I just bought myself a nice, new, 2004 Corolla Sport (With the sport package, of course )....but I'm finding the sound isn't all that great, so I want to redo it.

My idea is this -> pull out the innards of the upper carrying area (if you don't know what I mean, check here - I'm talking about the top handle there that opens up to an open area about the size of a deck) and place a deck there, keeping the door on and usable, and then keep the stock deck in and powered so it looks stock (and nothing will get stolen from my car)

Other than that, I just want to replace the 6 speakers that are in there and have it sound pretty good. I'm probably going to spend somewhere in the range of 800-1000 (CDN), I don't really want to go over 1000 (869 before taxes). I'm not going to include a sub or a mono amp to power one right now, that might be a project for later.

on to what I need/want

I need a set of 6.5" speakers for the front. I'd really like it if I could get speakers that come with the crossover and seperate tweeter to throw up in the top half of the door (where there are already tweeters there stock); and still have 2 way speakers in the lower portion of the door, but I don't know if that exists or even if it's useful (I'm just noticing right now that there's a real lack of midrange in that car). Otherwise, I just need a set of component 6.5" with some sort of crossover.

I also need a set of 6x9 speakers for the rear. 3 way would be optimal, but with my price range and all, I don't know what I can afford and such.

I need an amp for this all. I was thinking probably 100x4 watts, unless someone can really talk me into anything more.

And, the piece de resistance, I need a deck to power all this stuff. I have a bit of an agenda when it comes to a deck, so bear with me. I'll list the things I need in a deck in order of importance - from most to least.

-QUALITY. I don't want something that's gonna break 6 months, a year, or even 2 years down the road. I want something to last.
-Flat-ish face so that I can close the door I pointed out earlier
-Aux in capability - front or rear it doesn't matter, but rear can look cleaner
-rotary volume control - iunno, I like having something I can spin to control volume.
-CD Text capability
-Not one of those Alpine decks. I have nothing against Alpine as a company, I just think their decks are the ugliest things I've ever seen

I'd really appreciate some help here from someone...anyone...lol
So far from where I've been I have this

these for $300 (I think it was those, they looked the same....and I'm pretty sure he quoted me 300....)
these for $200 (Again, I'm pretty sure those were the ones)
And a Blaupunkt 4x100 or 2x200 watt amp that I can't find on their web site for $160
Which brings me to $660 and needing a deck for about $200 - I haven't found a deck that really stuck out to me like "THATS THE ONE I WANT" sorta thing...
I'm not even sure if I want those speakers, they're just what the guy at the audio shop pulled out when I told him what I wanted. The 6x9s are only 2 way, so I'd like to go up to 3 way, but I'd also like to have all my speakers from the same line if at all possible....just me being picky though.

Please, anybody, everybody, tell me your experiences, what you suggest, don't suggest, anything.

I'm new with this car audio thing...I just know what kind of sound I like, and what I want my car to sound like. I'd like to not do any cutting (outside of that bracket thing on the door panels that I read about)....so stock sizes would be great...

Thanks for anything and everything.

I'm not going to include a sub or a mono amp to power one right now, that might be a project for later.



That may be a mistake.

Possibly the biggest improvement in sound you can make in a car is to add a subwoofer. I'm not talking about some 12" or 15" monster that goes thump thump thump and annoys the neighbors in the next block. A nice 10" sub, with crossover set at a high enough frequency will add warmth and presence to your sound that you just can't get any other way.

It doesn't take a lot of power or even a separate amp to run a single 10" subwoofer, and the improvement in sound quality will be all out of proportion to the expense.

tanstaafl.

It probably is, and I do plan to add a sub down the road; however on a budget such as mine it's just not practical to cut back on everything else to afford a sub and build a box (or cut at the car - which I don't really wanna do)

Though, I am intrigued, how wouldn't it require a seperate amp? Maybe I just do'nt know what I'm talking about - which is true in itself - but if I'm buying a 4x100 amp, to power my 4 in-car speakers, how am I going to power a seperate amp? the 50w that the deck will put out?

You can buy a subwoofer with a built-in amp. You can buy a five-channel amplifier instead of a four-channel amplifier. You can buy an amplifier where the rear channels can work in what's called "Tri-mode" where the rear channels power the rear speakers and the subwoofer at the same time.

I agree with Doug on the importance of a subwoofer. I would almost even consider adding a subwoofer BEFORE replacing any existing speakers.

I'm not a huge bass fan, myself.

For what it's worth, I'm satisfied (not happy, but satisfied) with the bass output of my system already. I am not, however, satisfied with the quality of the sound that it puts out, and I am not satisfied with the midrange frequency output of the speakers.

I've never seen a 5 channel amp, though...and I don't erally like the sounds of that tri-mode stuff....sounds to me like just mixing the left and right signals to the sub and using a common ground...sounds cheap and easy to break and not where I wanna go. Any other methods just need more money than I have right now...

I've never seen a 5 channel amp, though...

Go to a store. Last time I was in a Tweeter the place was practially wall papered with them. I have an Eclipse 5 channel amp in my SVX and it works great. It cost me about $600. Kicker, JL, and Alpine also make them.

I'm not a huge bass fan, myself.

Ah the stigma of the rap listener rests heavy upon the image of the subwoofer. Keep in mind that a subwoofer, when used properly, merely fills in the low frequencies gently and does not boom. Doug, the person being so adamant about subwoofers earlier in this thread, is a classical music fan.

Just some thoughts that come to mind:

* I also have a seperate head unit in addition to the empeg, and am glad I do. I run the empeg into it's Aux input and use it 90% of the time. I do use the CD player as well - occasionally if I know I will be somewhere, such as downtown where I must park overnight, I just leave the empeg at home, and can still listen to music. Also on the very cold winter days here (MInneapolis) I leave it at home instead of abusing it in the weather. And when it's broken (like now), I still have music. Not to mention how much cheaper it was than buying a tuner kit.

* I have this deck: http://sm.crutchfield.com/S-SZKhsWMAXMG/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?s=45&c=3&g=62700&I=158F7700&o=p&a=0&cc=01&avf=N&search= (sorry for the ugly link) and am pretty happy with it. I like the looks, it has my aux input, and when you turn the graphics off and information on, the display is nice as well. One idea for you...

* Make sure you listen to your speakers before buying. In the store / vs in the car will be different, but it will be a start. Don't purchase anything you haven't heard. Also, I'd focus on good front speakers, and don't worry much about the rears. My theory is that you should barely be able to hear them, that almost all sound should come from in front of you. I also recommend a sub, just to fill in the music. You don't need to listen to rap to get use of a sub. A single 10" would suffice, it doesn't need to be a "wall of woofers".

Hope that helps some. Also - don't forget to get a good quality fuse setup near the battery for any cables you run! Expect to spend $100 or more just for wires and patchcords on top of any other components you buy.

Stigma of rap? No not really...
I know for a fact that I couldn't sit in my room here listening to music without my subwoofer. That said, the 6.5s and 6x9s that came stock in there have enough bass to satisfy me (which isn't to say I don't believe in subwoofers, just that I'll sooner take a nice 4 speaker set + amp than sacrifice on the speakers [number or quality] to afford a sub as well)

Besides, who said I didn't listen to Rap or Techno?

Understood.

It's just that most of the time when I suggest a subwoofer to someone and they say "oh, but I don't need bass", it's usually because they're envisioning a slammed Honda Civic with an oversized tailpipe going boom-boom-boom down the street. So that's why I answered the way I did.

But I see that you know the distinction, so I don't have to try to convince you any more.

psh.
I wanna be the corolla goin boom boom boom down the street with hydraulic shocks that make the car bounce

:-P

I don't deny that I'd love to have that extra low end punch; hell, I even know that I'll miss it once I get this stuff in and it's not there - but the fact just is that my priorities are to get a nice, clean sound from the full install now; and get a sub when it better fits my budget.

As it is I'm 25,000 in the hole because of this car :-p. I don't plan to be buyign any of this just yet (unless there's some huge sale) because, as a result of other similar priorities, I'd rather spend the little extra money I have to go visit my girlfriend :-p

I just want to be as knowledgable and well-researched as I can when I get all this [censored]...