Jersey Girl Call For Help

[nmchugh6]

I had to trade my old Lexus and went with a 2009 Camry because I do about 25,000 miles a year and had to be practical (maybe the Acura next time when I'm not commuting so much and beating up my car)!. The Camry stock radio is making me crazy. I want to upgrade but with a new kitchen in my future in about a year, can't go nuts. Can you guys help me make some decisions? I'd like to keep total cost including install at $6-$700. I don't know a lot about car audio but have been trying to get educated during the last week. My thoughts:

I'm reading pretty good things about Alpine CDA 105 and can probably purchase at 6Ave for just about $100. Any thoughts on the Power Pac that ups RMS to total of about 45? I'm not really interested in having a "booming" system...just looking for clarity in sound. I like that this option makes the install easier, that it avoids an amp somewhere else and that it may also give me just enough of a boost to make a bit of difference in clarity. But, do I even need this boost? I'm also thinking that I'm not interested in a subwoofer but also ask for any opinions on that if I go with this head unit. If sub is highly recommended, am I correct to be thinking that I then would need a more traditional amp to power speakers and the sub and to get the addl clarity I'm looking for? What would you recommend in an amp if so?

Speakers: I listen mostly to radio and CDs..I like 80s-90s country rock type of music and current soft rock. The sound I'd be looking for is anything that leans away from what I'd describe as "tin" -ey sounding.Camry has 6 stock speakers. Could I simply replace with 4 at about $100 per set of 2?Would the remaining 2 of 6 existing speakers need to be disconnected? What speakers would you recommend for this HU given my price range and my music preference? Do I need to add some auxilary antenna?

If anyone can offer some advice, I'd greatly appreciate it. Sorry for all the questions but just one last one...would anyone be interested in doing the install? I'm in Tinton Falls/Monmouth County.

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[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Any way you slice it, install is going to make or break what you can accomplish. If you can find someone to help you'll save a ton of money.

Personally I find that adding a small subwoofer to factory system often gives it some added depth and really helps overall. You can get your door speakers to play low, but to really get good sound it would require more money invested in deadening and install than a simple prefab sub.

You may could look for a small 4 channel amp, a small sub, and some good components for the front. Replace the fronts, power them off 2 channels of the amp and use the other 2 channels to power a sub. You can leave the rears connected to your head unit. This is relatively simple with potential to sound nice.

I can't comment on the Alpine HU... my suggestion there is to shop around locally where you can actually play with some and see what head unit has the features you like and seems intuitive and easy to use, then shop it out online. Many of the online retailers bundle their head units with all wire and mounting accessories you'll need too which is convenient.

 

[SPLaudio 5,000+ posts]

post a pix

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

I had to trade my old Lexus and went with a 2009 Camry because I do about 25,000 miles a year and had to be practical (maybe the Acura next time when I'm not commuting so much and beating up my car)!. The Camry stock radio is making me crazy. I want to upgrade but with a new kitchen in my future in about a year, can't go nuts. Can you guys help me make some decisions? I'd like to keep total cost including install at $6-$700. I don't know a lot about car audio but have been trying to get educated during the last week. My thoughts:
I'm reading pretty good things about Alpine CDA 105 and can probably purchase at 6Ave for just about $100. Any thoughts on the Power Pac that ups RMS to total of about 45? I'm not really interested in having a "booming" system...just looking for clarity in sound. I like that this option makes the install easier, that it avoids an amp somewhere else and that it may also give me just enough of a boost to make a bit of difference in clarity. But, do I even need this boost? I'm also thinking that I'm not interested in a subwoofer but also ask for any opinions on that if I go with this head unit. If sub is highly recommended, am I correct to be thinking that I then would need a more traditional amp to power speakers and the sub and to get the addl clarity I'm looking for? What would you recommend in an amp if so?

Speakers: I listen mostly to radio and CDs..I like 80s-90s country rock type of music and current soft rock. The sound I'd be looking for is anything that leans away from what I'd describe as "tin" -ey sounding.Camry has 6 stock speakers. Could I simply replace with 4 at about $100 per set of 2?Would the remaining 2 of 6 existing speakers need to be disconnected? What speakers would you recommend for this HU given my price range and my music preference? Do I need to add some auxilary antenna?

If anyone can offer some advice, I'd greatly appreciate it. Sorry for all the questions but just one last one...would anyone be interested in doing the install? I'm in Tinton Falls/Monmouth County.

Yes you can replace 4 of the speakers, with a 'component set', tweeters and mids. The remaining two speakers would need to be removed, and the holes covered over.

You can get a decent set of comp speakers for about $100, yes.

Id also recommend a good sound deadener and seal-tight job on the doors, as this will improve bass response and over all speaker performance. This not being a DIY install may make this difficult to include in your budget however.

Adding a subwoofer means a whole list of things you'd need to include in your budget. The speaker itself, the enclosure, an amplifier, the wiring and fusing, plus install.

Are you wanting to buy online, or go through a local shop?

It sounds like you want soft dome tweeters.

I dont know much about the alpine power-pac, just what Ive read. Seems to just be a small external amp marketed to fit in your dash behind your radio, a convenience piece. I have my concerns about its performance versus a 'normal' amplifier, but even if my concerns are true, for the average user its probably a noticeable upgrade from the normal 17-watt h/u amp. Hopefully you can find it cheaper than the $125 Ive seen though. And make sure it really can fit behind the radio in your dash, many dashes dont have much depth for a radio.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

The power pack is great if you have effecient speakers to go along with it. Much cheaper then adding a 4 channel amp. You dont need a wiring kit, RCAs and its convinent.

 

[Heeltoeclutch 10+ year member]

Welcome to the forum //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

There's no need to do everything at once if you're trying to keep cost to a minimum. Camrys of old had Alpine speakers stock if I remember correctly (not sure if they still do though), so the first thing I would do is focus on the head unit. You may find that with the head unit and power pack alone, you will find the clarity you are seeking. I have a nice Pioneer HU and amp running my front stock speakers and it sounds better than loads of unamped or ran-off-the-stock-HU aftermarket speakers I've heard. If that makes sense. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Seeing as you're not looking for tons of bass, I would not focus on putting a sub in yet, although you can always do it in the future. I'm sure there's someone around here who could help with the install, and maybe you could listen to their car in the process and see what you like/dislike. I will attest that a subwoofer gives a system a whole new depth since it plays frequencies that the other speakers simply can't, but this is your system, not mine //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[nmchugh6]

Thank you everyone. Over the last week I've been able to hear a few speakers...alpine (600c and 609, total $194 installed at pc richard) and basic pioneer ( 1604c and 6964r $234 installed at pc richard), polks and kickers at Best Buy and didn't really care for the latter. Between the Alpine and Pioneer, I was surprised that I liked the Pioneer better primarly because the Alpine had more of what I'd described as techno maybe hissing kind of sound. RMS at 80 on the alpine; pioneer were 50 for the comp and I'm now seeing that the rear are only 40. I've been considering the Alpine kp445 power booster that takes radio to 45 rms so it seems the pioneer wouldn't work. Is that correct?

If i continue to look at alpine (perhaps 610c and 619 at 85 rms) am I still underpowering too much using the power pac? (And other than the slight difference in rms, I don't see any difference in specs between 600c/609 pairing and 610c/619 pairing when i check Crutchfield). Would going with a traditional amp fix the hissing sounding in either of the two sets of alpine? Is there one you would recommend?

To keep it interesting, I heard 6x9 rear Morel Supremo and I liked them a lot. I see Morel has been around since 1975. Is that a pretty good indication that they're reliable? Given 90 rms, my understandng is that I definetly would have to amp them. Any amp you'd recommend in the $100 price range?(Would match up their components for the front). The only info I can find regarding construction is that the tweeters are silk (good) cones for woofers are described as coated fiber. Is this coated paper and is this construction ok? The manual posted on their site does not speak to the surround. Would you know if it is rubber? ( which I understand is good). Sorry for so many questions but other than these construction questions, these Morel are the ones I'm very curious about but these construction questions are causing me to hesitate.

 

[Joseph7195 10+ year member]

Amps to power the morels is a good idea, but ultimately it will be the quality of the install which will play the final factor in whether "noise" will be introduced in the equation. Very high quality speakers such as those will play any and everything that comes through it, which can include unwanted sounds also.

Awesome idea on hitting stores to try out new items before buying! Lots of people just buy something hoping it will be what they want. You would probably feel at home at an audio show of some type too. I would recommend going to one of those also before deciding on a final system. There may be a couple people there with million dollar budgets, etc, but 99 percent of the people there will be normal people that take pride in their work and don't have millions of dollars. These people took their time to build their systems, and were patient, and what they accomplished "sound wise" can be amazing!!! and surprisingly inexpensive.

And oh, Welcome to the forum!!

 

[smgreen20 10+ year member]

Amping the Morels will bring out their full potential, but not a must. Don't worry about the difference in power handling between the two. You don't have to give a speaker it's rated power. You will rarely ever give the speaker it's full rated output unless you're listening at volumes wide open. At low volumes you're sending just a few watts to the speakers and since music is dynamic, the wattage fluctuates up/down with the music.

It seems as if you're just wanting cleaner sound, and in my 17 yrs of doing this, the debate has been "Which do I upgrade 1st? The radio/Head Unit (HU) or the speaker?" and I have ALWAYS found it to be the Radio/HU. As stated above, it might behoove you to do the upgrade in steps.

Example:

1) Radio/HU

If that doesn't do it for you, then

2) Speakers

If that doesn't do it for you

3) An amp, whether it be the Alpine add-on or a "True to mind" external amp.

4) This is where it can get tricky for you. If you feel that the bass response isn't what you'd want, you might want to consider this step at step 3. You can get an amp that will allow the flexibility to to maybe upgrade to a sub later w/o have to replace/buy another amp. They do have 5 ch amps for this reason, and yo DO NOT have to use the 5th sub channel if you choose not to add a sub. It will not hurt the amp at all.

Another option, you could get a 4 ch amp and use that to power the four corners until you get a sub and then run the rears off of the Radio/HU and use chs 3 & 4 to run a sub. You will still hear the rears, just not as much and besides that you would want most of the sound to come from the front. It's all personal preference at that point.

 

[nmchugh6]

I just want to thank each of you for your info and guidance. I sincerely appreciate the time you've taken to give me pointers...Boy I really like the Morels!

 

[itsblown 10+ year member]

if its true what they say about jersey girls then I'll install your system for a hand shake.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

Ah comeon man wait till she posts in the Tdome to scare her away don't do it in the tech sections.

 

[smgreen20 10+ year member]

I agree. That's the sad part for women trying to get in or started in this industry, mostly males. Nothing like asking for help and getting hit on or have some sort of ****** innuendo.