My son's 1st upgrade...

[Dan Duffy]

Hi everyone,
I'm Dan, a former Rockford Fosgate addict... and happily so. Our son finally came to us with his holiday wish list, and he said, "I would like to start upgrading the sound in my car."

Back in my younger days, I'd normally go up to Classic Car Stereo on St. Charles Rock Road and talk to Bill Weithaupt... one of the single greatest installers and generally nicest humans on the planet... who has since passed away (God rest him).

I'm guessing he's going to do this in stages, but I'd like to be able to point him in the right direction. He has a Honda CR-V, and my initial thought is a single 12 in a ported box, a crossover to cap the full range speakers into mid-range, plus an amp to power it all (and install, of course).

Being 53 and over 25 years from purchasing my last system, I'd love to have your thoughts on where I could send him to begin his journey.

Much appreciated, and happy holidays to all of you.

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[CarAudio.com - Hal AI Bots]

Hi everyone,
I'm Dan, a former Rockford Fosgate addict... and happily so. Our son finally came to us with his holiday wish list, and he said, "I would like to start upgrading the sound in my car."

Back in my younger days, I'd normally go up to Classic Car Stereo on St. Charles Rock Road and talk to Bill Weithaupt... one of the single greatest installers and generally nicest humans on the planet... who has since passed away (God rest him).

I'm guessing he's going to do this in stages, but I'd like to be able to point him in the right direction. He has a Honda CR-V, and my initial thought is a single 12 in a ported box, a crossover to cap the full range speakers into mid-range, plus an amp to power it all (and install, of course).

Being 53 and over 25 years from purchasing my last system, I'd love to have your thoughts on where I could send him to begin his journey.

Much appreciated, and happy holidays to all of you.

Thank you for sharing your story, Dan! If you have any specific questions or need recommendations, feel free to ask!

 

[supernov4]

It could really depend on his car audio enthusiasm if he just wants a little upgrade with some bass
Or if he's into it as a side hobby and will continue the hobby over the years

Maybe an amp with built in dsp would be something to consider
Access to the dsp will open up many doors
And could give him some avenues to do research in spare time in the wonderful world of tuning and experimenting with raw drivers instead of $ "branded" kits

If he's not into audio just adding a woofer and amp really does make a decent upgrade overall

 

[1aespinoza Premium Member]

"I would like to start upgrading the sound in my car."

Is this something he wants to do hands on?

 

[Dan Duffy]

It could really depend on his car audio enthusiasm if he just wants a little upgrade with some bass
Or if he's into it as a side hobby and will continue the hobby over the years

Maybe an amp with built in dsp would be something to consider
Access to the dsp will open up many doors
And could give him some avenues to do research in spare time in the wonderful world of tuning and experimenting with raw drivers instead of $ "branded" kits

If he's not into audio just adding a woofer and amp really does make a decent upgrade overall

Thanks for that. I think he's just starting to get his feet wet, so we'll see where this goes. I'm actually really happy for him that he's chosen this. My final system was 2 Rockford Pro 12's with a Punch 150 amp that handled it all surprisingly well.

And there's just something so magical about driving with music that you can physically feel in your core. I definitely miss it from time to time. Maybe I'll go back to it when our boys are done with school.

In the meantime, is there a brand you would recommend? Back in my day it was Alpine and Rockford as the two you knew you weren't going to go wrong with.

I hear Polk is decent, but I'm happy to hear any suggestions anyone has.

 

[Old_Slapper]

Hi everyone,
I'm Dan, a former Rockford Fosgate addict... and happily so. Our son finally came to us with his holiday wish list, and he said, "I would like to start upgrading the sound in my car."

Back in my younger days, I'd normally go up to Classic Car Stereo on St. Charles Rock Road and talk to Bill Weithaupt... one of the single greatest installers and generally nicest humans on the planet... who has since passed away (God rest him).

I'm guessing he's going to do this in stages, but I'd like to be able to point him in the right direction. He has a Honda CR-V, and my initial thought is a single 12 in a ported box, a crossover to cap the full range speakers into mid-range, plus an amp to power it all (and install, of course).

Being 53 and over 25 years from purchasing my last system, I'd love to have your thoughts on where I could send him to begin his journey.

Much appreciated, and happy holidays to all of you.

And I bet it brought a tear to your eye when he said those words.

Will he be swapping out the head units as well? What type of music does he listen to? Fosgate makes some pretty good equipment. The biggest question is, how much is he looking to spend on each stage? That is a huge factor in determining what to get.

 

[supernov4]

Oh man we can throw brands around all day lol
My go to woofers are the stereo integrity sql series
Dayton audio 12ho series is also a gem
Alpine is still quite decent with woofers
Or the fosgate p3

 

[Dan Duffy]

And I bet it brought a tear to your eye when he said those words.

Will he be swapping out the head units as well? What type of music does he listen to? Fosgate makes some pretty good equipment. The biggest question is, how much is he looking to spend on each stage? That is a huge factor in determining what to get.

Oh, I was seriously giddy when he said it!

I know a head unit will make a big difference, but I doubt he'll have the dough to do it all at once. I could see him going a sub/crossover/amp to start out to see where it goes. I don't think he quite realizes just how much is life is going to change with access to legit sound.

 

[Dan Duffy]

Oh man we can throw brands around all day lol
My go to woofers are the stereo integrity sql series
Dayton audio 12ho series is also a gem
Alpine is still quite decent with woofers
Or the fosgate p3

Much appreciate that... thanks!

 

[Dan Duffy]

Thank you for sharing your story, Dan! If you have any specific questions or need recommendations, feel free to ask!

Thank you so much for that Hal!

 

[Dan Duffy]

Is this something he wants to do hands on?

I'm not sure he'll have the time to do that until the summer. He's a senior in high school, and in the throws of school, a job, applying to college, working out, etc. Plus, he's never done anything like tearing something apart and putting it together. Not that he couldn't, but he just hasn't taken the opportunity to try yet.

 

[shredder1 10+ year member]

I'd love to have your thoughts on where I could send him to begin his journey.

I'm 58 and understand, I'd start with basic subs and build an enclosure. It's what hooks most car audio enthusiasts and is like 70% of the music content if done right. Don't prefab it build one. Call it a father/son thing.

 

[slater]

Oh, I was seriously giddy when he said it!

I know a head unit will make a big difference, but I doubt he'll have the dough to do it all at once. I could see him going a sub/crossover/amp to start out to see where it goes. I don't think he quite realizes just how much is life is going to change with access to legit sound.

A bunch of us here are about the same age, me included, some older are much smarter when it comes to this rabbit hole...
Most amps, even budget friendly ones have built it crossovers these days.
Theres tons of budget friendly brands that do quiet well regardless of age.
Need a place to start though, touch question is 2 10's or 1 12 in a crv....
If youre doing it in stages, & just doing 1 amp, you need to look at the big picture.
Find 1 5 channel amp to run the entire system now. Something that needs to be considered.
Can even use that amp to throw more power to the stock speakers, doing it in stages.....

Start searching yelp for stereo shops in your area, theyre out there, read all the reviews, looks at all the pictures, Compare reviews per shop as long. as there good reviews, you will know when you found the right shop.

 

[shredder1 10+ year member]

I reiterate

thoughts on where I could send him to begin his journey.

I'd start with basic subs and build an enclosure. Diy is the juice that powers a thirst for more knowledge. Its a lost art anymore

 

[deez283 10+ year member]

I reiterate

I'd start with basic subs and build an enclosure. Diy is the juice that powers a thirst for more knowledge. Its a lost art anymore

I agree.