Help me with a whole new stereo setup
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
From: Iowa
Help me with a whole new stereo setup Well i have a few question.
I tried to read as much as I could from the Monsoon faq.
here's my issue: NONE of my factory speakers work.
my monsoon head unit works okay with radio but hates Cd's, skips a lot and sometimes wont even pop them back out, i have to use a tiny needle nose to pull cd's out sometimes. The controls are also very touchy, sometimes turning volume down, it'll spike back up.
for speakers all i have is a like 700w amp in the back with two typical house stereo speakers that bounce around loose in my trunk.
The car came this way, and I've wanted to do something with it.
I've NEVER done anything with a stereo in my car.
I've pulled apart motors, fixed tons of mechanical issues - but I literally have never touched a stereo in my cars haha. I just hate wiring in general, but I have to do something with my firebird.
I'm not a big sound guy, I don't need a big hitting system or anything.. just something that I can enjoy my music with on my 60+ hour road trip this summer.
I'm really not even sure how exactly to shop for everything as the words you associate with different speakers/units are a bit lost on me.
My budget for this is about $300 - so obviously I'm not looking for an awesome system or anything. I think I've found a headunit for $90, what to do for speakers I have no idea.
Also reading into posts / monsoon faq - i'm still a bit confused as to HOW much wiring is going to need changed in order to accomodate an aftermarket headunit/speakers and where I can find the antenna adapter.
If you can point me in the right direction it'd be greatly appreciated, thanks!
I tried to read as much as I could from the Monsoon faq.
here's my issue: NONE of my factory speakers work.
my monsoon head unit works okay with radio but hates Cd's, skips a lot and sometimes wont even pop them back out, i have to use a tiny needle nose to pull cd's out sometimes. The controls are also very touchy, sometimes turning volume down, it'll spike back up.
for speakers all i have is a like 700w amp in the back with two typical house stereo speakers that bounce around loose in my trunk.
The car came this way, and I've wanted to do something with it.
I've NEVER done anything with a stereo in my car.
I've pulled apart motors, fixed tons of mechanical issues - but I literally have never touched a stereo in my cars haha. I just hate wiring in general, but I have to do something with my firebird.
I'm not a big sound guy, I don't need a big hitting system or anything.. just something that I can enjoy my music with on my 60+ hour road trip this summer.
I'm really not even sure how exactly to shop for everything as the words you associate with different speakers/units are a bit lost on me.
My budget for this is about $300 - so obviously I'm not looking for an awesome system or anything. I think I've found a headunit for $90, what to do for speakers I have no idea.
Also reading into posts / monsoon faq - i'm still a bit confused as to HOW much wiring is going to need changed in order to accomodate an aftermarket headunit/speakers and where I can find the antenna adapter.
If you can point me in the right direction it'd be greatly appreciated, thanks!
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 514
Likes: 0
Replacing the head unit and some speakers isn't all that hard. You should be able to keep it right around $300, maybe a little over depending how nice your speakers are. Kee has some nice pre-packaged options that bolt right in, and if those are more than you what you want to spend he can probably recommend some cheaper options that would be on par with the stock system. He does sell things not listed on his website packages.
Worst part is taking off the door panels and even that isn't so bad. Also, may have to saw a little bracket behind the new HU to get enough depth. The only "wiring" involved should be making the HU harness adapter, which can be done on your coffee table while watching TV with a crimp tool/wire stripper. The HU side comes with the HU, and car side comes with the mounting adapter kit. Just crimp them together, color for color, and make a magic pigtail. Solder some wires on to the new speaker terminals that you can crimp on to once in the car, or just re-use the factory speaker pigtails and solder them on after you remove the old ones.
This is assuming that the speakers really are blown and it's not a wiring issue to begin with. Anyways, don't be intimidated by it, you're making it sound harder than it really is.
The FAQ has more than enough information to get you going. If you pop the bezel off and take out your stock HU, you will get a sense of how easy replacing it would be.
Edit: Antenna adapters for GM are usually included with a single DIN GM mounting adapter kit.
Worst part is taking off the door panels and even that isn't so bad. Also, may have to saw a little bracket behind the new HU to get enough depth. The only "wiring" involved should be making the HU harness adapter, which can be done on your coffee table while watching TV with a crimp tool/wire stripper. The HU side comes with the HU, and car side comes with the mounting adapter kit. Just crimp them together, color for color, and make a magic pigtail. Solder some wires on to the new speaker terminals that you can crimp on to once in the car, or just re-use the factory speaker pigtails and solder them on after you remove the old ones.
This is assuming that the speakers really are blown and it's not a wiring issue to begin with. Anyways, don't be intimidated by it, you're making it sound harder than it really is.
The FAQ has more than enough information to get you going. If you pop the bezel off and take out your stock HU, you will get a sense of how easy replacing it would be.Edit: Antenna adapters for GM are usually included with a single DIN GM mounting adapter kit.
Last edited by Capricio; Mar 30, 2011 at 05:48 PM. Reason: Antenna adapter
I just replaced mine on a super budget,,, i got front component set and sail panel speakers all for 133 bucks (that was shipping included to my door, in canada,, prob 100 bucks total for you).
Its best if you run all new wires tho,, and you can run whatever kind of speakers set up you want.
(to see details on my set up check my new thread i posted today)
Its best if you run all new wires tho,, and you can run whatever kind of speakers set up you want.
(to see details on my set up check my new thread i posted today)
