Car Audio

[Slick]

I am looking to install a car audio system in my car but I don't know much about it so I figured I would ask someone. I work at best buy so we get a very good discount 50-60% off on some of the car audio stuff. Anyway I drive a 95' pontiac sunfire and want a decent system, but something that I can still get really loud :p. Any suggestions would be much apreaciated.

[danball1976]

You could get away with a inexpensive JVC radio with MP3 input, 50W by 4, 3 Audio output (L+R and Sub). That shouldn't cost more than $180. Pioneer 5.25" in the front and 6x9's in the back. That should be up to $80/pair for the front, and $120/pair for the back. If you like you could get an inexpensive amp for under $300. I have a Kenwood 600W multichannel amp that I bought from Best Buy for $280.

A suggestion would be to go to www.crutchfield.com and look around for the speakers that you like and fit your car, as well as that radio. You could go with 1DIN or 1.5DIN (to fit that GM radio opening)

Please note that I bought my radio and 6x9 speakers onbase at the BX.
My radio is a JVC and cost $239 when I bought it 1 year ago, and the 6x9's for $89 about 6 months ago. I bought my 5.25" for about $60.

[Slick]

I forgot to mension I already have a 10 disk cd changer wired up to the stock deck. I just want speakers, sometimes I am not sure though, those decks with the lcd displays are pretty nice.

[astroworp]

for the rear deck, you'll want 6x9s and for the front you'll want 4x6s or 4" components, which will sound better but cost more. since you're buying at best buy, you'll probably want to go with pioneers or rockford fosgates, depending on how much you want to spend. get an amplifier if you're sticking with the stock deck. give the 6x9s between 80-100 watts and the 4x6s/4"s between 30-60 watts, all per speaker.

if you want a new deck, jvc is really good... i've had mine for almost three years with no complaints. other brands to look for are alpine, panasonic, and pioneer. it really depends on how much you want to spend.

do you want a subwoofer? it ads quite a bit of cost, while adding a whole lot of sound at the same time. you'd be super happy throwing two 10"s in your trunk. if you're getting a fat discount, why not, right?

[Slick]

I wanna get the subs in there first :). I don't know to much about cars, or audio for that matter. Will I have enough power for everything?

[GnomeWizardd]

Id get a kenwood cdplayer with mp3 playback with the sirus satalite radio

[Black Hawk]

I think you should go to Crutchfield and check what fits your car. Link (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1qMOizPq7Z3/cgi-bin/AutoInfo/AutoInfo.asp)

[astroworp]

um, i already did that for him...


anyway, for subs, you have to give them a lot of power, typically in the range of 200-350 watts per speaker. you have tons of options with subs depending on what kind of sound you want coming from your trunk. if you love bass and wants lots of it, and you want to make sure that everyone around you knows you've got a system, then 12" subs are a good call. if you want tight, responsive bass and not a lot of "boom" but more of a cleaner, transparent sound, 10" subs are the better choice. like i said before, for your particular car, i'm thinking two 10" subs. with that, you'll get terrific sound and still a lot of bass, especially if you get some good quality speakers. from best buy, i'd go with the rockford fosgate HE2's. get an amp that will give each speaker the higher range of the recommended RMS wattage and you'll be a happy camper. since you'll be buying from best buy, you'll want to go with a rockford fosgate amp for the subs.

the subwoofer box is more of a decision on how much room you want to lose in your trunk. the bigger the box, the more bass you'll get, but the more space you'll be sacrificing at the same time. ultimately it's your call.

[Black Hawk]

AFAIK the type of bass depends on the enclosure. What types of enclosure exactly I forgot. It's on Crutchfield's site. It depends more on the type of music you listen to. Certain enclosures for certain music.

[[R3D]KJ]

AFAIK the type of bass depends on the enclosure. What types of enclosure exactly I forgot. It's on Crutchfield's site. It depends more on the type of music you listen to. Certain enclosures for certain music.
Sealed boxes give you more tight bass. Bandpass boxes give you big boomy bass. Ported boxes are in between those two.

[Slick]

I am probably going to get a sealed box with two 10 inch subs.