Help a newbie with set up, please.

[SHAKEnBAKE]

Wassup guys, here's the situation, I just noticed that our stock stereo sucks ass, being an "engine guy" I've never noticed this until I drive my friend's Celica GT-S, their stock system is so much better!
Anyways I wanna upgrade the sound but dont wanna change the stock head unit. Should I change both(front&left) speakers or one of them, should I get an amp? A subwoofer will be out of question because they add too much weight, and I don't listen to alot of Hip-hop or dance/electronica. I wanted it to be loud & clear with just enough bass for hard rock/heavy metal.
Some brand reference will also be nice. BTW my friend who works at an audio shop will get them for me, so I won't be needing DIY tips, just which stuffs to get.
Wow, that's alot of question. Please help me guys.

Thanks,
Thomas

[BarracksSi]

Well, how far do you want to go? You can spend a perverse amount of money even without getting a single sub.

Other people here have been saying that the stock speakers don't sound too bad themselves -- it's just that they're underpowered. That would lead me to think that just adding a 4-channel amp would be fine, or even a 2-channel running the front speakers and run the rears off the stock head.

By then, I would be thinking of getting nicer speakers, and running a lot more power. It could get pretty darned loud with some good speakers driven with even fifty watts per channel.

Sticking with the stock head can present some problems, though. Its sound, while not bad, isn't the greatest. Using a speaker level-to-RCA convertor will also take away a *smidge* of clarity, and would be another possible way to introduce noise (or avoid that convertor by using an amp with speaker-level inputs). You also wouldn't have some of the sound shaping features common in medium- to high-priced heads, although you could add an EQ device (which could also add noise).

Usually, a clean-sounding system will have as few parts as possible. I would consider a new strong-powered head & good speakers as a minimum for myself.

**EDIT****
Now that I think about it some more (and re-read your original post), I thought of another option...

Smallish speakers, or more accurately full-range speakers, just can't properly "hit" strongly & clearly enough for my metal/rock tastes. Adding a sub will let you take the bass out of the main speakers, which will let them play cleaner and louder.

But, a sub doesn't always have to be two feet across. Maybe add some small 6-1/2" or 8" bass speakers, in either the original rear speaker locations or custom kick panel pods in front. They would definitely require an amp.

If I were to go that route, and keep the stock head, I would go with:
- stock head
- 4x50W (at least) amp with internal crossover, taking input from the head's front speaker leads
- run the front speakers from two of the amp's channels, the new bass speakers from the other two channels, and run the stock rear speakers off the head
- aftermarket front components in stock locations
- aftermarket 6-1/2"-8" dedicated bass speakers in front pods
- stock rear speakers

Why don't I want to change the rears in this hypothetical setup? They're only back there for fill, and shouldn't be distracting from the front soundstage.

[SHAKEnBAKE]

Thanks alot, that was helpful:)

[BlackNRedSi]

I agree with BarracksSi

can i ask you why you want to keep the stock deck? is it cause you want to keep the JDM look? is it because you dont have the loot? these reasons make sence if so....

if not,

go grab a better headunit, that makes a world of difference for every system....

i mean you dont have to go ALL out and buy a 500 dollar deck (trust me they get more expensive than that too) go grab like a 200 dollar pioneer deck, pioneer always makes good decks and they arent crap like some you may see in that price range....

now for the stock speakers, i have heard mixed emotions as well...it all comes down to honda is going to underpower their speakers cause they dont want people blowing them all the time....so right now you are getting very very low wattage coming from your factory headunit to your 6 speakers....

most after market headunits say '50wattsX4' now, we have 6 speakers in our car, and the factory deck does not put out even close to the 50x4 that after markets do...so thats why it sounds like shyte....

another reason why they sound like shyte, is cause really....they are shyte, i just looked @ mine the other day in the garage....they arent the worst i have seen (when i had my Ford Mustang they were shyte) but they were close to as bad as stock comes...

final thoughts after eating your ear off....

get a after market deck-Pioneer, Sony, Alpine
get after market speakers- can go with boston acoustics (they are alittle on the rich side, but they are real nice)-if you cant afford them, get something like infinity

and down the road get a little amp to give you that extra wattage if you want!

thats my opinion!

hope it helps a little in all the words i wrote!


Eric

[oogy-boogy]

If you want to stick with simple and light weight as I did you may want to try a hybrid of both ideas. First off, E-Bay is your friend.


Try getting a decent headunit and running only your stock rears off of it. Get a decent 4 channel amp and run a set of aftermarket fronts off of 2 channels. Next, bridge the rear channel of the amp to your sub. When you shop for an amp try to find one that will fit under your seat. You won't have to worry about taking up any additional trunk space (besides the sub).


Decent aftermarket headunit. ~$200 - 300. Try the JVC line. A ton of headunit for the $$. Also, don't be fooled by the adds on headunits and amps stating "10000000000 watts x 4". That's called Peak Wattage and is basically BS. That means that the amp may hit that one in a 10 minute span. Be sure to look for "RMS wattage" as it represents the continuos power put out by the amp or headunit. Most headunits will put out 18-22 watts per channel RMS.

Good set of 2 ways or components for the fronts. ~$80 - 250.

stock rears. Free!

Decent 4 channel amp (50 x 4 RMS or better). ~$100 - 250.

Assorted Wires, connectors, etc. ~50 - $100.

1 small single sub. I have a Kicker Solo L7 that takes up less than a third of my hatch. 1 sub with a box will be ~$120 - 300.

Good luck!

PS - I have picks of my install if you want to see how little space is actually taken up.

[BarracksSi]

Hehe.. lots of options, of course. Oogy-boogy, I'd like to see what the L7 looks like back there. I'm thinking of a quick & easy 10" Solo-Baric in a prebuilt truck-style box laid flat in the back, leaving room for my tuba to lay down over it.

I actually blew speakers when I had too little power (20W RMS per channel), and once I upgraded to 50W per speaker, I didn't have any problems.

The problem with too little power was that it just didn't get loud enough, so I turned up the volume even more. That put the amp into overdrive, which sent all kinds of nasty high-frequency energy to the speakers. That energy basically went to waste, so it screwed up the voice coils.

With much more power, the system certainly got loud enough without distortion, so I didn't have any more problems.

Whatever you do, make sure it sounds clean and still gets loud enough for your tastes. The basic rule is that if there's distortion, something's going to break, or at least wear out earlier than expected.

[BlackNRedSi]

yup...too little wattage to your subs will do that! :( you spiked your subs prolly! :(

eric

[BarracksSi]

I would've, except that when I had just 20W/channel, I was only running two 6-1/2" coaxials. Still wrecked them, though.

I didn't get a sub until I had a 2x50 Profile amp, and bridged the sub across the amp while each channel ran 6-1/2"s in front. I'm still not sure how much power each speaker REALLY got, but even with the filters at each one (a coil on the sub and caps on everything else), it sounded pretty good.

[SHAKEnBAKE]

Thanks for all the help guys. Here's what I finally got:
Sony Headunit CDX M730
2 pairs of Pioneer 2-way, I forgot the type
I paid for 400 installed.
I wasn't going to change the rear, but on my way to the shop, I cranked up my volume and one of them blew off(for the lack of better words), so I decided to change all of them.
It sounded great especially for rock/heavy metal music!
I might be adding a sub soon, you can't never have too much bass:D !

[BlackNRedSi]

GOOD MAN!

like like!

Eric

[oogy-boogy]

Originally posted by BarracksSi
Hehe.. lots of options, of course. Oogy-boogy, I'd like to see what the L7 looks like back there. I'm thinking of a quick & easy 10" Solo-Baric in a prebuilt truck-style box laid flat in the back, leaving room for my tuba to lay down over it.


I'll try to post a pic by tomorrow!

[SHAKEnBAKE]

Wadda you guys think about this, I got it from eBay for 50 bucks:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-hclet3dsIKO/ProdView.asp?s=0&cc=01&g=67600&id=morephotos&pi=5&i=158L101P5&display=L
http://pix.crutchfield.com/products/2003/158/h158L101p5_LD.jpeg

[BlackNRedSi]

if you got that for 50? take it and run...people bash sony all the time, but i saw those sony subs @ the carlisle show this weekend...they were KNOCKING pretty DAMN hard...so if your getting them @ that price pick it up...its cool looking....give it a good amp tho, maybe thats why sony isnt doing good on their subs/amps, their subs may need real good quality amps, JL, Phoenix Gold, Kenwood...sumthin like those!~

Eric

[SHAKEnBAKE]

I got kicker amp for it kx300.2, heard any bad news about them?:)

[SHAKEnBAKE]

I'm in another trouble and I need help one more time.
I bought and paid an amp from eBay(RF Punch 301s (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-WTZrzU21aKQ/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=575301S) ) and after waiting a week for an e-mail response, the seller sez that he can't withdraw the fund from Paypal and promised me a refund.

And then I bought another amp in place of that one, I opted a Kicker KX300.2 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-WTZrzU21aKQ/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=206KX3002) and the amp is on the way.

Guess what? Today I got a letter from the first seller telling that he got his problem solved and sending me the amp.
So I got two amps coming my way, which one should I choose? I know that they both are in the same price range.
I will be selling the one that I'm not using in the classified section for a cheap price.:D

Thomas