Stock Sound System

[TrooperCROSS]

Does anyone have an opinion on the standard sound system? Impressions.
I have not been impressed so far.

Radio does not seem to hold onto stations other than those with very strong signals and everything sounds overly bright and pretty harsh. All settings are middle of the road, no extra boost or cut.

I've owned plenty of Isuzus to know that sound systems are not a strong suit, but before I do some testing on the receiver and speakers I thought I would check with the voices of experience.

Thanks!

[-x-]

im currently upgrading my system & in the stock system i never would imagine that the speakers could sound as good as they do after seeing there size & appearance...Im sure any respectable head unit would clear up the sound and give you better quality, but ill definatley be postin more as i come closer to finishing my system ; ) ...x

[Joe_Black]

After three Troopers I'll agree the sound system can be improved. Pretty much you're getting into personal taste territory though. In my '88 LS Trooper I put a good Blaupunkt head unit with the better Blaupunkt speakers (all two-way) and was pretty happy. In both the '95 Limited and '93 RS Troopers I went with Sony ES heads and Polk two-way all 'round and found that an excellent combination. I was particularly impressed with the Sony's tuner which was very sensitive and clear. In all cases the speakers fit the stock locations with no modifications and were well balanced to my tastes. I do like to turn it up from time to time and only occassionally wished for a subwoofer. As a former club DJ my damaged hearing requires a bit more volume than most, so clarity is important.

Currently I'm looking at a Kenwood DVD/Navigation setup as I would like the in-dash video (for eventual rear camera hook-up) and am a current SIRIUS subscriber. Kenwood also has a nice looking composite amp that would handle the stock speaker locations (will go Polk again) and two 8" sealed subs. I'm working on a deck-type enclosure for the subs and amp to fit in the cargo area and look as OEM as possible. The VX doesn't have the room to play like the Troopers, but a good head/speaker combo is an easy afternoon install. Just be sure to get good, quality components and don't skimp. You'll regret it everytime you drive!

[RobVX]

TrooperCross:

I think you'll find abour as many different opinions as there as people who post on this board. For me, the stock head unit and cd changer are made by Fujitsu ten (makers of Eclipse)...pretty damn good stuff in my book. What I felt was missing was low end sound due to the stock speaker size. So I added a 5 channel Eclipse amp under the driver seat to power the four factory speakers and added a 10" JL sub-woofer in the rear door (aka Tone's set up). I got great sound, even with the stock speakers for 3 days, until I blew both of the stock rear 4" speakers. The stock speakers in my 2001 VX were Clarion piece 'o craps rated at 8 to 10 watts. I'm surprised they last for 3 days.

I've upgraded the stock speakers all around with MB Quart (6.5's in the front and 5.25 in rear) without and cutting or modification. Now the system sounds awesome, and I'm using the factory head unit and cd changer. Some folks will differ on keeping the factory head unit, but unless you are after a DVD display and monitor, I think it works great. Rob A.

[SPAZZ]

I just kept stock system, but replaced out the speakers. Put Sony explodes in the door and replaced the rear for 6x9's. Sound improvement was awesome!!!;Dp;

[Dallas4u]

I never had a problem with the stock system. It definitely didn't sound like aftermarket systems I've had in past cars, but not too bad stock. I just always like to customize my audio to what I like...

[Radiologue]

As long as you replace all of the speakers and add an amplifier and a subwoofer then it will sound ok. I do not have huge complaints about the deck/CD changer yet.

[DragonVX]

Every car I've every owned I've put a complete sound system in, deck, speakers, equalizer, crossover, amps, subwoofers. Except for the VX. When I bought it, I was pretty impessed with the sound; of course, I wasn't completely satisifed. :) Since the sound was pretty good and I leased the VX, I decided to only do a partial install. I disconnected the rear speakers (which generally are bad for the sound stage) and tapped into those speaker wires to feed audio components I installed in the rear. This consisted of an eq/crossover to smooth out the sound and protect the front speakers from bass, an amp for the front speakers, an amp for a sub, and a 10" sub. However, all this gear is working with the stock radio and speakers.

Of course, I had this gear lying around my house when I leased the VX. If you had to buy new gear, a 4 channel amp with built in crossover and a sub could achieve similar results to my system and cost a lot less.