Newbie here needs to upgrade sound system and does not have a clue.

[mark174ace]

Good morning all. First time poster here and I am a complete dork on this stuff, but I love music. I own a 2005 Hyundai Elantra with low mileage and I plan on having it for many more years. The audio system is complete junk and factor in that the car is on the noisy side especially on the highway. I have no real desire to do any major sound dampening , I just want to upgrade my entire system (new head unit, speakers, and amplifier) and I think that will be good enough for me and my needs as I do not drive a lot, but when I do I am on the highway a lot.

I have looked at a lot of stuff on the internet and I am even more confused. Here is basically what I am looking for. I want a new head unit that has HD radio and a place to plug in my mp3 player, I could really care less about satellite radio. I want upgraded speakers which would obviously need and amp. I just want better sound. but I am not looking to blow the roof of the car, or **** off the neighborhood. I am obviously willing to spend decent money, but not break the bank.

I have no idea what type of speakers I want (2 way, 3 way blah blah) and what wattage and size I need in comparison to the stock unit in my car, what kind of amp I need etc etc. Do I really need a subwoofer and tweeters, or will the right speakers and an amp suffice? I want something of good sound quality that I can here when I am on the highway, but nothing excessive. I mostly listen to rock, blues, r&b, and sports talk.

As far as speaker brands go I here that Polk , Diamond, and Boston Acoustics are all good and I doubt I would have any issues with any of those brands. I am guessing an Alpine head unit would suffice. Can anyone help a dork out? Take your time getting back to me no rush. Thanks Mark.

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[DoesDad 10+ year member]

What's your budget? Also I'd plan on installing at least a small subwoofer. A system never sounds quite complete without one in my opinion and you don't have to spend a lot on them either.

 

[mark174ace]

Well I do not have a specific amount in mind. I guess I would say 500-600 dollars. Definitely less than a grand haha. I just want something of good quality and not interested in bragging rights.

 

[DoesDad 10+ year member]

Hit up mylows10 (Jim) on here. He's one of the vendors on this forum. He has decent gear like American Bass and CDT. He'd probably give you a good package deal. He's knowledgable too as far as to what you're exactly going to need in terms of speakers, wires, head unit, amp/amps, etc. $600 isn't a bad budget. You should be able to get pretty far....

 

[mark174ace]

Thanks. I should say that I have no interest doing any install work as I would have no idea what I am doing. I prefer to buy the components I need and have someone else do the install. I was just looking at the crutchfield site which is very helpful. I think the Alpine CDE 134HD is exactly what I am looking for as far as a head unit goes.

 

[DoesDad 10+ year member]

Thanks. I should say that I have no interest doing any install work as I would have no idea what I am doing. I prefer to buy the components I need and have someone else do the install. I was just looking at the crutchfield site which is very helpful. I think the Alpine CDE 134HD is exactly what I am looking for as far as a head unit goes.

Crutchfield's CS is very good but their prices are very high (unless you can catch something on sale). Your 500-600 dollar budget just got a lot slimmer if you're going to pay for installing everything. Unless you can find a private guy on Craigslist or something to do it a mom and pop shop or places like Best Buy will bend you over for installation....

 

[mark174ace]

Thanks. I should have prefaced that I was looking to spend 500-600 hundred on all the components. I planned on having someone do it privately. I wish I could do at least some of it myself, but I would screw it up. Are there any good video resources where I could watch on my laptop and work as I go?

 

[cdc351jeferson 10+ year member]

Thanks. I should have prefaced that I was looking to spend 500-600 hundred on all the components. I planned on having someone do it privately. I wish I could do at least some of it myself, but I would screw it up. Are there any good video resources where I could watch on my laptop and work as I go?

for head unit speakers and amp and install materials that is a small budget will be cutting it close sub and amp is almost outa the question

 

[Kingstroker 10+ year member]

I've found good deals on Spectronix.com. Also, I thought I wanted HD radio then I found out almost no station in my area. Just wasn't worth the extra cost.