Newbie here needs to upgrade sound system and does not have a clue.

Good morning all. First time poster here and I am a complete dork on this stuff, but I love music. I own a 2005 Hyundai Elantra with low mileage and I plan on having it for many more years. The audio system is complete junk and factor in that the car is on the noisy side especially on the highway. I have no real desire to do any major sound dampening , I just want to upgrade my entire system (new head unit, speakers, and amplifier) and I think that will be good enough for me and my needs as I do not drive a lot, but when I do I am on the highway a lot.

I have looked at a lot of stuff on the internet and I am even more confused. Here is basically what I am looking for. I want a new head unit that has HD radio and a place to plug in my mp3 player, I could really care less about satellite radio. I want upgraded speakers which would obviously need and amp. I just want better sound. but I am not looking to blow the roof of the car, or **** off the neighborhood. I am obviously willing to spend decent money, but not break the bank.

I have no idea what type of speakers I want (2 way, 3 way blah blah) and what wattage and size I need in comparison to the stock unit in my car, what kind of amp I need etc etc. Do I really need a subwoofer and tweeters, or will the right speakers and an amp suffice? I want something of good sound quality that I can here when I am on the highway, but nothing excessive. I mostly listen to rock, blues, r&b, and sports talk.

As far as speaker brands go I here that Polk , Diamond, and Boston Acoustics are all good and I doubt I would have any issues with any of those brands. I am guessing an Alpine head unit would suffice. Can anyone help a dork out? Take your time getting back to me no rush. Thanks Mark.

What's your budget? Also I'd plan on installing at least a small subwoofer. A system never sounds quite complete without one in my opinion and you don't have to spend a lot on them either.

Well I do not have a specific amount in mind. I guess I would say 500-600 dollars. Definitely less than a grand haha. I just want something of good quality and not interested in bragging rights.

Hit up mylows10 (Jim) on here. He's one of the vendors on this forum. He has decent gear like American Bass and CDT. He'd probably give you a good package deal. He's knowledgable too as far as to what you're exactly going to need in terms of speakers, wires, head unit, amp/amps, etc. $600 isn't a bad budget. You should be able to get pretty far....

Thanks. I should say that I have no interest doing any install work as I would have no idea what I am doing. I prefer to buy the components I need and have someone else do the install. I was just looking at the crutchfield site which is very helpful. I think the Alpine CDE 134HD is exactly what I am looking for as far as a head unit goes.

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Originally Posted by mark174ace

Thanks. I should say that I have no interest doing any install work as I would have no idea what I am doing. I prefer to buy the components I need and have someone else do the install. I was just looking at the crutchfield site which is very helpful. I think the Alpine CDE 134HD is exactly what I am looking for as far as a head unit goes.

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Crutchfield's CS is very good but their prices are very high (unless you can catch something on sale). Your 500-600 dollar budget just got a lot slimmer if you're going to pay for installing everything. Unless you can find a private guy on Craigslist or something to do it a mom and pop shop or places like Best Buy will bend you over for installation....

Thanks. I should have prefaced that I was looking to spend 500-600 hundred on all the components. I planned on having someone do it privately. I wish I could do at least some of it myself, but I would screw it up. Are there any good video resources where I could watch on my laptop and work as I go?

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Originally Posted by mark174ace

Thanks. I should have prefaced that I was looking to spend 500-600 hundred on all the components. I planned on having someone do it privately. I wish I could do at least some of it myself, but I would screw it up. Are there any good video resources where I could watch on my laptop and work as I go?

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for head unit speakers and amp and install materials that is a small budget will be cutting it close sub and amp is almost outa the question

I've found good deals on Spectronix.com. Also, I thought I wanted HD radio then I found out almost no station in my area. Just wasn't worth the extra cost.