I'm no stereo specialist, but I know for a fact that my stock stereo system in my base 350Z isn't the best I've had. My previous car ('95 325i) had a much better factory stereo.

Anyways, since I'm not car stereo savvy, I was wondering what it takes to get a good system. I'm not really into getting large subs in the back. I want something practical that will sound great. I guess my question is: Do I need to replace the stereo unit, or are the speakers the problem? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

How's it goin:


To be honest with ya, I dont own a Z, nor have I ever heard the radio in one. However, I had a 94 civic which was totally stock when I bought it. The speakers were pioneer (circa 1994) and the head unit, who knows, Honda Co. or somethin.

I then decided an upgrade was needed (I was aiming at better clarity, quality, and a little louder than stock).

I replaced the head unit first with a $200 or so Sony X=Plod 50X4watt head unit. The difference was night and day.

Moral of the story: Swap the HU first. If a new, better quality and more powerful Head Unit can sound excellent on speakers from 1994, it will sound even better on speakers from this decade. If your still not happy, do up the speakers too.

Let me know how this works for ya...

 

In the case of the Z, the speakers and headunit are so bad you have to replace both. I'd recommend doing a simple install like a new headunit, and some nice coaxials. It's the simplest possible install and it should still sound good. The next step up would be a component set in the front and coaxes in the back. For a long time I didn't have my sub in and with just components in front and coaxials in back running on a 75x4 amp with a new headunit, the sound was actually really good. I was tempted to just leave it at that, but the bass didn't quite cut it.

 

My Performance Z arrives just in time for the spring. I heard that system is a litlle better than the track pack but does it need replacing?? I still have my old system..HU- Pionner Mosfet 50x4,Amp-Rockford fosgate punch 4 channel 400 watts, 1200 watt MTX audio, boxed. and two .6 MTX audio speakers. I dont know what to do?? Is the older syswtem i have significantly better than the factory?? And will i lose that 6 disc cd changer??

 

Thanks for the input. I think I'll replace the head unit first and go from there. Any advice on which head unit is good? I'd like for the head unit to look as stock as possible

 

Just for the sake of argument, I completely disagree with Jetpilot. Head units do not make anywhere near the improvement that he is referring to. However, head units are the piece that people see the most of, so, if you want to show off the fact that you're developing a system, a head unit is definitely the way to go.

If you simply want to improve the sound, step 1 is to add a 2 or 4 channel amp. For around $200 you can add on a very good 2x40 amp that will dramatically improve your sound quality. Step 2 is adding a subwoofer w/dedicated amp, or combining step 1&2 by purchasing a 5 channel amp (4 full dynamics channels and 1 dedicated sub channel). Brining your system up to the next level I reccomend adding high quality fronts. Imagine how much you want to pay for a full set of 4 speakers (fronts and rears). Now take all that money and spend it on your fronts only. Rear speakers are FILL, they are not necessary. In most instances I reccomend even running your rears on the headunit's power and giving your fronts all the power off your amp.

Generally the last thing you need to do is upgrade your head unit. If you have a good installer in your area, they should be able to complete a full system (2 front speakers, 1 sub, 2x amps) in 1 day for around $300 install). Like I said, headunit should be last unless you want/need some special feature. This is true of almost all systems. Truth of the matter, headunits have the most "buzzword" appeal, so that's why they get pushed more. Basically the only difference between an aftermarket unit and the factory one is that the line levelling is done within the headunit of aftermarket, whereas you need an external line converter (and possibly a noise suppressor) for a stock system upgrade.

I reccomend http://www.onlinecarstereo.com - they have probably the best prices on the net that I've found for top-line speakers and amps.

Oh, and to answer your question ahead of time, yes, I used to manage a car audio shop.

Take care, good luck!

 

Just to let you know Thesunthesea, the first two things I did to my Z were change the head unit ( Alpines IVA D-900 ) and replace the front door speakers and tweets. This did NOT fix the poor sound that most of the stock Z's come with. It still sounds tinny with not much midrange or bass. The real problem lies in the Amp! If you want the cheapest fix replace the amp then go for a decent set of front speakers.

 

Wow, so from both of your perspectives, an amp will improve my sound. If that's the case, I'd much rather add a 2 to 4 channel amp instead of replacing the stock HU.

Thanks for the help

 

The problem with that is the stock headunit does not have RCA outputs to run the amplifier, so you have to use line-level converters to convert an already badly amplified signal into a line level signal including all the noise generated by the factory headunit PLUS the noise of the line level converter, then feed it into an amplifier and amplify the noise back up again. If you're set on fixing the stereo, do the front speakers (and the rear if you like rear fill) and replace the headunit. If you care more than this, add a nice 4 channel amp and maybe a sub.

The stock **** (Blose or not) is so bad, leaving any single piece of it in will cause you to not get the full output and quality from any aftermarket stuff you install. So, here are the options:

1.) Do nothing.
2.) Change ALL of it.