Newb with lots of questions and looking for advice on a quoted full system for me.

[geocab 10+ year member]

Hello everybody,

I went to an audio shop yesterday and I asked the shop owner what he recommended for a full system upgrade for my car, a 2003 Impala LS. After asking me a few questions about my tastes in music, and what I'm looking for he quoted a system of all Soundstream products. I'll post the estimate and I'm looking for your opinions on what was suggested to me, product-wise and if you have opinions on what other similar products I should consider. The estimate comes to a total price of around $3500 with tax, installed. I was only looking to spend around $2000. To save money, I'm not afraid to install myself, but I'll need a lot of help in that regard as well as I have no car experience whatsoever. I'm not a newb to using tools however and have no doubt that with your advice I can do this myself, but that's later down the line anyway. First I need to pick out a system!

First of all, this is what I'm looking to achieve. I'm all about sound quality, I want to be able to throw in a well recorded Jazz or classical CD and have it sound as close to a live performance as possible. I also listen to a lot of electronica/house/techno and want to be able to feel those beats. I want clean, low, high quality bass, not boomy only looking for high SPL output bass.

For my home stereo I have two Martin Logan Aeon i's and I really love the way they sound with music. They have a fantastic mid range and this is what I'd like to recreate in my car. Well, not just mids, but an overall flat response throughout the whole frequency range. I don't like harsh sounding, bright speakers, but more warm and laid back.

Do you need any more info to give me proper advice on choosing what to consider?

Here is the estimate I received (I'll leave out the labor costs):

Soundstream VIR8006T 3.6" DVD/CD/MP3 player w/TV Tuner = $400. (I did like the way this sounded in the store and I like the idea of having the tv tuner. I'm defintely open to your opinions on competing products though.)

ANT1 Tv Antenna = $40

SWIX PAC Steering Wheel Control $70 (I want to still be able to use the factory steering wheel controls.)

702003 Metra Wiring Harness $10

992003 Metra Harness $20

Metra GM radio to Aftermarket $5

Soundstream MPQ5XO Parametric EQ W/crossover $140. (I was told this is a good item not only because of the EQ controls but because it improves the output signal to the amps to 10V.)

Soundstream TRC.6N 200W Tarantula Component Set $300 x 2 sets. (He recommended that I replace the factory 6X9's in the rear with the same 6.5 component set I'm using in the front for better separation because of the located tweeters.)

Soundstream TRA1000.2 Tarantula 2 ch amp $400

Soundstream TRA 960.4 Tarantula 4 ch amp $500

Soundstream RFW12 12" subs $200 x 2

DA212C Diamond slot ported enclosure $150

Well, there you have it. How does all of this look when considering what I asked for sound wise and budget? I've looked a lot of this up online and can get it down to my $2000 budget, if I install it myself (or find a friend who can do it for me).

I really appreciate any input you can provide and I look forward to learning about car audio!

George

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[Twistid 5,000+ posts]

ive never heard soundsteam's products, but they are supposed to be good... like you said, just buy whatever online, and install it yourself, buy a 12 pack and invite some friends over (hopefully some that know what they are doing)

some brands to consider,

for subs; alpine, tc sounds, reasonant engineering, and image dynamics...

personally i would go for the image dynamics MAX , or id max... ive heard one in person and it sounded good while getting pretty loud...

for interior speakers, check out; diamond (although ive heard they recently went out of buisness), CDT, alpine, kicker... and well i cant really think of any more (brain fart)... im a little biased twords the CDT M6's since those are the best i've ever heard in person... extremly loud and very detailed... but they are midbass only and you will have to piece together your own tweeter/xover setup

 

[tbasile1 10+ year member]

heres another suggestion, screw the rear speakers, with subs, you dont need em plus you wont hear em, the subs will drown them out and plus you sit in the front of the car and hear sound pretty much only from the fronts, that will save you some cash

 

[Twistid 5,000+ posts]

heres another suggestion, screw the rear speakers, with subs, you dont need em plus you wont hear em, the subs will drown them out and plus you sit in the front of the car and hear sound pretty much only from the fronts, that will save you some cash

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif this post is completly and utterly opinion based

many people run rear speakers as it gives a "fuller" sound to hear from all 4 directions

 

[cotjones 10+ year member]

heres another suggestion, screw the rear speakers, with subs, you dont need em plus you wont hear em, the subs will drown them out and plus you sit in the front of the car and hear sound pretty much only from the fronts, that will save you some cash

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif ....

 

[tru_44 10+ year member]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif this post is completly and utterly opinion based
many people run rear speakers as it gives a "fuller" sound to hear from all 4 directions

I agree

 

[tbasile1 10+ year member]

Guess its just a personal preference //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I wouldnt put rears in, and if i had to if wouldnt be comps, id just throw some coaxials back there

 

[geocab 10+ year member]

Thanks for the input so far guys. I'll look into the other brands you mentioned too.

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

where in ohio do you live? Just asking because i live in Lima and if you are near there i could help you out and save you some serious cash to boot

 

[geocab 10+ year member]

Cleveland area. So, about 3 or 4 hours away according to Mapquest.

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

Cleveland area. So, about 3 or 4 hours away according to Mapquest.

crap...thats kinda far unless you are willing to travel here for a long saturday or sunday. Might be some other members here in your area willing to help.

 

[AltarCrystal 10+ year member]

Cleveland area. So, about 3 or 4 hours away according to Mapquest.

Heh, I'll actually be heading to Cleveland in the next few days to pick up an amp.

Not offering to help, found it funny.

I"ve never heard Soundstreams stuff in person, so I can't talk much for them. Hell, I've never seen a HU made by them.

I say defiently read up, read some reviews, read the forums. Learn what's good, and what's not, and you can get an awesome system for your budget

 

[geocab 10+ year member]

In the Head Unit area, a guy posted that Power Acousic and Farenheit are the exact same as Soundstream. I found the exact same Head Unit, plus a couple of models higher up for less money. But, I haven't found any reviews on these products yet.

 

[Nate_100 10+ year member]

Well as most of the other memebers have stated, I too have not heard much or seen much of soundstream. I once bought a 4 ch soundstream amp off ebay like 6-7 years ago for .99 plus shipping and sold it to a buddy and it blew up the following day. Now back to the opinion, I agree with TwisteD in rears. Although your subs may drowned out your rears and you only really hear your front, with modern technologies like "digital time correction" from alpine you can really now set your system to make some really awsome sounds using all your speakers including REARS. ALthough everyone is entitled to their own opinion I would get fronts,rears, 1-2 subs and spk amp and sub amp. I would go a little different route for the H.U as I too have never seem one from soundstream but dont expect much. You would be much happier with a well known brand with quality features that will improve your overall sound and control. Im sure if you want to tackle this job yourself and expect the help from all the members, you will have to provide pictures and detailed descriptions so you will get the most help and response. Good luck and I hope this helps!

 

[geocab 10+ year member]

You guys have scared me off the Soundstream HU since no one seems to really have any experience. Now I don't know where I want to go pricewise with a HU since most of the name brands are a lot more than the Soundstream. I really like how the Kenwood DDX-8019 looks feature-wise, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much on a HU. Plus, I don't know how it sounds!

I have two 12" subs made by TC Sounds that came from my SVS home sub that I can use for my car. At least I'm going to try, then I can save some money and put it into a better HU, amp, speakers, etc.