Here is the situation, i want my stereo to sound better and by better i mean i want a clearer sound. im not really looking for bass because i dont listen to much rap. i listen mainly to rock and punk if that helps. i have the monsoon option but ive replaced the headunit with an pioneer p7700mp. looking to spend less than a grand. as for installing the stuff, i would get someone else to because i can turn a wrench but dont play with wires too well. any rough estimates on cost for the install would kick *** also. thanks a million, i know that there are guys on here that could write books on car audio and im looking forward to what they have to say.

 

i am no expert, but i think that a little extra bass is good. i went with a stealth box and a 10" type-e alpine. it hits ok not real hard tho. went with type-s speakers every where else. 5x7"s in the hatch, 6.5's in the sails and 6.5's with seperate tweeters in the doors. the the subtle bass helps brings out the highs in my opinion. did a rack type mount with the amps in the rear of the hatch space. i went with the alpine iva-d310 so the install was pretty complex but i really like the way it all sounds. did the complete install myself. its really not all that hard.

 

i'd highly recommend doing it yourself. you'll save a ton on the labor costs. and it's pretty easy. there's a ton of write ups running around here on it. i'm sure, as you wrench, there's been times when you may have come across something you weren't familar with, but you pressed on, and figured it out. and found "oh ****, that was a pain in the ***, but it easier than i thought".. well, that's how i do it.. stereo **** is the same way. did you do the HU yourself? if you did, that should give you a little bit of knowledge. speaker wise, everyone is gonna tell you depends on what you want to spend. a lot of people go with infinity or alpine. unless you want to spend a lot on focals, or MB's or whatever.

I went with JL. i have JL 6.5 coaxls in the front. and jl 4" full range in the hatch. looking at possibly running 6wo's in the sails. basically, i hacked the wire off the stock speaker, hooked up some push on connectors, and plugged them into the speakers. for the 6.5 in the door, i soldered some speaker wire to the tweeter's wire, to extend the tweeter wire, and put the connector on them.

there's write ups on how to set it up for the two connections for the front speakers. it's easy. DIY

 

ill look for some write ups. also, would i need to replace the speaker wire??? running it all around the car would be a pain. would i need to run two amps, one for the speakers and one for the sub??? thanks

also ws6nJax, im in jacksonville and your little pic looks like a bolles uniform, did you go there?

 

Definitley install it yourself, its not too hard exspecially if a friend who knows how to do it can help you out. And then youll know how to do it next time.

 

my son did. c/o 05. pretty proud of him.

 

Well, you say you don't want bass because you listen to rock... but think about that for a second. I listen to rock and punk alot also, and I don't know about you, but when I am listening to music, I want the best quality, which usually means recreating that live sound the best.. and "feeling" the music. Subs aren't just used for bumping the hood, they also recreate sounds that those smaller speakers cannot, like low notes from the bass guitar, and the kick drum. Listening to rock in my car is like being in a concert, thats how I like it.

Anyway, I would suggest JL audio 8" subs for a rock sound, or a decent 10".. not larger. These speaker sizes really reproduce rock very well. Go for 4-ways in your interiors, the Pioneer 4-ways sound very nice actually. As for ampage, alpine makes some nice 4 channels for your interior. And yes, it's really not hard at all.. do it yourself, if you have any questions you could always pop up on here. Oh, and as for labor, you would be looking at about(average)..

sub/wiring - 80$
4 speaker change - 50$(and thats rediculous easy)
4 channel amp install - 40-60$.

Those were the rough prices when I worked at best buy.

 

Under $1,000 w/ installation is really a rather large budget if you are just looking for a respectable system (not a boomer or competition level system).

The main variable is going to be if you can find a shop that is willing to do installation on gear that is not purchased there. I have always done my own installs so I'm not much help there, but with 1k, here's what you have to work with. Even with your music preferences, I would still include a sub. All music types benefit from the bottom end extension and the ability to tune your primary speakers to not carry the low bass. It is money well spent and the enclosures and cabin design of our cars make subwoofers very easy to work with and extremely efficient.

I won't make firm speaker brand recommendations because it is extremely subjective. I will only offer some popular choices that you should be able to audition fairly easily.

- 6.5" component set up front - $120 (Infinity, MB Quart, JBL)
- 6.5" coaxial set in sails (same product line as front) - $80
- 10" subthump stealth box - $130 (www.subthump.com - good item to buy used)
- 10" sub of choice - $120 (DVC for flexibility, match ohm loading to amp)
- 5 channel amp of choice (Alpine, Kicker, JBL, and Infinity make resonably priced units) - $300
- Factory hatch speakers completey removed from the system. Sold, stored, whatever.

That leaves you with $250 to cover wiring and install labor, which should be enough to cover the amp and 4 speaker install. About $100 for the wiring and $150 for labor. I'd recommend buying the sub/box yourself and assembling and tossing that in afterwards. Once you pay for a 5 channel amp install all you are going to need to do is plop the sub in and hook it up. There's no sense in adding to your install costs for that, even if it's just $20. Just make sure to request that the shop run 3 pairs of RCA's back (front/rear/subs) from your head unit. If you don't ask they will probably only run 2.

If you can find a used amp, there is a huge opportunity to save money there. I've bought a couple really nice 5 channel amps for well under $150 on eBay - including the Memphis I have right now (4x75 + 1x400). I would not buy used speakers (wear), but amps pretty much work or they don't. The vast majority of amp failures are due to improper installation (too much heat, shorting at install, etc.).

The installation work is not complicated. If you can tear down an interior then you can do the install, and it also opens up alot of options for used gear and to learn as you go. You can also be sure of the quality of the work.

But as you can see your goal is very manageable regardless.

One last thing - plan out the components you want and have a shop quote only the labor to install it. If you walk in and tell them you have a $1k budget, your going to get steered into whatever that shop wants to sell you. The installation is not abnormally complicated due to the monsoon - so also do not take that as an excuse to hike up prices. Finally, a good shop should be willing to warrant the work they do and if you talk to them in a professional manner, you should be able to come to some understanding about them inspecting the equipment before they turn a screw. You want to have a clear arrangement here just in case something is damaged during installation.

 

I listen to rock too, and the bass makes it sound so much better.

 

If you want better sound quality, amp up. Bar none it is the best way to improve sound quality, even if you have an aftermarket HU. You don't even need all that much power, you just need to seperate the signal processing from the power circuitry. Changing out speakers, adding subs, its all secondary to a good amp pushing your mains.