i'm depressed :(

[sumone 10+ year member]

I must have the worst luck when it comes to car audio...

when I bought the car:

1. 4x6s in front, 6x9s in back (pioneers)

2. the 6x9s didn't have sound coming out til I found out they weren't connected to the wire. Couldn't figure out how to connect it so I just bought some new ones - $80 pioneers. add in the cost of installation (best buy).

3. some new 4x6s would be good cause the ones already in the car sound like crap; $50 pioneers - however they sounded exactly the same as the originals so I got a refund.

4. so far, I had spent about 2 bills; subtracting the $50 from those refunded 4x6s, about 1 and a half.

5. this is when I started getting into car audio is researching and finding the forums.

6. bought some cdt cl-61a's - $150 @ thezeb

7. bought an eD e12kx sub - $85 + $17 shipping = $112

8. bought a usx4065 - $136 @ sounddomain

9. bought amp wiring kit from walmart - little less than $20

10. q-logic universal kick panels - $90 @ thezeb

11. okay, so now I wanna get these kick panels fiberglassed in and put the cdts in them. guy previously gives me a quote of $60. Ends up not being able to fiberglass and sticks them on the door for $150 - a complete rip off based on the job they did.

12. a pretty good basic-operational head unit with an aux-in: $130. add in installation and wiring harness,etc. for all that (bestbuy)

13. a shitty-ass head unit with more preamps than I need (but thought would be convenient) - $80. no installation cost since now I'm able to install //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif (well aside from the $4 I spent on connectors).

what I'm getting at:

Everything except the sub, amp, and amp kit was a waste of money, here's why:

1. I have yet to use those products,

2. of the stuff that has been used, what I ended up with:

- a dent in one of the cl-61 woofers

- a f*cked up-looking door panel

- a thrown-away warranty card for the cl-61s

- thrown-away surface mount tweeter stuff

- thrown-away manuals and product "inlets"

- thrown-away 4x6s (the ones that came with car)

- f*cked up q-logic kick panels cause they guy didn't install them right

- nonworking cl-61 tweeter: just yesterday night, one of the tweeters were hanging by the wire (I previously just taped them to door) cause my friend slammed the door. the next time he got in, the tweeter is crushed between the door and the kick panel...not once...but twice since the first time, the door didn't "close".

so what I've done about all this:

1. bought some $20 4x6s off ebay just because I need something up front before I was gonna install my cl-61s...

2. ...but now since that ^ isn't gonna happen any time soon, I'm gonna buy some new cl-61as - another $150.

3. bought some new door panels off ebay for $50 altogether including shipping. gm wanted $400 for each (just for the panel). gmpartsdirect.com wanted about $200 something. a junkyard wanted about $130

my time here is done.

psych! I'm a finatic about this stuff but I'm still mad all this money has been wasted.

Click to read more...

 

[ParkRat 10+ year member]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cuddle.gif.bd1b29c179c0482f8313dbd790b74c94.gif Seriously, you need to learn and do everything yourself. With a little research and time you will learn. Ask a lot of questions here and it will all come together. You haven't even come close to the amount of money I have spent since 1991 on car stereo equipment. It's a hobby so get used to dropping cash. If you want to learn how to install certain stuff do one thing at a time. For example install your own headunit. Just take on that task by itself. Once you have it installed and working move onto the next thing. A lot of people pick one weekend to install everything. Sometimes that can get frustrating when something goes wrong and then they half ass stuff. This causes problems. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

Seriously, you need to learn and do everything yourself

that's exactly what I've declared after my experience with that audio shop. keep in mind though this has all happened within the first 3 months of ownership of my car. I'm now able to install a head unit, and I'm currently working on a getting the usx amp installed. so as far as that is concerned, I am learning (but, yeah, I know, I don't expect to learn overnight).

The thing I can understand is if I drop out all this money, I'm satisfied for a while, then I decide to drop some more; but this is like a double negative - wasting money and I'm not satisfied. keep in mind I'm a working, full time student with bills to pay and only make about 15 stacks a year...

 

[ParkRat 10+ year member]

Sounds like you are going down the same path of all of us //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rotflol.gif.b453361716769b8110ddefc85ff03cd2.gif Once you learn how to install everything you will find yourself changing out equipment all the time! I just bought an Avionixx and haven't installed it yet.. I also just bought an Arc Audio because I don't think I want the Avionixx. But, I don't make 15 stacks a year Remember .. you can sell your equipment you don't want anymore on ebay or on the forum. This helps to keep the addiction alive //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/driving.gif.c4dead4599dda895032b63e51f52b126.gif

 

[allyourblood 10+ year member]

i agree with both of the above replies. i started posting to this forum on 1/18 of this year. it wasn't until 3/1 that i finished the current iteration of my system. i began with only basic knowledge of wiring/electrical. i had replaced a HU and speakers a few times before, in my car and my wife's, but that was it. with no prior knowledge, my dad and i have installed 2 amps, all-new wiring, and 2 subwoofers. the contrast between what my system sounded like, and what it sounds like now is like night and day.

BUT, all of the upgrades i've done have taken me around 1.5 months! this includes wait-time for items being shipped to me, rain days, lack of sunlight (or inadequate artificial light), and most of all: the time it took to post, and read, and learn everything i could to do it myself, and do it right.

i could have sent it all to some local installer, and had it put together in a couple days. however, i'd be out about 400 bucks (on top of everything else), they'd have installed it all skank, and i'd have no knowledge of my system's inner-workings. someone else can mess with my car when they pry the keys from my cold, dead hands.

moral of the long-winded post is:

-take your time. don't rush to "see how it sounds" (this can be maddeningly tempting!). check, double-check, and triple-check your efforts. if you have to spend 2 hours extra to do it right, spend the time. don't cut corners just to get a step out of the way. it'll **** at the time, but you'll be patting yourself on the back later, when you don't have to re-do something.

-if you get stuck, and it means you have to post on here, and research online or otherwise, until you have the solution, so be it. even if you have to do without tunes for a day or two. it's just not worth taking it to some shop.

-the experience and knowledge you gain from working on your own system is priceless. there is nothing more satisfying than being able to say, "yep, i did that". even better, you'll love that soon, you'll be giving other folks advice regarding their system, and that the advice you give is accurate.

-mistakes: you've seen this firsthand. when someone else does the work, and screws it up, you won't know about it right away. and sometimes, even when you do, they'll deny it or worm their way out of repair/replacement. unfortunately, society's motto seems to be "it's not my fault". no one wants to be held accountable, and that's just sick. skip the anger, the embarassment, and the headaches: when you install it, you have only yourself to blame if it fouls up. i feel better living with my own mistakes, than i do living with someone else's.

don't give up; good luck!

abe m.