how hard is it to install a whole sound system?

 

How mechanically/electrically inclined are you?

 

Lol, depends on your experience and what exactly it is that you're trying to install. Kinda a dumb question, it would help if you'd expand. Generally speaking, Honda Civics are pieces of cake to do audio work with.

 

Not hard if you have the right components and the necessary equipment. What are you planning on installing?

 

it all depends on what kind of car, equipment, and skill level.

 

if you have to ask then I would suggest you take it somewhere before you start blowing things up in your car.

 

Great replie!

 

i also agree with above.
what kind of car? what do you plan on putting in? deck speakers subs amps??

 

To be truly informational, this kind of project would require the removal of the Head Unit, or stereo, and installing a replacement aftermarket stereo. Best Buy and Crutchfield both have excellent selections on that. Once you have procured a good HU (Head unit) then you will need to check the specs on your speakers and see what the RMS wattage is on them. If the RMS on your speakers is greater than 50 (the traditional output of the typical on-board amp), then you will need an external 4-channel amp that matches the RMS of your speakers to drive them...or if your HU doesn't have an on-board amp then definitely get a 4-channel amp. You will also need speaker wire, a soldering iron or if one is not obtainable get crimp-on butt connectors, at least 8-gauge power wire for your amp and matching ground wire, you will need crimp-on ring connectors for your ground wire on both the amp and the HU and a good solid bare metal location to attach them to the body or chassis of your car. If you are interested in more sound quality in the nether region of your sound, i.e. the bass (boom-boom), then you will need a mono bass amplifier and a subwoofer in an enclosure for that. Please make sure that the RMS of your bass amp matches the RMS of the the inductive resistance of your subwoofer(s). For example, if you have two 10" subs wired to 2ohms each, then you will need to make sure that the amp you are getting can handle a 2ohm bridged load or if it is a mono-block amp then 1ohm single load. If it can then you will need to add up the total RMS on your subs and compare it to the RMS output of your sub at that resistance and see if it matches or is lower than the output of your amp. You will need RCA cables to transfer the audio from your HU to your amplifiers and depending on the ratings on your amps, you may also need to get an alternator upgrade. Capacitors and extra batteries won't solve power shortage problems but only mask them. You will also need to tune your amplifiers so that they do not clip (cut off the sound) at high volumes and destroy either your amp or your speakers' voice coils.

If this is not making much sense to you then you may need to get someone who has experience to do this.

Oh and you will need a remote line from your HU to your external amps. If I have left anything out somebody let me know.

Btw, I over-killed this just to show the complexity (if that is a word) of the process...lol.

 

xstream thank you for not making it seem like cake work. to experienced people its a pretty simple idea but if you have to ask how hard a sound system is to install you probably dont have the knowledge quite yet on how to do it.
to many people seen there cousin's boy friend's next door neighbor run a power wire through the door jam of there grand am and now they are master certified.

 

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that holes in the firewall will have to be drilled to provide passage for the power wires...haha.

 

Depends on the car. Usually you can just find an unused grommet plug in the firewall, cut a hole in the grommet and pass the wires through there.

 

run power/ground on one side and signal on the other side to avoid interference. i would atleast use 4 gauge power and ground..always good to be on the safe side..

 

^^^ True...true...hadn't thought of that seeing as my car didn't have any spare grommets to begin with.....hmm.

 

Just get a smart friend to help you...that ought to do it

 

its pretty easy...just have the right tools and equipment..un unplug your battery! ahaha

 

No it's not, read my post

 

Why exactly would you run a ground with the power cable, or more to the point, why would you run a ground cable at all??? 94

 

Corvette or a boat is the only reason we do.

 

Um...you're suppose to ground your amps..

 

Um..your supposed to ground them as close to the amp as possible.94

 

Lulz.
There has to be a better way. And yes, it would be more work.

 

oh damn i typed that wrong smh

stupid me

 

out of curiosity why do you run a ground wire in Corvette's?

BTW here is a good link for pretty much everything stereo related. even some of the more experienced users would find it to be a useful resource.

http://www.carstereo.com/help/

read some of that and if it sounds too hard or doesn't make sense then you probably shouldn't bother trying it.