# Re-doing the audio



## Cruz (May 26, 2004)

Just about to replace all the stock audio equipment in my 96 Altima, and I was just wondering which route to go, brand and equipment wise. I'm not all that knowledgeable when it comes to audio, so I need some advice. Obviously, I want great sound w/o going overboard on paying for it. I've heard good things about Alpine and Pioneer, so I'm thinking about getting a head unit by one of those brands. Any particular one that stands out from the others? Speaker wise, I want to replace all the stock ones. I mainly listen to heavy rock, and some electronica, so what should I look for? Should I look into getting an amp? Other than that, what else should I look into getting? It's a lot of questions, sorry about that, I'm a newb when it comes to audio. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance.


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## Ihasn (Jun 2, 2004)

I am getting Pioneer DEH-P4600MP 

and Pioneer TS-A1767 

to start off my cars system. I am by no means a car guy but i am working on it...more of a Computer and Audio guy seeing if he can get into cars the same way he has computer. Doing my audio work for my colleges radio station i have always liked Pioneer. Strong name and good sound. I dunno if it holds true in cars but hey for a starting out sound system under 350 i think i am on the right track.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

What kind of budget do you have for this?
[plug]I have a headunit that might fit you well up for sale in a week or so (Pioneer Premier DEH-P750MP)[/plug]

Anyway, back to your original question(s), there are a ton of choices out there, I'll come up with something after you give a projected budget, as I'm sure everyone else will also. Alpine and Pioneer are good brands to start out with for a headunit, but I wouldn't go with either of them for any other part of the system personally, especially Pioneer (Alpine's subs are pretty good for the money, that's about it). I would give some brands to check out, but it's really price dependent, because for each price range you have a whole new selection of brands to look at that specialize in that area.


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## Cruz (May 26, 2004)

I'm looking to spend anywhere between $350-500 for it all.


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Holy shit
You can barely get a good headunit for that....

Um, this is going to take some thinking, I'll get back to you in about an hour with some ideas


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Try to find a used headunit, something around $100-150 at the most. I would recommend going away from fronts and rears, and look more towards new fronts and a sub, then either disconnecting the rears or just leaving them faded out.

For front speakers, something very inexpensive....the lowest that comes to mind is the Infinity Reference components, they're a little under $100 on ebay. Then for a sub, you would need something inexpensive yet reliable. How much trunk space are you willing to sacrafice? Since you aren't going to be able to afford much power, putting the sub in a larger box will raise the efficiency so it will get louder on less power, that is if you're willing to give up the space for a larger box. A Shiva or Alpine Type-R 12 would work. For an amp, you'll want a 4ch that can do maybe 75x4 @ 4ohm and 300x2 @ 4ohm when bridged. The Profile California CA640 fits the bill pretty well, and it's not too expensive riding in around $110.

So if you went with all this, you'd be stretching the budget, but it could be done

Alpine or Pioneer cheapy head - $100
Infinity Refs - $100
Shiva or Type-R - $125
Profile - $110

Total - $435, add in shipping, wiring, and box supplies and you're really stretching it, but I think it could be done for under $500


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## Cruz (May 26, 2004)

sr20dem0n said:


> Holy shit
> You can barely get a good headunit for that....
> 
> Um, this is going to take some thinking, I'll get back to you in about an hour with some ideas



Well, I could spend more. What I initially had planned to do was work on other things as well. Over the summer, I wanted to devote my money/time on either the exterior or interior, and the audio would've been part of the interior. But if the audio has to be a separate thing for me to work on, that's fine by me. That'll give me around $500 to about $900, possibly more, so tops $1000. I know it'll take a while for me to get my Alty to where I want it, and that's fine by me. So Im willing to pay what it takes to get it done right the first time. So with that budget, what could I do?


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## sr20dem0n (Mar 19, 2003)

Ahh much better

See the thing with audio is you get into diminishing returns at the high end and also at the the low end. If you want to replace everything, you really have to spend atleast $6-700 in order to get your money's worth, any less than that and it just wouldn't be worth it and 9 times out of 10 you'd end up replacing it anyway. With $1000 you're still on the budget side of things (as difficult as that may seem), but the system you can get will be infinitely better than if you were spending half that.

You can go for a moderate Alpine or Pioneer, nothing too fancy but not the bottom of the line either. I would look to spend around $200 on a head. Again, screw the rears and focus on the front. If you feel you really need rear speakers afterwards, you can always get some cheapy coaxs and run them off of the headunit anyway, so ignoring them at this time isn't some irreversable thing that will screw you in the long run. For fronts you have a TON of choices in this price range, the doors really open when you step the speaker budget up to ~$250. You have JL XR, Focal Polyglass, Boston Acoustics Pro Series, Diamond M6, and a ton more that are all around the $200-250 range. For a sub, honestly I would still stick with the Type-R or Shiva. Now you can afford an amp to power them properly, so the real question comes down to how much space are you willing to give up? The Shiva will give you a better sound and will play deeper, the tradeoff is it looks like ass and requires a box twice as big (2cf vs 1cf for the R). Both are around the same price, $125 shipped, but keep in mind this is fully authorized with a warranty with the Shiva, and it's an eBay swipe-and-sell special for the R.

For an amp, you have a choice now, you can go for a high powered 4ch or a pair of high powered 2ch amps. The 4ch will be larger, it will cost much more than a single 2ch but it will most likely be cheaper than a pair of 2ch. You kind of screw yourself in the long run though, if you ever want to upgrade the sub and you want more power, you now have a 4ch that you really can't do much with and you can't just sell half of it like you can with a pair of 2ch. You also REALLY limit your selection with a 4ch, since there are very few 100x4 or larger 4ch amps out there. A pair of 2ch is what I would go with, they will take up more room and will cost slightly more, but the ease of upgrade and selection more than makes up for the difference IMO. Final decision is of course up to you though.

For a 4ch, you would want something that does around 100-120x4 @ 4ohm, and honestly I only know of a few that do this and they're some very top of the line amps that cost upwards of $7-800. I'm sure there are more budget-oriented alternatives out there, I just never research 4ch amps so I don't know what they are.

For 2ch amps, you could even get a pair of the same amp if you wanted, and you would want 100-120x2 for each of them (a 100x2 amp will do around 400x1 bridged, which is perfect for either sub). Check out Hifonics, DEI, JBL, and Soundstream to get started. Budget around $150-200 per amp.

So for a total you now have:
headunit: $200
components: $250
comp amp: $200
sub: $125
sub amp: $200

This is on the high side of things, and I'm sure you can beat this budget pretty easily, which would leave you room for wiring and box supplies to still stay under your $900-1000 budget. Keep this in mind, if you're going to "skimp" on something to save a bit of money, do it on the sub amp. Sound quality isn't all that necessary on the sub amp, all you need is power and reliability mostly. Definitely do not take the money away from the components, they handle 90% of your music and you really want the best you can get up there.


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