get sold at the nickel and dime store. I don't.
Remember where I got mine? But I got it in the 90s.
Awesome 👏
I've built a couple of passive rad subs recently, both using a 6.5 driver and both using some old 6x9 carcasses with frazzled voice coils (probably from HU driven clipping) that I was given for the passives, one with a single rad and one with a pair, and they work pretty well considering their shoddy old components. Nothing too complicated, They were put in boxes that fit in the space available and tuned down using the rice method. Making these boxes gave me an appreciation of how effective they are, how much bass you get in a small space, and it was good to get more life out of abused speakers.
Disclaimer: No Thiele-Small parameters were harmed during the production of these enclosures. What's a parameter? 😑
Wonderful speakers from the past..
I had the kicker 2 and kicker super 2 in the late eighties to early nineties. The both sounded good run with my coustic amp
I want a Super II or to remake a modern version
@@wal2 super 2 was louder but the kicker 2 was tighter and better balaced
Remember fosgate doing this too..
But I believe MTX was the first to build a dedicated subwoofer only box. I could be wrong.
I had one of those in a Ford ranger back in the day