I have a 2005 tC that I love to drive, but the Pioneer hear unit is difficult to use and the volumne control buttons suck when you want to change the volume quickly.

I am looking for a CD player that also has Bluetooth, iPod connection and Satellite radio capability. No nav or DVD player.

I am also thinking of replacing the factory speakers, but am not interested in a large sub that fills my trunk. I want a stock looking installation, but clear sound.

What systens have been installed and how do they compare?

Cheers,
Ivan

 

Best advice I can give you is to go to a local audio shop (NOT BestBuy or Circuit City!!) and listen to some speakers. We all hear differently, so what we tell you we like you may not like at all. You don't necessarily have to purchase your audio equipment from the shop. Most of the time online is considerably cheaper.

 

As far as head units are concerned, I believe the Eclipse CD3200 meets your requirements and is a very nice unit. I have the CD7200mkII and love it. The 3200 is basically a stripped down version of the 7200 in terms of tweaks and tuning.

CD3200: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...se+CD3200.html

As far as your door speakers go, Phoenix Gold RSD's will sound decent off the head unit built in amp, but will sound great off an external amplifier, plus they're very budget friendly.

RSD's: http://cgi.ebay.com/PHOENIX-GOLD-RSd...QQcmdZViewItem

And as far a subwoofer goes, you can get that little extra bump without sacrificing any trunk space by going with the eD SQ10 below the trunk floor, already pre-assembled. It's a bit expenisive, but makes for a nice stock-looking install.

SQ10 Setup: http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=465

And to amp all of it, if you're willing to drop the cash and spend the time, you can hide this single amp on the opposite side of the trunk floor. Alpine PDX5. Front 4 channels bridged to 150wRMS per channel to the RSD's in the door and 300wRMS to the SQ10 in the trunk.

PDX5: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2008-ALPINE-...QQcmdZViewItem

That's my best recommendation on a budget and seeking that stock appearance.

Any questions, let us know

EDIT: BTW, my setup is in my sig so you can see what I run

 

Go to the alpine or pioneer website and look for a head unit for the features you want. Keep the stock speakers and look for the factory bazooka sub from scion on ebay for cheap. the setup should be adequate for most unless you are willing to buy component speakers and amp them up and sub and amp combo.

 

The bazooka sub is a tremendous waste of time. Take it from me, I had it before I had my current setup. It provides almost no help in that sub bass range. It can hardly even scratch the sub-50Hz range at any kind of volume. Please don't waste two hundred on that piece.

Spend the money on a good 10" sub + amp + box and a nice head unit.

Spend $400-500 and get a great aftermarket head unit and do it the right way, you'll be much happier.

 

OK, now for some technical questions;

What should I look for in a head unit in terms of Amp, channels, RDS and Max output?

If I want to add an amp, would that directly power all 4 speakers? Or would one amp power the door speakers and a separate on be for the sub (if I choose to go that way)?

Being that this will be a budget installation can I phase in new stuff? Say I find a nice head unit and just want to keep the factory speakers for now, will this somehow afect my ability to add speakers down the road? Logic tells me that I could save up for the speakers and it wouldn't make a difference to the head unit one bit, but I have to ask.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend.

Cheers,
Ivan

 

Sure you can add to your system in steps. And the first step to that would be to get a new head unit, you're correct. As far as head units go, half of them will have 18wRMS/channel amps built in and the other half with have 22wRMS/channel amps built in with 50 watt max outputs. Pretty much, it doesn't matter which you go for, they're going to be about the same in output. As far as which head unit to go for, look into Alpine, Pioneer, Kenwood, and Eclipse (These are the major manufacturers and are all quite good). A lot of units will require add-on adapters to gain the use of bluetooth, iPods, etc. I know the CD3200 from Eclipse has all of that built in, but you should definitely shop around so you can get what you like.

Now, if you want to add an amp, be sure to replace the stock speakers first, as they are not worthy of anything greater than the head unit output. For some great components to replace the stock speakers at an awesome price, refer to my previous post about the Phoenix Gold RSD's, you will not regret it.

If you would like to keep the factory look, I advise you look into the elemental Designs SQ10 setup that I linked to you previously. I would also try to minimize my amps to one if you want that factory look. To do this, look into a 5 channel amplifier. I already linked you to the PDX5 (a Class D 5-channel), but there are several others to choose from. With those five channels, you can bridge the two fronts and rears to create a two channel with 150wRMS/channel, which is perfect for the RSD's. Then you'll have a single 300wRMS channel for the sub, which is exactly what it's rating is.

For power, speaker, and RCA, look no further than Knukonceptz. Though you can find cheaper products, you will sacrifice quality for the price, even though Knu isn't outrageous to begin with. http://knukonceptz.com/productDetail...rodID=KOL-AK44

This is a four channel amp kit, but because you'll be bridging the connections for the RSD's, the 4 channel kit will work perfectly. I would advise you look into getting some sound deadening materials to apply to the inside skin of your doors as well, it helps TREMENDOUSLY to make our doors solid and help kill vibrations. http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...products_id=52
This is a great budget deadening that is tried and true. There is even a forum code that knocks 25% off the cost I believe. I'll update you if I can find it

Oh, found it, hopefully this link takes you right to it: http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?products_id=355{SALT}4a7d1ed414474e4033ac29ccb8653d9b

Hopefully this gets you started. Any questions, please ask away

 

Kidwolf,

Would having the 4 x 50amp output be easier on the amp? Or does it add to the clarity of the speakers after teh amp?

What do you mean when you say bridge the 2 front speakers?

A 5 channel Amp has 4 independant outputs for the 4 speakers and 1 larger output for the Sub?

I like the idea of being totally stock looking. Thanks for the links.

Are there speakers by the door levers? I see a perforated plastic cover directly in front of teh lever and assume it's for a speaker?

How does eDead work? I have used Second Skin before, is this a similiar product? I seem to get allot of road noise in the cabina and my feeling is that any sound deadener would help greatly. How much is needed? Just do the doors or the whole interior and trunk lid?

Thanks for the help,
Ivan

 

Ivan,

I can assure you that if you go with the PDX5 amp that I linked, it will have no trouble doing what I've suggested. I have a 2.150 and 1.600 PDX in the little styrofoam tool area under the passenger side of the trunk floor and they have yet to get too hot to touch (even when pounding on my sub) and are very efficient. Bridging is a term that describes linking the output between two channels on an amplifier to creat one channel. Although you go from 2 channels to one channel, you double the power output of that channel (ie. 2-75wRMS channels bridged = 1-150wRMS channel).

Since the PDX5 has 4 channels @ 75wRMS/channel, bridging the 4 channels into 2 channels gives you 2 channels @ 150wRMS/channel (this is what I run to my RSD's, and they take it like a champ and sound great!).

And yes, a 5 channel amp has 4 channels that are full range (for door speakers) and one subwoofer channel. You can keep the stock look of the car by using the Elemental Designs enclosure I linked to and hiding the PDX5 in the tool area on the driver side of the trunk under the floor.

As far as the door speakers go, yes there are 6.5" woofers in the doors down in the corner where the door connects to the body (the grill should make this position obvious). There are also tweeters by the levers that open the doors (this is the other grill that you're seeing). The tweeters that come with the RSD component set mount perfectly to the tweeter brackets that come with the tC. When you need the help, I can get plenty of photos of the install that can help you.

Also, yes, eDead and Second Skin are similar. Second Skin is most definitely a superior product, however, you pay a lot more for it, and the difference is not enough to make it worthwhile on a budget. Also, the only parts of the tC that desperately NEED deadening are the doors. I would suggest 20ft. of eDead in order to cover each door thoroughly.

 

OK, thanks! I think I have a hang of it, I'm in the process of buying a house, so I think that in a few weeks I'll be buying teh HU, then think about adding Amps and speakers.

Really appreciate the help and nice to know I can do it and still keep the stock look.

Cheers,
Ivan

 

No problem man. When the time comes to buy your head unit, speakers, amps, etc. just come back and ask any questions you have. The community here is more than willing to help you out

 

I worked at crutchfield for 2yrs as a sales advisor. And Id have to say to go with an Alpine reciever. Rockford or Alpine amp. If you want full rich sound from just 4 speakers and no sub Id go with Focal, DB Drive, CDT, Boston, or JL. in that order. Properly amplified it will be rich and full. you will be very satisfied.

 

Sweet INFO!!!!

 

here for you guys

 

Unfortunately, Crutchfield doesn't sell much in the way of high-end audio equipment. The high-end stuff that they do sell is incredibly overpriced and not as good as you could get for the cash. They've got a leg up on the likes of Circuit City or Best Buy, and I would take a Crutchfield advisers word over that of one in the CC or BB audio section, but if you want real advice and high-end audio, check out www.diymobileaudio.com

You can't find DLS, Dynaudio, Hybrid Audio, Hertz, Fi, Image Dynamics, RE, TC sounds anywhere on Crutchfield. Oddly enough, they don't even sell Pioneer Premier products.

@OP, do yourself a favor and invest some time in research. Head over to DIYMA and read up on some real components before you buy. Many times you cannot just go into a store and listen for yourself, in which case you just have to try them out...sell them if you don't like them and try another set. Whatever you do, don't buy anything after hearing good words from just one person. Ask around and see what the big boys or audio think.

 

yeah I have to agree with that. We dont go as high end as I would like. I am a big reason that we started selling JL. The more high end audio companies like DB Drive,rainbow, CDT, Focal etc. are more reserved to smaller retailers and specialty stores. Not major retailers like bb and crutchfield. that will likely never change but it helps alot to maintain exclusivity. BTW crutchfield will be selling the pioneer premier within the next 3 months if things go as planned. I was curious about that myself I am very fond of their recievers. Have a DEH-P680MP myself and love it.