sunbyrne

OK, so people keep talking about different stereo mods, and many people have been suggesting lots of good, but expensive, stuff. So, at the urging of Dave Cameron, I wanted to talk about more modest upgrades.

So, what I did was replace the stock speakers--including components up front--and added an amp. My total cost for this was under $400, and it sounds a zillion times better than the stock setup. The breakdown was like this:

JBL GTO front components: $100
JBL GTO rear coaxials: $60
JBL P80.4 amp: $132
Shipping on all that: $40
Amp install: $65
(adds up to $397)

It really sounds very good. The stock HU really is decent with an amp. There's no special reason it's all JBL; the JBL GTO speakers are pretty much the same thing as Infinity Reference, I just found them cheaper. I've seen lots of good reviews on the JBL amp and I have to concur--it's great, especially for that price.

Obviously, with no sub (I won't give up hatch space) it doesn't thump really hard and it doesn't sound as good as say, JL Audio or MB Quarts on a bigger amp with a really high-end HU. But it also costs a LOT less than those kinds of things and sounds quite good, considering what a bad listening environment a car is, and there's really nothing for a thief to see.

So, especially for newbies out there looking for a way to make the crappy stock stereo sound better without sacrificing lots of cash, space, or security, give something like this some thought!

(And thanks to all the cool folks here with all their advice, especially Dave Cameron, onehawaiian, and hihoslva.)

Huey

You're totally right. For the majority of the people who don't spend half of their life with an SQ judge sitting in there car, modest upgrades will get you %80 of the sound of a super expensive setup for %30 of the cost. I always find it more interesting to help my friends do an install on a budget. It's not hard to walk in to a shop, hand them a $20000 cheque & tell them you want to win a competition. Usually, for a budget system, I recommend getting better speakers up front, leaving the rear speakers as stock & running them off the head unit, whether it be OEM or aftermarket. Rear speakers are not nearly as important as the fronst & in most competition setups, aren't used at all. From the front seat, nobody will be able to hear the sound quality difference of the rear speakers. Than, add a decent 4 channel amp, 2 channels to the front & bridge the other two for a sub in the back. I personally have spent over $5000 cdn on my system & end up kicking myself when I start listening to the news radio in the morning. I also shake my head when I listen to some of my friend's cars who I've helped build for a quarter of the price of my car & reallize that it sounds "almost" as good as my car. To me, anything over $1000 cdn is beyond the point of diminishing returns, of course that is IMHO. Good post though, sunbyrne!

alcoholiday

this is what i did.

i wanted to retain the stock HU for aesthetics and security (see no evil, do no evil) and just bump up the power slightly and improve the clarity.

i also didn't want to sacrifice hatch space (it's half the reason i bought the car) and besides, block-rockin's for people cooler than me.

i put in a 40W x 4 channel amp and replaced all the stock speakers. the installation is totally transparent.

still enough power to hurt my ears if i wanted but i got the added clarity and brought the bass out more. i'm very happy.

sunbyrne

Alcoholiday, looks like you did pretty much what I did, though with Alpine rather than JBL. Glad to see I'm not the only one!

onehawaiian

i'm just playing with all these toys as long as i can b4 the "family-man" has to take over. i got a little more time and i intend to play hard!

there's nothing wrong with modest setups as music is music and everyone's tastes and needs are different. i actually wanted only one 12" sub along with a stealth type install, but that bug kept biting me hard and the next thing i know i got all these extra stuff in my ride!

it looks like you guys have cool setups and got what you wanted, so congrats on your systems. i'm sure you all appreciate the difference from the stock system.

alcoholiday

that's how i justified all my guitars. we're only young once!!

Dave Cameron

But see I am not that young anymore-
Thanks for the credit sunbyrne- but I really gave some minor adivce- you made some great choices of hardware. For the dollar the new JBL stuff can't be beat. The GTO series as I recall was redesigned late last year, and it sounds better to me than their "top of the line" stuff! The amps are quite solid, well designed, and their wattage under rated.
I ran the stock headunit for quite a while, and still have it in my shop. I only went to Blaupunkt hardware as something to play with- and it is also great "bang for the buck" stuff- great features for not a lot of money.
In just about any new car with a CD head deck, the stock headunit will be a great job as the center of a better system.
Add an outboard amp, and replace the speakers, and wham- night and day performance jump!
Huey- I had to laugh- I friend of mines day is the CPA/ attourney for the local Mazda dealer, and he has the exotic car habit. He used to own a fleet of four BMWs, including a M-1. Very fun cars, and we would go to get new fish for our salt water aquariums.
Then all of the sudden he changed to Accuras- with a NSX replacing his M-1. While enjoying the ride in the NSX, I asked why he changed cars his response was that after careful study, the Accuras are 90% of a BMW at 60% of the price. Stated as a true accountant!! You are of course right- car audio has a real exponential price factor once you pass mid fi and head into either competition or esoteric. 80% of a upper end system means 80%$ better than is sounded to start out!!
And you are right- I have built several competiton cars, and am putting on the finishing touches of another right now, and they quickly pass into the realm of cars that are not everyday practical or useable quickly. No trunk, or hatch, no place for your feet, and the sound is best heard with certain music, at a standstill.
Alcoholiday- nice setup there- don't feel bad about the bass either. A 6&1/2 can reproduce down to to 50-60 Hertz, a 6x9 down to 40-50 Hertz- plenty of bass. Two things on big subs- first many don't truely get down to 20 Hertz themselves, second, even if they do, they most often have massive distortion- clearly into the audiable range. There are very few really clean subs out there. I prefer a tight bass to a loud bass any day of the week. The music I listen to is not bass dependent to the point of out of control anyway. Bass is often the realm of bragging rights of stereo owners. At one time it was hard to get to the holy grail of loud deep bass, but now there is an entire industry catering to it. A decent bass can be had for under 600.00 nowdays. You are not missing a thing.
Onehawaiin- I love you man! Great guy and lots of fun, with a sweet ride. Watch out though, someday a woman, kids and a house note will sneek up on you!! Are you planning on adding a Dolby 5.1 to the set up now that you are into audio and visual? Keep it up man and have some fun for me! What is the best price you can get for me on Kona Peaberry Dark Roast?

Once again a great post- you have an outstanding ride and you have every right to feel pleased with what you accomplished within a fantastic budget- I just hope even folks not into audio pick up the clue that much improved sound can be had for a modest investment wisely researched!

alcoholiday

i'm not even sure what the general feeling is on alpine anymore but i've always used it and never been let down so i decided to stick with it.

Dave Cameron

Still good feelings about Alpine- not to worry. They still make nice upper end stuff, and very reliable and well built middle end, so the best out there in mid fi- Anymore you are having to pay a premium just for the name either!!

sunbyrne

alcoholiday: I think Alpine stuff is good; in particular, I think they make much better ovals than most. I went with rounds in all four doors, but if I had gone with a 5x7/6x8 up front instead of 6.5", it would have been Alpine. I like rounds better and the JBL stuff was a little cheaper, but I respect Alpine.

Dave: Your story about the BMW guy reminds me of a book written by Guy Kawasaki a few years back about having a passion for making great stuff. He had these little sidebars of things to do for your own amusement, and one of them was "Call up a BMW or Mercedes dealer, and try to get them to explain to you why their cars cost twice as much as Acuras." Funny stuff.

And yeah, the JBL amp wattage is definitely way underrated. It's much cleaner and louder than I thought possible for 40 x 4; I rarely turn it up past about halfway.

Dave Cameron

Still good feelings about Alpine- not to worry. They still make nice upper end stuff, and very reliable and well built middle end, some the best out there in mid fi- Anymore you are having to pay a premium just for the name either!!

hihoslva

A bargain system was all I wanted in the beginning also - I swapped the HU to gain MP3 playability, put in 4 speakers and a cheapo sub and amp.

But like many of us, the bug bit, and I wanted MORE and LOUDER and CLEARER and all that **** that costs money. So I banged up the credit cards and got where I am today. Fact is, if I had it to do over again, I'd buy different stuff - there are better deals than what I have, and I could've saved enough bucks for a very sweet HU - but, the wedding isn't until September, and the house and kids will be a while in the making, so I've always got time to upgrade. Right now, I'm concentrating more on getting all that I can out of what I have - which certainly isn't shabby, but my sub needs a bigger box to perform like i want it to - gonna try my hand at some fiberglass soon....other than that, I'm quite pleased with my system.

And sunbyrne - thanks for the thumbs up - I wish I could give you over to those who taught me so much - you could thank them, too! In 6 months, I have absorbed a lot of knowledge on cars and car audio in particular - I owe nearly all of it to this and other boards, and will never hold back on sharing it to help someone out.

Rock on

~HH