Well I just spent about 6 hours today reading a bunch of stuff in this section but I have some questions. I would like to upgrade my cars stereo from the stock base crappy one but I really don't know much when it comes to this stuff. I would like to keep my budget around $500 but if that is way too little of an amount for it to be worth it please tell me. I was wondering if It would be possible to keep the stock head unit and just replace the speakers and throw an amp in there to power them. I was looking at the JL VR650-CXi Coaxial speakers but have no idea what would be needed for an amp for them, like how many channels it would need and anything else that would be important like recommended RMS wattage. I am pretty clueless when it comes to this sorta thing but if it helps you help me, I mostly listen to different types of rock but some R&B/rap every once and a while. I would like to try just replacing the speakers for now and see how i like it, and if i feel i need more bass then add a 10" sub later or something. Any help is much appreciated

Would those JL speakers fit in the stock locations or would i need to get pods for the doors in order for them to fit? Looking at aftermarket H/U's I like the double DIN size and found some that I like but one thing I don't want is for the button backlighting to match the car and it seems like they are all blue or red backlit so any suggestions there would be helpful. I was looking at the JVC KW-XG700 or the Kenwood DPX302 as possible ones but im not sure if they fit right or if they will match the cars orange displays.

 

anyone? bueller? bueller?

 

Thats What I did. I kept the stock HU and I replaced the front with components and threw a 10" in the back, powered by an MB quart amp. I have 100 watts rms to the front and 400w rms to the one 10".

I listens to all types of music form death metal to hip hop. It gets the job done. From the rapid pounding double bass to the low bass drops on rap.

 

Scott,

The reason you are not getting much response on your thread (and it is a good thread) is that your budget ($500) is a little skimpy. The Z comes with a basic audio system that begs for replacement. You didn't mention if your car has the Bose "upgrade," but I would guess it does not. The Bose upgrade is just as awful as the base stereo in the Z, only a little more difficult (and expensive) to replace.

What you need (a basic replacement):

1) A new H/U
2) An external amp
2) New front speakers

What you don't need (especially if you are on a tight budget):

1) Rear speakers (just turn the fader on the H/U to off... to kill the junk rears).
2) A SubW... Of course a SubW will provide better sound within the system, but it's expensive and not a requirement. If you choose not to install a SubW, your fronts should be components to get the best bass levels/sound.
3) Pods add cost, and you really don't need these. I installed expensive Focals (components) in the stock location and a remote tweeter (in the A-Pillar), and it sounds great. Pods would have added an expense that I doubt I needed. Of course this is arguable.

You should budget about $1K for the replacement (new H/U, external amp. and decent front speakers, components or coaxial). If that doesn't fit what you can spend now, just wait until you get more cash together.

--Spike

 

In all honesty, I would deal with the crappy stock system until you can raise your budget. When I was replacing my Bose system, I set a budget at $1500, but through everyone I spoke to (professional audio guys and 350z.com member's opinions) I was told to raise my budget. Otherwise the performance to value ratio just wouldn't be there. I was fortunate in that I found a reputable car audio place here locally that just happened to be owned by a guy I went to high school with. He gave me a good price break on installation fees, but I still went way over my original budget.

 

$500 dollars will cover only the deck and ONE pair of coaxials installed. And that's not even a double din unit, just a nice, regular CD deck.

 

after looking at more speakers and reading some more stuff i am kinda thinking the JL's wont fit in the doors without the pods and i would rather have the speakers fit in there without them so does anyone know the actual speaker depth that can fit in the 07 doors without interference with anything or should i just tear my door panel off myself and check it? I found some Infinity Reference 6022i that are only 1-7/8 in depth so i am hoping those would fit.

edit: just read the new responses, I'm not looking for an amazing stereo system in the car, I just want something that doesnt distort when turned up over like 23 volume out of the 31 max that the stock HU goes up to and sound like crap. I would rather spend the extra 1k on a LSD or exhaust, but if you really dont think i will hear much of a difference by replacing the stock speakers with decent coaxials and having an amp power them then i guess i will have to really decide how much of a spending limit i want to go up to and hopefully be able to do something worth while. I was just told by my future bro-in-law that he wuold let me use his 2 10" subs with amp for a while if i wanted so that might help.

oh, and yes it's just the base H/U, not the BOSE.

 

I would break your questions down a little bit, it makes it easier to answer but I'll give it a shot

1. $500 isnt going to buy you alot, it will cover a new headunit, and maybe a pair of speakers. Or instead of the head unit a 4 channel amp.
2. You can keep the stock headunit and just buy an amp and speakers but you will need additional parts to make this work. If you upgrade to a replacement headunit, this part will become useless.
3. Channels are one pair of - and +. two channels will cover the front or the rear (left and right front or left and right rear).
4. You can get spacers from a few sources on the forum like Zenclosures. Pods just sound better IMO
5. My suggestion would be to leave the rear speakers stock and power them from the headunit, concentrate your dollars on a 2 or 4 channel amp and a set of component speakers for the front. Add a sub later if you feel the need or your budget increases

 

Get a couple of pairs of speakers first. It'll set you back a couple hundred but will make a big difference. I was able to drop my Polk Momo 6500's into the front doors by cutting the front stock speakers out of their mounting bracket, then I used the stock mounting bracket to drop my aftermarket speakers into. it worked out great.

edit:

I'd also suggest doing the mod where you cut out the middle of the stock door speaker covers and line them with fabric to get more sound out of the doors. I used super glue to attach mesh from one of those under armor workout shirts. Looks oem and sounds great.

 

You have pics of that?

 

Im in the same boat as you scott lol, but my bose doesnt distort at all, just majorly lacks treble. I think its pretty loud for most people but i like it deafening, you only live once right? I think im going to be converting all my amber lights to red and am gonna give in an get a headunit, my installer said it will make things much easier.

 

Sure, I'll take pictures next time the door panels are off.

Basically you just take the stock speaker and cut the cone out of the middle along with any supporting plastic pieces using some cutters. One you route out all the innards, the driver, the cone, all the plastic supports, you are left with a big plastic bracket that a 6.5'' speaker can sink perfectly into. This may vary by brand, but the polk momos were not small speakers and fit perfectly. Screw the aftermarket speakers to the stock speaker bracket, screw the stock speaker bracket back into the door that it came from.

I don't know why people buy speaker spacers, other than to keep the stock speakers and not destroy them. Here's a rule for you: if you throw the speaker into a pool and it floats, it's not worth keeping. Needless to say, the clarions fit that bill.

 

I just built my own spacers out of MDF I was referring to that mesh grille thing you mentioned...

 

oh, haha.

Here's the DYI I used. I didn't sew the stitching, however. I left a little bit of plastic around the edges for me to glue to and it looks just as good.

https://my350z.com/forum/audio-video-and-electronics-diy/240044-write-up-my-solution-to-the-stock-sound-blocking-door-speaker-grills.html

 

Thanks man, I really gotta get around to doing this. I've thought about just drilling out the rest of the holes, but dread the amount of time it's gonna take.

 

well what do you guys think of this setup, buy 2 sets of infinity kappa 63.7i (max of $118/set, Kenwood DPX-302 HU (max price of $212.00), and a Pioneer GM-6300F (max price of $149). So I am looking at like 597+ install, i would rather have the stuff professionally installed and be sure it looks clean and will work properly than try to save a couple hundo on installing it myself with a friend who is decent at car audio stuff but risk messing something up. How much would you guys think install would cost for all this? I have a friend that i'm gonna call to see if he can get me better prices on any of that stuff i'm lookin at buying cuz he told me he can get me good prices on audio stuff cuz of where he works, so we'll see. Oh yeah, and i think i might have to do that speaker cover mod thing too cuz from what i saw those looked awesome and i'm sure make a big difference in sound.

 

Yep i have my grills off for the time being till i get around to doing that. I lack treble as it is.... those just hurt the sound even more.

 

It took be about half an hour per grill to both cut out the middle and glue the fabric on. If you sew it takes longer.

 

Hey guys, i ended up getting infinity kappa 63.7i speakers and will have a pioneer avic d3 h/u and pioneer 4-way amp coming soon....yeah i raised my budget a bit lol. Anyways i wanted to install the new speakers now and have someone install the amp and hu in a few weeks for me but i noticed that the stock speakers run at 32 ohms and the infinity speakers i got run at 2 ohms, will it damage the new speakers if i run them off the stock head unit or will they be ok if i put them in and power them from teh stock hu until i get the new hu and amp installed?

 

The stock headunit will do fine. Go ahead and put them in. Make sure you use the crossover that comes with your new speakers.