Stereo & Electronics - noticable difference after HU

i honestly dont know much of anything when it comes to car audio. will there be a noticeable difference if i change out my stock head unit and my four speakers? i was looking at alpine, or infinity. never thought id buy speakers but i could get the stuff at cost.

Of course - there will be more than a noticeable difference even if you just did HU since the factory HU is the primary source of distortion. Do you have the Monsoon system?

Just about any HU will sound better then your factory one, speakers are still a good idea though. In *most* cases even the cheapest aftermarket speakers are better then paper stock speakers in just about any car.

yea i have the monsoon system. all i want is really good sound. i kno an amp is optional but do u guys recommend it?

yea i have the monsoon system. all i want is really good sound. i kno an amp is optional but do u guys recommend it?
Can always add that later - that'll give you time to see how HU/speakers change your system, then you will decide if you want more bass, over all power, etc. etc. Just do the HU and speakers for now -- keep in mind the sail speakers provide most of your bass currently, and full range coaxial speakers wont work there unless you pull hatch wires forward (ditching hatch speakers obviously) or run new wires from the HU.

Yeah it should greatly improve the sound, and you could get an amp later on. I just ordered mine.

The idiot at Best Buy kept trying to press the infinity speakers to me. I went with the coaxial Alpine S-Series. It gets amazing sound clarity, and the mid range is the best I've ever heard from a non-competition speaker.

Not trying to thread steal, but this is a question I've been wondering lately myself. I'm kind of in the process (gotta wait till exams are over to pick back up... :() of putting in 2 10" JL's, some Audiobahn components, as well as 2 amps - 1 for my 6.5" coax and the Audiobahns, and the other one for the subs (obviously). I'm wondering how much of a difference I will see if I stick with the stock headunit vs. changing over to an aftermarket HU. If you guys think it'll sound that bad, is there any other method besides sound processors which might allow me to get the quality brought up a little?

Not trying to thread steal, but this is a question I've been wondering lately myself. I'm kind of in the process (gotta wait till exams are over to pick back up... :() of putting in 2 10" JL's, some Audiobahn components, as well as 2 amps - 1 for my 6.5" coax and the Audiobahns, and the other one for the subs (obviously). I'm wondering how much of a difference I will see if I stick with the stock headunit vs. changing over to an aftermarket HU. If you guys think it'll sound that bad, is there any other method besides sound processors which might allow me to get the quality brought up a little?
DEFINITELY get rid of the HU, IMO. It's the primary source of distortion -- also considering all you plan on doing, I would consider a new HU essential.

The idiot at Best Buy kept trying to press the infinity speakers to me. I went with the coaxial Alpine S-Series. It gets amazing sound clarity, and the mid range is the best I've ever heard from a non-competition speaker.

i would take infinity over alpine highs any day. my alpines cant take any kind of loud music. infinity is much better, but then there is pioneer, which is way better than both IMO

Yes, the HU will make all the difference in the world. I usually go with Infinity for component speakers but they dont provide much bass so if you are planning on a sub they are perfect. Currently i onyl have a Panasonic HU and my stock monsoon system and i love it. I have a sub too though.. Kicker L7.

i would take infinity over alpine highs any day. my alpines cant take any kind of loud music. infinity is much better, but then there is pioneer, which is way better than both IMO

Hmmmmm. What kind of setup do you have? I was talking non-powered, cuz it seemed like that's what this guy wanted. I can't argue powered speakers, cuz I don't talk about things I don't know about (I don't have any amps.....yet).

well i wasnt looking into getting an amp very soon. just curious, will both the infinity and alpine have more bass than the stock speakers?

... -- keep in mind the sail speakers provide most of your bass currently, and full range coaxial speakers wont work there unless you pull hatch wires forward (ditching hatch speakers obviously) or run new wires from the HU.
not sure what speakers you are talking about...but ^^^

well i wasnt looking into getting an amp very soon. just curious, will both the infinity and alpine have more bass than the stock speakers?
Not necesairly if you have the Monsson sound system stock. This is because with the monsoon system you have stock speakers in the rear sail panels that only put out bass. With aftermarket components they will put out both but the overall sound quality will be better.

Give me a budget and i will congigate somehing for you. I am a car audiophile ;)

well the thing is i was looking to spend around 300-400. this may seem like a tiny budget for 4 speakers and HU but i get this stuff at cost, so i get about 50% off retail price.

Not necesairly if you have the Monsson sound system stock. This is because with the monsoon system you have stock speakers in the rear sail panels that only put out bass. With aftermarket components they will put out both but the overall sound quality will be better.
They wont reproduce the more of the frequency range unless you power them off of the HU of pull hatch wires forward...

what do u mean pull the hatch wires forward. sorry if its a stupid question but i know nothing.

I think he means use the wires that connect the 2 stock subs in the rear hatch area to the rear sail panel speakers or ones next to the back seats.

so the speakers all the way in the trunk give me the most bass?

I think he means use the wires that connect the 2 stock subs in the rear hatch area to the rear sail panel speakers or ones next to the back seats.
huh? those aren't subs in the hatch...they have a full signal and someone before mentioned just putting a full range speaker in the sail panel locations will cause a full signal to be reproduced there....but thats not possible since it doesn't receive a full signal (the sail speakers)..

To the post directly above this - you are probably confused from the post I quoted, the bass comes from the sail panel speakers -- have you ever listened to the speakers closely It should be pretty obvious which is only reproducing the lower frequencies..

well i wasnt looking into getting an amp very soon. just curious, will both the infinity and alpine have more bass than the stock speakers?Actually, no...quite the opposite. Replacing the factory sail panel subs with either Alpine or Infinity coaxials will reduce the amount of bass. This is because both coaxials combine a midrange and a tweeter. The mid won't produce as much bass as the factory midbass subs.

The choice between the two brands is mostly a matter of personal preference. The Alpines have a warmer sound while the Infinities are quite bright sounding. In fact, some people have complained that the Infinities are too bright - your mileage may vary.

ok i get it. so if i did want some more bass i would need to add a sub. im guessing with a sub i would def need an amp, and how much do tiny subs usually cost. i wouldnt want anything big becasue i am trying to save weight plus i dont like too much bass.

ok i get it. so if i did want some more bass i would need to add a sub. im guessing with a sub i would def need an amp, and how much do tiny subs usually cost. i wouldnt want anything big becasue i am trying to save weight plus i dont like too much bass.
then leave them stock if they aren't blown or search here for sail panel replacements..don't need to upgrade you Monsoon amp also.

ok i get it. so if i did want some more bass i would need to add a sub. im guessing with a sub i would def need an amp, and how much do tiny subs usually cost. i wouldnt want anything big becasue i am trying to save weight plus i dont like too much bass.
If you don't like much bass, I saw an ad for some slim fit subs (JL AUDIO???) in a car audio mag. They don't require much on the cubic feet end, so you can put them just about anywhere. Not sure about the quality, but go up to any audio retailer, and I'm sure they'll let you hear them.

I agree with fredmr39. If the factory subs aren't blown then leave them and just upgrade the HU and the door speakers. Even if they are blown, there are some nice options for subs you can use to replace them rather than putting coax speakers in the sail panels. The Elemental Designs EU-700 subs described in this thread (http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=639901) make a particularly good replacement in a Firebird.