....leave a lot to be desired, am I correct?

I ask this because I have been in the market for a stereo upgrade on my 2003 Enthusiast. The stock system sounds absolutely terrible. There is absolutely no midrange and very little bass. All the songs sound as though they are being played by an old Victorola.

I was asking around at some audio shops in my area and they indicated that, as a rule, the stock HU is pretty crappy and changing that out first will net the biggest improvements.

After doing a search and reading everything that I could find, it seems as though the speakers are the source of the problem.

So, should I focus on replacing my stock speakers (maybe adding a sub to help round out the sound a bit more) or look at replacing the HU?

 

I just had the head unit replaced with the stock speakers still in, and it sounds 1000% better already. Im in no rush to replace the stocks now, but i will eventually.

I say replace the head unit first

 

I am guessing you have non-Bose system? If so, replace it all. If you have bose system, you can get good sound and keep the stock HU. All depends on if you want stock look or if you want to be a magnet for thieves. (Who I've heard really LOVE Alpine's) And if you think an alarm will help, ask yourself-When was the last time you actually paid attention to someone's obnoxius, worthless alarm? I hope the thief will disable it more quickly so I don't have to hear it.
I say replace your speakers, put in a sub and a couple of amps, and you will be happy. Remember, most HU's are about the same average quality-the only differences are display and eq/sound staging. As long as it plays your discs or tunes in your stations, then it will work great in an updated amp/speaker setup, because THAT is where the real differences become apparent. And you don't need 3 subs and 2000 watts- one 8-10" sub, 4 decent 6 1/2" 's, a moderately powered 4 channel amp w/ pass thru to a decent mono sub amp, and you can be rockin' for less than a grand, if you buy right and install it yourself. Although the installing it yourself part I don't recommend unless you read all the posts, are VERY handy, and have a large variety of tools and a shop manual. And a garage to do it in-It took me ten days, thats 2 weekends and nights after work. And my triple meters still aren't working, my check engine light is on, and my nav won't turn off with the door shut. So, yeah, it's fraught with peril, and I AM very handy and do have all the tools and manuals. My garage is still a disaster, but you should have seen it with both seats out, all the panels, finishers, speakers, carpet kits, etc, etc, out as well, even carefully arranged on my pool table. It's not a job for the faint-hearted or soft-minded. Or non-contortionist.

 

I would recommend you replace the entire system. It is widely known that the stock system is crap in the 350Z. If you were to replace the pieces one at a time, I would probably go for the head unit, most aftermarket HU's push more power to the speakers.

 

The speakers are the most important part of the system, since they are the piece that actually reproduces the sound, but if they're fed bad data (from the headunit) then they'll reproduce the bad data. If you do anything, change all of it. The whole stock system is garbage.

 

When I got my system I thought being able to play mp3s was awesome. I haven't even listened to one since I got Xm..try and get sattelite radio, its really good.

 

crap = entire stock system.

 

the difference in audio quality between an upgraded system and the stock is unbelieveable. Not to mention i love the awesome display, plugin for my ipod, and the ability to play mp3 cds as well as add xm radio. there is just no reason not to do the whole system unless you are on a super tight budget, but in that case, just do some decent front speakers, decent HU, decent amp, and you will be set. Not exactly mindblowing bass, but good enough to make you cry when you hear another stock setup

 

I replaced everything but my head unit and I am very impressed with the results. I wanted to keep the stock look, so I went with:

> Stock non-bose head
> David Navone line converter (NE-774V)
> Infinity 62.5i rear
> Infinity 60.5cs components front
> Infinity Basslink
> MTX 404 4 channel (sum out to basslink)
> Stinger wiring

Total cost: $765

All installation done by me, post pics soon. My previous car had a much more expensive setup in it... and I would argue that the 350Z setup sounds tons better.

 

As an alternative to everybody else here, I swapped the stock front speakers for MB Quarts and matched their power needs with a U.S. Acoustics USX-2100 2-channel amp. I kept the stock Clarion head unit. The results have been very, very good and I'd highly recommend this route if you are looking for an inexpensive, stealthy upgrade!

 

Okay Ive chomped on the idea of replacing my stock system...non-bose...


Clarion makes the HU, solid company, solid build. However very little control on sound.

Stock speakers are bad, but not horrible.

We drive sports cars with no back seat. Even normal cars this applies. The rear speakers do nothing for you in the sound quality area except push a little more bass, however in our car, those stock speakers do nothing.

With all that in mind... this is the system I will and am building...

Keep the stock CD player to do just that, play CDs.
Rather then buy a 2 amps... buy just one quality 4 channel.

2 of the 4 channels, power the front speakers. With the remaining 2 channels, bridge them and run a 10 or 12 inch sub on the remaining bridged channels.

Speakers:
good componets to replace the horrid stock front speakers. I like my music warm, so I would go with the middle of the line A/D/S speakers.


Sound control:
Alpine, Phoenix Gold and others make EQs. An EQ will provide more control on sound then any >$3,000 replacement HU.

A typical one will have sub controls, all the basic balance controls. And a 12-24 band eq.


How much it would cost for MY ultimate system for this car:

Phoenix Gold, Octain. 8.0:4 $300
A/D/S componets $300
Apline EQ $150
Phoenix Gold Xeon 10" $220

4 gage wiring kit $60
Line converter $20
RCA cables $20

Build your own box for the stock sub space $40

Granted you can shave off a lot on various componets of that...

 

I disagree that the rear speakers do nothing.

I have a new system (alpine amp, infinity speakers, basslink, etc.) and 4 speakers.

If I fade the system to all front it does not sound as good as when I use the back for fill. (even after I raise the volume to compensate for the drop in volume).

It may be a matter of taste, but to me the rear speakers make it sound fuller. They may not add to the clarity or frequency response, but they make the sound fuller, particularly when trying to overcome road and wind noise at higher speeds.

Just my $0.02