agarven

I just bought a brand new Protege5 and am very happy with it...except for the lousy stereo that came with it. Should I be replacing the deck or the speakers....or both? I don't really want to spend a fortune, but I definately want something that sounds better.

onehawaiian

hehe, and yet another satisfied customer of the p5's soundz.

some would say upgrade the hu first, others the spkrs. depends on your budget. here is what i would do: get both. u can get a decent hu and spkrs without breaking the bank. altho you may want to stay away from crap so as not to spend more than you need/want to when you decide to upgrade. here are a few nice spkr choices that are nice sounding and relatively inexpensive:

-gs designs
-autotek
-infinity reference
-jl audio sr
-kicker impulse
-fusion

there are some who have jbl and like them, but i have no exp w/those so i cannot recommend them.

BUT...if you are on a tight budget, do the spkrs first as the factory hu is not really bad. and when you get enough scrilla, get the hu.

Sir Nuke

Agarven, Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to our Club. There are TWO BIG fridge'S in the corner with anything you can think of in them...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have.

make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom don't care....and take it easy.

oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

NOW, help us out here.....give us a clue....just what do YOU consider a "FORTUNE"? What is your budget? and what do you really want from your system? Do you want to add a SUB to the car? There are a LOT of options for you....There are a lot of decent quality speakers out there that you can replace the stockers with. Do you want to add an amp? There is a thread here, that covers just about every aspect of the fractory system upgrade you can imagine....Personally...I chose to keep my factory head unit. I got a 5 channel Alpine amp which has speaker level inputs....upgraded all the door speakers and added a sub to the back....the system really rocks. the cost? $700 for everything....not including the install...I did that myself. So now I have a good system.....and IF a theif looks in the window...all he sees is the stock head unit...nothing else.

agarven

Thanks for the advice both of you. I used to have an amp and a sub in my 1990 mazda 626 hatchback turbo....man i miss that car (too bad it fell apart). Anyways, It definately did sound good, but it cost me $750 and I don't have alot of extra cash kicking around since I just bought this new car. If I just replace the stock speakers, is it really going to make that much difference? And also, I am assuming the wattage of any speakers I buy will be much higher than the stock ones. Is there any risk associated with melting wires because of that?

DarK_anGel1412

i replaced my head unit with an alpine one yesterday, only a day after i got my car, and i gotta say, the alpine one kicks the stock ones ***. it sounds like 20 times better.

agarven

Did you get an oversized deck to fit the space in the p5? Did you replace the stock speakers as well?

DarK_anGel1412

i got the fill kit and wiring harness from autosoundgear.com i can give you part numbers if interested, and i didnt replace any speakers yet, my cars only 3 days old.

agarven

You certainly don't waste any time!

blueman3393

change the spks yes the head unit is still good but the main sound comes from the spks it will shange everything bass mid treble, i would change the spks first

Sir Nuke

if you replace the speakers in the doors it will make a difference.....but only a limited amount.....the stock head unit only puts out about 12 watts/channel.....the stock speakers are rated for 25 watts. so they are more than enoung to handle the unit.

if you are going to be upgrading the system...I would start with the speakers......unless you plan on amping them up ABOVE 40 watts RMS....the stock wires are fine.

EVEN with new speakers the difference is going to be marginal....for untill you start to push them with more power you are going to have limited results with just changing out the speakers.

with your limited budget...you may want to consider one of two routes.....either an amp with speaker level in puts and new door speakers....keeping the stock head unit....OR a new head unit that has a higher power output with the new speakers.

Its just what YOU prefer.....money wise....it would be a about even depending on the amp and or head unit you would pick. do some comparitive shopping and see what you come up with.

protosaab

I replaced my speakers with JBL's for about $200. You could spend less. I plan to upgrade th HU soon, so I spent that much on the speakers (you could spend more). The stock speakers have paper cones and no tweeter, so even a $50 Kenwood would sound 100% better.

fat.elvis

OK question, pardon if it's stupid:

I am competent enough to replace my stock speakers myself and hate to pay a place to do it when I can do it free myself and buy cheaper on Crutchfield anyway.

However, I'm pretty sure I'm not competent enough to do an amp myself.

Would this be a good way to go, replace stock speakers and then pay a shop to put in the amp later? I was thinking Alpine 4-channel (40Wx4) V-power (speaker level inputs). Would I then have to pay for new wires and hookups to my speakers anway, thus my previous self-install speaker job being economically pointless?

thnx

Sir Nuke

NO, your stock wires would be perfectly fine with this amp.....and don't allow them to talk you into getting them either.