N34Stryker

iTrader: (2)

Ok, so I have been looking to upgrade my head unit and speakers. If I get a new head unit, do I need to rewire everything? Also, most of the head units I see only have 4 channels. Does that mean I have to use an amp? I really don't want to spend alot of money. Actually, I am thinking of only changing the door speakers since I ruined them. I have searched on here and see that you can make 4ohm speakers work with the monsoon, but can you use 2ohm speakers with a regular stereo? I want to do this myself, but I need to make sure I can afford it and actually do it. Thanks

dragonrage

Some head units will support 2 ohm speakers, but I would say generally not. Look in the specs for whatever you buy. Sometimes lower-end HUs from a brand won't but their higher end ones will. Again, I would expect any HU to not support it unless you see the specs saying otherwise.

You can wire in the HU and just use the stock Monsoon amp, which runs off of the regular speaker out lines of the HU, so you don't need to use RCA wires or anything. I do not believe this to be ideal. The Monsoon amp is weak.

I would highly recommend upgrading speakers first, but the best benefit will come from doing the whole system over, of course. We can help you plan a system if you tell us a budget and give more info about what exactly you want to improve.

jonyb

iTrader: (2)

1. Aftermarket head unit, PAC head unit interface, factory amp and speakers

2. Stock head unit, ditch the OEM amp and speakers, replace the OEM speakers with aftermarket

3. Aftermarket head unit, 4 aftermarket replacement speakers powered by the head unit, which is actually about 15X4, even though they say 50x4.

4. Aftermarket head unit, 4 aftermarket replacement speakers, 4 or 5-channel amplifier, then you can add a sub on channel 5.

The benefit of adding an amp versus using the head unit is that the more power the speakers get, the less distortion you have. More power doesn't always mean louder. With an amplifier, you'll also be able to filter the frequencies below 80hz out of the speakers, that way they won't try to play the lower frequencies that they cant reproduce.

dragonrage

Also, with an aftermarket amp., it's easier to use crossovers that come with component speakers that you buy. All component sets should be used with their supplied crossovers (or custom crossovers designed for that setup) only. Stock crossovers are best left to... well, no speakers at all, for they're crap even in stock speakers. As a speaker designer myself, I HATE seeing people use those crossovers (which they can barely be called!) on decent speakers.

N34Stryker

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the help guys. Couple more questions. First, the factory system is 6 speakers, so would I just not use the rear ones? Second, I have a camaro, how do the tweeters on the component sets attach? Do they just glue or velcro to the door panel? Or am I supposed to cut a hole in the panel? I was thinking of just getting the coaxial style replacements.

dragonrage

I used tweeter pods on the inside of where the side mirrors are, personally. I really liked that location.

jonyb

iTrader: (2)

You can get a coax for the front door, or if there's a separate tweeter then you can use a component set. Almost all component sets have a load of 4ohms even though it's 4 speakers. Like N34 said, use the supplied passive crossovers.

I recommend to most of my customers to not even use the rears in the sail panels. Just use a better speaker up front and a bigger amp. Lots of people are happier that way, especially when the rear speaker is right in your ear.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Not exactly. Adding more power to the speakers does not mean less distortion. In fact, at some point the added power can increase distortion or even destroy the speakers depending on their power handling capability.

Adding more power (either a more powerful head unit or an external amp) gives you more headroom. That means you can turn up the volume with less chance of clipping. Clipping is when the amp (either internal or external) cuts off the peaks of the audio signal because it doesn't have enough power to accurately produce them. Those sudden transitions in a clipped (cut off) signal cause real problems for speakers which is heard as distortion and can fry the speaker over the long run.

If you only listen at volume levels below the clipping output point of the amp, then it wouldn't matter if you have 15 watts or 1,000 watts - there is no difference in distortion levels.

Also, signal filtering is more common with external amps but is being included more often with recent upscale head units. For example, the Kenwood DNX series and the Pioneer AVIC series both have built-in user adjustable signal filtering.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

If you want improved sound on a budget, you can replace the head unit and the factory speakers without changing the factory wiring or losing the factory amp. The Monsoon amp has signal filtering for select channels of output so you have to be knowledgeable about it to get the right speakers.

The results can be quite good (although not as good as completely redoing the entire system). Read the Monsoon FAQ sticky for more information and check with Kee Audio about speakers that will work well with that setup.

N34Stryker

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the help guys. I am gonna give Ian a call at Kee. See what he can do for me. Like I said, I am kinda on a budget. I just don't want to put a lot of money into the car when I really just want the new stereo and front speakers.