[wolfen68]

Hi folks....I need some opinions....

I just got a "new" used car (Pontiac Vibe) and I've decided to put in a decent car stereo. I've put cheap $150 or less aftermarket decks in my cars in the past so I could have a line in for my iriver. They've been OK, but nothing to write home about.

This time, I would like to get something nicer but not super expensive. Kind of like a Grado HF-1 for the car stereo world...great bang for the buck and much better than stock.

Power means nothing to me...but better sound production is what I'm looking for.

I need a AM/FM/CD deck with a line in....or cooler yet also an optical-in if they exist. I would also like to replace the stock door speakers (around 8 inch?) with some excellent replacements.

Any advice/ideas?

 

[earthpeople]

Is a standard single-din receiver fine or would you like a double-din? touchscreen? navigation? bluetooth? Price limit?

How much are you looking to spend on speakers? planning to amp them?

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by squid+ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is a standard single-din receiver fine or would you like a double-din? touchscreen? navigation? bluetooth? Price limit?

Standard single din is fine, I don't care about touchscreens or blue tooth. Sound quality is paramount but a screen that is easy to read with easy navigation is always important.


Quote:

Originally Posted by squid+ /img/forum/go_quote.gif How much are you looking to spend on speakers? planning to amp them?

I need 4 smallish door speakers (one for each of the 4 doors). I would be willing to spend around $400 on speakers...but less would be great if quality can be found at that price. I am not planning on amping them unless I'm forced to do so. I don't need loudness or thumping bass, just a balanced tight sound with lots of instrument separation and detail (and decent soundstaging).

Some of the reading I've done on car stereo forums so far has been pretty comical, as most of the posters are asking about what systems are out there that you can hear three blocks away. Very different than the Head-fi concept

.

 

[earthpeople]

As far as headunits, I would recommend these three for general ease of use.
Sony CDX-GT930UI CD receiver at Crutchfield.com
Alpine CDA-9886 CD receiver at Crutchfield.com
Pioneer DEH-P6000UB CD receiver at Crutchfield.com

Which of those sounds the best, I couldn't tell you. I have personal experience with the Sony and the Pioneer and Alpine headunits are very popular, especially that model.

Do you know the size of your speakers? You can put in your car model and such at crutchfield and they'll tell you what sizes you need.


Yeah, a lot people just like to throw some big subs in with all their stock paper cone speakers and call it a nice system.

 

[wolfen68]

Thanks for your help....I'll look up those head units right now.

 

[Uncle Erik]

The biggest factor in sound quality is generally the speakers. If the head unit is OK, I'd just upgrade the speakers. I've been going back and forth on whether to replace the speakers in my car or just leaving them stock. If I do bite, I'll probably pick them from the auto sound speakers at Madisound.

 

[ert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfen68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I need 4 smallish door speakers (one for each of the 4 doors). I would be willing to spend around $400 on speakers...but less would be great if quality can be found at that price. I am not planning on amping them unless I'm forced to do so. I don't need loudness or thumping bass, just a balanced tight sound with lots of instrument separation and detail (and decent soundstaging).

If you are interested in sound stage, then you should only have two front speakers. I'd spend the money on two nice front component pairs and please use some decent amplification. It's not that you need to hear the sound two blocks away, but the amps in HUs are pretty bad. OTOH, doing things right with a new HU, amp, sub and components is a fairly decent sized job.

Here's the install I did about 4 years ago in my Grand Prix:

Clarion DXZ755MC HU
MB Quart 6.5 Q series up front
JL 10W3v2-D2
JL 300/2 for the 6.5s
JL 250/1 for the sub
Q-Logic QLH-.6510SE enclosure

 

[wolfen68]

I like the iriver to aux-in....now you're talking my language

You might have an idea there. I've heard that the back door speakers can be wasted.

 

[ronnielee54]

I would recommend doing some research on vibration dampening if I were you. My vehicle is similar in size to yours, and vehicles that size have quite a bit of road noise. It is hard to benefit from a nice sound system if you can't control the vibrations and road noise. I was amazed at the improvements I heard from just placing some Dynamat inside my doors.

 

[earthpeople]

I have my stock rear speakers connected right now in my setup, but I have the stage moved forward so that the sound still comes primarily from the front. You can mess around and see how you like it.

I'm with ert though, it's a much better choice to spend your money on a pair of nice speakers and a decent amp for them. Different people say different things, but IMO you ideally want an amp that can give at least 50% more power RMS than your speakers require. overpowering is ok, but underpowering is not.

Stock headunits can rarely compete with aftermarket ones. decent aftermarket units have much more sound control options, features, and put out more power for whichever speakers you don't amp. I think it's a pretty important upgrade, I've noticed a huge difference immediately after upgrading the HU in every install I've done.

I agree with ronnielee too about dynamat. It's not cheap though.

 

[wolfen68]

To recap....I'm thinking of keeping the stock rear speakers, going all out on the front door speakers, getting a half decent HU with an amp....and I'll look into the dynamat.

It's funny how I can spend so many years learning about headphone equipment....but the car stereo world is a different animal entirely.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Lazarus Short]

I know a little two-bit secret which will make any car stereo you buy sound a whole lot better: buy some cheap foam ear plugs (some of them attenuate up to 32 dB), and use them while driving and listening. The plugs attenuate all noise, including road noise, and you can compensate by cranking the volume. So there, for a few cents, you've attained about a 30 dB better signal-to-noise ratio. It could mean the difference between low-fi and high-fi.

 

[wolfen68]

Ok, here's what I did...working incrementally:

- Kenwood KDC-MP342U Head Unit (great reviews and only $115)
- Infinity REF6022I front door speakers (good reviews and $85)
- Dynamat kit for front doors ($82)
- I'm leaving the rear door speakers stock for now ($0

)
- Holding off on amp for now (I also got some feedback that if I left the rear door speakers stock, the amp might blow them). I may come in later and add better rear speakers and an amp if needed.

It's not installed yet....so if I screwed something up....let me know.

Edit: Squid...I spent a lot of time with the Alpine and Pioneer models you suggested (I don't like Sony). They all sounded great, but the Kenwood sounded equal to me for $85 less. Also, I have a pioneer in my other vehicle that seems to have trouble with our cold Wisconsin winters...the display freezes up below 5 F.

 

[earthpeople]

You probably read about the this in the infinity's reviews, but their speakers are typically considered bright. I haven't heard that set in particular so I can't guarantee it, but just a heads up.

As far as amps, you can get a two channel amp only for the front speakers or a four channel and bridge it for two channels for the front speakers. You can amp the front speakers without amping the rear speakers.

I'm not a big fan of Kenwood units, but a couple of my friends love them. Maybe visit a local car audio shop and play around with them if it's possible? I figure you would probably have done that if you have one close though, so maybe it isn't an option.
One important thing about that headunit is that it only has four pre-amp outputs. It will be fine if you don't plan to amp the rear speakers or add a subwoofer (which is your plan now), but if you think that's in the future (watch out for the upgrade bug!) then I say 6 outs is the way to go.

 

[timaishu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by squid+ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have my stock rear speakers connected right now in my setup, but I have the stage moved forward so that the sound still comes primarily from the front. You can mess around and see how you like it. I'm with ert though, it's a much better choice to spend your money on a pair of nice speakers and a decent amp for them. Different people say different things, but IMO you ideally want an amp that can give at least 50% more power RMS than your speakers require. overpowering is ok, but underpowering is not. Stock headunits can rarely compete with aftermarket ones. decent aftermarket units have much more sound control options, features, and put out more power for whichever speakers you don't amp. I think it's a pretty important upgrade, I've noticed a huge difference immediately after upgrading the HU in every install I've done. I agree with ronnielee too about dynamat. It's not cheap though.

You cannot blow a speaker from underpowering it. I really dont understand why people still believe this myth. You are never giving your speakers their maximum rated RMS wattage. Playing your music at low volumes would equal "underpowering". It doesnt make any sense.