Noob!

[G8rgrad98]

Hello all! I'm a 34 year old office jockey in Gainesville, Fl. Joined the forum looking for help in putting together a system for my 15 year old's car that we are fixing up for him! Already made my first post in the general discussion area looking for help. If we get enough, maybe I'll get inspired to work on my Silverado too! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif Anyway, here is my post in case anyone in this forum has any advice too! Looking forward to being part of this forum!!!

Morning all! My 15 year old just got his first car and, of course, as we all did, he wants to deck the audio out. I'm a few years past the last car audio system I bought/installed and am hoping the forums can give us some tips!!!

He is obviously on a budget, as all 15 yr olds are (or should be ).

He has a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, in pretty good shape, but we're working on cleaning it up. It was free from a friend, so you can't beat that price!!!!

He would like to replace the head unit, all speakers, and add a sub and amp if possible. Realistically my guess is that to make this worthwhile, it's going to be around $600 for a good bang for the buck system, does that sound right? I know we could put $1000s into it, but for a 16 year old's first car and all, we're not looking to break the bank.

We need any and all advice at this point from brands to target/stay away from (is Pioneer still a solid head unit? MTX subs? JBL speakers? Etc etc etc????) to where to buy from. We have a nice shop locally that can often beat internet prices, so we will be stopping by there in the coming weeks as well.

Thank you all!!!!

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[cj407]

well best bet to try and keep it as cheap as possible is to buy stuff used from here....Pioneer great h/u but prone to engine wine.....MTX blows...JBL speakers there's better for the money.

 

[cj407]

i'm just down in orlando and doing installs and putting together systems for people all the time...my newest budget build is an 05 honda accord coupe...she wants to keep it under 800..i'll probably have her everything subs,h/u,amp,speakers for under 600..

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

bet your shop can't beat internet prices.

BUT, $600 should get you a decent setup.

pioneer is still good for HU (as long s you don't blow the pico fuse)

mtx subs.... not so much.

just do a lot of searching on stuff you're curious about. don't make a thread for everything you have a question about.

 

[G8rgrad98]

well best bet to try and keep it as cheap as possible is to buy stuff used from here....Pioneer great h/u but prone to engine wine.....MTX blows...JBL speakers there's better for the money.

Any tips for top 3 brands to look for of each component? And what to look for in wiring? I'll check the classifieds here too once I have a clue what I'm looking for! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[cj407]

Alpine,RE (cheap and yet great), i know i'll get flamed for this but putting some dual speakers on a 4 channel in my buddy's car came out to sound real nice...

2 RE Audio RE10's, a 400 watt rms amp, Alpine h/u and door speakers should get you to around your budget....along with a tsunami or knu konceptz 8 gauge wiring kit.

 

[G8rgrad98]

Alpine,RE (cheap and yet great), i know i'll get flamed for this but putting some dual speakers on a 4 channel in my buddy's car came out to sound real nice...
2 RE Audio RE10's, a 400 watt rms amp, Alpine h/u and door speakers should get you to around your budget....along with a tsunami or knu konceptz 8 gauge wiring kit.

RE is a new one to me, so I'll check them out. Home Theatre I know way better and know all the budget players there that produce as good or better sound than the big boys (monoprice, NHT, etc....), but on car audio, I am as green as they get these days.

 

[DB-Audio 10+ year member]

yeah if you want some real cheap but good subs get lanzar I've had my max pro's(even though the opti's are better) for over a year now with no problem stay away from xplod subs there hu's are decent at best but there amps can take a beating pioneer is definitely a good head unit to get

 

[x1le 10+ year member]

Very cool that you are doing this with your son. Had a similar thread like this a couple weeks ago...

Anyways, the $600 price range for a decent system definitely sounds do-able. What kind of music does your son listen to?

 

[G8rgrad98]

Better to buy a pre-enclosed sub or buy the enclosure seperately or build it?

 

[G8rgrad98]

Very cool that you are doing this with your son. Had a similar thread like this a couple weeks ago...
Anyways, the $600 price range for a decent system definitely sounds do-able. What kind of music does your son listen to?

We have lots to do to the car too....he's on his own with the steam cleaning, etc. of the interior, but we'll do the big stuff together to get him started.

He's mainly more rock oriented, but like all kids he does throw in a crazy mix....from Ozzy to Lil Wayne to Kenny Chesney!!!

 

[DB-Audio 10+ year member]

the cheapest way to go would be to build it yourself, my first system though I bought the enclosure seprately

 

[05fronty 5,000+ posts]

dam i feel old. i'm the same age +1 and you have a 15 year old. anyway you can get some good stuff here in the classified section.

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

Welcome to CA.