Long story so ill shorten it best I can........ 2006 Buick Lucerne CXL
Please read it all.... its important info to know to help me figure out what I should do to get my system fixed. It is a shortened story... includes the most important details only.

Got a car audio setup installed at a local shop cuz I am a noob with car audio.

Got a Pioneer DEH-80PRS deck, Infinity Kappa 9 series speakers (6.5" front components/6x9" Rear deck) a Kicker 5 channel 600watt amp (40watts x4 @ 4ohm, 75watts @ 2ohm) and a JL Audio WXv2 sub in a Sealed Enclosure made by JL for this sub. Amp gives it 150watts @ 4 Ohm.

Well the system sucks, I have worse than my factory speaker sound, and my sub is basically non existent even with gains at 75%. Wiring is installed correctly EXCEPT power and grounds are 8 gauge instead of the recommended 4 gauge....

The shop did a terrible job, my speakers were not securely installed. My amp broke away from its mount on the back of my sub enclosure. Installed 8 gauge power/ground leads even tho I told them 4 gauge. New speaker wire goes from my amp to the back of my deck were they connected it with my factory speaker wire.... my front speakers are missing its crossovers and tweeters, failed to install my sound damping kit correctly( They just slapped it on the door panel... nothing else) and the sound quality is just terrible.... like I said its worse than my factory speakers.

So this prompted me to look at other shops in the area...... which there are two.
Shop 1.) I went in and explain what happened..... they were upset to hear my experience and explained a lot of things on what could be wrong..... They recommended I setup an appointment for them to check over the install and tune my system to see if that is the issue. Cost $45 bucks....... Well I made appointments twice.... they cancelled one..... the other I made the trip in (1 hour away) to hand them the keys but tell me 5 minutes later they can not get me in today and to setup another appointment...... yea I don't think so...

Shop 2.) Went in this week to explain and get there opinion on what needs to be done. These guys took a look at my setup and immediately said my deck is the root cause..... saying Pioneer has some of the worst signal to noise ratios on the market. They hated my speakers (Infinity Kappas) but were ok with my Kicker amp and JL Audio Sub.
They recommended I switch out the deck with a Sony Double Din deck and let them rewire my system for $150 bucks labor plus cost of deck...... they said lets hook up the crossovers and tweeters and replace the sub enclosure that has holes in it now and see HOW I LIKE THE SOUND. If it still seems weak they recommended I replace the speakers with JL Audio C2, C3 or C5 speakers with 6.5" all around, replace the amp with two higher watt amps and replace the sub for a "better" JL Audio sub. They sounded almost liek they preach by Sony and JL Audio and preach cheaper opinions with Alpine. They seem not to like an other solution.

SOOOO MY QUESTION IS!!!!
Does Shop #2 seem like they know what is up? or just out to make a buck where I should go back to shop #1 and let them play with my current system for awhile if I can get in????

Also Bonus questions??
My 600watt 5 channel Kicker amp has 8 gauge wire.... is that enough?

Is Pioneer especially my DEH-80PRS deck as bad as Shop #2 says??

Any other comments about my setup???

Thank you for your help in advance. I am desperate to get some clean, crisp sound in my car with a bang in the back as well!!!

 

Ill talk about your equipment first. You have a GREAT head unit. I'm thinking about one of them myself for my next build I do. Tons and tons of features for very little money. The speakers should be okay. I don't have a ton of experience with infinity, but they have their low end and their high end stuff. Shouldn't be the weak link here. The amp is nothing spectacular, but should do the trick. The sub is a weak link here. That is a VERY entry level subwoofer. They should have done something a little higher end such as the JL W3V3-2, 10" or 12". It would have taken advantage of the amplifier well. The wiring shouldn't be an issue. Usually 8 gauge will work to the 500-600 watt mark no problem.

The shops:
The original shop should be avoided at all costs. It sounds like they the bed with what you wanted, and couldn't provide even the wire you requested. It also sounds like the install was completely botched.


The 1st other shop you went to should have been able to keep your appointments, but I do understand that shops can have unexpected hick-ups come up. Twice though, is kinda flaky.

The 2nd shop I would run the hell away from as well. That Sony deck they were pitching you on will be NOTHING close to the Pioneer head unit you have. It sounds like they're just trying to make some quick cash off of you.

Where abouts are you located?

 

I am located in Watertown, WI. The three shops I talked where the only shops in my "near by" area that I could find.

I am getting a bit desperate because aside from the physical defects, my sound quality is 100% terrible and I do not know why. My rear speakers get favored even tho I have my settings in time aliment and balance to the front of my car and like I said before I have like no bass. At the time I got everything I was on a tight budget and still am.
My current gain settings are 75% Front, 50% Rear, 20% Sub. This is where I got best results out of the system and sill sounds baaaddd.

The thing that shop 2.) did have tho was they recommended a complete rewiring and I listened to what kind of setup he has and I was immediately blinded by the amazing sound I could only dream of.
I bet the "salesman" part of them came when the noticed I did not have a brand they "preach" they seem 100% JL Audio, Kicker, Sony, and/or Alpine which turns me off a bit tho I know Sony is a good brand along with Kicker, and JL BUT I see where aesthetics come into play too cuz a single-din does look kinda of crappy in a "Luxury" car like mine. They also mentioned when I replace my enclosure I should get a Ported box due to my car being so large I need the "extra" sound level the Ported Box offers.

I guess mainly I just do not know what to do. Sucks because I need a shop to look at it as I just do not know what to do and I really do not want to touch my car without knowing what I am doing.

 

I'm assuming Madison is where the long drive was. After doing a quick bit of searching, I would give these guys a call:

The Radio Doctor

Looks like a local shop, so much they have the staff listed on the website. They could probably help you out without trying to screw you.

 

Original shop was Fine Details in Watertown, WI

Shop #1 is Lake Country Customs in Brookfield, WI

Shop #2 is RAXX Loud and Clear in Janesville, WI

Radio Doctor in Madison was the first place I went and all they did was preach Memphis and Morel to me even tho I asked them to quote me for Infinity speakers...... I never heard of either brands so it turned me off pretty quick and they really wouldn't listen to what I wanted...... perhaps maybe they can help fix it now that the stuff is installed.

I went through some other options from upgrading my sub.... and I found this,
Sub:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_13612W3V32/JL-Audio-12W3v3-2.html?tp=111
Also considering:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_136112W0V3/JL-Audio-CP112-W0v3.html?tp=112
Possible Enclosures:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_777BB1212S/Sound-Ordnance-Bass-Bunker.html?tp=61651
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_777BB12150/Sound-Ordnance-Bass-Bunker.html?tp=61651
Mono AMP:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500MRXM55/Alpine-MRX-M55.html?tp=35834

and if I still have cash left which I doubt:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575R4004D/Rockford-Fosgate-Prime-R400-4D.html?tp=35782

 

Both Memphis and Morel are extremely good brands, but I agree it is a little annoying when a salesman doesn't listen to you. From a quick search they would probably be my first choice to get everything taken care of.

The biggest thing to change in the system though, is getting a better quality subwoofer, but it must be either a dual 4 ohm woofer, so it can be wired in parallel to 2 ohms, or in JL's line a single 2 ohm woofer. Switching to a ported enclosure will also get you more volume.

 

At that point in time I never ever heard of Memphis or Morel and at the time.... I did not want to put money into brands I did not know.... I regret that now.

After your reply especially I will definitely be getting a JL 12W3v3 sub and a Alpine mono 550watt amp to match with it. (provided in the links I gave earlier)
I am going to try to repair my sealed enclosure and see how it sounds(The holes are screw size so some wood putty should do the trick).... if its bad ill buy a new ported box
I will head off to Radio Doctor on Monday then. Thank you for your help Ill keep you posted

 

Head to them and see what they have that could replace the sub/amp. They'll probably have some comparable products (possibly even memphis/morel), and it will cheer them up a bit being that they didn't get the original sale.

 

I talked to them today and they want to check over the work before they suggest anything. They will take a look, and try fixing what they can, plus tuning for $130 bucks (2 hours full labor charge)
On their schedule for this friday

 

That sounds quite reasonable.