Car Audio - what to get!! help!! (1 Viewer)

[Benny G]

I'm looking to upgrade my car's in-dash receiver and all four speakers.

What I have now is a really crappy system - pure stock from 1986.

All I want is something that goes a bit louder and provides a bit more bass. I'm not looking for anything amazing.

I know in HT there are brands that people avoid at all costs. What brands should I absolutely avoid and what brands should I look for??

I'm looking to buy used and spend no more than $200 for everything. I know that's not much, but I'm not looking for anything special. I obviously do not want a separate amp. I would prefer a CD player.

Anyone have suggestions or anything they care to sell??

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Benny, what size of speakers do you have in your car? Then maybe I can help lead you to some good choices, in my opinion.
BTW, I do have some 4x6 Infinity Reference plates(one 1/2" tweeter and one 3 1/2" woofer) that I would sell to you for $30 shipped. They are in near mint condition. I've had them in my car for about a year, but they were never abused. I think they handle ~50 watts RMS and my headunit only put out ~22 watts RMS. They'd be great for the front speakers.
I may also be able to sell you two Aura 2-way 6x9's that put out a pretty darn good amount of bass. They're in my car but I haven't had them hooked up for a while. Let me just see if I can even get them out. I have to take out the entire back seat!

 

[DavidY]

Some brands that car audio enthusiasts seem to avoid are: Pyramid, Jensen, Legacy, Boss.
I don't think that $200 is enough budget to upgrade your head unit AND four speakers. Probably one or the other. For better bang for the buck, get them used....how about just a head unit and two speakers, both used? Probably can get quality brands for $250 or so. IMO, quality brands for head units: Alpine, Pioneer, Eclipse, Clarion, JVC (higher ends), Nakamichi. Quality speakers: Alpine, Boston Acoustics, AVI, Focal, a/d/s.
You may want to try the various car audio forums for used stuff...since people are always upgrading, there are some good, but nicely priced stuff available. Get some references too. http://www.sounddomain.com has a popular forum.
Dave

 

[Malcolm R]

I've always had JVC in the car. I once had another brand installed (Alpine, I think). Took it back a week later and switched it to a JVC. Seems to provide plenty of bass with no fancy speakers necessary. I simply have the JVC with my car's factory speakers. Sounds fine to me for a car system. So I'd definitely advise upgrading your head unit first as you may find your current speakers will work OK.

 

[Brian Harnish]

David- You also forgot Bose as a brand name to avoid.

 

[Greg Haynes]

Goto www.discountave.net for extrememly good prices and free shipping. Bought most of my equipment from them last year. Got it very quick and it was in perfect condition.

 

[DavidY]

David- You also forgot Bose as a brand name to avoid.

Sorry, thought that it was already a given.
Dave

 

[Scott L]

BOSE doesn't sell aftermarket car audio does it? Only for premium stock systems I thought.
Good advice here. For Headunits I'd recommend Alpine or Eclipse. Speakers at your pricepoint I would say go for Infinity's.
www.ikesound.com
Free shipping but slow
www.carmedia1.com
Awesome prices and brands
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Great prices but slow shipping depending on what you get
www.cardomain.com
Great selection but poop prices
www.crutchfield.com
You sadly pay retail here but you get the absolue best customer service in the car audio world. If you plan to install this yourself I'd bite the bullet and buy from them as they include free adapters that you'd need and illustrated instructions for installation

 

[Reginald Trent]

No offense Benny, but I think it's damn near impossible to obtain everything you want for $200.00 or less. Unless you happen to luck up on a unusual situation like someone selling or company closing out their inventory dirt cheap. Otherwise, a good head unit and or 4 speakers would probably cost $200 or more each.

Therefore, you might want to wait for a Best Buy or Circuit City sale where they offer free speakers and installation with the purchase of a head unit.

 

[matthew_rm]

$200 is not enough.
My friend just bought a Pioneer head unit. $200 CDN. She likes it, I think it's cool. (cheep to) Look at infinity, JL, RF, Focal, MB-quart. Good speakers as far as I know. Some Polk stuff I HEAR is SUPPOSED to be nice.
If i were you I would save a bit. It's true, a car stereo does not need to be amazing. Just good. You still need to drive ya know.. :frowning:

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have purchased two Alpine after-market head units with single disc CD players, and have been quite pleased with both units. We still have the one in our Mercury Villager, but I sold the other one with our old Camry. Unfortunately, these Alpine's were about $250 new (including installation), so I doubt you will find one and four speakers for $200 (even used).

 

[Shane Martin]

I've bought 2 alpines for > $200 easily including installation. Now that rules out speakers so you must imho increase your budget another 100 or so.

I know more than my fair share of friends who have owned Alpine and have had zero issues.

 

[Benny G]

Thanks to everyone who helped.
Thanks also to everyone who tried to help but didn't.
I think some of you misunderstood my original post. What I meant was: I want something one or two notches above pure crap. Nothing more!! It's a 1986 Toyota Camry (runs great!) with pure crap stock receiver and speakers. The wattage of the rear deck speakers is a whopping 10 watts RMS each.
According to crutchfield, best fit speaker sizes are:
dash: 4"
rear deck: 5-1/4"
Anyone have anything that would work??

 

[Philip_G]

lol
check the car audio boards, used audio stuff is usually dirt cheap.
try www.termpro.com (they might have done away with classifieds, I can't remember)
also www.sounddomain.com (I think it is) has a decent classified board.
also for those 4's, I've seen the infinity reference series 4's go for like 30 bucks new on ebay. not a great speaker, but anything beats stock, right?
4's are usually pretty cheap, unpopular maybe? I dunno.

 

[Mark Romero]

Anyone have anything that would work??

I think you should hang it up or increase your budget. My 2 cents.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Quote:

I think some of you misunderstood my original post. What I meant was: I want something one or two notches above pure crap. Nothing more!!
-------------------------

Benny, I think we understand you. But what we don't understand is how you think you're going to get a good CD reciever with four good speakers for under $200.00

 

[Marty M]

It seems like no one here has any solutions to your under $200 budget. You will just have to do some legwork and research to find something. Best Buy and Circuit City would be the first two places I would look. They probably carry a CD unit for under $100 and sometimes Circuit City runs promotions that will include free installation or free speakers. But in my opinion, as well as most everyone else that has posted here, $200 will not get you much in quality and might not be any better than what you have now.

 

[Shane Bos]

For decent cheap speakers I would suggest JBL. I had 4 of them in my van and they sounded pretty good. I bought them new for $150 cdn a pair so if you can find some used they would be cheap.

 

[brentl]

OK I'll offer a Solution, but you will be limited by the built in amp power.
Look at USED head unit. While thay may not be as pretty, they work just as well.
I picked up a Sony ES head unit on Display for $200 CANadian last year. So You should be able to find A suitable headunit for $100-$115
Look for CD, changer control, for that money USED you may be able to find a unit that has a remote. Even dual preouts are possible
Ideas
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Just a couple simple ideas for you.
Since your imaging happens in the FRONT of the vehicle, I'd consider getting better speakers for the front.
I didn't know which brand of car audio you are parial to so I went with Sony.
If you get the Infinitys and the Sonys for about $100 you can get a USED headunit for another $100 =$200 just like you asked for.
It will be an improvement over what you have.
Regards
Brent

 

[Jason Wilcox]

who makes better speakers......rockford or pioneer?