completely car audio illiterate

[fashioned 10+ year member]

I know next to nothing when it comes to cars but i'd really love to get some new speakers, and a new deck that would work with my ipod.

i drive a 1992 ford crown vic (its an old cop car) and as you

can guess the speakers on it just don't sound that good.

i'd like to get two new ones for my front side doors

and then in a few weeks time get some new back seat ones also.

i also want to get a deck that has either an usb or aux input on it

so i can run my ipod in through it. for right now i'd like to keep it at $200 and under. is this possible? also is taking it to a place like audio express or best buy

a good idea for getting this installed?

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Click to read more...

 

[Fender5 10+ year member]

it wont be under $200 if you take it to a shop. they wanted $70 to install my friend'shead unit. he took it home and i did it myself and it works. now i install my friends stuff all the time. my car came with the head unit already.

go to installdr.com

thats how i learned to ttake the stereo out.

great pics

buy everything online. local shops and best buy wont help.

get a new head unit, front speaker, back speaker, and a 4 channel amp. the amp will make the sound way better.

sonicelectronix.com is a good site

pm if u need more info

 

[sexiewasd 10+ year member]

The first step would be to find out what size your front speakers are. $200 is a pretty low budget but it should be able to get you a new deck and some two way coaxial speakers for the front.

As for getting it installed at bestbuy my first thought is no, well actually it's HELLZ NO!, but it really depends on how mechanically inclined you are. Have you ever taken anything apart and successfully put it back together?

For a low budget it's pretty much pioneer or alpine for new stuff, or you could probably get some better stuff used if you look around.

 

[fashioned 10+ year member]

cars are a weak spot, i build computers and such though, thats about as close as i get haha. i forgot to mention that i don't realy need anything fancy, i'm sure

if i get a new set of speakers, even cheap $80-100 ones they will probably

sound better then what i have.

 

[Racerx250 10+ year member]

Shop around on here some and do lots and lots of reading. Do it right the first time and you will save a lot of money in the long run. Get what you really want.

Get some used componets and a small amp and a deck w/ some sort of an eq on it and you'll be set. Well and a small amount of wire.

 

[fashioned 10+ year member]

my step dad can actually install it for me i just asked him. how to i go about finding out what type of speakers i have, lets say they are 6x9, will regular 6x9 speakers work with a $99 kenwood deck? also i can stretch my budget to $250 but i'd rather not.

 

[JL Audio 5,000+ posts]

check ebay, should be able to get a headunit and a set of component speakers for your budget no problem

 

[Racerx250 10+ year member]

A common forum boner here is Phoenix Gold RSD 6.5's componets. I think they run 90 bucks. Try the classifieds and sonixelectronics.com

If your on a budget get those and a small Profile amp. 125x2 @4

Probably cost you a little more than 200 but you enjoy it much more.

 

[Fender5 10+ year member]

stay away from brands like jensen, boss, roadmaster, dual, sony

 

[sexiewasd 10+ year member]

Can I add insignia to that list of things to stay away from?

Ohh and if you can fit an amp into your budget it really would make a huge difference, these people speak the truth.

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

If you can build computers, and if you're not color blind, you can install a headunit and speakers.

Pioneer has some pretty nice budget units. I picked up my girlfriends unit (ipod compatable, and has outputs for subwoofer amps and fronstage amps) for $90 on ebay.

coaxal or component speakers will work fine for you. Since you are not going to be using any amps, look for a speaker that has a low RMS rating. it would be a waste to buy a high RMS speaker and only feed it off of the headunit.

 

[Fender5 10+ year member]

oh yeah. good one sexiewasd. i forgot

best buy brand *****.

a friend has one hooked up to 2 Diamond D6s. thinks hes gettin 1200W!

i showed him that hes gettin 200 RMS and im pumpin 900 RMS but he thinks hes gettin 1200 even after seein the 200 RMS.

 

[sexiewasd 10+ year member]

I bought an insignia headunit from a friend so I could hook my zen W up to it. it would get really warm at moderate volume, and when it was cold it would take about 5-6 minutes to turn on then another 5-6 to start playing a song. I went back to my pioneer DEH-240f and cd's.

 

[Plutoman 10+ year member]

Well, he's looking here for a set of 6x9 coaxials, I'm assuming. I'd give recommendations, but I'm not the most knowledgeable on those - I own a pair of kenwood 6982i's, and they're good, but I'd definitely not call them the best for the price - just decent.

Anyone who knows these might be able to give some better advice, though. All I can say is to check around on a few of the sites selling speakers - the list of sites on the home page of ca should help a bit. Look for the 6x9's, but avoid the cheap brands - sony, and those types. Can look for a head unit in this way, too.

 

[fashioned 10+ year member]

so would i be on the right track with a head unit like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-DEH-2000MP-Head-Unit-CD-MP3-WMA-Receiver-NEW_W0QQitemZ120333751982QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Audio_In_Dash_Receivers?hash=item120333751982&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318#ebayphotohosting

and then i still need to find out what type of speakers i have, any easy ways? should

i just go out to my car and measure it?

 

[Supergumby5000 5,000+ posts]

so would i be on the right track with a head unit like thishttp://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-DEH-2000MP-Head-Unit-CD-MP3-WMA-Receiver-NEW_W0QQitemZ120333751982QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Audio_In_Dash_Receivers?hash=item120333751982&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318#ebayphotohosting

and then i still need to find out what type of speakers i have, any easy ways? should

i just go out to my car and measure it?

Here is the same unit, but the next years model for cheaper:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Pioneer-CD-Receiver-DEH-2000MP-MP3-WMA_W0QQitemZ270305664643QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Audio_In_Dash_Receivers?hash=item270305664643&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Personally, i would spend the few extra bucks and get this:

This one has a nifty little auxilary unit on the front. A great budget-method to hooking up ipod/laptop/whatever.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-DEH-P3000IB-WMA-CD-MP3-iPod-Sat-Ready-Stereo_W0QQitemZ140276554992QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Audio_In_Dash_Receivers?hash=item140276554992&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

As for speakers, people will tell you round speakers are better than oval. For your basic setup, i wouldnt get too worried about that, because from the sounds of it, you're not too worried about having record-breaking SQ

Personally, i would reccomend getting some speaker adaptors and putting 6.5" coaxal's in, but 6x9's will work fine too.

 

[fashioned 10+ year member]

ahh nice, ok then, i'm not sure if my speakers are 6x9's i was only throwing out an example, i'm gonna go measure the surface of one of my front speakers and find out right now

 

[tommyk90 5,000+ posts]

Your crown victoria has 6x8's in the front doors and 6x9's in the rear.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com is a great website with good prices and great customer service.

Pretty much anything will be better than you have now, and a quick search shows many 6x8 coaxial speakers under the $50 range. You might be able to get new speakers all around AND a new headunit for under $250.

As stated before, stay away from crappy brands like boss, pyle, legacy, etc. Some good brands that can be had for cheap is kenwood, kicker, pioneer, phoenix gold, mb quart just to name a few.

 

[tommyk90 5,000+ posts]

Being a bit of a kicker guy, I put together a potential setup for you

Kicker DS 5x7 coaxials for the front doors (they come with adapter plates to fit in the 6x8 spot). $39.99

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_3575_Kicker+DS68.html

Kicker DS 6x9" coaxials for the rear deck. $64.99

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_3596_Kicker+DS693.html

Kenwood CD player with an aux input in the front for an mp3 player. $77.99

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_10342_Kenwood+KDC-MP208.html

That puts you at $182.97+shipping. Should be around the $200 mark after shipping. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

However, there are plenty of other speakers around the same price that will perform just as well. This was just an example.

 

[endofdays89 5,000+ posts]

aux inputs are for *******, get an ipod adapter