I haven't had much luck locating a FAQ for replacing the factory head unit, amp, and speakers. So I hope you'll humor me or at least redirect me.

My OEM CD player seems to have died on me, so I figured I'd kick around the idea of an aftermarket setup. I'm not looking for extreme bass, or a real bright/flashy display. I do want high fidelity, presence, and imaging characteristics representative of a home theatre setup - or at least as close as I can get in the confines of the cabin. I don't want to lose functionality in the cabin, so I'm not putting in any custom speaker or amp enclosures. I'm fine only seeing the head unit and hearing the results.

What didn't I like about the OEM setup? Distorts too quickly, those ancient treble/bass controls, no tweeters at head-level, and no steering wheel controls (I have a '98) immediately come to mind.

I'd like to just upgrade the head unit at this time, but I suppose this is just like under the hood... "While you're under there you might as well replace this, and that, and..". The part I definitely don't want to mess with (mostly because it seems tedious) is replacing the wiring, upgrading the alternator, etc. Would it be an issue to use the stock amp with an aftermarket HU and speakers?

Which brands of HU/speakers should I be looking at and/or staying away from? What physical dimensions, impedance, wattage, etc. At one point in time I heard MBQuart and Boston speakers were decent. But I never really decided on the HU. Any suggestions are welcome, especially if you have personal experience with multiple brands.

Thanks

 

I just installed a Pioneer deck DEH-P8600MP. I used all the stock wiring (using a special wiring harness) and kept the Monsoon system. The downside to doing this is that I lost the sail panel sub, so it's a little tinny at times. I have a sub on the way but I'm sure some better speakers to replace the doors and rear speakers would probably do the trick.

I really like this Pioneer deck and have heard good things about Alpine decks. Also MB Quarts were recommended to me by a car audio friend of mine. There is good information about switching out the above mentioned speakers in the stickies at the top of the forum.

Hope this helps, let me know if you need to find that wiring harness to reuse the stock wiring and amp, it just plugs right into the stock connector.

 

I've got Focals and love them. The highs are simply amazing. The midbass isn't all that amazing, but that is what a sub is for. I think the speaker size for the doors in 6.5". If you go with an aftermarket amp, you won't use any of the stock speaker wiring. You'll just run new speaker wire back to the amp and/or cross-over. And then you will run RCA's from the amp to the back of your deck. You shouldn't have any trouble with your alternator. I've got a cam, ASP pulleys, and I'm running 2 amps and don't have any charging issues.

 

i tell people this all the time, but the reason your system sounds crappy stock is because the monsoon amp is a big loud distortion box. putting $600 focals in your car and having the monsoon power them is about as ridiculous as buying a diamond ring for an ex-girlfriend...you aren't going to get anything out of it!

stereo upgrading isn't really like this: "while you're under there you might as well replace this, and that, and..." but it's more like, "i might as well do it right from the start." and that's what you should do if you want to undertake the task at all. otherwise, just find another stock deck and leave it be. but don't do this half assed, because it really isn't going to be worth your time and money.

 

A couple bits of advice.

Most of the decent H/U's sound the same. The only difference will be the output voltage, and extas like more preouts, eq, etc. If you want something that will look somewhat stock take a look at the Pioneer DEH-P77DH. It's a great H/U with front, rear, and sub preouts,4volt outputs, has a remote, and is fairly cheap online. It's a 1 and a half din and will fit perfect. You will only need a wiring harness and antenna adapter.

As for speakers. I would just get components up front and a stealth box for the rear. You can either mount your amps behind the spare tire or on the rear wall. Lots of options. For a decent system you'll need to rerun the wire. This is what I'm getting. Mainly going for sound quality but it will jam when needed.

http://www.subthump.com/

Subthump Stealth box $112
Steering wheel adapter: PAC SWI-X $64.95
Amp rack $75
Shipping: $35.50
Total: $200.45


http://www.ikesound.com/
H/U: Pioneer DEH-P77DH $199
CD Changer: Pioneer CDX-P1280 $135
Shipping: $369.85

http://edesignaudio.com/us.php?cur=USD

150 ft edead v1 $140
Shipping: $33.27
Total: $173.27

http://www.cbrstereo.com/index.asp

Diamond Audio S600s HEX 6.5 Components $351
Diamond Audio M6 mkII 10” dvc4 $170.10
Diamond D5 600.2 150x2 rms $409.50
Diamond D5 600.1 600x2 rms 2ohms $409.50
Stinger T Distro Block 4g $8.72
Stinger GM Battery Tap 7/8 stud $4.32
Stinger HP M Series 4g Power wire 5 ft $7.95
Stinger Hyper Series RCA 17 ft (1 pair) $15.99
Stinger Custom Pro 12 Speaker Wire 70 ft $41.30
Stinger Midi fuse holder $8.60
Midi fuses (3) 150a $10.00
Shipping: $65.43
Total: $1501.41

Complete total: $2331.98

2300 dollars may seem expensive but if you bought that gear and got it installed at a store somewhere that price would at least double. People will reccoment JL, Alpine decks, etc. but go listen and do the research and realize you'll probably go at least a few hundred over your original budget. I went about 700 over. lol