[king896]

Lately I have been spending a lot of time in my car commuting to school and I started thinking about upgrading the sound system in my 2001 Honda Accord 4 door 4 speaker Sedan, but I really don't know where to start. My initial plan was to purchase a new head unit for around $200 or under with one that had a auxiliary jack in the front so I can setup my Rio Karma as my source (using the dock for the line out). I started looking at the head units on Crutchfield but I really don't know what is good and what is not. Also I don't think I have the stomach to install it myself so I would probably look into a Car sound store in my area to either purchase and install a unit or just install a unit I buy online.

Also I was wondering if a budget of $300-$400 would be worthwhile to upgrade the speakers in the car, or if at that budget it might not be worth it. I am a little worried about putting too much money into the cars speakers because I am going to school and I put on a lot of miles and don't plan to have to car for more than 6 more years.

If anyone can help that would be great, and if anyone knows a good car stereo shop in Staten Island I would also be grateful.

 

[ls20]

the only low-priced head unit with front aux-in that i know of is the jvc g420.. has a mini/3.5mm front

there are other head units with aux in, but they go through the back of the head unit and require some type of adaptor to convert from their proprietary plug to rca/mini

with a TOTAL budget of 300/400.. you can pick up a pair of coaxial (2-way) front speakers for 100$. note: you ONLY need to upgrade front speakers, as they are the pair that reaches your (driver's) ears and thus their sound quality and imaging are important. [the rears are for volume fill only... if you have spare money, you can pick up a pair of 6x9"s to add a bit of thump]. 6.5" are the size to get (larger woofer = more thump w/o subwoofer). because the speakers will be driven from the head unit's (weaker) internal amplifier, the main thing you are looking for is high sensitivity... that is, a rating of 92dB+.

for low price, mainstream equipment, stick to these manufacturers: alpine, clarion, infinity, jbl, kenwood, pioneer, polk

installation is really easy.. especially in that accord.. probably the easiest car on the market to upgrade. if you can change a light bulb you can change a head unit. speakers are easy, too... only more difficult because you need to remove the door panel. if you buy your stuff from crutchfield.com, they'll have step-by-step guide on how to do all of that. plus theyre pretty good at recommending equipment for you (they just cost more than other etailers)

 

[ellover009]

Pioneer usually makes some really good receiver units.