I drive a 2003 sebring and want to up grade the stereo. I just want to make it louder, with quality sound. Any recommendations on what I have to do and could I do it myself?
any car stereo experts out there?
- Thread starter newtohobby
- Start date
If it's a factory stereo most of the times you can't add an amp to it, you would have to change the whole system.
Head units: Pioneer, Harmon Kardon, Sony, there's a million of them, all are pretty good.
Speakers: Infinity, ADS, Rockford Fosgate, etc etc
A good site to see what can fit into stock openings is:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1yg77jbAtcl/?wm=tn1
As for louder degrading the sound: ummm no. Sorry, you're wrong about that pool. While it can happen, it doesn't have to. If you match the input voltage, the correct speaker capabilities with the amp, a nice clear signal source, you can make it so loud you'll crack your windshield but it will be so clean you'll wet your pants.
Just a rule of thumb: volume or loudness is directly dependant on the total conal area of your speakers and their efficiency (meaning can they be driven by a low wattage amp but still accurately reproduce sound). Volume is also dependant on wattage of the amp.
If you just want a simple upgrade to get you cleaner sound, MP3 capabilities, and a little more dynamic range there are plenty of head units that should fit right into your dash and your factory speaker openings.
A real easy fix for a factory radio is to install a head unit that has a mosfet amp built in that puts out about 50 watts per channel. Then install some upgraded Boston speakers (or any other major brand for that matter) in the factory openings and you'll be amazed at the difference.
Another really good trick is to install some separate mids and tweets in your front end. These are the ones that have the mid speakers installed in your factory door locations then the tweeters mount to either your door posts (optimal location) or your dash board. This gives you better separation, imaging and staging. For even better staging (and if you don't carry many passengers in the back seat) stick to purely bass speakers on the rear parcel shelf. With this setup you could even add a separate amp to power the woofers in the back. You don't really need one for mids and tweets because they are typically so efficient they can be powered by the head unit.
If you're a hands on type there are many online places that give you step by step instructions on how to remove the various panels in order to install all the goodies. I did this with my F150 and it only took me an afternoon.
There are also many wiring adapters that hook into the new head unit and plug into the factory radio harness. There are also dash bezel kits that make the head unit look stock. It all just clips together.
One draw back from using the factory wiring harness is the fact that they cheap out on the wiring to the speakers from the dash. They typically use like 20 gauge or thinner. For optimum sound (same as your home theatre) a nice run of 16 or 14 ga. wire will help also. But I don't think you're really into that area are you?
Anyhow, go to Crutchfield, you can learn a lot there about what will fit your car.....
Speakers: Infinity, ADS, Rockford Fosgate, etc etc
A good site to see what can fit into stock openings is:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1yg77jbAtcl/?wm=tn1
As for louder degrading the sound: ummm no. Sorry, you're wrong about that pool. While it can happen, it doesn't have to. If you match the input voltage, the correct speaker capabilities with the amp, a nice clear signal source, you can make it so loud you'll crack your windshield but it will be so clean you'll wet your pants.
Just a rule of thumb: volume or loudness is directly dependant on the total conal area of your speakers and their efficiency (meaning can they be driven by a low wattage amp but still accurately reproduce sound). Volume is also dependant on wattage of the amp.
If you just want a simple upgrade to get you cleaner sound, MP3 capabilities, and a little more dynamic range there are plenty of head units that should fit right into your dash and your factory speaker openings.
A real easy fix for a factory radio is to install a head unit that has a mosfet amp built in that puts out about 50 watts per channel. Then install some upgraded Boston speakers (or any other major brand for that matter) in the factory openings and you'll be amazed at the difference.
Another really good trick is to install some separate mids and tweets in your front end. These are the ones that have the mid speakers installed in your factory door locations then the tweeters mount to either your door posts (optimal location) or your dash board. This gives you better separation, imaging and staging. For even better staging (and if you don't carry many passengers in the back seat) stick to purely bass speakers on the rear parcel shelf. With this setup you could even add a separate amp to power the woofers in the back. You don't really need one for mids and tweets because they are typically so efficient they can be powered by the head unit.
If you're a hands on type there are many online places that give you step by step instructions on how to remove the various panels in order to install all the goodies. I did this with my F150 and it only took me an afternoon.
There are also many wiring adapters that hook into the new head unit and plug into the factory radio harness. There are also dash bezel kits that make the head unit look stock. It all just clips together.
One draw back from using the factory wiring harness is the fact that they cheap out on the wiring to the speakers from the dash. They typically use like 20 gauge or thinner. For optimum sound (same as your home theatre) a nice run of 16 or 14 ga. wire will help also. But I don't think you're really into that area are you?
Anyhow, go to Crutchfield, you can learn a lot there about what will fit your car.....
you can never have too much power or too many amps
as your sound will be very clean (no distortion)
the ideal is separate amps for your mids and lows freq speakers
or sub woofers
which brings in crossovers/installation/customization and more $$$$$$
problems always occur when you try to drive your cheap speakers with factory head units or without any amps
under power and high volume are opposed
as your sound will be very clean (no distortion)
the ideal is separate amps for your mids and lows freq speakers
or sub woofers
which brings in crossovers/installation/customization and more $$$$$$
problems always occur when you try to drive your cheap speakers with factory head units or without any amps
under power and high volume are opposed
Put a decent sub and amp (use thick power wires with good connections) and possibly a pair of tweeters if it doesn't have any already. This will increase the fidelity. Try to avoid putting an amp on the mids and highs unless you need it to be really loud it may just add engine wine off of the alternator or ignition system. You may not even need to change the deck or head unit just get an aux input from metrea or PIE for an mp3 or DVD player
To gain clear undistorted sound use a head unit with pre amp outputs. By avoiding the internal amp of the head unit reduces the chances of distortion. If money is a factor, replace the head unit and front speakers. If money is no object, replace the above and add a nice JL subwoofer and JM Labs/Focal speakers. Your amp can never be too big. Any amp can blow speakers or cause them to distort. The key is to have an amp that is efficient enough to power your system for your requierments. Rear speakers are the least important component of your system.
Ya ok buddy
it would be funny if you found out that the head unit that came with the car in most cases are the same if not better then the aftermarket ones Plus I would rather use a line level and not get engine noise then slightly clearer sound with a big wine noise buzzing threw the speakers
it would be funny if you found out that the head unit that came with the car in most cases are the same if not better then the aftermarket ones Plus I would rather use a line level and not get engine noise then slightly clearer sound with a big wine noise buzzing threw the speakers
Kenwoody said:
Actually, many of the newer amps have separate amplifier sections for the various frequencies and have built in crossover networks. This greatly simplifies the install process.
As with home theatre, the thicker the cables (power, ground, speaker) the better all around sound but not if you're going with a low power amp/in dash head unit amp. Waste of time for that.
For mids and tweets 18 ga is fine. Subs should have heavier cables and in most cases 14 or 16 is fine. if you're going to run around 500 + watts, go thicker.
As for head unit amplifiers. It used to be that they were crap. Now most of them are mosfet amps and produce pretty decent power and low noise. Speaking of engine noise: Most vehicles today have to meet interference specs so you shouldn't get anything off the alternator or ignition system. This isn't to say it won't happen but if the installer is careful about where he runs power, ground and speaker wires, you shouldn't have a problem.
But all this discussion is moot until the originator of this thread tells us what kind of a system he's after. If he's just looking for the next step up from factory, all this tech talk is just going to confuse him.
Unless you want a system that will blow your gf's panties off I'd just stick to an upgraded head unit, upgrade the speakers and you're good to go. You'd be amazed at what you can get thesedays.
Put it this way: I used to have an S10 pickup with 4 10" bass tubes, 4 8" lower mid bass, 4 6" mids 4 tweets with an eqx audio control unit and an HK cd player. I could get 149 db out of that puppy and it was clean and quiet.
Now in my new F150 I just tossed in a Panasonic head unit and was going to replace the factory speakers until I heard it. It actually sounds pretty decent (and I'm a picky fucker) and I thought: where the hell did that bass come from? So much so I took it back to the dealer and said: If I can make it sound this good with a $300.00 head unit, why the hell can't Ford?
As for rear speakers being the least important, I disagree. The rear subs give you a fuller sound and allow the system to accurately reproduce the entire range of the composition. Without them and their ability to reproduce these frequencies your system will sound tinny. As for cleanliness, and if they aren't efficient, you will get major headaches and your system will sound like crap.
As with home theatre, the thicker the cables (power, ground, speaker) the better all around sound but not if you're going with a low power amp/in dash head unit amp. Waste of time for that.
For mids and tweets 18 ga is fine. Subs should have heavier cables and in most cases 14 or 16 is fine. if you're going to run around 500 + watts, go thicker.
As for head unit amplifiers. It used to be that they were crap. Now most of them are mosfet amps and produce pretty decent power and low noise. Speaking of engine noise: Most vehicles today have to meet interference specs so you shouldn't get anything off the alternator or ignition system. This isn't to say it won't happen but if the installer is careful about where he runs power, ground and speaker wires, you shouldn't have a problem.
But all this discussion is moot until the originator of this thread tells us what kind of a system he's after. If he's just looking for the next step up from factory, all this tech talk is just going to confuse him.
Unless you want a system that will blow your gf's panties off I'd just stick to an upgraded head unit, upgrade the speakers and you're good to go. You'd be amazed at what you can get thesedays.
Put it this way: I used to have an S10 pickup with 4 10" bass tubes, 4 8" lower mid bass, 4 6" mids 4 tweets with an eqx audio control unit and an HK cd player. I could get 149 db out of that puppy and it was clean and quiet.
Now in my new F150 I just tossed in a Panasonic head unit and was going to replace the factory speakers until I heard it. It actually sounds pretty decent (and I'm a picky fucker) and I thought: where the hell did that bass come from? So much so I took it back to the dealer and said: If I can make it sound this good with a $300.00 head unit, why the hell can't Ford?
As for rear speakers being the least important, I disagree. The rear subs give you a fuller sound and allow the system to accurately reproduce the entire range of the composition. Without them and their ability to reproduce these frequencies your system will sound tinny. As for cleanliness, and if they aren't efficient, you will get major headaches and your system will sound like crap.
My friend is a professional car stereo installer and has done high end competition cars.newtohobby said:
It really all depends on what you are looking for and how much you want to spend. If you want a decent sounding system you will definitely have to change your head unit, speakers and add an amp.
First thing is to look for what you want in the system and how much you want to spend. Then take a look at your current speaker set up so you know what you can fit in your car. Most likely the factory speakers in your car consist of 2 6/9's in the rear shelf, and either 2 6.5", 4/6" or 5.25" speakers in the front doors.
So without getting into allot of money and custom work on your car you can add a decent head unit that will play CD's and MP3's, some decent door speakers and 6/9's in the back. You may also want to add a Sub in the trunk for your bass. Putting in a Sub will make a huge difference. And all you need is a 12 inch sub in a box for that. Add an amp and you have your system.
The names to look for in Head Units are Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine, they are all very good head units. For speakers, you can get Alpine, JL Audio, Infinity, Polk Audio and Pioneer.
Amps, look for Alpine, JL Audio, Rockford Fosgate, Pioneer, HiFonics.
Here is an example of a really high end system which we have put into my car. http://64.228.131.14/caraudio2.html
by the way, anyone looking for a Infinity 12" Sub in a Box? I am selling one for a really good price.
