as far as moving, if I cant work as a PT in SA's medical center and not get ripped off, I don't know what to tell you... An alarm will not stop these punks these days...

As for pioneer, they are good on a budget... I would save up and get a componet set though... I have never been a fan of 3 and 4 way speakers as they get "hissy"

Just my .02....

 

Pioneer is a fine speaker. As said, they are easy on the budget. I listened to 'em next to the same size Alpines and the Pioneer sounded better at half the price. Personally, I prefer coaxials to the rest. I get better bass response with 'em and the highs are cleaner. 3-ways sound like an air leak. Polk is, to me, a dream speaker. They absolutely rock, but then, they are harder on the budget. I replaced the factory transistor-radio grade speakers in my Scab with Pioneer coaxial 5X7s. Definitely an upgrade. They sound great. My next move, in fact tomorrow, will be the addition of a 10 inch custom boxed Memphis sub driven by a Memphis amp at 300 bucks installed. That'll give better bottom end. Just enough bass pop that won't rattle the bolts loose like the kids do nowadays. I'll probably have 'em throw in a Kenwood HU while I'm at the shop. The sound improvement will come from a little more power, filtering, equalization options, and the like. It depends a lot on what one listens to, and from what I'm reading, the new Kenwood units come HD radio ready. I agree with the others. A new HU will probably give you what you want. If not, add an amp.
Question to others: Anyone tried out speaker baffles? Opinions?

 

Well, what I'm looking for is a clearer/cleaner sound when turned up, say half-way. I don't necessarily play my music really "loud", but I do like to hear it. And when I turn it up past 1/2, then the sound gets distorted. I'm looking to clean that up.

 

If you replace the stock HU then you have some half-sized thing sticking an inch out of your otherwise well-crafted dash. Not my idea of perfection. Looks like a size 6 foot in a size 12 shoe.

 

Actually there are some REALLY nice double din units out there that are basically little dvd and cd players with a full double din screen... they are sweet!! very expensive and not worth getting ripped off for...

Can yall tell I hate thieves yet??? punks!!

 

I tried to keep it cheap: keep the stock head unit that had Sirrus and just replace the speakers and add an amp.

Bad idea, because it sounded like crap. There is something internally about the stock head unit that does not allow it to transform to anything more than the OEM set up.

 

I've come to the same realization. You either keep the stock setup or blow $1500+ to keep it looking clean. Just for some punk to go through my window and ****** it...

 

I would have to disagree. I thought that until I installed my deck. I am very happy with the fit and finish and don't think it looks out of place at all.

 

Before I went with my Alpine Head Unit I had my stock one in for a little while. I have alpine 6x8 components in the front and 6x8's in the rear. The speakers sounded good, better than stock without a doubt, but an aftermarket head unit gave me the ability to crank my speakers without distortion. An aftermarket head unit will compliment your Pioneer speakers very nicely. After if you want to upgrade those Pioneers to a different speaker such as components it is very easily done.

Also, if in the future you want add an amp to your speakers and maybe install a sub you can do it with a 5 channel amp. You don't need any signal converters like you would if you had your stock head unit in. makes an amp upgrade easier and it will sound better too.

 

bamorris...I have been wondering the exact same thing as you. I have the stock HU with 6 disc and bought some of the pioneer TS-A6870R speakers. I haven't put them in yet but was thinking about getting an amp too. Please let us know what you do and how you like it. I don't want to spend a bunch of money either.

 

You did a very nice job on that install, I'm impressed. Assuming that doesn't take a special bracket, why are so many HUs NOT installed flush??

Also, what model is your HU?

 

It's an Alpine CDA-9856.
It's not a special bracket, it's the one that Crutchfield sends you. Many are not installed flush because people don't do it right. I had to play around with mine quite a bit to get it flush. I had to remove the sleeve on the radio and use the brackets that came with the kit. I had to move those around a little until I got it just right. Now it's perfect. All it took was a little time. It even looks a little better now because I adjusted it some when I installed my iPod cable. There's more pic's in my gallery.

 

damn you, tardman! there goes my IRS money...

 

It'll be money well spent. I'm very happy with mine. If you have an iPod you'll be even happier!

 

I have a 3rd gen 20GB.