I've got the base model stereo in my xB2, and while it's nice, it's time for an upgrade. I do rather like the HU, though, even though I know it's relatively crap, and I use the iPod controls constantly.

However, budget's tight. I don't have a hard dollar amount, hence the style of my question. Low-cost options rule these days.

What are some thoughts on the best bang-for-buck option for upgrading the sound. Speaker replacement? (If so, any recommendations?) Deadening?

Thanks for any ideas/info/pointers!

Eric

 

I would say the sound deadening. The quieter interior will make the radio sound better.

-JB

 

The best thing to improve sound quality at low-cost wouldn't be speaker replacement, but speaker placement itself. Moving the stock speakers from the doors to the kick panels would make a huge improvement, it'd sound better than very expensive speakers in the stock door locations.

Since you probably don't want to do that (not many do), replacing your stock speakers with something of higher quality usually give the most bang for the buck. If you like the stock HU and intend to keep it, upgrade the front door speakers as the first upgrade, then add an amp with a built-in high-pass filter to power them, as your second upgrade. Following that, add a subwoofer system (sub, enclosure, amp).

 

Dont really know how low budget you wanna go but couple ideas.

Sound deadening. Behind each speaker or even the entire car. By deadening the entire car you will eliminate tons of enging and road noise. I know I sell huge bulks of material fairly cheap that would cover the entire car. Blocks out noise as well as keeps good noise in.

Add a sub. Infinity Bass Link ..... good sound and comes with everything you need to install Cost $200 on my site. Change is huge on that.

4 Channel amp and Speakers. You dont have to do both at the same time but that would be the biggest change. Can get costly though.

Take Care hope this helps.

 

just get a head unit. seeing as how the scions already come with pioneer speakers, a hu will just adjust the sound quality and make it sound pretty kick ___. i've got a big amp and big sub in my box and kept the stock pioneers....sounds great!


I recommend an alipne hu....cant go wrong with alpine

 

agreed on the alpine HU. good stuff.

 

what is the reasoning behind speakers working better in the kick panel? more enclosure space? thats a very interesting idea and I'd definitely be open to doing something like this as an easy fix.

PS. Easiest fix is to swap out your front speakers.... you can wire it to your stock HU which I believe will supply enough power for most entry level speakers. While you got the door panel off replacing the speakers you should sound deaden the speaker area to maximize the speakers abilities. Beyond that Nodsetse hit it on the spot.... get an amp, and so on...

I'd upgrade all my speakers before getting a sub.

 

It's not that they'll "work better" in the kicks, but that the system will sound much better due to that location. When moving the speakers from the doors to the kicks, you're helping to equalize the path lengths between speakers. With door speakers, you're very close to one of them but very far off axis, while being far from the other one but much more on-axis. When listening to stereo in the home, you don't sit next to one speaker with the other across the room, because it ruins the stereo image, instead you sit between them so that it sounds like it should. In the car, moving the speakers from the doors to the kick panel has the same effect, the stereo image greatly improves when you're more equidistant from the speakers. If you're really serious about improving sound quality in the car, this is definitely the way to go. I'd rather listen to an average speaker in a good location, than a mega-dollar speaker in a poor location.

 

cool... makes sense.... I wonder how my Hertz Audison setup would sound w this mod...... I think I may have just found my next project for my Lexus.