Shop Suggests...

[wehats]

After reading about a lot of audio stuff I still don't understand, I went down to the Pro-audio shop in my town and got some suggestions from the people that work there. This stuff was on sale, and looks good... it sounded good when I was in the little listening room and all that.

Anyway, I was wondering what your opinion of this stuff is. I eventually want to add a single 10" sub. They want to charge 150 bucks to install it all.. is that worth it, or should I have my car-savvy friends help me install it on my own?

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_23388_JVC_KD-R210.aspx

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_20607DS400/Kicker-07DS400.html?search=Kicker+VENDORID206&ssi=0&searchdisplay=Kicker

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_20607DS525/Kicker-07DS5250.html?search=Kicker+VENDORID206&ssi=0&searchdisplay=Kicker

Thanks for any help!

[MTec007]

if you got peeps, let them do it. just make sure you get the right stuff to do it... the right way. if your car still has the OEM harness get a radio harness to plug into it, for example. not worth 150 to me.

[perucho]

No! Don't let them take your money. The speakers are basically plug and play (you need to crimp some female blade connectors to the speaker wires) and for the head unit you can buy a wiring kit for less than $10. Have one of your friend help you, learn something new, and don't let those guys take your money. It would probably take them 30 minutes to install the head unit and the speakers. $300/hr sounds too much for a simple installation.

[Claude]

x2 audio is a lot easier than youd think....unless you want to waste money just do it yourself, you dont need anyone else either just do it its not rocket science.

[Team Lightning]

I have the Kicker 6.5's in mine along with a Pioneer 3200 head unit. Bought from Crutchfield. Had everything I needed for hook-up. Now the speakers are -$10.00.

[wrongfulleaf]

I agree with all the people before me, do not pay the $150! That is a crazy amount for just adding speakers and putting in a head unit. I have put in several head units with and without a wiring adapter (you friend will know what I am talking about) and with it it takes 20-30 minutes. Without it you are looking at about an hour but if you have the stock radio then you shouldn't have any problems. You run into problems when PO's decide to cut the clip for the radio way back in the dash (like in my case). The only thing I might pay for is to have the wire up a sub package but even then it isn't worth that much cash.

[FestYboy]

stay away from that headunit, not worth it's weight in crap. look into mid grade pioneer, kenwood, or alpine units that have built in adjustable crossovers. that will keep bass from reaching your small speakers and distorting the sound. also do some searching using my screen name and "headunit" in the search. there are several threads where i address stereo installs and the equiptment you should look for.

[Roboskittle]

I was gonna say the same thing about the head unit. It is garbage I have had lots of JVC and they were all crappy. On another note... Audio can be very easy to install and at the same time could be very easy to mess up. If you do not feel comfortable wiring anything than you need not take on this project. If you do something wrong you could have a ticking bomb on your hand. I have seen lots and lots of horrible wiring jobs done on audio systems and some of them have led to drained batteries, car fires, dead bodies... LOL no dead bodies but you get the point. I am a stickler for good wiring. Wiring is one of the first things I inspect when I purchase a vehicle. If its too bad I will walk away. I dont mind fixing or repairing wiring but there is a limit. I do the stuff for a living and would rather not do it on my cars too lol. You have to ask yourself though is it worth it to shell out 150 dollars to pay someone to do something you could probably do yourself? If you mess it up and have them do it anyways you end up out even more. Good luck, Jeremiah.

[wehats]

Thanks for the prompt advice! I'm glad I didn't just impulse buy like I usually do

I'm not afraid of spending money to get quality, at all. Are these speakers good, or could I get something a lot better by spending a little more? I've set no limits on budget for this project; I want to get the best.

That said, can anyone link me to some quality head units and speakers you recommend? I'm guessing Crutchfield is where I can get the best deal on this equipment, but I don't know what to search for. Price is a non-issue if I'm buying quality. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

[Festiva_tunner]

Remember it all starts at the head unit - but a quality head unit with crappy speakers sounds like it. Save up and buy Quality (Alpine, Pioneer, Kenwood, Rockford) Pannisonic makes some decent head units for a little cheaper than a pioneer. You should have a fairly quality amp - a cheap sony walmart amp can sound good if you tune it and have quality speakers and head. Run a quality sub and bass amp otherwise it will sound aweful. 8" subs can sound better that 12" and hit just as hard if tuned and put in the right locations with a spec'd box. (for optimal sound your box should have enough "air" to supply the speaker too much though and it will sound muffled. - But a cheap unit in now to hold you over and one by one start adding the quality parts - I recomend in this order - Head - Sub/Speakers - Amps - you will want to put the amps in at the same time as the speakers for best results but a lesser amp will still make the thing make noise but it wont preform at its optimal