ok, i know absolutely nothing about sound systems, but i was talking to one of a friends that says he knows a lot, and he said for my car(cuz i don 't want it to be extremely loud...just sound as good as possible) to get 5 or 6 way 6x9's in the back, a nd put bigger speakers in the front , and that would be good, and my other friend said that amp driven speakers are better, and have clearer sound, and that i should put lots of speakers in my car with amps, an d don't put in a sub(not looking to get a headache). neither can explain why one is better, but they eac h swear that their idea or advice or whatever is better, and i'm just lost, lol, I WANT BETTER SOUND! so, who can explain it pretty well?


sorry if this is a retarted subject...

Wait till you see some of the answers you'll get.

What's your goal for your setup?




Your car may do 13 sec @ 103 mph, but my car does 146db @ 35 hz.

like i said, i don't want very loud...louder than stock, b ut not shaking the whole car like crazy loud. and it has to sound very good...i get a headache from my sound system ,b ut if i listen to bose headphones on LOUD i don't get a headache...the stupid fuzzy noise thats present in the stock system gives me a headache, so, thats why i want it to be a good sounding as possible.

and don't worry, i completely expect to be roasted.

How much are you looking to spend?




Your car may do 13 sec @ 103 mph, but my car does 146db @ 35 hz.

Both of your friends are noobs as well. Absolute horrible advice from each of them.....

What is your budget, what is your over all goal, and how savvy are you with doing your own install? Try and find some decent mom and pop audio shops around. Not the big box places like BB and CC, but actual dedicated audio shops. You might be surprised that even though they will be a bit more expensive, you can still get decent deals. Let them know what you want, and they can work around your budget. No good audio shop would turn you away because of a tight budget, they will just work with you.

If you can learn on the fly and take advice and do the hands-on work yourself, we can help you in the right direction on equipment to look into, and give the best advice possible over the net for a safe, clean, and correct install.


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart

yeah both guys advice are very basica and lack allot of knowledge themselves. you don't need anything more then a 2-way speaker, all those 4 and 5 way speakers are just marketing smoke and mirrors to try and get more money out of you. and i know systems that are extremly loud that only have 5 speakers in them. a real quick rundown of a good system would be going with a quality componet set up front. a good 10" sub and an amp to power everything, you can get great quality, great sound and not spend a ton of money for a setup like this.


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honestly, i don't care how much i spend...i just want it to sound amazing. an d yea, i think i'm pretty good at learning on the fly...i just don't want to buy lots of things to then hate my setup, and do it 10 times over again. just once, the right way.

so, lets think here...for a head unit, i want touch screen dvd, and gps would be a plus, and it needs to have audio input, and usb input also would be nice.

for speakers, i don't even know...ust sound good, an d don't want too much noise.

same with amps.

ok, without looking at price, what can you guys recommend(and what makes one head unit/speaker/amp bettter than another?)

thanks a lot guys! i am an idiot with this stuff...lol, i hate not knowing something with my car.

man there is so much out there.

To start in the headunit department. For a flip out touch screen GPS unit, I would look into the Kenwood units. I have heard that their GPS system is worlds better than the one Pioneer uses.
Plan on spending around $1000.00 for a real good quality GPS/DVD/Media flip out unit.

As far as amps go, there are tons of companies who make great stuff. It's so hard to really recommend specific ones with such a vague idea of what you want.

So I guess the best I can for now is give you the meat and potatoes of what I would do if I were in your shoes with a moderate budget.

Head unit:
Kenwood KVT-514 can be had on Crutchfield for $650

Front speakers:
Rainbow SLC Kick 2-way 6.5" components. I have an authorized dealer who I go through for high end stuff like Rainbow, those speakers can be had for, if I remember right $250-350

Rear speakers:
If the stock ones work, keep em and leave them wired as is. If not, replace them with some cheap stock replacements and leave them as is. You want your sound to be coming from the front. Focus the budget on the front.

Sub:
I would see if a 10W6v2 from JL Audio fits the budget. Absolutely stunning sounding sub.

Amps:
Well... there are TONS. I would find a good solid 4 channel so you can run just one amp. front channels giving around 100-150 watts to each speaker, then the rear channels bridged to give that W6 about 300-600 watts. Seriously, I think you would be happy with a set up like that. Light years ahead of most people's first stereo setups.


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart

I"d go straight gangsta spl if I were you.




Your car may do 13 sec @ 103 mph, but my car does 146db @ 35 hz.

wow, thanks! i can't wait to hear some good sound out of my sound system!

Where are you located btw? Don't happen to be near Omaha, would ya? lol. I am itching to do more audio work!


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart

lol, well my house is in northeast pa, and right now i'm at school in exton, pa. once i get all of the stuff, i would love to spend a weekend where you're at hookin it up, if you want.

hahaha, that's a long drive man lol. I would love to help you learn, buy the right stuff the first time, and do a nice clean, properly tuned system.. if you are willing to drive all the way to NE lol.


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart

lol, maybe i'll take a week off to do it then, haha. i'm hoping to get a diff. car for winter, and work on my cav over the snow season.

How about a trip to Pittsburgh?




Your car may do 13 sec @ 103 mph, but my car does 146db @ 35 hz.

lol, well that would be a little easier. what would be everything i need? do you guys recommend going with a second battery, or capacitor? or will my setup not need any of that?

and which battery should i get for my car? it came with a douglas battery(which i have never heard of) and it starts up at the first turn every time, but i've heard i should go with an optima...but then i've also heard bad things about them too...

Upgrading the battery is never a bad idea. I don't see any reason not to get an Optima yellow top if you have the cash for it. I think they are great batteries. But for a simple setup like you are looking for, you will have absolutely no need for a second battery or a capacitor at all.


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart

ok, thats good to know.

lol, ppl seem a lot nicer on this forum than in the performance forum, haha.

As long as you don't come on claiming you know stuff that you don't people will always be willing to help out.

well, i know that i don't know much, lol!