[Truth be told, this is more of a stereo-noob question than a challenge]


Below are the challenge criteria. Someone with experience please provide a workable solution.

1. the car requiring "help" is a 2003 350Z Track with no Nav...
2. the stock speakers will be changed, but no additional speakers or speaker-locations can be added (thus the "stealth" component)...
3. prefer not to add an external (to the HU) amp*...
4. the HU can be replaced...
5. MP3-capability is a must (in any format)...
6. sound quality is much more important than sound volume...

7. I have around $1000** to spend (not including installation).

* I know this is a major restriction, but I do not want to run a bunch of new wiring to an amp.
** USD (or about $1200CDN)

Thanks in advance for your help/assistance/wisdom!

 

Well not much to work with. How bout this...High end Alpine HU. They have a million different sound tuning features and provide decent power for a HU amp. I would go for something like JL Audio XR650 components up front and XR650 coaxs in the back. Since JLs mid bass woofers provide pretty good sound reproduction down to 80 HZ I'd say you'll get a very good mix of sound quality with a little punch behind it. 650s will run you anywhere from $275-$350 a set. An Alpine HU will run you anywhere from $230-$350 for their good stuff. Just my $.02

 

I agree with that, except I'd get either VR or TR series coaxes for the rear to save the money.

front components: $280ish (that's what I paid for mine)
Rear coaxials: $120
Miscellaneous install crap: around $70-80

This leaves you about 500 bucks for a headunit, which is more than adequate. Since you don't want to run any new wires, rule out the Alpines. Their internal amps require a new 10 awg power wire. Any headunit capable of MP3 playback and having like 50 watts per channel will be fine.

 

Good call on the Alpine. I'm so used to just running all new wire I completely forgot about it.

 

Why not just replace the HU with an Eclipse? Mount a 4 channel amp in the storage space behind the passenger seat and put in a Basslink in the factory sub location.

 

u know... im not sure how far u are into canada... but if NYC isnt more than an hour or 2 drive for you... u should check out china town... wow.. the prices they have there are sick... and if u just go and price shop... wow.. and they have guys that will install it all for under 100 bucks. just haggle haggle haggle. My whole sound system cost me 1500 flat. And I have a DVD player with touch screen subwoofer, amp, and all new speakers. ^_^

 

I would agree with the suggestions here, but I'll add some clarifications I feel are important.

1) Good Alpine headunit. Check out the Alpine CDA-9815: Great head unit, big signal processing capability including a 5 band parametric EQ for tuning, looks great, and can be had for decent prices on Ebay and such as it's been out for a while and is being replaced this year. Alpine's recent generation head units have strong amps built in. (Alpine calls them "V-drive" amps.) Like mentioned in a previous post, because of the healthy power output from the Alpines you do need to run a direct power wire from the headunit to the battery (just as you would a seperate amp), but it's worth it and it's just the one main power wire; all the rest can go into the harness like usual. Head units traditionally have very poor quality power output compared to a stand alone amp, so going with something with a good amp section, such as an Alpine, will help quite a bit. On that note, don't be fooled by the amp power ratings on most head units. The important power rating is RMS (continuous) power, not peak power. Many companies list their max power ratings in big letters, and list the RMS rating in small font so you don't pay attention to them. Even then, figure in some room for overly optimistic advertising. I'd probably drop 25% off of the factory RMS ratings and go with that.

2) Use sound deadening material in the car and cover as much area as you can afford. The 350Z has very little sound deading in it, especialy in the back where you have none. This will quiet down the interior and make more efficient use of your system. Get on Ebay and check out a product called "Brown Bread". As good as Dynamat Extreme, recommended by lots of car audio shops, and much cheaper than Dynamat. I've heard others recommend a product called RAAMat, also.

3) You might even consider not doing any speakers in the rear. In my opinion, rear speakers just mess up the sound stage.

 

Or if you want to get REAL creative...JL makes 6.5" true subwoofer. JL 6W0. If you want to be REAL slick you could drop a little 100 watt amp in the glove box. I take NO room and run the JL 6W0s in the rear. It would look stealth as f@ck.

 

1. HU, Panasonic MXE CQ-C8400U (3 ch 5v pre-amp, plays mp3) @ crutchfield comes with installation kit. $350

2. Infinity Reference 5760a Amp 5 Ch $340
=Install this inside the Bose Sub Compartment

3. 2 Pairs of Infinity Kappa 63.5i from Cardomain, $100 each after price matching with the cheapest site you can find on froogle.
=Install these into factory location. rear ones are 100% compatible. Front ones need some minor mod.

4. Infinity Kappa 100.3SE 10" Sub ~ $100
=Install this in the factory bose sub location. Get the sub cover from courtesyparts.com ($10.00)

Total ~ $1000 + shipping

 

If you aren't looking to be flashy, why wouldn't you just go with the stock head unit and an amplifier that accepts high level inputs. You won't blow 400 on a new head unit.

Whats the point of buying a new head unit, if your just going to put an amp on your components/rear speakers anyways. Your sound amplification will be coming from the amplifier no matter what route you go. Now I understand an aftermarket unit will be able to tweak a little bit more, but during installation, adjusting levels on the amplifier and the stock head unit should be fine.

So what Im doing for the time being to stay on a tight budget, is stick with the stock unit. Then Buy a 4-channel amplifier thats able to be bridged. Bridge 2 of the channels down to 1 and run 1 10W3 subwoofer off of it, and use the remaining 2 channels to power your new component front speakers. Replace the rear speakers with a set of nice coaxils and keep them running off the stock HU just for rear fill. This setup would be cheap and sound great.

The breakdown
4-Channel Amplifer w/ the correct bridge options
6.5" Components up front
6.5" Coaxils in the rear
1 10W3 JL subwoofer in the location of your choice

This could EASILY be done for under 1k plus leave you with some cash for the install/Dynamat

 

Head Unit: Clarion DXZ745MP
Price: MSRP $500
The main reason is it has dual 24bit DAC, Digital to Analog Converter. For that price, you won't find any HU that has one. The alpine only has a 1bit DAC. Trust me, it's a huge difference in sound quality.
http://www.clarion.com/usa/product/i...oduct=DXZ745MP

Front Components: Boston Acoustics RC520
Price: MSRP $299
http://www.bostonacoustics.com/ca_pr...&CategoryID=14

Rear Coax: Boston SL65
Price: MSRP $260
http://www.bostonacoustics.com/ca_pr...&CategoryID=14

Just to point out, you can get them for pretty cheap. The Clarion HU, I can get for around $350. Do some shopping, you won't be disapointed with this. Things would sound a lot better if you ran an external amp for your components. Also, a little bass would make sound quality a lot better too.

As jreiter posted, sound deadening material would help out a lot. Just remember, gotta post pics when it's finished.

 

So does that clarion you just listed play dvd's as well?

 

No. you would need a stand-alone and run in through the AUX.
Good reason to put an Xbox.

 

Just a little info, I have the Clarion DXZ745MP, I got it new on Ebay for 250, Half the price of MSRP.

 

How do you like it? Are you running only the HU or have you replaced speakers also? Can you compare it to the other brands? ie alpine, kenwood?

 

For a couple of weeks I just had the Clarion installed and it sounded much better than stock. But now I have Infinity Reference coponents in the front and Infinity Coaxial in the back. They are powered by a 500 watt 4 channel audiovox amp. It sounds really good.

 

I would buy the cdt seperates set from http://www.thezeb.com/detail.aspx?ID=1083
for $150.0
an alpine 9833 about $ 340 street
a large quanity of dynamat and save the rest for cd's
IMHO this setup would produce the best sound quality for your parameters.

 

My thoughts exactly!

 

Having torn apart my car completely for car stereo install and sound deadening, I think it is silly to replace speakers/HU and nothing more. To replace these units you will need to pull out most of the interior panels, a major job. Running a 4 or 8 gauge wire from the battery (and RCA's to the HU) while you have these panels out is a piece of cake. Much more time will be spent wiring the new HU, getting to the speakers, devising a new mount bracket for the front 6.5's, etc. IMO it is also very important to install sound deadening material while you have the panels out. Do the most you can at one time so you don't end up like me...removing all panels, replacing them and then finding out you don't like the sound. You may say you don't need power and like sound quality only, but with the road noise from the wheels you won't be able to hear the quality of the music anyways and will find yourself pumping up the volume as compensation.

 

cdx-7705x $249 Has hi-pass Filter
JL TR650csi $149 Fronts
Stock rear speakers
Nazar Left rear corner enclosure $399
JL 10w0 Sub for enclosure $75
JL e2100 can find for about $150
I have a used one for $125

Total = $997



This way you have a sub and decent fronts. Rears in this car is overrated.