Surrounded By Sound

Driving a custom truck creation down the street and watching as others admire the work you have performed is the most rewarding experience of owning a customized pickup. It is the pride of driving something a bit different than everyone else that keeps enthusiasts building project after project. Many elements make up these restyled rides, including custom paint, suspension, body modifications, and wild interior treatments, but some upgrades that enhance the cruising experience cannot be seen.

We are talking about aftermarket audio systems, and how combining the right components can turn the Monday through Friday commute into a daily concert, and all you have to do to change the main act is switch CDs. It is amazing how music can change one's whole perspective on things, and while hearing it through aftermarket speakers, the clarity of the musician's lyrics and harmonies is enough to make you want to take the long way home.

Recently, we grew tired of the stock stereo system in our project '95 Chevy C1500 Extended Cab, and decided it was time to install a custom aftermarket system which would deliver our jams with authority. After talking to a few audio gurus and figuring out the type of system we were looking for, it was decided that a collection of products from MTX Audio would be perfect to upgrade the truck's sounds. MTX Audio is a division of Mitek out of Phoenix, which specializes in aftermarket component speakers, amplifiers, and subwoofers.

Mitek also owns Coustic Car Audio, Atlas Sound, Esoteric Audio USA, Xtant, DCM Loudspeakers, and StreetWires. The company enjoys unprecedented success in the aftermarket audio arena, and its products work exceptionally well. To give our '95 Chevy some heavy audio artillery, we selected an MTX MagnaForm pre-fabricated subwoofer enclosure filled with an MTX Thunder 6000A 10-inch subwoofer to handle the bass.

The enclosure is specially designed for this model truck and fits perfectly under the driver-side rear seat. To bring out the wail in our favorite guitar licks, a pair of MTX Audio T6.6 Thunder 6000 Convertible speakers were placed in the doors. The Convertible refers to the speaker being versatile, in that it allows the installer to remove the built-in tweeter and install it in another place. For the rear of the cab, a set of 4x6 MTX coaxial speakers was put in behind the cab plastics. Running all of this new audio gear is handled with an MTX five-channel Thunder 895 amplifier. Although MTX designs its systems to use the stock head unit, we opted to install a Kenwood KDC MP522 head unit to further enhance the system's clarity at volume.

To ensure a quality installation, we commissioned the car stereo pros at Audio Innovations in Glendora, California, to turn our Chevy pickup's cab confines into a concert hall. Company owner, Joe Provenzano, has more than 20 years of aftermarket audio experience and does everything from the simplest drop-in systems to full custom speaker enclosures and a wide array of video upgrades. Follow along as we upgrade our '95 Chevy with a collection of MTX Audio gear.