I have an 00 sunfire, I plan on replacing all speakers and the tweeters and getting an amp, I'm not too knowledgeable with car audio so I'm not sure what kind of amp I need and how I would wire the tweeters with everything. Where should I start?

My budget isn't crazy high but I don't want cheap stuff either. I was looking at Sony xplods and I've already got two 140 watt xplods in the front, rear are still stock and I have a Dual XD1222

Really stupid theres no edit button but, I should mention replacing my cd player isn't much of an option since I had to solder the wires, there wasn't any adapter for it, not much of an issue for me though.

i have an edit button...



edit: xplod and dual are not the best platforms to make car audio. noise, sure. something you want to listen to, not so much. post a number as your budget, overall goals, and why you think there is no harness available for your car?


Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, October 21, 2011 5:09 PM


car audio noob since 1984.

There are harness' available for your car. But let's start where Rich started as well: Budget, goal, etc. Even if you have to save a little longer to get good stuff, you definitely want to. Car audio can get expensive but if you start cheap (sony xplod, dual etc.) you will want to upgrade again very soon, making it even MORE expensive than doing to right the first time.

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

Well I'm not sure how much I want to spend either. I'm not sure how much nicer speakers cost, the front 4x6's I'm sure are cheaper than the rear 6x9's. I guess my budget would be $400-$500, I don't quite have that much yet but saving isn't terribly difficult.

Forgot to add goals

I'm not looking for anything crazy, I don't care about having the bassiest system on the road, just something loud and something that won't distort at max volume

Well also keep in mind that a good head unit goes a long way. What are you running for a head unit?

Also, for $400-500 you could easily get a good set of 6.5" components, some MDF adapters to fit them, and an amp for them. Heck, if you shopped right, you might be able to find a good set of speakers, sealed 10 or something small of that nature, and a 4 channel amp to run it all. Then you have a well rounded setup. ALSO, Just keep in mind a good head unit is going to make EVERYTHING about your audio better.

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

I'm running a Dual XD1222 that I had to solder the wires to get it working, I don't really plan to upgrade since it's already there, installed, and has front usb and 3.5MM jack in the front

These are the speakers I have in the front

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sony-Xplod-4-x-6-4-Way-Speakers-XS-V4642A/4694343

Stock in the back, and this is the head unit

http://www.dualav.com/mobileaudio/xd1222.php

Are you cool with replacing both of those? lol

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

Only way I would replace the head unit is if I can find one with 3.5mm output on the front and preferably usb in the front as well, and I don't care much for the speakers, so yeah.

http://www.crutchfield.com/s_113KDCX395/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X395.html?tp=5684

BAM, 3 sets of pre-outs, USB and Aux in the front, higher quality unit, great price, and Crutchfield usually includes free install accessories.

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

Wow, I like the look of it. I was hoping you wouldn't refer me to a red-lit unit lol. I'll pick that up in a week or two. What would you recommend for everything else? speakers, amp, speaker wire etc

It really comes down to what you can afford and are willing to save up for. Again, I highly suggest a decent set of components (You can get nice ones around $200 or go lower if you want to drop quality as you go down in price), a good sub/box combo can also be had $220 or less, and again, lower as you go down in quality. And I found a sweet deal on a nice SoundStream amp to power things.... actually, let me SLIGHTLY alter the setup I am putting in my personal DD this weekend, and see if I can work some good stuff into a tight budget....

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

I could do:
http://rainbowcaraudio.com/csx265.html $210 shipped.
http://rainbowcaraudio.com/stream10ng.html $220 shipped.

And I have a friend with some BNIB Infinity Reference 475a amps as seen here: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_108R475A/Infinity-Reference-475a.html?tp=115&tab=features_and_specs
He's selling for I believe $120 shipped

So that's $550 for brand new, mid-level to semi-high-end equipment all brand new. If you can swing it, like I said, I highly recommend buying good things from the get-go and not having to do it again down the road.

If you need an amp wiring kit that will run that amp just fine, with all the wiring packaged up in one box I would go this route: http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KCA-K4 and one extra set of RCA's.

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

I'm not really interested in a sub right now, just nice speakers and head unit and an amp to make them sound better. For that, I'd want a 4 channel amp, right?

I was looking at this amp http://www.crutchfield.com/p_204MGA4150/Bazooka-MGA4150.html?tp=35782&tab=features_and_specs

Low-end stuff man. That amp will not reliably or cleanly provide the power it claims. EW! When I could get you into a nice Infinity Ref. amp for $120, or even go to a Soundstream Rubicon 4.600 that is currently selling on Amazon for $155, even considering something from Bazooka is insane lol.

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

Lol fair enough. Whats the amazon link?

http://www.amazon.com/Soundstream-RUB4-600-4-Channel-Amplifier-Midnight/dp/B0027347GG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319314372&sr=8-1


If it says anything, that's the exact amp sitting on my floor waiting to go into my personal car right now.

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

Awesome, I'll pick up the headunit next week and probably the amp the following week. Not entirely sure what I want to do with the speakers, I'd like to stick to the same sizes that are there, 4x6 and 6x9. I was looking at some Boston Acoustics

Any reason you want to stick to those sizes and going all 4? You can much more easily get a good sound stage by focusing up front and getting a good sub to pick up the low end. Rear's aren't going to be needed once you get some good components with some power to them. You can save money, get better sound, and set things up easier. Also, small oval speakers like that are NEVER going to sound as good as a high quality round speaker like a 6.5". In a component set you get a 6.5" mid, a 1" tweeter, and a crossover that separates the frequencies to make each speaker perform it's absolute best without fatiguing to try and play frequencies it's not optimized for. Just some food for thought.

I'm in no way saying you CAN'T just drop in some replacement coaxials, just letting you know some better ways to get the most for your money.

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

Well, I have no other places to put speakers that won't look like @!#$, and I don't have the means to modify anything to make a spot for speakers elsewhere in the car

Like I said, you can buy some simple 6.5" adapters to fit the stock spot. Simply screw the adapters in place, then screw the speakers to those.

(tabs) wrote:

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

oh, trust us, we know

Oh, alright, well if thats the case lol then yeah, I'll do that instead.