Car Stereo for Dummies

[MSHardeman]

My head unit (aftermarket Kenwood) went out about a week ago, so I've been driving around in silence for a while. It's good in that I think I've answered most of life's questions (you get a lot of deep thinking time driving for three hours with no tunes), but now I'm starting to go stir crazy.

I went into a stereo shop the other day (BIG mistake) and now I've got the bug. I knew the VX needed some bass, but hearing the systems really drove that fact home.

My problem is that I am completely clueless when it comes to car stereos, but I would like to do this myself. I'm not looking for a system as crazy as biju's, but I would like something that will have a nice round sound and still look mostly stock. As a starting point, I found an identical head unit to the one that went out in my VX on Ebay. It's a two year old Kenwood KDC-X869.

I know many of you here can help me out, but I would also like to know if there is a book or website out there that I can go to to start reading up on this stuff. Sort of like a "Car Stereo for Dummies." Eventually I would like to replace the stock speakers and build a sub-box to fit behind the back seats. I'll also have to find a place to hide and amp or two.

Any suggestions (or is that a dumb question)?

[nfpgasmask]

Hey, I'm in the same position. I want to install an amp and new speakers soon. And while I can't really guide you with that (I'm still learning myself) I would say you should look at some of the newer head units out there. There are several that have a lot of nice features (like GIGA MP3 for instance) and AUX/USB ports. I'm not sure if you are MP3 saavy, but its nice to have boat loads of music in your VX at all times.

Check out Crutchfields site for info on different head units. I would not buy from them however, unless you want to pay full price.

http://www.crutchfield.com

Bart

[etlsport]

I'm working on upgrading my audio, for bass i think im going to start by increasing the size of the stock speakers (6-1/2 up front and 6x9 in the rear is the goal)

from my experience a good pair of 6x9s in the rear will curb my craving for bass without taking up my cargo room like a sub/amp would, and would continue to look 100% stock

i usually find my audio stuff on www.sounddomain.com then shop around to find the best price on what i find i want.. right now it looks like im probably getting MTX or Rockford Fosgate speakers to replace the stockers

[biju]

Mark,

Glad to help with any question you might have.

There's quite a few sites out there, but here's a few that I found helpful were:

bcae1.com, caraudiohelp.com, the12volt.com

The high-end (mids/tweets) is a slam dunk as far as keeping the look stock. But the sub(s) w/ amp(s) might be more of a challenge depending on what you're looking for. Although, there's a lot to be said for the whole 'less is more' point of view...

Some questions to ponder:

You looking for just 'some' bass to compliment the high end?
Or would you like a little more muscle in the sub area?
Will you be playing this at loud volumes for long periods of time?
What's your budget? - any favorite brands?
Do you want the system to be expandable? Or is this a one shot deal?

Anyhow - hit me back.

-biju.

[rowhard]

I too want to improve my existing system but am not the least bit interested in shaking the emblems off of my VX or annoying the people next to me in traffic. It's for my listening pleasure, not theirs. Besides, I'm to old for that S@#T!

Have been talking to a local audio shop owner about this, and he said I would be amazed how well my existing speakers (there not blown or rattling) would sound with just some simple amplification. We also talked about adding a 6 inch woofer built into the spare tire area strapped to the spare with its own enclosure.

I'm thinking 3 smallish amps with an active 3-way crossover. Placement won't be an issue since I plan on removing the rear seat and using the space more effectively

Maybe a little sound damping to knock down some of the road noise.

The 3 sites suggested by biju look well worth bookmarking and here is another that will give you just a brief outline of the different components.

http://www.carstereos101.com/

Good luck and good listening

[morgan-tec]

MS, just cruse up here to me and i will walk you through everything you want to do. I will also help you build your sub, amp box we talked about last year. Call me at 970-690-6856 and we can set something up.

[VehiGAZ]

If you're looking to fill out the low end for enhanced sound quality, a good, small (8" or smaller) subwoofer powered by a reasonable (150W) amp is a great way to go. It will complement the rest of the stereo very nicely and fill out the sound - without blasting the windows out or shaking the cladding off.

Myself, I have a high-end (Focal) 8" subwoofer in a factory enclosure which is about the size of two large shoe boxes stacked on top of each other. It doesn't take up much room at all, and it's pretty portable, so I can move it out of the way or remove it completely if I need the space. I bought an Alpine amp for about $140 and had it mounted under the driver's seat. It really sounds great.

I understand wanting to do it yourself, but decent local installers will do a fine job for not too much money, and are liable for any damage inflicted. Plus, nto skinned knuckles, too!

Good luck!!

[MSHardeman]

I knew you guys would come through. I know everyone has a different opinion, but all of the comments so far have been great.

Like most who have replied, I don't intend for this thing to win any stereo comps. I tend to listen to all kinds of music, so I would like a system with a nice round sound to it, but it would be nice to be able to rattle the windows once in a while.

To answer some of biju's questions:

I don't think I'm going to add any speakers, just replace the stock ones.

I would like to build a sub box that fills up the rear cargo space (behind the back seat) and be as tall as the back of the back seats when they are folded down so I can use the box and the seats as a platform to carry stuff. It would also be great if the box could come out if necessary for "big" cargo.

I don't know how much amps need to breath, but I was thinking of hiding them behind the interior panels by the jack (on the drivers side) and the jack tools (on the passenger side).

As for expandablility, I'm not sure what that would mean. I may eventually get an in-dash video monitor, but other than upgrading components I don't think I would ever expand the system to include more speakers or amps (although, mom did say to "never say never").

I really don't have any favorite brands. My budget will be smallish, and may actually entail getting components a little at a time (as money becomes available), and installing them at a later date. I'm interested in what sounds the best. If it's big money, then I may have to step down the next in line, or wait a while to build money up for the really good stuff.

Morgan-Tec - I know we've been talking about getting together for a while now, so I'll have to give you a call and pick your brain too. The system in your Axiom is well done, and I would like the VX's system to look and sound just as nice. Thanks for the offer.

Thanks to everyone else too. Keep those suggestions coming.

[VehiGAZ]

MSH - I would say NO to putting the amps behind the interior panels. You are asking for overheating problems. If the amps are not being pushed too much, it could work, but it's risky.

You will get the most bang for your buck by installing a subwoofer and amp first. They will complement your existing speakers very well and add to the sound quality far more than replacing your existing speakers will. The main speakers are limited by their size and by the amp powering them (inside your headunit), and unless you are ready to carve out your doors and put in an amp and crossovers and such (which you probably are not going to do considering this is a budget process), you can't do too much to improve them significantly at a reasonable cost. You will not get the big, sweet low end that makes everyone smile out of any 6x9s on the planet.

If you want a sub box that fill in the area behind the back seats to make a flat load floor (great idea!!) then you could easily build a box that would enclose an 8" sub and it could still incorporate space to mount the amp on it too. Anyway, as you are on a budget, and are not looking to win any competitions, I would suggest a good 8" sub (JL audio makes some excellent ones - Ijust make sure you know what line you are looking at, since they make like 4 different lines (http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_s...hp?page_id=200 and a decent amp ($140 at the Alpine store goes a LONG way!)

After that's done, THEN look into replacing your existing speakers. But here's one area where "expandability" comes into play. Right now, your headunit is powering the four main speakers. If you add a sub with a small amp, that amp will be dedicated to running the sub. If you later decide you want to run the mains off a more powerful amp, you could either replace the sub amp with a multi-channel amp and run it all from there, or you could put a second amp somewhere else to run the mains. So in either case, you have an extra amp in the car, or you have an extra amp on a shelf in your garage. Not exactly an efficient use of your audio bucks, is it? The way to avoid that wastefulness would be to get the multi-channel now and only use it for the sub, but then you are back in the budget problem, because that 5-channel amp costs $800.

Sorry for the babble... I'll recap my sound system development advice:

1) Add a small sub and amp before you replace existing speakers
2) Grow into your system afterward if you want by replacing the existing speakers with high-quality main speakers
3) Add a separate amp for the mains to get the most out of them.

I'm sure someone will disagree with some of this, of course. It's just my two cents. But my two cents have chased the Big Audio dream before, and I know where my money was best spent on each of my car audio projects.

Good luck!!

[kpaske]

If you are on a budget, and want good sound as cheap as possible, I would say the first thing you should look at is your head unit. If you really don't need anything crazy, many of today's high-powered head units offer up to 45 W x 4 channels with RCA's for sub output.

Stage 1 ($200-$300): A GOOD high-powered head unit with stock speakers will sound pretty good. Look for a head unit with built-in "MOSFET" circuitry.

Stage 2 ($150-$400): Add a small, powered subwoofer box. You could probably build a really nice one yourself for a couple hundred bucks, and if you build the amp and sub into one box it's easy to plug in or remove (just run RCA's and power to the rear cargo area and install some jacks or quick connects). For a few more bucks you could buy a pre-built powered sub.

Stage 3: ($150-$350): Upgrade all four stock speakers.


Oh, as far as putting the amps behind the panels, I'd say that this MIGHT be possible, but the amps would have to be really small or you'd have to lose the jack and/or the compartment on the right side. There IS a lot of space behind them, but the shape isn't suitable for most amps. I would agree that you should consider one 5-channel amp if you think you'll eventually want a front x2/rear x2/sub setup, but they don't have to cost $800, and you don't really need 5 channels unless you often have passengers in the back. You could get by with a 3 channel amp running left/right/sub - you won't notice much difference from the front seat.

[etlsport]

along the lines with this subject.. if i were to add an amp to power the stock clairons, how much power could i safely put through them without blowin them out?

[kpaske]

Not sure about that one, but I would guess not much more than 50 Watts per channel, RMS. If you want to add an amp, I would recommend upgrading the speakers at the same time, or upgrading the speakers first and adding the amp later. Amplifying good sound from a good head unit to mediocre stock speakers is going to sound mediocre.

[pbkid]

well there sure has been a lot of replies on this subject. heres my 2 cents-
mark, if you wanna get it to sound better buy either alpine or eclipse deck. they are hands down the two best sounding decks made.
second the stock clarion speakers are actually really good speakers, i have 100 watts per channel RMS right now and i can turn them up loud enough to hear from about 2 blocks away, so dont really need to worry about replacing those speakers.
third, if you want to get a little bit more bass you definately want a ten. thats gonna give you more bass but nothing that will hurt your head =)
last. if you do decide to come down in the area of me and mike morgan then definately give me a shout and i will drive over to fort collins and hang out with you guys and give some of my opinions.
good luck =)

[biju]

Mark,

Had any time to ponder the advice above? I think kpaske, vehigaz and pb have great ideas and input! In other words, I believe there's quite a few approaches to what you seek... Now you just have to decide your path, let us know what you choose and then we can help you through the finer details...

I will go on the record in response to you wanting/inquiring re: amps behind the panels. I'd avoid this if you can. Simply put - amps, all amps, need to breathe - even if they have built in cooling (fans, water cooling, etc.)

Some brands/models you might want to consider (quality budget components):

Head Unit:
Jack, I couldn't agree more! If you can swing it, Alpine & Eclipse all the way. Kenwood, however, will be a suitable proxy...

Front High End ($165.00 - $199.00 : eBay)
MB Quart PCE 216
Infinity Perfect 6.1
JL Audio XR650-CSi
Diamond Audio D661S

Subwoofer & Amp:
Let me know what size you want to go with (8" or 10") and I'll drum up some brands/models to consider.

-biju.

[Bimati]

OK, from reading the above posts, this audiomoron is going to start with an Alpine or Eclipse head unit.

Questions for the knowing masses:

What do I do about my stock disc changer that is trashed? Do I replace it with a new changer, or a newer technology? (Don't have hundreds of CD's laying around.)

What technologies should I be considering that are basic and standard and will carry me into the future? (Don't want to buy an 8-track only to find out that everyone is carrying USB storage devices, etc.)

What are the best bang for buck Alpine and Eclipse head units? Mid/Moderate pricing.

Thanks all.

Bim