Help for an audio dumbass?

[3pt1lumina]

Okay, so what do I need to get to get a good sounding stereo in my Lumina? Right now, I am completely stock everything. I want to get a CD player with an equalizer on the face, and I also want to get a CD player that is XM radio ready and can play MP3's. I found some at http://www.crutchfield.com. Should I get one from a magazine or should I go to a place like Circuit City?

 

Also, once I replace the deck, I obviously have to do speakers. I have 2 180 Watt Jensen 6x9 triaxal speakers; so will a new deck sound good coming out of those speakers? Do I have to get a certain watt radio?

 

I will do all the installation myself; to me, that is the easiest part. I just don't know what to buy or where to buy it. Any info is greatly appreciated!!

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-HGXWkGgVHsW/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=130DEHP370

Take a look at that... I really like that but I dont know if that's a good deal or if I am wasting my time, or if there is something with similar features for a better price?

[1990lumina]

I think alot of ppl on here will say the speakers will sound better when amplified by a seperate amp. But then again they are Jensens which are fairly low on the quality side? so they may not sound like much anyway.

As for an EQ..you should but a 1din deck and a 1/2din eq that goes under the deck..I dunno who actually puts manual eqs on the face of their decks. Alot of them a digital, and you have to go into the menu to change them.

JMO Though!

 

- Jeff L.

[supreme_style21]

I don't know.. what kind of sound are you going for? For instance, I prefer a great 'all-around' sound... a perfect blend of high, mid, and low range sound. I don't like all high range, nor do I like super-annoying, break-your-windows bass. I just run 4-way Pioneers in the rear deck, 3-way Sony's in the front doors, and an old Pioneer deck.. it sounds perfect for my tastes.. perfect blend. I don't run an external amp nor do I have any subs. It depends on what you're preferences are.

[1990lumina]

^^^True that. My stock deck makes my 3-way kenwoods sound pretty damn good for a stock deck...but I know some people have mentioned that aftermarket decks and speakers didn't sound to great but when they added an amp in it sounded a lot better. But like supreme_style21 said its all in personal perference!

 

- Jeff L.

[3pt1lumina]

I'm looking for an all around, crisp, clean sound. None of the "break the glass" bass or anything. Just a nice mix of low, mid and high range.

[DiscoStudd]

If you want clean sound, they you absolutely have to get a set of component speakers (or "separates" if you will,) preferably mounted in the doors, and they have to be amplified. Trust me, you will notice a difference, and a good set of separates are well worth the money (not to mention the time and effort that goes into installing them.)

 

I run a set of 6 1/2" Boston Acoustics separates in my doors, powered off of a single 2-channel amp. I actually still have the 10 year old 6x9's in the rear deck, as I have the fader set more towards the front anyways. Although I don't run a sub at the moment (I have all the wires run,) I'm planning on adding a 10" Bazooka (w/internal amp) for a bit of low-end fill just to round out the sound spectrum. Even without the sub, the sound is unbelievable and sounds clear as a bell with all of the windows down, the moonroof open and the stereo blaring. I think a smaller sub will be the icing on the cake...

[GnatGoSplat]

If you're going to do the installation yourself, I would buy mail order to save money. I wouldn't buy from Crotchfield, most of the time they're more expensive than Circuit City and Best Buy. My preference is to buy brand new from an Ebay dealer since they have the best prices. Back in the old days, I used to order from carmedia1.com and autotoys.com with absolutely no problems, but Ebay prices kick their asses so I stick to Ebay.

 

As far as the speakers, I wouldn't worry too much about the rears. Your Jensens are probably adequate for the rear. I would focus more on the front speakers. A lot of people here tend to focus too much on the rear 6x9's, I guess because they're bigger, but for most accurate sound reproduction and stereo imaging you actually want more sound coming from the front. So do what Kevin did and pay more attention to the speakers up front.

[3pt1lumina]

ok so my next question.. do I bother taking the speakers out of the dash and replacing them and put 6 1/2's in the doors? or do I not bother with doing anything to the indash speakers? If I mess with the speakers in the dash, what would you all suggest buying?

[1990lumina]

IF you do decide to replace the fronts I would go with Infinitys, Alpine, or Fosferd Fosgate (Spelling? lol). The Infinity's will usually have really nice highs..which is what you are looking for in a front speaker - but they are usually the most expensive. The Alpine's are pretty decent, but then again they are fairly expensive. The Fosfred Fosgate 4x6 sound pretty good for the prices on them.

However - it is all in what your budget is.

If you put 6 1/2 in the front doors, you will have to use the wiring from the dash speakers(?) unless you are running 2 ohm speakers in the door and dash (in which case you'd have to replace both speakers).

Personally, it's less hassle to just replace the dash speakers, but the door speakers are gonna sound better for sure.

When you go shopping look for something that sounds really good high up...

JMO!

 

- Jeff L.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

I would suggest buying the headunit first, you may be surprised how much better the stock speakers can actually sound.

[DiscoStudd]

If you've decided to go with components mounted in the doors, you won't use the stock wiring for the front speakers at all because you'll be running new speaker wire from your amplifier. If instead you get a set of full-range "coaxials" to power off of the headunit, then yes, you'll need to run the stock wires over to the door. I would advise you ditching the dash speakers altogether (don't run both door and dash speakers at the same time!)

 

You get horrible imaging from speakers mounted in the dash, although I've listened to some decent sounding dash-mounted 4x6 plate speakers before (they were top-of-the-line Infinity's.) But notice how you can't even buy a car nowadays that has speakers mounted in the dash. The automakers are wising up and mounting the speakers in the doors for better sound reproduction.

[GnatGoSplat]

Some car audio guys like to run tweeters by themselves in the dash, attenuated -3dB or so. They say it raises the sound stage without overpowering the door speakers. If you really want something in the dash, that might not be a bad idea.

[1990lumina]

My Mom's Acura CL has tweeters mounted on the dash... like maybe one inch tweeters. They add a real nice high end sound..depending on what type of music you listen to, this high end sound is really nice.

 

- Jeff L.

[cutlsp]

http://stores.ebay.com/Latha-Electronics_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZkm

this is the guy i bought my speakers from you could buy the clarion APA450 from him and the infinity kappa 60.5cs speakers with the 693.5i speakers for the rear. thats the setup i have and its GREAT it has the sound the way you want it. be sure you look at his headunits to they are pretty good. i am going to buy a system from him for my 83 suburban soon if that says anything about how much i trust him.

[Carotop]

Hey Disco have you noticed how tight the bass is on these regals, I turned it all the way up, but it only picked up mids and highs but it still sounds good.

[DiscoStudd]

Yeah, the stock "Concert Sound II" front speakers have a 5 1/4" woofer and a separate tweeter mounted above it, so they have a more well-rounded sound than most stock GM systems. They're still too wimpy for my tastes, though.

 

Check this out:

This is the stock speaker assembly in the right door.

 

That's the speaker assembly removed from the door.

 

 

Here's a "before" and "after" :

Before

 

After

 

They fit right under the door panels without any mods, either!

[Carotop]

Did you make that setup your self. It looks real nice. If I were keepin my Regal I'd do that.

[DiscoStudd]

Did you make that setup your self. It looks real nice. If I were keepin my Regal I'd do that.

Yep, sure did!

[Carotop]

Is that a 6 1/2? You might haveta help me make a setup once I get some speakers.

[DiscoStudd]

Yeah, they're 6 1/2's. I tried fitting them in the stock brackets, but it just wasn't possible.

 

I'd be glad to help ya out if you ever decide to throw in some "boomin" speakaz! I'll tell ya though, it was a 2-day project (working by myself.) I'm talking 10 hours the first day, 7 or 8 hours the second day. I had to design a board to house my amp in the trunk in the location I wanted it, I had to run all of the wires (power, speaker, amp turn-on, and RCA) then I had to fab up some brackets to fit the 6 1/2's in the doors. Then I had to find a place to mount the crossovers cause there was no room for them in the doors.

 

Let's just say it was a very involved process, but it was all worth it when I fired up the ole stereo when I finally finished!

[RenegadeZ]

I had 4 way Pioneers in my Alero & they sucked fat nasty ass crack, they were runnin off the factory amp, but who gives a shit, it was an alero & it was the factory headunit. W-bodies sound good when it comes to bass, mine sounds the best with the windows down, I have my factory 6x9's & 1 1/2 year old Kenwood 4x6's, had to put bass blockers on the 4x6's but it sounds nice.

[digitaloutsider]

My Bonne sounds alright (8-speaker: 4 2-way, 4 component). The mids and highs are great, but damn it just doesn't have NEAR enough bass. Drives me mad.