skpye

Hello...

I'm the proud owner of an 04 Subaru Impreza TS...I love it...but I HATE my sound system. it sucks big time.

I'm hoping to replace it this week...the whole thing...but I'm very new at this and have NO IDEA what i should get.

I know I need a new deck (that 's the easy part) and speakers (not so easy)...but i have no idea if i need an amp...subwoofer, tweeters...all that stuff. I love music...and typically listen to my music very loud and i tend to enjoy stuff with a lot of base as well.

Budget isn't too much of an issue...I hope to keep this car for some time.

Not sure if anyone can help me here, but I would really, really appreciate suggestions, ideas, help walking me through what the heck an amp does and why i woudl need one etc.

Most appreciated!!!

Sarah

Mach 5

Hi Sara,

Simply put, an amplifier takes the low level signals from your source (deck) and increases the level by a certain multitude needed to drive your loudspeakers. The deck you decide to purchase will have a rudimentary amplifier built in to drive two or four loudspeakers. For the average Joe, this would be sufficient.

If you want volume, you will need more power - aka more than what a standard deck can produce. Amplifiers come in a variety of configurations and are based on power output (watts) and number of channels (one channel drives one speaker). In your travels you will see amps in 1, 2, 3/4 channel configurations.

So, with that in mind, if you like bass, you can acquire a subwoofer and a 3/4 channel amplifier that will have the capability of driving one sub and two speakers. You can also get more elaborate and purchase one amplifier to drive one (or two) subs and one amp to drive 2 or for front speakers.

As you can see, there are a ton of options available to you. I would suggest that you scope things out at a few audio shops in your area before you commit to anything. Get a feel for what they can offer you.

Is it the wagon you own?

Best,
Mark

skpye

Thanks a million mach 5!!!! very helpful.

I do have the wagon....and i know what a subwoofer is...i think (big bass)....

what is your opinion on tweeters? ok, what the heck are tweeters? (treble???) and is it over the top? I want really nice sound, but i have no hydraulics in my car if you know what I mean!!

Mach 5

You bet, sub = big bass. Now, let's start there. Look at your rear (of your car) and decide just how much space you are willing to give up for a sub. Subs come as small as 6/5" and as big as 18", so you have a lot of choices. If you have a tape measure, measure the area out and post it here.

I assume there are speakers in the front doors correct? Whatever size they are (perhaps 5 1/4") you can replace them with 2-way speakers (midrange-tweeter combined) or select a "compenent" system which has the tweeters (treble) separate from the midranges. Going with component packages are more expensive but you benefit usually from getting better quality units. You will also have the ability to mount the tweeter higher up which will improve sound quality.

You may also have speakers in the rear doors which you may wish to replace. Since you will never be riding in the back (unless your drunk and you have a DD) you can go with a the lower cost 2-way speaker for some rear fill.

These are of course, general suggestions. Get the audio shop(s) to scope your car out and make suggestions of what you can do. Keeping in mind the cost factor of course...

If you scope things out and get some brands/model numbers, folks here can chime in and tell you if they are worth it or not.

Best,
Mark

MR2NR

iTrader: (66)

If your car is like most newer Subaru's, mounting depth in the doors for the speakers are really going to limit the choice available to you. You are going to need to find a good shop to do the install and present some optoins to you on how to install the speakers you ultimately choose.

Cluster

Since it hasnt been mentioned yet, i feel the most important part of any system is the head unit (cd/dvd player).

If you like your system to be loud, you can have all the amp/speaker setup you want, but if your HU doesn't put out a clean signal, then your going to lose alot of quality at high volumes. If you have the money to spend, shop around online, or talk to the vendors here, they may carry some makes that you won't find at a local shop.

Also, a mistake i made, because they look oh so cool, stay away from dvd HUs. They sacrifice sound quality for a more multimedia geared setup.

Good Luck

DesolataX

iTrader: (1)

What is your budget?

dogstar

iTrader: (2)

Sarah, you may want to ask members in the eastern section of the forum if they know of any good audio shops in your area.

Once you understand fairly well what you want, then you can go into a shop and start selecting equipment.
I find all too often that mechanics and installers tend to take advantage of women because they assume the woman doesnt know as much as most guys, but there is no reason for that to be the case.

In your case, there is a small mounting spot for tweeters half way up the door, beside the door handle, and the main door speakers live further down, near the bottom of the front doors.

I would suggest a pair of component speakers up front, in a 6.5" size. They will need wooden spacers to fit, but that should be something the shop can do for you.
To select the speakers, go to a stereo shop with your favorite cd and listen to as many different component sets as you can find in your budget until you find one that sounds the best to you.

The head unit is usually the most expensive part of the average stereo, and I would recommend sticking with the big brands: Alpine, Clarion, Pioneer, Kenwood, and Eclipse. There are others, but with those 5 choices, you are almost guaranteed to find something you like.
Selecting a head unit is pretty complex, as IMO, you need to be able to access the menus and functions easily as well as needing it to sound good.

Some of the more experienced members here can probably suggest better choices in head units than I can, but you will need to tell them what you want and how much you can afford.

Amplifiers are actually very easy to choose... You will want one channel per speaker that you want to power, so in your case, with one speaker per door, you will probably want a 4 channel amplifier.
Each of the companies I listed above make 4 channel amps, often in different power levels, you may want to go with the same brand as your head unit as many people prefer to have matching brands.
Most 4 channel amplifiers make between 40-100 watts per channel, and a good salesperson should be able to help you select one to suit whichever speakers you choose.

If you want a subwoofer, you may need to get a separate amplifier for it, or in some cases you can find a 5 channel amp, which will supply all your door speakers and the sub.

A subwoofer is big bass, and as mach5 mentioned, they come in many sizes and flavors, with different power handling levels.
This is where things start to get expensive, bass is a question of money, how loud do you want to be?


Once the posters here know how much you want to spend, we can easily suggest a series of components to suit you.... from there, you just need to find a shop in your area and hand over the cash.

Ffej1960

As an example, here's what I've put into my car recently. The sound quality is great, although my 5 year old sub is not quite what I want. Volume-wize it's loud enough for me but not what I'd call rock-concert loud.

Eclipse CD4000 CD/MP3/WMA deck (excellent!)
Audison SRX5 5-channel amp (sounds great, but you may want more power)
Focal 165 V1 components (6.5" mid/bass, 1" tweeters, crossovers - front)
Focal 165CV1 coax (6.5" 2-way, rear)
Phoenix Gold 12" Sub in a 1.0 cu. ft. box (good, but not great)

All told this has cost me about $2000, mostly over the last 4 months or so (for everything but the old sub). I did the install myself (used to do it professionally many years ago) so you can easily add another $500 or so for proper installation. You can go up and down in price, but this is a nice combination, especially when I change the sub and box (about another $500 or so).

Hope this helps a bit.

Jeff

JohnVroom

Sarah

What I would like to know is what makes the current system sound lousy. What would you like to improve specifically. What would your ideal system sound like? Before I would say word one I would like to know what you want. Remember guys listen to a woman, she will tell you what she wants if you ask!