I went to the local (highly respected in the area) install shop and asked for some suggestions on upgrading; based on what my listening habits are, they suggested the following:

HU: Alpine CDA-9833 (I was extremely impressed by this unit)
Fronts: Alpine SPR-174A
Rears: Alpine SPS-170A

Everything sounded great, the prices match my budget, the dealer recommends the shop...only question I've got is regarding speaker installation. I know the depths are pretty restricted, especially in the fronts, and I'm curious how they would fit the Alpines into those spaces? The spec'ed speakers don't exactly have small magnets...

Thanks for dealing with a car audio newbie...I'm a concert sound engineer, so unless it deals with an arena and 20,000 people I'm not comfortable installing it. Car audio is definitely not my forte.

-Flounder

 

They make the speakers fit in the front doors via spacers of some sort
I've made my own out of 1/2" mdf, you can check my www
Will you have the speakers all amped?