So I've read the radio post and gone to Lenko's website and just want to make sure I understand. If I get a new stereo like this one, the website says I need this adapter, but I could also skip the adapter and tap into the Yellow +12V ignition wire to power it, correct? I don't care about chimes, and I'm planning to upgrade my speakers soon after.

u can skip that harness and get the wiring harness for the tracker. prob 10 bucks or so most places.

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Thanks so much. That'd be the Geo Tracker, right? Any specific year?

correct. not sure on the year think they were all the same for the tracker. they had them back in 01 so it would be whatever year tracker harness that fits into that year range.

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metra part # 70-2003.





My car was made with wrenches, Not chopsticks.

First of all, my main questions are in bold.

So I've actually decided on this head unit, and am also looking to get new speakers, both front and rear, and possibly a sub as well. I am a complete newb when it comes to this, but I have power tools and experience with soldering and splicing, etc. My question is, is there room in the front door to run some components such as these without cutting into the door? I don't mind making some adapters or cutting holes in the carpet on the door panel (I personally like the covers/tweeter mounts and have the SE, so carpet over the bottom part of the panel), but will the speakers clear in back as well (measurements from prior experience would be nice) and fit in the existing hole without cutting up the inside of the door? Will I need to run additional wires or hook up the existing wires to the crossover and then the speaker?

For the rears/sub, most of the 6x9 speakers on Crutchfield say that they do not fit, which I can only assume is from the lack of top clearance. Is this the case, and again, I don't mind cutting into the carpet/speaker grill. Regarding the amp, will a 2 channel amp power both the rear speakers and a sub if I add one, or is it either/or? Finally, I use my trunk for sports bags and other things on a regular basis as well as put the rear seat up and down (I play d-pole on my lacrosse team). What size sub would give me the best balance of space-saving and response. I know it is a matter of opinion, but that's what I want to hear.

Well to help you out,You can install the 6 1/2 speakers,But you will need to build speaker rings to mount to the door,and you may have to trim the metal in the door a bit also,Try to use medix if you can it is better to resisting water,if not use MDF and just make sure to paint the wood before you mount the rings on to the door.also put some silicon on the back of the wood ring then nut and bolt the ring to the door,this will waterproof and you will not have gaps around the ring so it will make a better seal..

Now to the door panel,You will need to cut out the factory door panel to fit and clear the new speaker,How i did this was i pulled off the factory carpet,cut out my 6 1/2 hole,then i took the grill that came with the new speaker and pushed it through the back side of the door panel just enough to clear the handle to roll the window down,once everything was clear and good,glued the speaker grill in place and re-carpeted the door panel with speaker carpet that matched very nice.



In my car i located the tweeters to the upper dash,now in my case the tweeters worked well there.



now with the 6x9 rear speakers you can take the factor speakers out and re use the plastic mounting rings which will let you top mount your 6x9 speakers,only down fall is depending on how high the tweeter is mounted in the 6x9 it may push up the rear deck a bit but will not affect sound but may leave you with a small bump where the tweeter is,if you can live with it you are good,if not you will need to cut out the rear carpet deck and mount the speakers from the top,I do not like that look but some do,so total your call..

And as far as a amp goes,if you get a 2 channel amp it will do the sub or just one set of speakers,You best bet is to run a 4 channel amp,use channels 1 & 2 to run the front speakers,and channel 3 & 4 bridged to run the sub,I say to use the amp on your fronts because you want you sound to be front stage with a rear fill affect,Just picture going to a concert,you don't watch it with you back facing the band,do you..

As far as trunk space and good sound,depending on you taste in music I would go with a 10 inch sub or a 12,Also when looking at buying a sub box a ported box will play lower and require less power to make it work well,But they don't play as tight,A sealed box will require more power may not play as low,but will play tighter,Best thing is just to go and listen to different ones and go from there.

And if you ar running a component set in the front you should run new wires from the amp to the cross over,then from the cross over to the speakers,Also mount your cross over inside the car,kick panel is fine..No cross over will be happy mounted inside a wet door..

Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the help. How much room would you say is there between the panel where the speaker mounts and the carpet (in the front)? I kind of like the look of being able to see the speakers and I could make the rings thick enough to mount them where they poke out.

I don't remember how much room there is,but if you are going to show the speaker just build out the wood ring more..then you can see the speaker,In my case i just wanted as much hidden as possible.

you are running components in the front, correct Jason?

Yes i am Focal.

I have 6.5's in my car, no mods to the door, there is possibly some plastic to trim on the inside of the panel but other than that they fit just fine.

Jordan,he has a Sunfire,the door panels are different between the two cars.

each componet set is diffrent so its not as simple as saying because company x's fit then every other one will fit. you problaby have about an inch- inch and a quarter between the metal door panel. and the plastic door panel. but you have to be careful if you have manaul window cranks if you plan on mounting them exposed on the door panel because the location of the stock hole is very close to that.

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For the head unit, I've decided on this, for the front, these, and for the rears, these. I would like to have an amp and sub at some point, but I'm still figuring out what I want. Thanks to all who responded.

Well looks good,But just to point out from what i can see,the deck only has 1 set of rca pre outs...So adding amps later on kinda limits you..But I could be wrong,mabey find a deck with 3 sets of rca preouts.

A few things I would take into consideration are not only the preouts, but also the functions the deck has. $200 is an average budget for a head unit, so you should be able to find one with FAR more features than that one. Are you willing to go with a single DIN unit? Crutchfield will usually include the wiring adapter and dash adapter kit when you buy a new stereo from them.

My personal suggestion?

If you are set on Kenwood, make sure you stick to the Exelon stuff. It's still made in Japan, and is of far higher quality than the "regular Kenwood" stuff.

my suggestion on the head unit:
(if sticking with Kenwood)
http://www.crutchfield.com/s_113KDCX595/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X595.html?tp=5684&nvpair=FFBrand|Kenwood
or


The second one has bluetooth as well, so that's a plus.

Speakers? I HIGHLY suggest staying away from that Sony Xplod crap. Do you have a total budget for this complete stereo upgrade, and are you looking for just drop ins, or components? You'd be surprised how well rounded you can get things on a budget.

(tabs) wrote:

z yaaaa wrote:its not much fun trying to argue with a wall.

oh, trust us, we know

Quote:

A few things I would take into consideration are not only the preouts, but also the functions the deck has. $200 is an average budget for a head unit, so you should be able to find one with FAR more features than that one.

I really like the look of the double DIN, and I do have some flexibility with pricing, as it is part of a gift, so if I up the price, both this(Clarion), and this(JVC) have 3 outs and BT for $250.

Quote:

Speakers? I HIGHLY suggest staying away from that Sony Xplod crap. Do you have a total budget for this complete stereo upgrade, and are you looking for just drop ins, or components? You'd be surprised how well rounded you can get things on a budget.

I do plan on getting an amp and sub at some point after I've got some more money, but for now I'd like to keep it around $600. I'm already going to be making some MDF adapters for the fronts (as you've probably read), so I can also make some for the back while I'm at it if you have any suggestions for other sizes/brands

$600 for head unit and speakers? With that budget, I would get the $200-250 head unit of your choice. If those 3 really are your options, I would go Clarion. Of the 3 entry level units, I would trust them most.

At that point I would highly recommend getting a good set of 6.5" components up front and a reasonably priced 2 channel amp to power them. Again, like I said, you would be surprised at what you can get on a tight budget.

If you spent $250 of your $600 budget on a head unit that would leave you with $350.
At that point I would suggest looking into something like the Rainbow CSX components as seen here: http://rainbowcaraudio.com/csx265.html
I have sold those to a guy on here, and his brother was so impressed he ordered the same exact set. For an entry level component set from a higher end brand, they sound amazing and can't be beat at $210 shipped which is what I've been selling them here for.

So if you spent $250 on a decent head unit and $210 that leaves you $140 for an amp for the components and wiring. If you go with something like this: http://www.woofersetc.com/p-6654-pcx2270-soundstream-2-channel-270w-amplifier.aspx (For a low budget, soundstream has always been a decent brand to go to for amps).

Now you are under budget, can afford a wiring kit for the amp, and have a well-powered, great sounding front stage. Ditching the rears or leaving them along allows you to tune things right without worrying about dragging your soundstage behind you and muddying up the sound.


This is just my suggestion, but I think it's a solid choice to consider.

(tabs) wrote:

z yaaaa wrote:its not much fun trying to argue with a wall.

oh, trust us, we know

Just got a paycheck (woot woot), and now have enough for a sub/amp/box etc. and was looking at this combo;

Sub/Amp: Here - $300, comes w/ remote
Amp: 500W *1 @ 1 ohm
Sub: 50-400 W RMS, 800 peak
Box: Here - $60, 1.6 ft^3
Wires: Here - $60, 4 guage

I can't believe you are willing to pay $60 for an amp kit that has power wire made of CCA and not OFC. WOW....

So for $420 you got entry level Kicker stuff, overpriced wire, and a most likely cheaply thrown together box.


What COULD you have gotten for $420?
This wiring kit: http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KCA-K4 ($27.00 for an amp kit with CCA, as it should cost.)
This sub/box combo: http://rainbowcaraudio.com/hurricane12ng.html ($250 through me)
This amp: http://www.amazon.com/Soundstream-Picasso-PX1-550D-Monoblock-Amplifier/dp/B005LR0GE2/ref=sr_1_3?s=car&ie=UTF8&qid=1320198353&sr=1-3 ($130 and puts out 550 at 1ohm)

So for $407 plus shipping, you could do FAR better on all fronts. I HIGHLY suggest going this or a similar route over all the stuff you linked. Especially with Crutchfields prices man.

(tabs) wrote:

z yaaaa wrote:its not much fun trying to argue with a wall.

oh, trust us, we know

crutchfield prices have allways been really high. they do have good customer service. but other then that you can generally find things way cheaper then them.

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JL, I understand you believe that Rainbow products are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and no offense to you but I would really prefer to buy from a more well-known brand and seller than some guy on the internet selling German speakers. That said, are there any brands and/or specific speakers/amps that anyone would recommend for a more SQ-based system?

High sound and build quality? You won't find a cheaper option than the sub I suggested. Hop into my thread and read what I said there. I don't just sell rainbow because it pays me. I've been recommending them for years because they're one of the few high end brands that offers some affordable options along with their super high and stuff.

Feel free to write them off as "some German brand" and look for a "well-known" brand. How manyto of thesethe ha enp you heard of?: celesta, dynaudio, genesis, tru technology, micro precision or zapco?
Now how many of these?: lanzar, lightning audio, Pyle, Sony xplod?
Yeah lets compare high end to well known...........

K hate to sound egotistical but its a flat out slap in the face to spend so much time giving sound advice and helping people on this forum to have some new guy swing in and bash me and write off my recomendation because he hasn't heard of a brand before...

Getting off your happy ignorance and not liking my suggestion, and back to "some German brand"and specifically: search jbo for the word rainbow and then Google search rainbow audio. Come eback after reading reviews and seeing what kind of buyer usually prefers their equipment and even attempt to compare a brand like that to a low to mid level mass produced brand like kicker.

(tabs) wrote:

z yaaaa wrote:its not much fun trying to argue with a wall.

oh, trust us, we know

Quote:

Now how many of these?: lanzar, lightning audio, Pyle, Sony xplod? Yeah lets compare high end to well known...........

Actually, none of these brands were anything like what I was looking at. Also if you'll take a look at my post above, I said I was LOOKING at that, not that I had made up my mind and was going to disregard any input from anyone else. If you hadn't already figured it out, I have zero knowledge when it comes to these types of things, so it'd be appreciated if you didn't immediately come to the conclusion that I was consciously choosing something that wouldn't get me the best product for the money. Regarding Rainbow and your thread, I posted my response without doing research, which is ignorant and rude, and for which I apologize, but one has to be careful when buying a little-known brand like Rainbow, because it is quite easy to get ripped off over the Internet