Noob looking to upgrade from Stock. Help me out please!
Hey guys, well heres my scenario:
Currently have a Stock 04' Mazda 3 GT.
I'm looking to hopefully upgrade to a double din + maybe upgrade speakers and amp?
Now the main thing is I'm probably looking to take this to a shop (either Burlington Radioactive or Selective Sound) and I'm wondering whether I should look to get the parts online first or just do it all at the store?
Doing it myself is out of the question since I'm a huge noob lol.
Also wondering as to how much I should expect to spend and whether anyone has any recommendations in terms of a an entry level double din + speakers + amp. I'm looking to keep costs low but also have something nice looking (not that much of an audiophile). I'm hoping Selective/Radioactive should be able to keep my steering wheel controls right?
Thanks!
Currently have a Stock 04' Mazda 3 GT.
I'm looking to hopefully upgrade to a double din + maybe upgrade speakers and amp?
Now the main thing is I'm probably looking to take this to a shop (either Burlington Radioactive or Selective Sound) and I'm wondering whether I should look to get the parts online first or just do it all at the store?
Doing it myself is out of the question since I'm a huge noob lol.
Also wondering as to how much I should expect to spend and whether anyone has any recommendations in terms of a an entry level double din + speakers + amp. I'm looking to keep costs low but also have something nice looking (not that much of an audiophile). I'm hoping Selective/Radioactive should be able to keep my steering wheel controls right?
Thanks!
How much you need to spend right away depends on you....if you can wait for a bit for the amp and speakers, installing the deck and adapter will run you around $600-1,000 depending on what unit you get. Don't forget you will need a wiring harness to plug the deck into the factory wiring as well as the steering wheel control module.
Once you have the deck in, a good 4 channel amp and speakers with install could be another $600-1,000 depending again on what you decide on. For this part you will need to go and listen to several different brands and models of speakers to decide what sounds best to you.....take a CD of music you know well with you and make sure while you're listening that any EQ functions in the board equipment are shut off.....all you want is the flat-line response of the speakers themselves.
As far as dealers go, I have seen great stuff come out of all 3 shops mentioned in this thread so far......Lee at Radioactive is a great guy to deal with, Davis up at Selective Sound is as well......I have always found EHR to be more expensive than the other 2, probably because of their large advertising budget, but you might be able to get a comparable deal from them depending on your negotiating skills.....

Good luck with the new toys.....

HTH
I've used Radioactive for my Subaru and Selective Sound for my Mazda3. For what its worth I would never bring my business back to Radioactive. The install and customer service was far superior with Davis at Selective Sound.
I have no experience with EHR other than they have a large selection of wares. I felt like their sales reps wanted to get you into things they were trying to sell rather than trying to fit my particular needs.
Just my 2 cents.
I have no experience with EHR other than they have a large selection of wares. I felt like their sales reps wanted to get you into things they were trying to sell rather than trying to fit my particular needs.
Just my 2 cents.
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