any reccomendations on car audio equipment?

[NTB]

I've got what I believe is a blown speaker in the back of my Sunfire - when I turn the volume up, all it does is sit there and burp at me. Nothing understandable comes out. Also, the head unit doesn't even have a tapedeck, let alone a CD player And no, it's not an ancient car...only a 2000. So I am considering, at the very least, replacing the speakers, and possibly the head unit as well. So I thought I would see if anyone had any tips or reccomendations.

I don't want to spend a fortune, and I don't need a lot of bells and whistles; just some simple, solid equipment to replace the stock units. If you can point me to some good brands and / or models, or can at least warn me of what to avoid, any help will be appreciated!

Nathan

 

[Black88GTA]

You can get a name-brand CD deck w/ MP3 capability for probably ~$120 at the low end - or find an Ebay seller getting rid of old stock (last year's model) for great prices. Check on Crutchfield.com to find out what size speaker you need for the back of your car, and search Ebay for those too...some good deals to be had. You can do the work yourself (it isn't hard at all) and save some $$$ on installation fees also.

If you do it yourself, keep in mind you'll probably need a dash kit, radio wiring harness, MAYBE an antenna adaptor (some GM cars use a smaller non-standard antenna plug that won't match to an aftermarket deck). You will also want speaker adapters, if you don't want to cut the plugs. Crutchfield gives you this stuff for free, if you buy from them (although they can be kind of pricey).

EDIT: This Clarion seems to offer excellent bang for the buck...MP3, remote, USB plug (!!) for $99. From Crutchfield, no less. And Clarion is a very decent brand. With the free installation stuff they give you, this is an awesome deal - dash kits and adapters will run you probably $35+ for all of it at a B&M store. And their installation instructions are free with purchase also...very nice to have as a reference if you've never done it before.

 

[NTB]

anybody else?

Nathan

 

[Saint Nick]

I have always heard a lot of good things about Rockford Fosgate, Pioneer, Clarion, Kenwood, and a few others... I'm not a car audio buff myself, but from what I've seen Pioneer and Kenwood head units are very desireable. And as far as speakers go, Pioneer makes good speakers, so does Infinity, and Kenwood... You should go to a car audio place (Stereo West, Best Buy, etc.) and see what you think sounds the best. I had a Sony head unit and it was okay, it would have been good but I had pretty bad speakers in the rear deck of my car. 6" x 9" mid-range speakers -- needless to say I had little bass response in that car.

 

[teckmaster]

I just put a really nice Kenwood headunit in my car. I also installed the ipod adapter to it and the Sirius Satellite receiver. Spent less than $300 for everything from crutchfield. You can get some really decent 3 ways for around $100 also. I just installed Memphis Audio components in the front and will be put 3 ways in the back when I get the chance.

 

[TheSiege]

if you want decent speakers at a reasonable price i would go MB quart. I paid like 150 for a component set Qseries. best speakers ive ever owned. decks are a dime a dozen, it just depends on your needs.

 

[jdoggg12]

Low end MB quart, focal, or boston acoustics will be better than med/hi level kenwood/sony/fosgate/etc. For the deck, alpine or eclipse is probably going to do you well. Eclipse isn't what it used to be, but its still better than most.

sounddomain.com has a good forum for car audio. You might want to look there too