Hey all, quick Q. Should I upgrade my HU from stock, and why?

Current Setup:
(All in stock locations)

Front speakers: Polk db6500
Rear speakers: Polk db650
Amplifier: 1000watt 4-channel (Profile HA1040)

I keep the radio door closed ALWAYS because I use my sirius reciever which is on the windshield. Therefore, this is not a cosmetic upgrade. My sole objective here is to upgrade the sound/audio quality!

Thanks!

Edit: Title changed to be more accurate!

imo, i think you should. my experience was always that the headunit made the biggest difference in sound quality.

yea, i think you should upgrade

You can never make a crappy sound, sound good - get it?

I hear you guys...Any suggestions on headunits? I want to keep it cheap but want good quality. Also, I want mp3 capability

bump

Eclipse, hands-down....

Any eclipse in particular?

Also, anyone have a link to a steering wheel interface that I could use with my '06 for an aftermarket hu?

bump

Eclipse, hands-down....

I personally cant stand the look of Eclipse now. I was a huge fan in the early 90's but not anymore. It's just too busy.

Now what do you like in its place?

i guess for me i've always enjoyed Alpine's sound.. so Alpine is what i'd recommend..

i know eclipse units will work with the steering wheel. I believe every manufacturer is able to be modified so they will work...it's a matter of finding the correct modules.

eclipse hu definately the best units kinda on the pricey side though but your running an amp sooo honestly its not going to be drastic but then of course ur hu is ur sourcesignal. unless ur a hardcore audiophile that can tell the difference in frenquencies its not 2 drastic. if its just that bad run crossovers

That is what I was hoping to hear. I mean, I know that the signal would be improved with an aftermarket HU, but between the cost of the new HU, a steering wheel interface adapter, and the installation/supplies, it seems that it just may be too costly for my purpose. My audio upgrade is really not that extreme. Sure the sound will be better, but that significantly?...I don't know, thats why i'm here asking.

I have a musicians ear, so I do hear the little things, but nevertheless, like you said, it won't be a drastic difference.

What will running crossovers do to improve the sound quality, and how complicated of an install is it?

the stock HU isnt some piece of junk HU.. it's a pioneer.. it's actually a REALLY good stock head unit.. the only thing a aftermarket HU will do is control which sound goes where etc.. the stock HU is still capable of putting out some excellent sound... I have a really nice setup and still use the stock HU and I get compliments on my system all the time..


buuuuuuuuuuut.. of course once i get a little bit more money.. im getting the avic-d2. =P

crossovers are easy if u already know how to wire an amp. basically what crossovers do is only let in a range of frenquencies.

i kinda miss my stock unit alil because when i switched over to my alpineunit it was alil bright (higherfrequencies were louder) and the lower frequencies to my 6"s are distorted sooo just 1 case a crossover would be perfect because my hu is trying to push tooo much bass.

i'd say alpine...they have very decent priced things that will do about waht you want it to.

I got rid of the stock head unit mainly because I like to have more control of the sound than the bass, treble, loudness, SSP, and xA/xB/tC settings the stock unit had. The stock HU in my 99 Saturn had a 5-band equalizer built in instead of the bass and treble controls, and I loved it. Nicest part was the analog slide controls for the EQ; made for simple and quick changes in sound.

For my tC, I got an inexpensive JVC head unit that plays MP3s burned on DVD and has a built in 7 band equalizer. It also scrolls the name of the artist/song title. I didn't need/want anything super fancy or a large screen in the dash since it's illegal to have video on in the front of the vehicle while in motion. I did get some cheap sun visor monitors to display video, if I really wanted, but rarely use them. But that's beside the point.

I'll be upgrading my stereo (for the 3rd time) before too long with the JVC AVX2 and upgrade to 5.1 surround while I'm at it.

I say grab some of your favorite music, head to some car audio shops and play around with the settings on the radios that catch your eye.

I spoke with crutchfield.com regarding whether a crossover would be beneficial for me. They recommend, for my setup (without a sub), to get some bass blockers:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DgVnLdNYxxc/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?i=127BB150A2&s=0&cc=01

What do you all think of that to improve the sound quality and eliminate some low bass distortion?


This is the amp that i'm using by the way - i'm unsure if any built-in crossover might eliminate any problem:

Profile HA1040: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DgVnLdNYxxc/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=120&tab=features_and_specs&i=489HA1040#Tab



Even my polk db6500 say that they have a built in crossover...

ive always had pioneer , i just installed my old pioneer deck from my last car about an hour ago

i can attest that if you just change your headunit you will hear a difference in the sound. If you go one more step and amp up your stock speakers they will sound even better. ....one more step ..... get new speakers and it just gets better. My point for this post is - if you amp up existing stock speakers that alone will make a big difference so anything more you can assume the quality will just keep getting better.

About bass blockers, any necessity for them with this system?

does ur polks handle bass well? ull only need them if ur speakers distort the bass sound to ur unliking

I don't know yet. I'm putting them in on Tuesday. i wanted to get all of this done before the install so that I won't have to go back. but the amp does have a built in crossover and the polk db6500 also have some sort of built in crossover. I don't believe the db650s do though.

About bass blockers, any necessity for them with this system?

a lot of headunits come w/ frequency tweaking so you wouldnt need them ...if yours doesnt and you have subs you 100% want them. Because of sub levels you will not always hear the strain you would be putting on the speakers.

No, I have no sub and i'm using the stock HU....what does that mean in regards to the bass blockers. Would I need em?

Trust me it does i swapped mines for a Alpine and it plays louder and clearer.

I'm not asking about the HU right now, i'm asking about bass blockers and if they would improve my system

bump...bass blockers? useful here?

one last bump!

Definitely you should

What about bass blockers? With an amp that has a built-in crossover and the db6500 and db650 speakers, are bass blockers a good idea to improve sound quality by minimizing distortion or will the amp handle that issue?

bump

you should use bass blockers if you dont have any way on changing the frequency of what the hu is putting out. What speakers do you have?

polk db6500 for the front
polk db650 for the rear
profile ha1040 amp

I think that the amp has the ability to do that:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-td39ZtSHekL/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=120&I=489HA1040

variable high-pass filter -- thats good - so no - u wont need the blockers since it has the filter.

Awesome, thanks so much!