But I know I want to upgrade. I'll keep the head unit, but I'm looking for some decent speakers and a new sub.

Now what?

All you peeps are spouting off model numbers and stuff and I have no clue what you're talking about.

Also, a reputable place in Chicago area (NW or W burbs) that knows their stuff, knows TL's, and a great to work with.

OK... so with that, I'm open to some ideas!

 

Hey birch. So how much do u wanna spend and what kind of sound you are looking for. From then I can help you out more. A simple upgrade would be to get new speakers in all four doors and run them by a amp. It sounds simple but you need to bypass the bose EQ. I have no clue how thats done I went with everything aftermarket.

 

This might be laughable looking at what's been done on here, but I'd like to go under $1,000.

I'm looking for solid, defined, crisp sound. I'm not into anything that will give my neighbors a three block warning before I get home.

Thanks!

 

Birch for a grand I can give u alot of advice. Let me get my price manual that I got from a local audio dealer.
All the stuff I ll tell will be Kicker, Alpine, Fosgate, and JL. All prices are retail to. You probally could find all this stuff I tell u on ebay for half cost.

FIrst I belive, to achieve the cleanest sound always go with after market headunit. but we will work around that.

JL is just freakin awesome and just freakin expensive to.

since u are keepin the factory HU, screw the rear speakers and just upgrade the fronts.

If I was just gonna have a simple system this is what I would get ALpine type R speakers up front and one JL W3v2 sub.
the Type Rs will run 180 a pair, the Jl woofer 200, and a Fosgate 551x amp. It will will u 70 x2 watts to the front speakers and bridge the rear channels to give the sub 275 watts.

When thinking outside my box this is what I suggest Infinity 63.5i 3 way speakers in the front door and one Image Dynamics ID12 sub. The same fosgate amp will work. I know alot of people on the site will disagree with me about the fosgate power amps but from my experience there is nuttin wrong with them. They have won many SPL and SQ competions over time.

So 1st setup will run you
180 for Type R's
250 for JL and enclousure
400 for the amp.
so thats about $830

and about the same for the other setup. Being honest go with the 2nd setup. Install and wire should be around 100 bucks just hope someone around there knows how to bypass bose eq.
goodluck

 

DND is right on the money. For $1,000, you can put a real nice system together. Especially, if you are not replacing the head unit. My advice would be to find a good stereo shop in your area and tell them what you want and have them start quoting. I would think, even at local prices you could:

Replace the front speakers and possibly the rears. Get yourself a good amp. Rockfords provided alot of bang for the buck. Maybe a 4 channel to run the fronts and a sub in the back. $1,000 is alot of money when spent wisely. You could also buy all the stuff yourself online and then take it somewhere to have them install everything for you.

Just a sample online:

Infinity Kappa's or Kicker Resolution components: Around $175 shipped.

JL 300/4 amp: $400 shipped. Maybe a little less

Infinity Kappa 10" or 12" sub: Maybe $100.

Around $700 on equipment leaves $300 for install.

 

The BLOSE EQ can be bypassed fairly easily. You just need to make sure to do it properly to avoid engine whine and noise, etc. Bypassing the EQ will also reduce some of the gain in the stock system by about 6db, so its not recommended UNLESS you are also adding an aftermarket amp. When adding an aftermarket amp, you can easily make up for the lost gain and achieve a flat response.

Do some searches. Iggy and I have posted several times how to correctly bypass the factory EQ.

Good luck!
Southbound

 

You have received good advice from all of the above. However, if you decide to keep the stock head unit, things will become a bit more difficult. As Southbound pointed out, he and Iggy have done extensive work to circumvent the BS associated with the stock head unit. Their work is nothing short of phenomenal!

My advice would be to ditch the stock head unit and build from a more stable platform. If you've got $1K to drop, you can start from a $250 head unit and go from there. That leaves $750 for amps/speakers/etc.

It truly depends on your goals for the system and whether or not you'll be doing the install or having it done for you. Installation costs get expensive very quickly.

Initially, I was going to keep my stock head unit and build a system around it. However, I decided against it since there is a built in EQ that needs to be bypassed, etc. etc. (see Southbound's message) It can be done with the stock head unit. Personally, I don't think it's worth it. YMMV.

Since I do all of my installation work, I don't have to figure in the costs for such. As I said previously, you need to keep that in mind. Installation costs become very expensive very quickly!

Any way you wish to proceed, there will be many people here to help you!!!