Is it worth Full System Upgrade with Stock Head unit?

[legaspi89 10+ year member]

I have a 2020 Kia Forte Gt. I want to do a full system upgrade which include upgrading the door speakers, adding a 12 inch Sub, & Running an Amp to the door speakers and another amp for the sub. If I keep the stock head unit, Would I still get good power and sound? Is it worth it? I really dont want to change the stock unit.

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[huberoy123 10+ year member]

That may work for you if you really want to keep your head unit. As long as your head unit is providing a good signal for your amplifiers, you should be able to tune your system to your particular sound requirements.

 

[Dafaseles]

If you're going to go the route of keeping your stick head unit, my advice would be to not cheap out on your line out converter. You need to get one where you can "fix" the signal coming out of your stock head unit and return it to flat.
Also, some vehicles audio systems will change the output of certain levels as the volume increases. They do this in order to protect the crappy paper stock speakers from being damaged and still sounding "good enough" to people who don't crave better sound.
You're LOC needs to be able to combat those 2 things, so that your stock head unit doesn't get in the way of your aftermarket system sounding the best it can

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

you can, but id at least get the LoC-22

Car Audio Signal Processors

www.jlaudio.com

 

[legaspi89 10+ year member]

Okay cool. I'll make sure the LOC I purchase can provide a flat signal and a stable output level. Thanks guys.

 

[AnthonyO 10+ year member]

https://www.audiocontrol.com/car-audio/factory-system-upgrade/lc7i/

 

[legaspi89 10+ year member]

Ok. So My Kia Forte GT has 8 Speakers along with a 320 watt factory amp. I have a JL Audio 12 inch W3 Sub along with a JL Audio Jx 500 amp. (not hooked up yet). With the inline converters mentioned above, should I still change the door speakers or would the inline converter bring out the best on my stock speakers?

 

[Kickstand Premium Member]

It makes it sound like doesn't it.
I don't think you can hook it back up to your factory amplifier.
I think what it's trying to say is it improves the signal coming from from your factory system.
Not that it's going to improve your factory system
Your factory amplifier would need RCA inputs on it
I could be wrong but I have never heard of one running back to the factory amp

 

[huberoy123 10+ year member]

I have a 2020 Kia Forte Gt. I want to do a full system upgrade which include upgrading the door speakers, adding a 12 inch Sub, & Running an Amp to the door speakers and another amp for the sub. If I keep the stock head unit, Would I still get good power and sound? Is it worth it? I really dont want to change the stock unit.

Your sound system is rated pretty high. Is there a special reason you are upgrading? Just curious. I had a good factory system in my Mustang years ago. However, I got the car audio bug and started to upgrade components.

 

[Dafaseles]

Ok. So My Kia Forte GT has 8 Speakers along with a 320 watt factory amp. I have a JL Audio 12 inch W3 Sub along with a JL Audio Jx 500 amp. (not hooked up yet). With the inline converters mentioned above, should I still change the door speakers or would the inline converter bring out the best on my stock speakers?

You won't know for sure until you do it, but my guess is you're just going to end up blowing them pretty quickly

 

[legaspi89 10+ year member]

I understand. I already have a 4 channel amp rated at 120 watts rms and my JL audio amp for the sub. They are just chilling under my bed. lol. I been doing research on both Inline Converters and cant go wrong with either one. The reason why I want to upgrade the mids and highs is because simply I want more power where I can feel the music a little more. Plus, my car needs Bass.

 

[Dafaseles]

I understand. I already have a 4 channel amp rated at 120 watts rms and my JL audio amp for the sub. They are just chilling under my bed. lol. I been doing research on both Inline Converters and cant go wrong with either one. The reason why I want to upgrade the mids and highs is because simply I want more power where I can feel the music a little more. Plus, my car needs Bass.

I think your on the right track as far as a starter system goes. But I'd replace the stock speakers. It's been my experiences that even not amplifying the stock speakers, but just something as simple as listening to an aftermarket system as loud as you want to listen to it, they blow in no time. If you do a little leg work, (or ask the guys on here, they do know a lot) they can point you in the right direction on some decent, not expensive replacements for your car and I nice 4 channel to go with them. You don't need much to blend well with a w3 on 500 watts in my opinion. Just a 400.4 or something. That's my 2 cents anyway

 

[legaspi89 10+ year member]

Thanks for the reply Dafaseles. I'm trying to find components that have a warm sound signature as oppose to bright sounding speakers. But still sounding loud and clear. Ranging from 100 - 120 watts rms. I do have the Alpine Spr-60C fresh in a box. The only thing is its either going to sound bright or a warmer sound(which i prefer). On my old car, when I had a kenwood head unit hooked up with my alpine speaker setup, it sounded nice. As soon I installed an Alpine head unit, my alpines sounded bright. Equalizing only helped a little. Now say with my new setup, the factory radio along with the Audio Control LC7i. How do you think the sound would play out with my Alpine Speakers?