advice on a system

[elvasoshexai]

i need some advice on a system. i'm no audiophile so i don't wanna spend too much.

the system is for a 1998 celica so it's a small car. It already has 6 speakers (2 front tweeters in side mirror positions, 2 at bottom of doors and 2 on the sides in the rear.

i don't have much experience with audio, however, in my 1993 camry, i've went through 2 decks (a kenwood kdc-519, and some jvc deck i got at canadian tire while it was on sale) i did notice that the kenwoods sounded better than the jvc tho (kenwood had adjustable settings, jvc were preset)

however, i've always been used to listening to music on the computer and since i have a sub for my computer, it was always something i missed in my car.

also, i do notice that the stock speakers on my camry don't perform too well when loud

so i was thinking of replacing my head unit, all 6 speakers and POSSIBLY add a sub... (the sub i have to think about because i don't have much trunk space) maybe a small sub will do? i'll also get an amp for the system (or is 2 needed?)

not sure if kenwood is considered a decent or value or quality brand, but stock/kenwood/jvc are the only things i've tried so i'm not 100% sure how high end i'd want to go...

since i'm no audiophile, and i'd like some decent sound, what kind of budget should i be looking to spend for a system that would suit my needs? not too crappy (at LEAST better than stock) yet doesn't have to be super high end. thanks.

[Delay_FTB]

Alright, before anyone else mentions it, you migth want to post how much you're willing to spend.

Also, I was confused as to if you have a celica or camry, becuase you mention both.

Someone will be along to help with the details as soon as you post as much info as you can.

[elvasoshexai]

i don't want to spend too much. but other than installing headunits... i've never built a system before so i don't know how much i should be prepared to spend on a decent one. i just wanna get an idea of what my options are and prices so i can save up.

i kinda looked over some of the stickies and there were a listing of a bunch of items classified as "value" and "quality" i wonder how much of a difference are between the 2?

i have both a 93 camry and 98 celica. but this system is for the celica.

[TakeABao]

How much is "too much"? Way to ignore the question completely...

I've spent upwards of a grand on just my amps alone -- but that's not "too much" in my books. Get my point?

What sort of money do you want to allocate (I just rephrased the question)? $1000? $1500? $2000? More?

Tell us this much and we can be way more helpful. Otherwise, we're just going to throw out a bunch of model numbers and prices and you're going to be left there scratching your head and unwilling to spend money....

[elvasoshexai]

is it at all possible to get a decent system for $500CDN? my max would be about $1000CDN (give or take a little bit)

[TakeABao]

what does that translate to in US dollars?

[elvasoshexai]

eh.. about $450USD(prefered spending limit) to $875USD(max spending limit)

[Delay_FTB]

It is a possibility...but a stretch, IMO. Maybe if you just started by upgrading the front stage, and getting a good deck you could always add on later with extra amps and subs and whatnot. Plus you'll want to include sound deadening and wiring as well. Do a search in this section of the forum and you'll find about 100's of other people asking your same question, and there will be plenty of suggestions contained in those posts. I'm sure some of them are even celica owners, so you could pay more attention to those. Regardless, if you do your fair share of the research and whatnot, others will be more inclined to help. If you're just a novice/beginner, read the stickies, like you said, and check out the "useful sites" or whatever because there is a ton of educational information in those sites like www.bcae1.com, www.crutchfieldadvisor.com, etc...

[jazz391]

for 850 dollars american you can get a very good system. you just have to be wise in how you spend your money. before i start throwing out product names, you have to answer a few more questions. just because you are not an "audio nut" does not mean that you should settle for mediocre sound. your system will only be as good as you let it be. install is very important. get good stuff and take time putting it in and you will be fine. i think the results will be better than you ever hoped they would be. what kind of music do you listen to? what are your overall goals? do you want something that will sound good but not be overpowering? do you want something that will be really loud? do you want something that will impress others when they sit in your car? do you want a system where you will be able to feel the bass? do you want the option to upgrade later, or do you think this will be your last system? and have you heard anything before and liked the way it sounded?

[elvasoshexai]

well 850 is my MAX so i'd try to stay below it. i'm not too sure i'd want to spend it on too good of a system because after a certain point, the quality isn't worth the price and the quality difference is minescule (imo). i can hear the difference between crappy and decent audio but. yea. i just need something decent that doesn't... do that thing that speakers do when u put it loud.. crackle or break up signal or sumthin

i listen to mostly (ok. i only listen to) asian (hk/tw/kor/jap) music and so it ranges from pop/rap/r&b/rock-ish/etcetcetc...
my goal is to just have a decent system. don't have to shatter windows or anything. nothing too overpowering. i do listen to my music loud on stock speakers. but it's not crazy loud. i really miss the bass i get listening to music on my copmuter tho.. but because of trunk space... kinda debating about sub. this is most likely going to be my last system unless something breaks down.

the big problem is i don't have many friends into modding cars.. hell i'm the only person with my own car out of all my friends... so i've never had the chance to experience different systems.

i plan to replace all 6 stock speakers (2 rear, 2 front tweeters and i guess 2 front mids?)

without a sub would 1 amp be enough? and if i get a sub i'll need 2 amps right?

not too sure about brand qualities... but i was looking at some head units. what are your opinions on:
1) Panasonic CQ-C7301U
2) Kenwood KDC-MP7028 or KDC-MP728 or KDC-MP925 or KDC-MPV8025

i also looked @ pioneer and eclipse ones.. but they are too expensive

i assume they all play mp3 and support cdrw? kenwood site doesn't give any information on their head units

[Delay_FTB]

Look up model specifics on www.crutchfield.com. If you're just after better sound in general, you may be please by just installing a good component set w/ some decent midbasses. Since you're not real familiar with all this, a passive setup would probably be best for you, and keep things simple. That could keep it down to just a single two channel amp, or if you choose to go without a sub, get a four channel and run some rear fill. Persoanally, I always google search for reviews and specs on specific products. Also, if you decide to, you can always add more later, and since you're on a budget, I'd say to keep things simple and "test out" what you like before jumping head first into a "complete" system.

[elvasoshexai]

er just a few questions...

1) in a component system that comes with tweeters and mids. do you connect both tweeters and the mids to the amp? or do the tweeters and mids connect to each other and then you connect the mids to the amp?

2) a 2 channel amp can only support 2 speakers rite? one for the left one for the right?

3) so then if i have a set of speakers in the front and in the rear i need 4 channels? (FL,FR,RR,RL)

4) so if i had a sub i could either use one 5 or 6 channel amp or one 4 channel (FL,FR,RR,RL) and one 1 or 2 channel (sub) amp?

5) also, i know a lot of people are saying that having high quality fronts is better than having mediocre all around... i've tried fading all the sound to my front before... it seems to be lacing with no sound coming from the back... so what do people usually use for rear fill? is it better to get 2 full-range speakers in the rear for rear fill or should i replace the 2 rear speakers with 2 small subs instead? (my rear speakers are on the side panels at the back of a 2dr car.. so it's like behind the front seats but in front of the rear seats) or is the 2 subs in the rear speaker locations a really bad idea?

6) also... um.. on crutchfield, it says that you should use high sensitiveity speakers with low sensitivity system and vice versa... when i look @ amp specs, they don't talk about sensitivity?

7) and um... on the site it also says to match the power handling of speakers to amp. that you should match maximum rms or something might blow... but neither amp or speakers talks about the max rms.speakers just show the peak and range. amsp only show peak, power @ 2ohms and bridged power and rms power output... so how do you figure which speakers and amps go together good?

[touringcamry]

For a component speaker set, you get a crossover that goes with the speakers. It's box with some circuits inside that's about the size of a pack of smokes. You connect the input of this box to the amp or what ever your source is. There will be enough outputs, generally 2 sets, to the two drivers. The crossover separates the signals that go to the mids and the tweeters so that they out the frequencies they were designed to output.

Most 2 channel ampls can also be bridged to drive one speaker. But for components, you basically treat it as one speaker when connecting it to the amp. So a 2 ch amp can drive a set of components even though there are 4 drivers.

If you want a sub, you want one only one amp for all your speakers and sub(s), you can use an amp with 4 or more channels. You will use two channels for the front and bridge the two other channels for the sub(s) for more power.

I currently have front speakers only and a sub. At first it did sound like something was missing, but I guess I got used to it. But one thing I noticed when I had 4 speakers and a sub was that sometimes some frequencies shift front to back and and it got really annoying. Without a sub, there's definitely something missing because 6.5 or 6.75 mids can't output much bass like a sub.

Currently, in my car, I have a 6 ch amp running 3 channels. I bridged two channels for both the front left and right components. I then bridged the sub channels to run one sub.

[elvasoshexai]

i really wish i could get a ride in a car w/ these aftermarket setups so i can actually hear how one of these setups would sound like... hah anyone in scarborough/markham wanna come by?

[sq_camry]

go to your local shop and talk to them, someone might be nice enough to give you a demo.