Newest round of upgrades: the Stereo. I know, I know, the Z-28 doesn't have a stereo. But I don't want a Z-28. I like music, pretty much all kinds of music so long as it has a good beat (which means I hate hippy and country). Unfortunately, my driver's side tweeter is starting to go out. It's not a big deal for about 95% of the songs that come on the radio, and of that remaining 5% most of those aren't really noticeable either, but I hear it often enough that I want it fixed.
Nothing is fixed yet, but this write-up will cover up through the research/purchase. Next post will cover the install.
tl:dr version:
One tweeter going out means that I have to replace the front speakers because the tweeters are matched to the lower 6.5" speakers in the door. New front speakers will be underpowered by the stock Boston Acoustics amp, so the amp needs an update. A new amp will severely overpower the rear speakers, so the rears need to be done. I don't want multiple amps in the trunk, so I will power the existing sub with the new amp. New amp overpowers existing sub, so new sub. Factory wiring is just barely good enough for the weaker system, need to rewire the car too (plus it's easier since everything is taken apart for the speaker swap anyways). I probably could have just replaced the old tweeter with someone's "take offs", but what's the fun in that?
Full story:
So, having been removed from the car audio scene for several years I had no idea what was "good" anymore. I visited the Crutchfield website to get some ideas and found some good ideas to get it all upgraded for $500, but I wanted to hear the speakers first. Only way to find out what sounds good is to listen to it, right? Off to the car audio store. Walk in and I am instantly overwhelmed with the selection. Are there really that many different types of speakers now? "Back in the Day" (read: 10-15 years ago) there were only a handful of decent brands to choose from, now I'm seeing a half-dozen brands I've never heard of with prices much higher than expected. I quickly realize that my $500 goal is insanely unreasonable. This is for a couple of reasons: 1) What Crutchfield recommended was not very good and 2) Crutchfield doesn't know what's in these cars.
After a couple of hours at the shop, I came away with some pretty good ideas as to what I wanted, but I really was not a fan of the pricetag. I've dropped close to $10k on my car, but suddenly I'm hesitating on some $250 speakers? Oh well, it is what it is, right?
But me being me, I have to research the $#!+ out of everything before buying. There has to be something easier/cheaper out there. Once again, I'm in the technical forums here on C5 where I not only find some good answers and advice, but I also uncover more questions. Most of these questions center around the rear speakers; do I need them, if so then what size, how does this change the amp. Audiophiles say rear speakers are worthless if my front speakers are any good, but I'm not an audiophile and I have kids who like tunes in the rear seat. The install for the rears looks like hell and those speakers seem to working just fine, so maybe keep the stock ones?
I was told I should check out some of the online audio-specific forums for advice. Most of what I found there were audio snobs who when they say they built a system, they built everything. I mean EVERYTHING. They go almost as far as twisting their own wires. Not a ton of help, but I was able to fish out a few pointers. Biggest help from them was finding an amazing shop nearby.
After a week of checking out a dozen different online shops trying to find the best prices, I somehow ended up at
www.pacificstereo.com They have an online chat feature, so I thought I'd see what they would recommend. We chatted for close to two hours before he even suggested a product. He wanted to know what type of music I liked, what my expectations were, what else I have done to the car, which brands I had a preference too, if I had listened to anything so far, and a bunch of other Q's just trying to build the best picture. After a couple more hours of suggestions, debate, and answering a ton of my questions we ended up with the following build:
Focal 165AS front component speakers
Focal R-690-C rear speakers
Audiocontrol LC7i signal processor
Alpine PDX-V9 amplifier
JL Audio 12W3v3-2 subwoofer
and a handful of wiring/cables/accessories to make the whole thing run (thanks to ******** for the speaker mounts, amp mount, and FARK kit).
I know it's not the best system out there, but it will definitely be better than stock.
The next step is obviously the install. I didn't hesitate to do the install for everything else on the car, why should this be different? Two words: plastic tabs. They are the bane of my existence. If I look at one, it will break. And I will have to remove almost every interior panel in this car for the install, so there would be a ton of broken tabs. Broken tabs = rattles =
The other option is to have a shop do it, but most of the shops I had found so far were going to charge close to $500 for the install. And that was ONLY labor! I would still have to buy all the wire, harnesses, mounting brackets, and I'm sure they would charge me for lunch too.
Back to the awesome shop recommended above. Turns out they have a "flat rate" install price for speakers that is significantly cheaper than anywhere else I've found. Doesn't matter if it's one panel or all of them. I can do the signal processor, amp and sub install. That's straight forward, but if I can pay someone only a couple hundred bucks to do the rest, sounds like a plan to me.
Stay tuned for the install coming soon.