go49ers

Has anyone added an amp to the stock stereo? I dont want to put a new system in because I want to keep the factory look. I was curious how a good amp would increase the sound. Any recomendations? I dont want to damage the speakers. Thanks in advance!!

shopdog

I *think* that new speakers would enhance the sound more than an amplifier.
The stock radio has plenty of power, but Bose speakers just plain suck. If you
do go for an amp, make sure you can fit an equalizer between it and the radio.
That'll let you compensate some for the lousy response of the factory speakers.

kendoll

Thanks for the info. I too am torn because I like the factory look of my stereo. I thought I was some kind of mutant. I even had an appintment to get a new stereo but chickened out. so again thatnks for the tip. Do you have any speaker favs?

SeanG

I love the Bose head unit. It does have plenty of power. I had my system upgraded 2 weeks ago. WOW!! what a difference.

Keep the Bose HU.
Keep Stock Sub for now!

Added:
Alpine Flagship SPX-17M's (Front).
Alpine SPS-107A's coaxials (Rear).
Eclipse 5422 4x85RMS Amp.
PIE Audio Converter(need because of Bose Head Unit)

The sound is very clean, crisp and has plenty of mid tones, which the stock Bose system lacks.

1000% better sound. 1000% satisfaction rating.

They put in a new sub just to see if the sound quality increased. It did not make an improvement over the stock sub. Their recommendation was to have a box constructed to fit in the stock location. New Amp to power a new Sub.

I wanted to keep mine as stock looking as possible too. I did not want to have audio components in every place possible.

They did put the Amp in the glove box. Only because I have never used it in anyway since I've owned the car.

They also had to drill out the tweeter location, because the tweeters are large (150W). The actual tweeter grills that come with the Flagship's looks alot better than the stock molded plastic grills.

I'm very happy with the choices that I made.

SeanG

Amp in glove box.

SeanG

Tweeter location

go49ers

Sean

Thanks for the great post and pictures! If you dont mind me asking what was the cost? Also has anyone noticed the difference in sound quality when listening to the radio as aposed to a CD. I expected a little difference but really miss the highs when listening to the radio.

Thanks
Matt...go49ers

SeanG

Eclipse Amp. $399.00

The Apline Flagship SPX-F17M's they made a mistake by miss quoting me the price. The price should have been $800.00 for the pair. They quoted me $450.00 for the pair. They told me they would stick to their original quote of $450.00. $450.00 is what I paid.

Alpine SPS-107A's $100.00 for the pair.

PIE Converter was about $30.00

Wire, cables and Amp Kit were about $125.00

Installation was $300.00 (Due to the hours it takes to disassemble the Roadster's interior. It took about 7hrs. for the install and tuning of the components. The majority of the time there was two installers working at the same time on it.

NOTE: The music should be in front of you not all in the back. When you swap out the speakers spend your big money on the fronts. The rears are not as important. When at a concert the music is in front of you not in the back.

There are 2 Bose amplifiers, one for the 6 speakers and one for the sub. The Bose speakers are 1OHM speakers. The Bose speakers do not work well with an aftermarket Amp. If you replace the fronts you should also replace the rears. Unless you plan on powering new fronts on a new Amp. and leaving the rear Bose speakers on the stock Amp.

rclab1

what shall i do to keep the stock HU sounding better....

should i get brand new component speakers ?

please let me know....

z0ner

I'm a little confused - I count 8 speakers minus the sub - did you dump the 5 1/4 mids that come with the flagship?

rapidray

Sean-
What company did you get the install done ? Im thining about upgrading in the same manner because I also like the Bose headunit.

SeanG

It is a place here in Sandy, Utah called Innovative Car Audio. They are a small audio shop that everyone from the track meets goes to. Drive by Innovative Car Audio any day of the week and they are packed solid. They actually close at 7:00pm and they stayed open till 8:30pm to finish my car.

They carry upper end items that the others only dream about carrying. There work is amazing. It is at times scarry trusting a stranger to rip apart your baby, and then put her back together right. They had done 3 roadsters before mine.

Ask around in your area for a great shop, my experience is that the smaller shops do better work. Their reputations are on the line. The large national chains tend to hire High School Students and their installs are not as good. The guys at Innovative Car Audio know their stuff. Ask anyone in this area and they will tell you that they do. Word of mouth is the best way to find a great shop. ASK AROUND!!!

Guys, just make sure you spend good money. Don't try and go cheap just to have something different. You will regret it later. Better to save for it, then jump the gun.

A guy at my work had spent $450.00 on a new HU and front speakers. I told him I really liked the way it sounded, and it did sound pretty alright. But, the next statement out of his mouth was "well it doesn't sound anywhere close to as good as yours does". I agree, but I spent over three times as much as he did, for higher quality components. And that's the sound that I'm getting.

SeanG

No. your thinking of the SPX-F17T. Which is a 3 component speaker set-up. It comes with (2) 6.5", (2) 5 1/4", (2) tweeter and (2) Crossover box. Retail $800.00

I got the SPX-F17M which is a 2 way single channel system. They come as (1) tweeter, (1) woofer and (1) 2 way Crossover box for $350.00 retail. For a pair with tax and any additional markup you will be close to $750.00 - $800.00.

Additional info at: http://www.alpine-usa.com/

SeanG

The shop I went to has one hell of a great listening set-up. I listened to all the different brands and different levels of speakers from those brands. The Alpine SPX Flagship series was the best sounding speaker that they had. Now Alpine does have the F#1 series which if you have alot of cash would be the way to go.

The voices of the artists are so clear and crisp with 0 distortion that it sounds like they are right next to ya singing in your ear. They really are that great.