Alright so i have a 97 non-bose and i was wondering what people's recommendations are for upgrading the sound system on the cheap. i wanna hopefully spend under 200 dollars (might be a little naive of me). in general i care more about performance, but i just feel that the non-bose setup in the 4th gen is terrible.

please help!!!

 

alright 2 quick things i forgot. typo on the price i want to spend, i could probably do about 400ish. although if anyone is selling a setup for cheap thats good, pm me.

second is i just need replacements, i dont need any subs in the trunk, i just want 6.5 inch replacements, idk if ill need a new HU or not.
thanks

 

You can get bottom line Aftermarket Front and rears for about $200, you can check out some cheap speakers here:

www.crutchfield.com

I'm using some 6.5" Infinity's in my front and rear and if I remember right they fron'ts were $90/$100 and I don't remember the rears. They perform well, un-amped, but eventually you should look into getting an amp. ... and some subs =)

 

HU first. It will even make your stock system sound better. You can get an Eclipse CD2000 or 3000, that's within budget. If you change your speakers, it's not going to sound phenomenal or anything, you should amp them for best results.

 

but your speakers on ebay rather than crutchfield.. they jack the price way up there..

 

But Crutchfield offers a warranty. Egay does not.

 

but, he's buying cheap shyt, so warranty isn't that important.

50 bucks on a pair of speakers, or 100 at crutch.

i say take the chance since the price's aren't high

 

Or just start with the HU as suggested, that will net the most benefit for instantaneous sound quality.

 

Its not "jacking up" the price, its referred to as selling at MAP or SRP as required by the manufacturer. Because it can be found elsewhere cheaper it doesnt always make it a better purchase.

 

Keyword here is Cheap, which leaves relaibility questionable. They blow in a week or so, then the same money is spent as if they were bought from a legitimate dealer, but without the headache.

 

Ive got a Kicker KX150.2 sitting in my room, friend bought it on ebay and it goes into protect mode as soon as you turn it up hardly at all...happened straight out of the box. No warranty. Highest bidder?
True story...its about to get thrown off the 3rd floor of my apt bldg to test Kickers build quality...because its no more than a paperweight that takes up what little space I have.

On topic...replace the deck now and then save up another hundred or two which will give you enough to get new speakers as well. And a good head unit...not some Sony Xplod.

 

hahaha i was gonna say the same thing. crutchfield is about the only authorized online dealer, which means they keep the prices where they're suppose to be, unlike most other sites.

 

alright i should rephrase that. i want something thats inexpensive, not cheap. im a musician myself, but as i said sound isnt exactly the most important thing for me, its more performance.

this oem non-bose setup is starting to get to me though because i can barely turn it up. so im shopping for a new HU and debating about what to get after that. if anyone is selling speakers or whatever else please pm me. keep the suggestions coming this is seriously helping me, a newb to car stereo sh*t.

thanks

 

I would suggest going the low end eclispe route, there's one for sale in the FS section for very cheap, you should jump on that cd2000.

 

i lookd in the FS section, couldnt find it. if you could post a link thatd be helpful.

 

i lookd in the FS section, couldnt find it. if you could post a link thatd be helpful.

 

What is he overall investment you want to make...including HU and Speakers? Ill see what I can do to help out.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=498889

 

and its been sold for nearly a week already noobx

 

.

 

I would invest in a good eclipse headunit. I'm still waiting to upgrade mine since my brother bought his last year. It really does make the biggest difference. You're going to need aftermarket speakers to support the headunit since the bose won't run off of aftermarket, so I would try to get some mid range comps. And I know people may agree not agree with me, but subs made the biggest difference in sound in my car. I had good bass coming out of my rears but subs changed everything. I would buy these couple things first, don't need to be fully high end. Then I would save up some money and get some good amps and subs.

 

Looks like you have alot to learn. The bose will run off of the eclipse, with the right harness.

 

I know you can get a harness but from what I've heard, the sound output isn't as good and the money would be better well spend on aftermarkets.

I'm not an audiophile by any means, just thought I'd give my two cents on my experience.

 

i have a non-bose...

thanks for the help Pearl96Max, i was hoping to spend less than 500 for the whole setup. now im a huge newb with audio stuff for cars so idk what ill be needing. i figured id need a new HU, you guys reaffirmed that, i also figured id need new speakers, which it sounds like i might be able to skip. but im hoping to spend less than 500 to get a good audio setup.

 

try www.hookedontronics.com . I bought a Panasonic MP3/WMA capable HU from them about 4 years ago and its been working perfect. No problems whatsoever. Their prices are WAY better than crutchfield as well.

 

Prices vs service vs authorized product. You have to look at the whole picture. What if you bought it and found it to be defective? Sent it back for repair and they did it in - house rather than send it back to the manufacturer for repair? Not good. And in the even that it is damaged and they don't offer a warranty at all, what do you do then?

 

Crutchfield is the ultimate went it comes to customer service. They pack their items well, give you a nice letter, installation instructions, magazine subscription from them, and a prepaid shipping return label (if you don't like the item or it fails eventually you can send it back)