VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Hi Pearl96Max and everyone.

I have been a regular on the Org for a while but I've never spent much time in this forum. I've had my '99 for four years but all of my money and time went into performance and handling mods. Now I'm ready to upgrade my audio system. I have Bose and it sounds just awful at higher volumes.

Here is my planned upgrade, based on what info I've been able to find so far. I'm sure there will be plenty of criticisms, which is why I'm posting, but please make them constructive—I'm doing this on a limited budget so I can't afford Infinity or Rainbow or whatever high-end components some of you may have. I've been looking at Crutchfield since they are the only authorized online retailer.

Sony CDX-GT420U headunit (USB & aux input) $130
17 watts RMS x 4
Only has 1 pair of preamp outputs though

Blaupunkt THA475 4-channel amplifier $150 ($100 off at the moment)
75 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms (120 watts RMS x 4 at 2 ohms)

Blaupunkt GTc652 6-1/2" component speakers for front doors ($80)

Blaupunkt GTx662 6-3/4" 2-way speakers for rear deck ($40, on sale)

So I know those are some cheap-@$$ speakers but the specs look pretty decent to my n00b self.... I hope these will sound much better than the stock Bose speakers. If I buy these, I've only spent $120 for four speakers. The next step up in price would be about double that but I suspect they wouldn't sound twice as good.

About my goal: I listen to a wide variety of music and I don't think I need a subwoofer. I don't want trunk-rattlin' booty-shakin' bass, I want well-balanced high-quality sound. This is why I'm looking at a 4-channel amp and component speakers in the front. Am I on the right track?

Also, in terms of wiring, is Crutchfield a good deal or can I get a better deal on amp and speaker wiring elsewhere? Thanks in advance for any advice!

JSMax

iTrader: (13)

This is basically the same situation that I am in right now.

The only thing that I could think that you are missing would be the cascade or some other sound deadening for the doors and rear deck.

even with just the factory blows, sound deadening will make a dramatic improvement. THat's just what I have read so far. I'm still in the planning stages of my stereo upgrade.

Good luck.

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Thanks—I will actually be doing a complete interior project including chassis foam (reduces road noise and increases stiffness) and sound deadening mats.

JSMax

iTrader: (13)

one thing I did notice is that your rear deck speakers are rated at 2-45 watts rms. The amp that you have picked out is 75 X 4. Is that too much wattage for the rear speakers? The fronts are rated at 2-50watts RMS. Maybe you need an amp that puts out less watts so that the speakers don't get wrecked? I'm not sure how all that works as I'm still new to this car audio thing.
Also, are you sure that those will work with the rear deck? I ordered a set of shallow mount speakers on the crutchfield reccomendation as the "normal depth" speakers will not work with the rear deck.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...=db+651S&tp=95
is what I ordered. The same is availalbe in a regular depth.

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Welcome to the Audio forum...

My advice:

Stay FAR FAR away from Sony Car Audio. Spend $150 for a basic Eclipse/Pio/Alpine deck
If you're looking for budget speakers, stay away from the Blaupunkt too. My first system had some simple Pioneer speakers that were pretty good, probably about the same price.

You're going to need an amp kit and RCA's, speaker wire, and a HU install kit with radio harness. Don't forget about those

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

JSMax, good point about the wattage discrepancy between the speakers and amp. I don't know how important it is to match them. I was actually looking at smaller amps--that one was on sale so I thought it might be worth the free power upgrade.

Regarding speakers for the rear deck, Crutchfield's website tells me all these normal 6-1/2 or 6-3/4 inch speakers fit the rear deck of a 1999 Maxima. Did a representative personally tell you that, or where did you hear it? Also, have you ever looked in your trunk? You can see the speakers hanging down and there's plenty of room (i.e., two feet or so, until the trunk floor)...unless there's some other restriction I'm not aware of.

djfrestyl, thanks for the info. Anything in particular about Sony and Blaupunkt that is bad? One of my friends advised me not to get a Sony headunit as well, but I haven't heard any reasons why. I'll take a look at other brands of speakers for sure.

JSMax

iTrader: (13)

I drive a 1997 and I can't imagine any major differences. I was as shocked as you to learn that I needed the shallow mount speakers as I have looked under the rear deck many times and figured that I would be ok with regular mount speakers. I phoned and talked to a crutchfield rep when I ordered my speakers. I wanted the NON-shallow style as their is a difference in the low end frequency of the 2 speakers. He told me that the regular would not fit and I would need to get the shallow mount. That's what I did.

Crutchfield sent me the master sheet instructions on how to install the speakers that I purchased from them It's in a pdf. If your interested, I could e-mail it to you. It looks as though you need to take off the rear deck and the speakers are mounted from the top. I think that they gave me the shallow mounts so that I didn't have to take off all the extra blows crap that is underneath the factory speakers.

Also, the crutchfield rep said that I needed some speaker adapters to mount those speakers to the rear deck and they included those.

I'm not sure about matching the speakers and the amps either, I was told that it's best to get an amp that matches the lowest rms so that you don't overdrive those speakers and then you can use those to their fullest potential.

JPIZZLE

Your Budget is 400 It seems to me. You are better to get a nice 300 radio and a nicer set of front speakers. You wont hear the rears as much as people may think. when I sold car audio i always suggest to increase volume in the front vs the volume in the whole car. You are not listening to the speakers in the rear they are only there for a ambience. So I would look into a better head unit with better front speakers and do the rears later with a amplifier! My two Cents

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

In order to do the rear speakers on a 4th gen, it's advisable (pretty much necessary) to remove the back seat and rear deck. You don't need shallow mount speakers.

As far as matching, I match the highest wattage. Why? Because you're never running your amp at full capacity. Therefore if you ever blast your music, you're just peaking out the speakers intermittently. No harm done

DomoMaxima98

iTrader: (6)

you wont need an amp if your runnin speakers that low

just get a pioneer deck, some 200 watt three ways for the doors and some 100 for the rear deck.. (all pioneer) and use the amp to power the front speakers. Deadend the doors and rear deck and ur all good.

that will be in your budget..


oh yeah .. just remove the back seat and the rear deck.. it SEEMS hard but it really isnt... it will only take u if 30 mins to take it out if its ur first time.. its really easy.

JSMax

iTrader: (13)

DJFRESTYL: so lets say that I have some front components that are rated at 10-100 Watts RMS. The rear speakers are rated at 55 Watts RMS. What you are saying is that I could run an amp that puts out 100X4 and as long as I don't crank it up, I would do no real harm to the rear deck speakers?

Also, if I wanted to add a sub and amp, what wattage would I use if I was running 100X4 for the front and rear speakers?

I personally need to be careful as I cannot run anymore the 600 Watts RMS due to the underdrive crank pulley that I am using.

And what is the difference in output in an amplifier when measured at 14.4 volts and say 13.6? From what I have seen, most amps measure wattage at 14.4 volts and that is an ideal situation.

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

You pretty much hit the nail on the head, except I'd turn the gains down on the rear channels to take the lower wattage rating into effect.

Adding a sub and amp - doesn't have any effect on the other amp. If you're at 400watts on the speakers, I would get a sub amp that puts out 200w max.

The difference is nominal, don't worry about it.

Fast1one

iTrader: (12)

Those Blau amps look very intriguing...

There is nothing wrong with Blau equipment, ask nismo

JSMax

iTrader: (13)

Alpine has a new pdx 5 Channel amp that they are releasing for this year. 75X4 + 300X1 @4ohms AT 14.4 volts. I"m kinda leaning towards that one. What do you think?

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Ooops - edited

JSMax

iTrader: (13)

and edited my post to show the changes

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

I've always been a fan of big 5 or 6 channel amps. Less wiring, less space taken up, etc etc.

I personally am running a big 6 myself.

JSMax

iTrader: (13)

this one is cool becuase the pdx is a small footprint. I just got to wait for it to be released and get some canadian pricing.

Fast1one

iTrader: (12)

if you can afford the PDX, do it! Sweet little amps...

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

So I could buy a 2-channel amp for the front speakers (running off the pre-outs) and run rear speakers off the headunit's internal amp? Or doesn't that work?

Related question: if I'm powering 4 speakers off 1 pair of pre-outs, do I absolutely need a 4-channel amp or will a 2-channel work just as well? I know that with one pair of pre-outs there will be no front/back fading but that would be OK.

shyheim07

NO SUBS?

Anyway, heres my opinion. Don't get a sony HU. Just get a pioneer. You'll have more, easier and reliable fuctions. Spend about $160 online and you can get one that has 3 preamp output at 4V. Not sure of the models it starts from but u can check. I just say this becasue even though you don't want to have booty shakin subs, down the line u mite wanna add some subs for deepness (ain't gotta be some 1000 watt setups) depending on ur speakers....flexability

IMO the amp is not worth it if you just running speakers at that amout of power. I think someone said it, if anything grab a two channel amp for the front components and run the rears from the deck.

The back speakers are not that difficult. Click out the seat, unscrew the back of seat-pop it out, pop out the panel thingy on top of speakers (go in the trunk, some orange things you gotta push out, and you have accress).

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Thanks for all the input so far. I'm now leaning towards an Alpine headunit—one with no CD player so it'll be a pure mp3 setup (+radio, of course). My suspension is too stiff to allow CD music enjoyment anyway...skips about every 5-10 seconds since the roads here are bad haha. This HU has three 2-volt pre-outs. I haven't seen any 4-volt pre-outs in the models I'm looking at, but obviously that would be preferable.

Yeah, I know the back seats are easy to take out. In the next week I will be removing my entire interior (except for dash and headliner) in preparation for foaming and dampening, as well as audio installation.

JSMax

iTrader: (13)

its funny how quickly and out of control doing a stereo can become. In your orginal post, the deck you were looking at was $130. Now, you are going to spend 300 on just a deck.

well, its going to be your enjoyment, so enjoy it.
And that alpine deck looks nice.
are you going to hook up a screen to it as well? Can you even do that?

travmaximas1998

if u look at the pioneer premiers they have 4v pre outputs. im runnin the 880 but that is quiet a bit out of ur range u can find one that is in ur range im sure. and just a heads up there are 3 more lil orange clippy things that hold down the rear deck i would recommend a panel popper but i used 2 small flatheads to do it and it worked fine.

travmaximas1998

well with just lookin at the post above ur goin with the alpine that was 300
the 880 i got for 330 and it has cds too. and about the skippin it may not skip that as much as the stock one. not sure on that though

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Nope, that Alpine is $225 at Crutchfield. I definitely wouldn't spend $300 on a HU. But I am severely limited in selection due to my desire for a USB-capable deck, and that's honestly the main reason I'm upgrading. So $100 for a much nicer deck is worth it. I've also decided that I have a little more to spend on this. I want to do it right the first time, rather than go cheap and waste time and money redoing it again in a year or two.

I have no interest in adding any kind of LCD screen to my setup.

travmaximas1998

have u walked over to http://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_i...and-video.html they have real good prices on their stuff

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

since i'm upgrading audio I thought i'd step in here too since it had good stuff. I'm also wondering if I should be adding a small amp for my speakers. I don't know if it's beneficial really. Didn't get a clear answer in here tho. What is the consensus? 2-channel amp to run the front components or 4 channel and run all four speakers? What do we think?

Just an input on the $$ part. I know you don't want to spend that much money but my thought on it is that it is audio. It can be removed and placed in another car easily so it's value is worth it in my eyes. I actually dropped the $500 for an avic d3 just because I know I can put it in a different car in the future. Yeah it loses value with use but if you don't plan on selling it, and just keeping it for another car it's not a lose in my eyes.

:edit: I've been researching and I am unsure on speakers now as well. I was planning on premier components up front and premier coaxials in the rear but now I'm unsure about them. Seems as tho so many people on here rather the not "well known" companies. Rainbow is obviously a huge choice on here but too much for me at this point. The premiers are 60 watts nominal for both sets tho. Thoughts?

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

The speakers you picked will be fairly ok for what you're looking to do. You WILL notice a very big difference if you get an amp rather than just power the speakers off your HU. It all depends on if you want to spend the money. The install gets more complicated too.

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

you sat fairly ok...why fairly? and I'm thinking of an amp just because it seems like a better way to go. Idk

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

I only said fairly because they're middle of the line speakers, nothing extraordinary. Don't take offense

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

haha no offense taken. Just was wondering if they were ok. Do you have a better idea on the speakers then? I don't know many unknown names that produce good stuff. Thoughts?

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

They'll be fine for basic uses. Right now you're at the beginner's stage, as we all were.

The first pair of speakers I had in my max were a set of 3way Pioneers, $40 for the pair. At the time, they sounded awesome. Then I slowly refined my hearing and requirements for sound, until I found a pair of speakers that I'm truly content with. It's a process that we all have gone through, and it's always nice to see someone that's willing to take the time to ask questions and really think about what they're looking for. You have to start somewhere...

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

djfrestyl it's good to hear from you that an amp is definitely worth it even without a subwoofer. That's been my feeling based on what I've read online.

By the way, if you have a chance do you have any advice regarding my question about amps? Whether I need a 4-channel for 4 speakers, or can a 2-channel power 4 speakers, or should I get a 2-channel for the fronts only and power the rears off the headunit?

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Sorry, I must have glazed over your question. You COULD run a 2 channel to 4 speakers, but you're going to lose functionality in the way of balance and fade. Most 2 channel amps are mono amps, and though they'd provide enough wattage, won't output a stereo signal.

My advice would be to get a 4 channel amp, bridge it to the fronts, and run the rears off the HU, OR, don't even run rear speakers at all. If you have a solid frontstage there really isn't much need for rears unless you have rear passengers on a normal basis.

ICEMAN76

iTrader: (2)

Really, didn't know that. So it's not necessary to have rear speakers?? I guess you would only need or want it if you wanted to run 5.1 or have a dvd playing for da kids in the backseat. What do you think??

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Necessity is relative, and preferential. One person's necessity may be different from another's.

That being said, after experiencing a solid frontstage, many of us do not have a necessity for rear speakers

The population of people that are running 5.1 in their car are few and far in-between.

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Thanks a lot. I'll go with a 4-channel then. I definitely want rear speakers. Will the HU will still allow fade (front/back) with the fronts running on the pre-out and the rears running from the HU itself?

If a HU is rated 4x17 watts and I'm only running the rears off the internal HU amp, will it double the power available or will it just be 2x17 for the rears? And how large a disparity in sound volume/quality between the amped fronts and non-amped rears can I expect? (Sorry for all the questions.)

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Balance/fade won't be affected as long as your rear speakers are wired correctly.

I don't think it's possible to bridge the output of a HU, so you'd be running 2x17 and the other 2x17 won't be used.

Hard to tell how large of a disparity it will be, but you probably will notice to some degree that your rear speakers are not as beefy sounding as your fronts.

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

I'm thinking 8-ga wire to power the amp (small amp, 40wx4) and 14-ga speaker wire. Besides these wires and the RCA signal cables, are there any other accessories I'd need? I believe Crutchfield includes all the car-specific mounting brackets and adapters.