HELP!
I've replaced the speakers on my 2001 SCrew with Boston Acc's.

I've got the factory sound system with 6-disc changer in the rear storage comp. Does anyone know offhand what the 2001 SCrew factory system with 6 CD changer puts out, watts-wise?

I'd like better bass sound, but I've done the Super Thump-style thing in past vehicles and want to avoid the BIG BOX.
Just want good crossover into decent sub, to "free up" the door speakers and add smooth bass response.
I'm thinking of a Clarion SRV303 amplified sub under one of the seats...

What to do?
Help me out, please.

 

You and I are in the exact same boat. I have switched from Pioneer speakers...cancelled that order, tried to order Autobahn, they where out of stock and have settled on Inifinity Kappa's.

They sound great but what amp do I use. And what sub....

I went to ....today........to Best Buy, Circuit City, Car Toys and Fryes Electronics. All I got was more confused. Six hours of shopping and I can only say Infinity Kappa Speakers kick butt over Polk, Pioneer, Kenwoods, Alpine, JBL, and every other thing but Focal....pronounced Foe-cal.

Only place that could kinda explain amps was Car Toys. They hooked the Clarion Sub AMP---combined into one unit and it did pretty good, they had the same thing at Circuit City but nothing worked right and half the speakers didn't work...........so back to Car Toys, We decided on a JBL amp for 199.00. It was just for driving subs. But not speakers. I decided to do 1 10" sub and could do another later without upgrading the AMP. Something about ohms and impedance. Its easier to have two subs so I asked about 2 8" subs and the guy looked at me like I was stupid or something.

I dont' really want to do the big box thing either. But I think I am supposed to.

One thing everyone had in common was this........REPLACE THE HEAD UNIT........not sure what they had in 2001 but I feel its better then they have in the 2003. They say the max output is 25 watts.

Speakers are blown from being underpowerd
That is what I was told at Car Toys. And I would need an amp or and a better head unit.

So I have been looking at DBL DIN stereos to replace my head unit on etronics.com. At least I have found a source that has really great prices. Some have a built in amp that will push out 50-60watts RMS. The infinity Kappas can handle 100 watts RMS so they would be underpowered and blow?


I feel like putting a pistol in my mouth trying to figure out just WTF I am supposed to do to get good sound out of my truck. I am losing hair at an alarming rate, driving my wife nuts, kids are running around naked and unfed, and all I can think about is how the hell am I going to do this right the first time and not make a major mistake and jump into something that will kinda work for now and end up spending more money later.

I already got F'd on the mufflers, and got a bad taste in my mouth.

Seems as though everyone is an expert and nobody knows jack sh*t when it actually comes down to it at these types of stores. Depending on what store you go to , Sony has the best head unit, So does Pioneer, So does Blapunkt...we don't carry Sony anymore because they suck.....JBL has it now, Alpine is the best.....Kenwood blows, this is good this is not good...Never heard of Blapunkt..where is my friggen pistol......

AMPS,,,well you gotta have this 18.7 million dollar amp if you wanna use this head unit, but if you buy this one it has a built in amp but it won't drive the sub so you gotta get this 4.2 million dollar amp and get 16 18' subs to get good bass. We can tape them to your hood and replace the rims to mount them. Of course you will require a 17' lift kit but hey, that is only $240,000 dollars.

I went home today and shot the cat. It felt really good. Maybe I can stretch its skin out and dry it, hook it up to the stereo and see how it sounds?

 

You said it bud.
Haven't killed the cat cuz I don't have one, and my dog is ...well, he's my dog.

Anyway, I'm working on it and it's a matter of time til we figure this sh*t out. Don't eat the pistol yet. But I know what you mean. I've become convinced that all those stereo shop tech guys are just trying to get even with us regular guys for having regular jobs.

Someone left me a message that my head unit puts out 20W per channel. (80W total) I'm thinking that I'll keep it and try to find a good quality, low-powered sub w/ amp. Not trying to wake the neighbors, anyway. I'll post my thoughts.

 

LOL! @ savageyzf

Isn't stereo shopping fun?

You go to 10 different shops and get 12 different answers. Keep in mind, that at most shops, whatever they are selling is the best and the other shops' stuff is junk.


Chris2001SC,
The stock HU puts out maybe 12 watts RMS.

Some of the folks around here have had good luck with subs in their consoles. An amp on your door speakers will help with bass response as well.

 

Rob,

12?!
Ouch.

 

Your set up is friggen awesome............It may pound to hard for me......I just want a subtle kick in the *** bass driving down the road...............what would you suggest Rob?

 

One thing I did find out Chris is Eclipse has really horrible sounding speakers but the HU is kick ****. And it uses a CD Key for security and you get three tries to get it right. If it gets stolen, you call Eclipse, they overnite you one and when the thief tries to get the old one working, he has to send it back to them to get it fixed, then Eclipse overnights it back to you in 100% condition, and you send the loaner back. They also have a 3 year warranty. And it sounded really good. It was 349.00 at Car toys....i shouldv'e written the model number down. I don't know jack sh*t about aftermarket stereo's but this sounded pretty damn impressive to me. And it mad even the crappy speakers sound good.

As far as security, I am not going to pop the face off my radio everytime I run into Walmart to get more bullets, deer corn or whatever. This one you do not detach. I guess you keep the 1-800 number to Eclipse on your cell phone on your person so when it does get stolen you won't be without for to long.

What have you found out about HU's?

Jeff

 

Chris -

If you are dead set against a new HU, here's what I would do:

Make a box, or buy one from subbox.net. Put it and the amp for the subs under the back seat. Wire the rear speakers into the speaker-level input on the amp. Get a sub amp with a remote level adjustment **** (I know MTX makes several with this feature for not too much money) because you will never get it adjusted right without it.

Finally, if you really want to limit the low end frequencies to the doors, install a coil inductor in series with the speaker in each door. Just be sure to install them AFTER the input to your sub amp.

This is the least expensive way I know to add some decent low-end punch that is in line (performance wise) with the factory head-end.

However, if you buy a new HU, you will definitely open a whole new arena for good sound. Remember, no matter who the manufacturer, it is not realistic to expect more than 15 watts or so (RMS) per channel from a head unit. Take a look at the size required for an amplifier to put out just 25 watts RMS. And it doesn't have a tuner, CD motor and laser, etc.

Kenwood, Alpine, Eclipse, Pioneer, Sony, Panasonic - All of them make at least a few good models. (I'm sure I missed others, but you get the idea). It is your task to pick the right one for you.

Start by making a list of the features most important to you.

Be sure to test every unit for the features you want.

For example, a buddy of mine recently purchased a Pioneer CD / MP3 HU. He was expecting it to handle the MP3 disks the way my Alpine does. To put it bluntly, the Pioneer he bought can't hold a candle to my Alpine. It is slow to load MP3's, slow to change tracks, does not do a good job of displaying the MP3 track / artist / song info, etc. It is also unable to play tracks higher than # 99. In other words, he should have bought a more expensive model by Pioneer if he wanted it act like my Alpine.

Audition the units with music you bring yourself. You know what it should sound like... Listen carefully and let your ears be your guide.

Don't give up - the selection and installation process is half the fun !!

 

B-Mans got it right.

It all depends on what you want to acomplish with your system. When I first started with mine, I had planned on keeping my stock HU and changer. I started by changing my door speakers to the Blaupunkt 5x7s and added a single Rockford 8" sub, powered by a Blaupunkt PA 275 amp. The Blau amp is awesome for a small setup. It comes with a speaker level to RCA adapter (LOC), adjustable gain, selectable crossovers, remote bass ****, and super small size. With this setup, I had better bass (especially on Rap type music), but I decided I wanted more.

The next thing I did was to get 2 of the CDT 8" subs and a Cadence Z8000 amp. Sounded great, but still not enough. Added 2 more CDT 8"s (for a total of 4), used the same amp and still wasn't completely happy.

I finally decided that I wanted some video in the truck as well as better sound and added the Panasonic DVD HU and screen. The latest setup is in the last stages as we speak. I bought a JL 10w3 sub and am finishing up the fiberglass/MDF enclosure for behind the seat. I plan to keep the same Cadence amp for the sub, and get a Cadence Q3000 amp for the MB Quart 6.5" components I'm adding to the front.

I've been really pleased with the performance of my Panasonic stuff, my Blau speakers, and the Cadence amp.

I said all of that to say this:
Like B-Man said, great sound is in the ear of the beholder. It is best to shop around and listen to everything you can find. Make a plan of what you want and buy the best equipment you can afford. Try the stuff out in your truck if you can and if you end up with something that is not to your liking, sell it on Ebay and try again!

 

You might ask Robdude, "What happened to your 8" Rockford Fosgate sub??" Here it is, it my truck:



I, like you, wanted a little extra thump. However, I did not want to lose the option of letting down the rear seats and I have never worked with fiberglass, so a box behind the rear seats was out of the question. This little thing rocks!!! A nice vibration in the seats can be felt, and if you find the right song with just the right bass frequency, it will actually boom!! I was very skeptical of the 8" - I have always had 10's and 12's in my vehicles. But I am very pleased with the performance of this setup.

As far as the headunit, I purchased my first Alpine (7893) and I will never buy anything else. The quality of this unit is incredible. And it has built-in crossovers to limit the bass going to the door speakers. Not to mention - XM baby!!!!!

If you are interested in this sub setup, follow my link below and go to my MOD gallery - there are more pictures and the dimensions of the box. Good Luck!!

 

eclipse head units are where its at. they are not too fancy but put out a hell of a good sound. i went from alpine to eclipse and wouldn't trade my eclipse for anything. the optinal ecom with the gps unit will get you anywheres you need to go in the united states just by talking to your radio. if anybodys looking for a head unit this is the way to go