Aydu

I got a sub installed today in my 02 Pro ES. Hooked up via the rear speakers via a high to low level converter to a single 12" Kicker Competition sub. Amplification is with a Coustic 2 channel amp in bridged mode (model 161SE - 160 watts rms in bridged mode at 4 ohms).

I was underwhelmed with the sound I was getting from the stock radio and speakers. With the three way control the factory deck offers - bass- mid -treble - I felt the bass was the most missing element. When I turned the midrange all the way down, leaving the other two adjustments at center, I saw a little bit of the sound I wanted, just not loud enough. It seems that Mazda "voiced" the sound system in the Protege for talk radio, not music.

The sub makes all the difference in the world! I had planned a multi step upgrade path, starting with the sub. I then planned to add component fronts, with an amp, using the HU to power the rears - stock or upgraded based on how things sounded at that point.

I'm putting further spending plans on hold. I have adjusted the gain on the sub amp to be able to run the bass, midrange, and treble at mid settings and it sounds 1000% better than before the sub.

I had planned on doing the purchase on the net and doing the install myself. I was making the rounds of local shops to get opinions, check brands and prices, and see if any of the shops actually seemed to know what they were doing. Most wanted retail, gave advise not much better than Best Buy or Circuit City, and didn't seem to care what was already in the car or what type of car the equipment was going in.

The last shop on my list got my business today. They gave a good break on retail, installed the same day, and then things got even better. I had priced a 10" name brand sub and the amp I ended up with. They did not have a single 10" box and upgraded me to a 12" sub and box for the same - discounted price.

All of a sudden, climbing around in the trunk of my Protege and fishing wires lost it's appeal. In a little over an hour, I was on the road, listening to tunes in a way I never thought I could with my factory deck & speakers. They actually sound very good.

I wanted to keep the consistent color look to the dash that the factory HU provides and didn't want to cut any factory wires. I ended up achieving both of these goals - just a couple of wire taps on the really thin rear speaker wires.

Sir Nuke

you should try turning up the three components to their higher levels....not leave them in the middle....it helps the output quite a bit....I have the treble and the bass nearly all the way up and the midrange just a little bit below....it makes a huge differenece....however.....the HU still needs more power...

Sweedenhouse

LOL, the typical "EQ smile". No that is not a very good idea, and that is what most novice car stereo entusiasts do. People really don't know what they're listening for, and you run the risk of distortion, and possibly blowing speakers more easily that way. Crank the bass, and crank the treble. Tsk tsk tsk, all that is doing is like pressing the "loud" button.

Straight up, the best, and first purchase you should do, if you're serious about sound, the first thing you should do is **** can that factory HU. You can find plenty that blend in with the console very easily, I have an Eclipse in mine and it looks great. The HU will really make the stero come alive, there is just no way you're system is gonna start rocking if does not come from a quality source. The rest of your sound setup is only gonna be as good as what you feed it. As for cutting wires, dunno who told ya that, but you can get wiring harness that will butt up to your factory connection, no cutting necessary. But as for the sound curve, usually the deck should be set to all flat levels, bass, and treble on my deck is all at 0. If you wanna fine tune any frequencies, than I would suggest an equalizer, I gots me a Phoenix Gold EQ that I use to dial in the desired frequencies. Especially if you're getting tweeters, those things are gonna be putting out enough treble, you don't need to adjust them. I dunno I could go on and on, I've been messin around with stereos for like 7 years now. If ya any specific questions, me or someone else I'm sure would be glad to help ya get your system pounding.