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Swapping Monsoons

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Old May 18, 2004 | 04:46 PM
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Default Swapping Monsoons

My 99 SS has the shitty 200 watt Monsoon w/ CD player and I am ti\hinking about swapping a T/A's 500 watt Monsoon w/CD player because it sounds A LOT better. Is it possible and what is required?
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Old May 18, 2004 | 05:07 PM
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You need more than the headunit.

You'll need:
* headunit
* amp
* speakers
* wires (since there are more speakers, you can supply your own)

Is it easy? Well, it depends on your comfort level with this and whether you can get all the parts. Lets just say that its not that dificult.

Here is some more info:
http://www.houston-f-body.org/tech/monsoon/
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Old May 19, 2004 | 12:03 PM
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There really isn't much difference between the 200W Monsoon and the so-called 500W Monsoon. The difference you're hearing is probably Camaro vs. Firebird. The Firebird version has somewhat better speakers with material rather than paper cones as well as separate components instead of coaxials. Even so, the difference in sound is probably not enough to make it worthwhile to change unless you can get everything cheap and are willing to put up with a gray radio that has orange lighting in your Camaro. You would do better spending the money on an aftermarket system that will give you much better sound.
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Old May 19, 2004 | 02:03 PM
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Ditto what Whitebird said. I think the Firebird used peak power (overrated) numbers vs. rms (also overrated) power for the Camaro. The main difference was the speakers and wiring of the voice coils. If you still want the stock look, just keep the stock HU and add an amp and decent speakers. I went with an eD sub, Stealth box, CDT's CL-61a's and MTX amps. It was like night and day from stock, but it still looks stock. I can go back to the stock setup in a heartbeat. I can still use the rear fills from the monsoon amp but I leave it faded to the front.
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Old May 19, 2004 | 02:20 PM
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I if I remember correctly...
The 200watt and 500watt Monsoon systems are both rated at peak power. The actual RMS is about half that. The 200watt system also had two fewer speakers (like the convertables). The Firebird has a better headunit and better speakers than the Camaro.
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