Do you need an aftermarket headunit for good sound

gmpisawresome · Dec 22, 2018

I have a 2000 Toyota Celica, and I really like the way the stock head unit looks with the car. It has an amplifier in the dash, and it gets plenty loud. Problem is I'm not sure I'm getting the best audio quality from it. I just sound deadened my car and installed all new speakers and music just doesn't sound right; like it's missing something. I have my aux wired into the CD audio leads on the motherboard of the head unit. Is it possible to get clear sound from this setup? Or am I going to have to upgrade the head unit to truly take advantage of the new speakers?

nate0 · Dec 22, 2018

gmpisawresome said:
I have a 2000 Toyota Celica, and I really like the way the stock head unit looks with the car. It has an amplifier in the dash, and it gets plenty loud. Problem is I'm not sure I'm getting the best audio quality from it. I just sound deadened my car and installed all new speakers and music just doesn't sound right; like it's missing something. I have my aux wired into the CD audio leads on the motherboard of the head unit. Is it possible to get clear sound from this setup? Or am I going to have to upgrade the head unit to truly take advantage of the new speakers?

Depends on your definition of good sound. It really is up to you honestly. What sounds bad or good to you might be different to me or whomever. From my perspective Yes, absolutely. In my case my 2006 sonata head unit was no where even close to what I replaced it with originally, which was an older beat up clarion I found used for like 20 bucks...

Once you start understanding how an audio signal works pre and post processing or anything up the chain before amplification, then you might see ways you can improve or even see ways in why your current system sounds the way it does.

gmpisawresome · Dec 22, 2018

I see. I know there are a lot to choose from, so are there any features I should look for that distinguish one radio from another quality wise?

nate0 · Dec 23, 2018

gmpisawresome said:
I see. I know there are a lot to choose from, so are there any features I should look for that distinguish one radio from another quality wise?

What kind of player are you using to send audio over the aux cable? Mobile phones are not always the best devices for sending the full signal range over aux cable to a head unit from my experience. I prefer a usb stick.

One feature you might want to look for is one that can play off a USB stick and handle lossless files up to 48khz sampling. A 2 or even 3 way crossover is desirable and eq functionality.

There could be nothing wrong with the deck, but if you had to solder the aux cable, then who knows if that is causing part of the problem. Shielding could be an issue there.

gmpisawresome · Dec 24, 2018

I'm starting to think that the aux cord connection got frayed, so I am going to resolder a new one with shielding as you advised. I honestly do not want a new radio, it's a lot of work to do in this particular car. Does anything about a stock head unit make it inherently worse at producing sound than an aftermarket one (to a noticeable degree)? I ordered an oscilloscope to check if the waves it's producing are clipping, so I will check that soon. The player I am currently using is my phone with it's aux connection, but I was considering upgrading to a Bluetooth receiver to plug into the aux cord that supports aptX hd.

nate0 · Dec 27, 2018

gmpisawresome said:
I'm starting to think that the aux cord connection got frayed, so I am going to resolder a new one with shielding as you advised. I honestly do not want a new radio, it's a lot of work to do in this particular car. Does anything about a stock head unit make it inherently worse at producing sound than an aftermarket one (to a noticeable degree)? I ordered an oscilloscope to check if the waves it's producing are clipping, so I will check that soon. The player I am currently using is my phone with it's aux connection, but I was considering upgrading to a Bluetooth receiver to plug into the aux cord that supports aptX hd.

I suppose it depends. Most stock head units are tailored for the vehicle and its features more so and not for after market sound equipment. Can you be more descriptive in how the deck is "worse at producing sound"? Did it sound like that before you installed the new gear? Trace back to see what is going maybe.

youdoofus · Dec 27, 2018

gmpisawresome said:
I have a 2000 Toyota Celica, and I really like the way the stock head unit looks with the car. It has an amplifier in the dash, and it gets plenty loud. Problem is I'm not sure I'm getting the best audio quality from it. I just sound deadened my car and installed all new speakers and music just doesn't sound right; like it's missing something. I have my aux wired into the CD audio leads on the motherboard of the head unit. Is it possible to get clear sound from this setup? Or am I going to have to upgrade the head unit to truly take advantage of the new speakers?

if its a 2000 anything, yes you need a deck to get good sound.

get a 4 channel on those speakers too. stock decks produce nezt to zero poser and aftermarkets arent that much better. Get a deck, 4 channel rcas, a 4 channel amp (Zapco has a sweet amp for cheap and is a brute) a spool of wire and get after it!! Youll DEFINITELY not regret it

Search

Do you need an aftermarket headunit for good sound

gmpisawresome

Junior Member

nate0

CarAudio.com Regular

gmpisawresome

Junior Member

nate0

CarAudio.com Regular

gmpisawresome

Junior Member

nate0

CarAudio.com Regular

youdoofus

Skibidi

Similar threads

About this thread

gmpisawresome

Bobbytwonames

Random4thGuy

Latest topics