Car Audio

[Justin Bimmer]

I know nothing.

I have an old Sony deck that's about 8 years old and my speakers are worn out in my car. I want to get new speakers to just replace my OEM ones and a new deck with USB connection and AUX jack for my ipod and sirius.

anybody have suggestions?

Also, if the lights can be red, it would be helpful to match my 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GT Sedan

[Intrepidation]

For stereos I dunno, I know Alpine and Pioneer make some good stuff. For speakers I recommend Infinity Reference.

[Z-06]

Crutchfield has some great selections. That is where I do most of the car audio shopping.

[Justin Bimmer]

I guess I should ask is it typical for the amp in the unit to be powerful enough for 4 aftermarket speakers to replace the 4 main speakers in my car.

[fightingbee]

I'd probably look at Alpine or Pioneer for a head unit as well.

Buying speakers from Crutchfield often includes free wire adaptors that mate with the factory connectors, which is a nice bonus.

[loki]

crutchfield is great since they provide all harnesses and mounting hardware for speakers and headunits. and tells you what fits and what doesn't

i've been a pioneer fan - headunits, but they suck as far as CEA06 power ratings....mainly love their EQ and built in crossover settings. A kenwood might have red lighting....?

Speakers- Polk db's superb performance for the price, usually have a buy 1 get one 1/2 off deal....

i think the new infinity's are 2ohm.. that will kill a headunit not designed for it... which i think are pretty much all of them.

[Blake Noble]

As far as receivers go:

JVC makes decent receivers. They have one you can buy at Meijer in the $120 range that you can select over 30,000 different backlighting colors with. Red is one. I've tried out a display model of a higher-up JVC at a car audio warehouse before and liked the sound quality quite well. As far as reliability goes, I'm in the dark.

Avoid Jensen. I had one in the Sonoma. It was kind of old, but it wasn't so old that it should not be refusing to read CDs anymore.

Pioneer makes great stuff too. I've had three Pioneer receivers so far. I had one in the Firebird, which ran around $130 at Sam Walton's Walls of Hell and it had a front USB input for flash drive and complete iPod integration (it even charged it). Sounded great too, even though the speakers in the Firebird didn't match as I later found out. I also have the $100 dollar model from Sam Walton's Walls of Hell in the Cutlass that sounds just as good, although it doesn't have total iPod integration and just an Aux jack. There's an older one in the Regal that also sounds great if you set it to loud. I have never had an issue with them and they work fantastic.

I had an Sony Xplod in the Sonoma before the Jensen. Junk, junk, junk. It refused to read CDs as well and it wasn't old either.

I'm going to stuff an Alpine in the Buick's dash once I rid myself of the Firebird's carcass. I've heard nothing but great things about Alpine although I haven't owned any of their products.

Kenwood has always made good stuff. As with the JVC, the display models I've checked out have had good sound quality.

Avoid anything with the Dual brand. Junk.

Speakers:

Memphis Audio. :AH-HA_wink:

[loki]

4x6 plate for your front doors. $100

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB461P/Pol...tures_and_specs

or just a 4x6. $80

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB461/Polk...461.html?tp=105

6.5" rears $100

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB651S/Pol...51s.html?tp=105

these are shallow.. not sure if it's the depth or the mounting height that you can't use the regular depth one...or a 6x9...

general advice:

for sound quality go with round speakers over ovals.

[loki]

For stereos I dunno, I know Alpine and Pioneer make some good stuff. For speakers I recommend Infinity Reference.

i checked. they're 2 ohm. that'll kill a headunit's amp. would require a purpose built amp.

i'm also partial to Polk cause their frequency response is -3db where as infinity's is +/-3db...for comparison, pioneer's is prolly something like -10db...? never figured it out really

Edited October 13, 2009 by loki

[regfootball]

crutchfield, definitely

[Justin Bimmer]

Alpine CDE-103BT

That is what I'm looking at.

ALso, what is the deal with this 2ohm, how do i know what speakers will blow up the deck?

[loki]

Alpine CDE-103BT

That is what I'm looking at.

ALso, what is the deal with this 2ohm, how do i know what speakers will blow up the deck?

receivers aka headunits are made to drive 4 to 8 ohm speakers. 2 ohms may not kill it quickly, but they will over time, for sure.

older speakers were 8ohm, and often still used in cheap oem solutions. i'd guess the vast majority of aftermarket speakers are 4 ohm.

2ohm speakers draw more current therefor straining the amp, and leading to premature failure. usually dedicated amps are used to drive 2 ohm speakers.

[Justin Bimmer]

Alright, update on the saga, I guess when I do install the thing, I should move into project car.

After great consideration and review, I had Crutchfield help me with picking out the speakers to match the deck that I wanted and here is what I ended up with:

Alpine Deck

Has USB, AUX, and bluetooth already installed. I think it can be red and I can control my ipod from it. It also has plenty of power for my speakers.

Rear Deck Speakers

Front Door

Both speakers are 4ohms.

I got a haynes guide and all the tools I need and I think I will be installing in two weeks.

[CaddyXLR-V]

For stereos I dunno, I know Alpine and Pioneer make some good stuff. For speakers I recommend Infinity Reference.

What he said.

Though, I usually order online from http://onlinecarstereo.com/

Just compare their prices to Crutchfield's and you will see why.

Pioneer DEH-P7100BT from Crutchfield is $339

onlinecarstereo is $279

For $60 I'll find the wiring and adapters that I need myself.

[balthazar]

I know next to nothing, but a buddy does competition stereo building, and he only places first or 2nd. He's nuts.

I asked him basic, dummy questions about stereo for my B-59, and you should see his eyes light up. I had to 'talk him off the money ledge', since my needs are very basic. He told me Infinity Reference 6x9s for the rear (planning on cutting the package shelf steel soon- apparently there were no factory rear speakers for '59)... and I didn't even get around to the head unit (cause I have no idea). I like the seriousness of the 0-gauge wire he runs.