Ok, I have read articles and posts until my eyes are bleeding and I am more confused than ever. Maybe you guys can help simplify it for me:

#1.) If I want to upgrade the speakers now and then upgrade the HU later when I have the $$ what are the absolute best speakers I could use?

#2.) Does that even make sense? Would the stock HU even power really good speakers?

#3.) Some articles talk about using larger speakers in the front than the stock ones. Is that a good idea? Will you get better sound?

Thanks!

 

I change mine to Polk speakers components in the front and 2 way in the sound bar kept the factory HU when I turn it on I will be honest u have to lower the bass down a lot I poly filled the front speakers. When I finally amped the system it sounds great I still have the factory HU but from my experience changing the speakers with no amp with factory HU u will get a lot more highs but u have to lower the bass

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Interesting! Thanks!

Additional question for the pros: If I upgraded the speakers now, then put in a Raxiom radio later is there a way to put an amp on the main speakers and another amp for a subwoofer? Some guys have told me the Raxiom doesn't have the power by itself to run good speakers AND that the Raxiom doesn't sound as good as a Pioneer or Kenwood upgrade.

 

I looked up that radio it says it has preamp out puts so u can hook up a amp to it it prob has 3 out put front,rear, and sub and if u want in till u amp it crutchfield sells the plugs that let u hook up aftermarket speakers to the factory plug so u don't have to cut anything might be like 25 for front and back

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Thanks!

 

The obviousness Powerful speakers require more power.... Aka an amp. I once read an amp is an amp is an amp, it's stuck with me for a long time it's power don't get crazy. Spend your money where it counts. The head unit and speakers. Shop around for everything else for cheap pricing. Like wires and sound proofing. Your head unit will put out some of the power but then will be split 4 ways so 1/4 the rms on simple terms will be distributed to each speaker. Keep in mind that powering these speakers from your stock headunit might become a pain in the ass when you crack into the wiring harness... So I would assume if your keeping stock HU for a few months you would try splicing into the pre existing (+ & -) speaker wire. Should work but ur only gonna get that same power from your stock HU.... Clarity should be better. I can't really speak right now on how a 100 rms speaker being powered only by like 13 rms of how it will sound.

Best speakers your gonna wanna grab some component speakers. There is plenty of room in the sound bar to hide the crossover as well as under the dash. I have a amp tucked under my dash also that's like 14" by like 9" 2" high in size zip tied to metal supports. Get ur head down there and start looking around. Buy an amp that's rated higher than the output of speakers ideal range u can turn down the gains and u have fuses for reasons. So i have 900 wats of rms to distribute to 4 speakers all capable of 100 rms each. Gains on amp are super low and speakers are full of power. So I'm not stressing the amp which would be my main concerns . If I have to replace speakers I'll go even bigger and still have more than enough power.

If your on a cheap budget sit on ur cash and do your research in the meantime know ur excited but it pays off. Mine as well get amazon prime too you can go to Lowe's and Walmart in the mean time. For I think 20 bux a roll u can get flashing tape it's the tar tape that u can use for sound dampening the heck window section or roofing, like 1 roll is plenty for sound bar and speaker housing. If u want to start doing some of the tub get like 4 or 5. Walmart get poly fill for like 3 dollars. Ull prob wanna grab a roll of 16 Guage speaker wire and re run your wiring once u get amps a d new head units and crossovers. Id just go for the 100ft monoprice.com is very cheap for things like that. If you want a gear list lmk and I'll show u what I'm running.

 

Awesome info!! Thanks so much! I have a lot of work to do!

 

Totally best bang for the buck IMHO is...

Replace the lower dash speakers with these:
http://www.parts-express.com/tang-ba...eaker--264-917
which requires making a bit of an adapter plate from something like 3/8" MDF or 5/16" plywood

Replace the stock upper dash speakers' capacitors with a larger value (soldering required)

Get a cheap 50wpc or so amp to power the lower dash speakers (subs), one with a 150Hz or so crossover. Use a LOC to feed it until such time as you replace the HU with one that has line outs.

Whole project is like $150 or less and will utterly transform the performance of the stereo while remaining totally stealth. It does pay to be handy with a soldering iron and a jig saw, and a bit creative and willing to tinker.

Many report some improvement in sound by simply replacing the lower dash speakers alone with some 2-way like the Kickers that are so popular and plug right in. It's cheaper than my suggested mod and definitely a whole lot less work. Usually these recommendations include disconnecting the upper dash speakers altogether. Ditto that for sound bar if you are of the "I like sound from behind me" type ... which I am not.

BTW "higher power" speakers don't require more amplifier power. They have a higher power RATING, which means they will tolerate more power without melting down but supplying them with less power will not result in any mismatch or damage. The main reason you could sometimes require more amplifier power with aftermarket speakers is because the speakers may be less efficient than the ones you are replacing, which means they will require more power to make the same amount of sound as the stock speakers made. If you get efficient aftermarket speakers then you should be fine with just the stock HU's power.

 

I would recommend getting a head unit before speakers. Imho an aftermarket hu will make stock speakers sound better than aftermarket speakers with a stock hu.

 

True.... Do yourself a favor and try and line it all up for 1 install so u don't have to go into your dash like 5 times esp when u need to tidy things up or if u don't hook something up right the first time. Get a weekend, do the poly fill do the sound dampening, do the hu install/figure out all the wiring, speaker install and re routing of wires, funding amp wires to and through firewall etc.