Budget build advice - details inside

[justinduke]

Vehicle: 2002 Silverado extended cab (6.5" front door speakers, 4x6" rear door speakers)

Budget: $200-$300

I'm looking to upgrade my stock head unit and at least the front door speakers for now. I just want to improve the sound quality while trying to get the best bang for my buck. I typically use my phone as a source through an aux cord but bluetooth could be an option depending on the sound quality.

Should I put more money towards a head unit or more towards the door speakers?

I plan to do some basic deadening work in the doors but that won't be included in the budget.

Suggestions? Let me know if I can give you more info to help.

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[Shorty Jenkans]

get a cheap single din head unit, around $80, get a $50 pair of speakers, but use the rest of your budget to slap an amp on them for sure

 

[justinduke]

get a cheap single din head unit, around $80, get a $50 pair of speakers, but use the rest of your budget to slap an amp on them for sure

How necessary is it to run an amp vs running off the head unit?

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

How necessary is it to run an amp vs running off the head unit?

Even a small amp will make a big difference but personally I don't think it's in your budget once you figure in a wiring kit, which will likely run 60-80$. Unless you can find something small local at a pawn shop or Craigslist it might not be practical.

I'd suggest to stay away from the low tier brands of head. Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood are the three good brands, JVC and Jenson are mid tier (IMO pretty good), Boss, Power Acoustic, Soundstream, Boss, etc. should be avoided. Find new old stock or closeout at Sonicelectronix or other big online store and there's plenty of deals to be had. Don't rule out ordering from Crutchfield either, their prices are a little higher on a head unit but they often offer "free" install kit (dash kit and wires) so the value of that might make up for the price difference buying elsewhere.

You should be able to get a head unit with options you like for 150$, a decent set of coaxials in the front for 100$ and have a little left over. Possibly a bit less either way, IMO don't cheap out on a head unit. The bare entry level ones are purposefully robbed of features to sell you on higher models so they're going to be really neutered. Somewhere more middle of the road is worth the extra money over the lowest model.

 

[justinduke]

If I did want to put a little more money into it and get a small amp how much would I be looking at?

Also, is there much difference between a high end amp and a cheaper amp?

 

[BCotrell 10+ year member]

there's really good budget four channel amps that many have commented on in past posts and the other diy forums (pioneer gm-d8604 is just one of many for example). If your original budget was only $200-$300 don't get stuck in the trap of taking your budget too far north then being left second guessing all your other stereo components.

 

[Umbra]

Even a small amp will make a big difference but personally I don't think it's in your budget once you figure in a wiring kit, which will likely run 60-80$. Unless you can find something small local at a pawn shop or Craigslist it might not be practical.
I'd suggest to stay away from the low tier brands of head. Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood are the three good brands, JVC and Jenson are mid tier (IMO pretty good), Boss, Power Acoustic, Soundstream, Boss, etc. should be avoided. Find new old stock or closeout at Sonicelectronix or other big online store and there's plenty of deals to be had. Don't rule out ordering from Crutchfield either, their prices are a little higher on a head unit but they often offer "free" install kit (dash kit and wires) so the value of that might make up for the price difference buying elsewhere.

You should be able to get a head unit with options you like for 150$, a decent set of coaxials in the front for 100$ and have a little left over. Possibly a bit less either way, IMO don't cheap out on a head unit. The bare entry level ones are purposefully robbed of features to sell you on higher models so they're going to be really neutered. Somewhere more middle of the road is worth the extra money over the lowest model.

He could get a 8ga copper kit from Knu for like $35 shipped:

Complete 8 Gauge Amplifier Installation Kit - Merchandise

Their copper kits have better accessories, wiring, and cables compared to their cca. 60A should be enough for what he's doing and he could probably do a second pair or small sub with a distro. The downside is if you want to go beyond that you'll need to either swap it with another larger gauge wire or run a second in conjunction (for the additional speakers or sub). Personally I like to run more than I need right off the bat so I don't have to redo it later and can just add stuff, but with a tight budget that's probably not where you want to be spending now.

Hispls is spot on with his recommendations.

For the HU you could check out ebay. Find some models you'd want and keep an eye out for them. I got a $200 kenwood for like $70 shipped last year.

Amp either here in the classifieds where you know it was probably cared for, or maybe craigslist or ebay.

Speakers you'd probably want to get new. Maybe find them used here if you can. I'd avoid ebay and Craigslist because people tend to abuse them if they don't know what they're doing.

Unless the stock speakers are damaged don't swap them out without an amp. There are plenty of threads here where they did that and found the sound worse than stock. And decent aftermarket set handles at least 50W RMS. Your head unit might put out 15W on a good day.

For deadener check out Noico brand. It's not the best, but it works very well for the price.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

HU vs amp for powering speakers -- it's simply a matter of power. 15-20w from an HU per speaker. 50+ from an amp. It makes a significant difference.

Cheap amps lie about power output, and tend to run hot (leading to thermal protection shut down) much easier when pushed hard.

Some of the cheap brands (Boss, Crunch etc) miss their power ratings by 50% or more. Others provide such vague specs it's hard to even determine what it's SUPPOSED to do.

To take your budget and SQ return the furthest -- I would suggest a decent 4 ch amp (not much more costly than a comparable 2 ch). 2 would run your 6.5's, the HU would run the 4x6's. Then in the future you could add a small sub (10"?) in an under-seat box to give you a little low end and you'd bridge the remaining 2 ch of the amp for 150-200w rms.

Once you get out of the dirt cheap brands and into the Hifonics, Audiopipe, PPI, there are some decent low budget options.

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

Go with the Alpine 445U - no wire kit needed and goes about for $100.

Here you go:

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-70-2003-Radio-Wiring-Harness/dp/B0002BEQAM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1475082686&sr=8-2&keywords=metra+silverado - $3

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-99-2003-Installation-Multi-Kit-Vehicles/dp/B0007WTF2K/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1475082765&sr=1-1&keywords=99-2003 $8

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-40-GM10-GM-Antenna-Adapter/dp/B0002BEQN4/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1475082781&sr=1-1&keywords=gm-10 - $4

https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-KTP-445U-4-channel-Power-Amplifier/dp/B003VVYL46/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1475082793&sr=1-1&keywords=alpine+445u = $110

https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-DEH-X6800BT-Bluetooth-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B01463W1IU/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1475082832&sr=1-2&keywords=pioneer+radio+bluetooth - $90

https://www.amazon.com/JBL-GX602-2-Way-Coaxial-Loudspeakers/dp/B00O8MULHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1475082896&sr=1-1&keywords=jbl+gx602 $80

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-72-4568-Speaker-Selected-Vehicles/dp/B0002BEUZ8/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1475082931&sr=1-1&keywords=metra+gm+speaker+harness - $4

This puts you at $299 for everything you need. Bridge the powerpack on the JBLs and enjoy.

 

[BCotrell 10+ year member]

Coaxials in the front soundstage? Riiiiiiiight.....All those links ad up to $299 worth of stuff that you probably won't keep.

 

[dsw1204]

Why don't you look at this:

Sony MEX-XB100BT - You can get this on Ebay for $170. It has a 40-watt RMS class D amp built in. It is supposed to deliver a true 40 watts RMS. It also has 5 volt preouts for when you finally do get an external amp that is more powerful than 40 watts. It's a little too flashy for me, but this may be just the thing for you.

Here's the Ebay link:

New Sony Mex XB100BT Car CD MP3 WMA USB NFC Bluetooth Stereo iPod iPhone Control | eBay

In addition, look at Polk Audio DB6501 two-way components for your front stage. You can get these for $133 on Amazon. Puts you just over your budget of $300, but only by $3. Very decent speakers for the money. And when you deaden the doors, they should sound even better.

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

Coaxials in the front soundstage? Riiiiiiiight.....All those links ad up to $299 worth of stuff that you probably won't keep.

Really? Come back when you have some common sense. The components are only $5 more for not much increase in quality and a much more difficult install. If he wants component, he can easily go with the component version.

Either way with a $300 budget for a full system - if he plans on upgrading he isn't going to keep any of it. You will be hard pressed to find a better set-up for $300. But hey what do I know, I only have only worked on 1000s of cars. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

The Sony deck isn't a bad option at all. In my experience I think it puts out less than 40w. It does sound good up to max volume, the only thing I don't like is it seems to lack output. It just doesn't get very loud. However if the OP listens at moderate levels, this is could be another good choice.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Not sure if OP is ever coming back, but has anybody actually measured output on that Sony head unit? I wonder how much of a 40X4 you can really cram into that small of a space and not run into serious overheating issues?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Not sure if OP is ever coming back, but has anybody actually measured output on that Sony head unit? I wonder how much of a 40X4 you can really cram into that small of a space and not run into serious overheating issues?

No overheating issues, they just need thick 8 or 10 gauge wire run directly to the battery terminals. Very good head unit for the average joe that wants it a little louder without needing an amp. Time alignment and 10 band EQ allows for decent sound tuning as well. There's also a rear bass enhancement option that low passes your rears and turns them into psuedo subwoofers. With some tang band 6x9s subwoofers in IB with that on, its output and SQ extremely respectable (comparable to a sealed 12 on 500 rms due to it having a direct path into the cabin, needed deadening all over that rear deck though). this head unit has done extremely well in a stealth install I did for my buddy. Sound quality out of the box is not bad either, definitely way better than a clarion cz702 DAC wise out of the box.

Also another thing you can do is have full range 6.5 in the kick or dash speakers or even some 3 or 4 inch full range in the A pillar wired to the front and wire your door speakers as rear and you can get pretty amazing midbass and some sub bass up front while the other driver takes care of the rest of the sound spectrum Especially if you deadening properly.

The pre-out voltage is surprisingly strong as well if you want to add amps.

 

[BCotrell 10+ year member]

My bad on the coax statement it was specific to the vehicle (my dad has a Silverado but his is newer). The not keeping stuff part is just based on how the typical car audio rush goes. As soon as gets a system in he'll probably want to change it and there's some decent budget 4 channels out there for under 150$.