red97gsr

I’m going to do a cheap basic upgrade to the audio system. I’m not looking for competition sound or anything close. I just want to get rid of the “boombox” like sound from the stock system. I’m thinking of just going with $100 coaxials in the front and spending ~$300 for the headunit and that’s it. I’ve been told that since I’m not adding an amp, I should get a Pioneer HU since they have one of the better built-in amps in a HU. Are Pioneer’s HU mosfet amps better than what I would get if I went with one of the ~$300 HU’s from Alpine or another higher end company?

Also, I’ve also been told that with a basic system without an external amp, I should go with coaxial speakers instead of components. My friend tells me that I would have better imaging from coaxials anyway since the tweeter and woofer are coming from the same place. But I don’t like having that stock tweeter not being used. Should I just go with coaxials?

Redlyne

Few other companies uses the MOSFET tech. on their decks. It is benefitical because it gives a cleaner sound and lower distortion compare to decks that don't have MOSFET. You can get yourself a really nice deck for around $300, just depending on what features you are aftering. Just remember the head unit is the most important piece. Look for power rating. The highest power rating deck I've seen so far is 50Wx4, cut that in half should be close to the RMS rating. Since you are not going to add an amp., buy the most powerful you can find. Reason why I say that is because since you will be buying aftermarket speakers, chances of blowing them are higher when under-powering. Check out both Pioneer and Kenwood's Excelon. Good power, tons of features and has one of the best sercurity features. Pioneer has DFS (built-in alarm) and Excelon has MASK plus password protection.

About speakers, Co-axial (2-way)or Tri-axial (3-way)are usually cheaper than seperate components. However, since most front speakers are mounted low on the door, higher frequencies are being absorbed by the seats before it get to our ears. Seperate components are the better ones becuase it is designed for a single frequency range, used together to reproduce the entire audio spectrum. Seperates are more durable than multi-axle speakers because the dust cover keeps both dust and other particles out of the voice coil, it also provides extra stability for the cone. You will know the sound difference between multi-axial and seperate component. But since you just want something that sounds better than stock, go with multi-axial. It will save you money plus time. Hope this help.

P.S. 3-way and 4-way speakers do not necessarily sound superior to a well designed 2-way, but 3-way will play louder with less distortion.

kyden

alpine has 60x4 out....

red97gsr

Actually, I might be buying an Alpine 7863 off Ebay for ~$300. Does anyone know if I would need a mounting kit for that particular HU?

Redlyne

So Alpine came out with a 60Wx4?? Holy crap!

maxxdout

i agree mostly with all the mentioned above. However some companies are in a race to have the highest power headunit. Not all power is produced with the same technology or to the same standards of THD for that mattter. For a prime example, i have a pioneer 8000, which was about a year ago the top of the line pioneer(excluding premier) it had 45x4 and sounds fine. Yet not quite as loud as my previous sony which was 35x4. and it was way older. But again, everything differs according to cars, speakers and all that stuff. I like the pioneers and the kenwoods and the sonys, dont really like the controls of the alpine but im sure it sounds fine. As far as speakers are concerned dont go with components. They sound really nice, ....if powered correctly. Running off headunit power just wont just it. Go with a decent set of 2 ways. you can pic up a nice set of pioneers for under 90. Even rockford makes a 6 1/2 which i have that sounds pretty good on my small amp. Just remember, you arnt out to blow everyone away, if it sounds good and its inexpensive and the quality is there, go for it. Its your hard earned $$

Redlyne

Maxxdout:

When it comes to deck, I'm falling behind since they come out with different models/technologies every year. Is there any deck on the market that can power seperate components decently?

maxxdout

as far as i know and im really not up on it that much either. If you get a decent to ok set of components.....by that i mean nothing really nice or requireing alot of power it should work ok but dont expect to power a set of infinity or cerwin vega components with a headunit. YEs, it will work but not the best sound in the world.