I am in need of a new sound system for my 2000 2.5rs. So far I have thought of having mach1 or best buy doing the install. what are your thoughts and ideas? Do any of you have a system that I could have?
i would say do it yourself, that way if something goes wrong down the road, you know how to fix it. Since its relatively easy to install a full stereo system.
i have a multitude of subs and one amp and at least one deck. pm me if interested in details. and there are plenty of people on here that could prob assist in an install for you rather than paying a place to do it. unless you want something hella extreme
Install yourself and save some $$. For radios the crutch includes the elec. connections so "no splicing", bezel for clean looks(best buy =$35++), and instructions to make it even simplier. They are probably running some decent sales right now as another added bonus. http://www.crutchfield.com
+1 for crutchfield! Have bought from them before and everything installs nicely! They give you great instructions, and they are very helpful people!
If you want help doing it, my buddy used to work for both mach1 and best buy. I am slightly versed in doing them in subarus so I can help as well. I just have an 8in sub/amp combo under my passenger seat, and it is plenty loud enough for me. give the bass but does not bother the car next to me.
Yup, Crutchfield is good! And I can give you a hand with the install. Honestly, the "hardest" part is getting the door cards off and the mounting of the speakers. Let me know if you need a hand. Use to install car audio equipment alot on the beaters I had when I was younger.
crutchfield is good for seeing specs and comparison shopping. Prices aren't much better than purchasing from a brick and mortar retail store. Lots of better online vendors (including some on mnsubaru). What's your budget, what kind of music do you listen to, and what do you want out of your system? Ultimately, what "sounds good" is going to be up to you. And yes, do the install yourself or get help doing it. Subaru dashes and door cards take seconds to pull apart. Running wires in and out of the cabin and under sills and carpet is really easy in these cars too.
want nothing that says "hey look at me"... Listen to k102, 93X, 94.5, 101.3. a lot of different stuff. Mainly its my iPod via tape deck..... Not wanting to spend no more the say 300-400 bucks? I would think that will get a good (medium to high end rang system).
Either get one that you can also buy an Ipod adapter for, or one with an auxillarly input, preferably on the front. For that price you can get a decent deck and 4 speakers.
300-400 bucks will get you a decent set, just don't over-spend on the speakers until you can afford an amp to power them. Even a decent cd player at that price range will make your stock speakers sound better.
i have these on my rs, and with a small amp powering them everything sounds really nice and clear. and for bass, i have a 8inch rockford p1 in a bass tube, which gives out enough bass for my needs w/o killing my ears http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB6...DORID107&ssi=0&searchdisplay=Polk+Audio&tp=95
so the real question is, for 300-400, what do you want installed?? Just speakers, just a deck, a deck and 4?? Most good decks will kill that budget right away. Russ
Good point. Don't under power your speakers. Will you can also think about doing this. If you are just worried about the ipod then get a FM transmitter for it, about $80 and sounds way better than the tape. Then spend the extra money on a small amp and some speakers. You could probally get away with starting with the rear speakers. Since they are bigger (I assume) you will get more "thump" from them. You can leave your door speakers stock until you have more money. This will allow you to beef up your sound a little bit, and play your i-pod. Otherwise Russ is right, a nice deck will break your budget..... however, a nicer deck could bring more power to your stock speakers and make them sound better. using this theory, you could buy a better deck and replace the door speakers. then wait on the rear until you have money for an amp and rear speakers. either way, do it yourself. there are a ton of people on this forum that can help you... or we can make a tuesday night meet out of it :biggrin:
Money is best spent on a decent deck. I've found through a lot of deck & speaker installs that basically all factory decks are junk, and a new deck will provide the best sound improvement for the money. Most decks now are iPod ready or have an AUX input so hooking your iPod up won't require a super expensive deck or anything. A deck like this one http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_500CDA105/Alpine-CDA-105.html?tp=5684 would work great (I've always liked Alpine decks). Then spend the rest of your money on speakers, and you will have a good system.
I've got a JVC KD-HDR1 HD radio headunit with iPod controller with some Punch components. Was able to mount the tweets in the factory sail panels using double stick tape and the drivers in the front door panels by making some brackets out of 5/8" pine. Took some fine tuning for the brackets, but it really wasn't hard, and they're drastically better than the ****ty OEM paper speakers. That said, Step numero uno is absolutely to find a deck that sounds good and you like the controls. Shop around on crutchfield, etc... As stated, OEM decks are crap. My Legacy had the OEM Clarion cassette deck, which was junk. My cheapy JVC headunit is infinitely better.
This is what I'm rollin with: Alpine iDA-X303 Digital media receiver = $200.00 Alpine - Type-S 6-1/2" 2-Way Car Component Speaker System Model: SPS-600C | SKU: 8699438 = $135 If you can afford to get the amp, and you want it to sound great: Alpine MRP-F300 V-Power Series 4-channel car amplifier 50 watts RMS x 4 = $170.00 You would not be able to rock CDs anymore, but who plays CDs these days anyways!! I dont know if you have to touch your Ipod on some of the other decks, but this one controls everything from the deck. (And you can see the pretty pictures/album art work) I've got the older model iDA-X100 and i love it, theres been like 2 times when someone else wanted to put a CD in and I had to break their heart. (no, I dont work for Alpine, I just like my ish to match!)
Beware the size of speaker you get. I got 6.5"s with some beasty magnets on them which required a think spacer to fit and then I had to butcher my door cards to get them back on. Check your clearances to make sure you will be able to fit the speakers you want before you order. All specs should be available online. My recommendation is to do it yourself, it is easy as pie and will save you $$$ to be spent elsewhere. I give good reviews of crutchfield as they normally have very good pricing and will often include the wiring harness for you. What I did (several years ago) was to shop ebay for a top of the line deck from the previous year. I ended up picking up a Rockford Fosgate deck that was 1 year old but new int he box. MSRP was $800, but since it was last years model I got it for $200. I would stay away from Sony Xplod stuff period. Alpine seems to be the new standard in deck IMO. Speakers I dont know much about. I went with Hifonics components because I like their Amps and I think they make a good product for a decent price. I have not been disappointed by anything of theirs yet. As for some bass. I am a huge fan of a single 12 (or 10). I am running a RE-Audio 12" sub, which I got from TJamz for a good deal. I have a 1000w@1 Ohm (wired to ~700 @ 2 Ohm) and it works awesome. It wont win any SPL or SQL competitions but I am very happy with it. Also having only a single 12 means a couple of things: 1.) you can use a small box (mine is ~1ft^3), 2.) it is easier to secure in the trunk/gives more trunk room 3.) it is much easier to handle when you need to pull it out (say to get at a spare tire or for rally-x) I think there was a place out there that made custom fiberglass enclosures for Subarus that would fit nicely into a stock trunk theme. I am unsure if they make things for the GC as all I saw at the time was for the GD, but it might be worth looking into. Although making your own box can save you some more $$.
I am agree with most of what was said. I say replace the deck first. I have an Alpine and I really like it. I also have Infinity speakers in the doors. I did have to add spacers to my front doors to get the 6.5s in. I also have a 12 inch MTX in the trunk and the factory under the pass. seat. I really like my set up. The first thing is to do is get a deck. From there I would say get some nice fronts, then rears, and then a sub. It is going to cost more than $400 if you want something good. I am with Dynapar... look in ebay for a good cheap deck. Good luck.
I NEED speakers! So its going to be the whole nine yards. Want main speakers good size sub. Amp. And tweeters. And deck.
I would personally recommend the following set up... -Deck of your choice (4V preouts) - I am personally a Alpine or Pioneer Premier fan. -Set of fronts (either separates or a nice set of coaxes - I personally wouldn't do coaxes and set of tweets. Too much highs...) -Pick up a either two two channels or one amp that can handle fronts and sub (I think Alpine used to make one) -Single sub (10ish - I dig JL's) - I know a JL 10W6 that maybe for sale and has not been abused. Personally I don't think you need fronts and rears if your fronts are decent. You sit in the front. If you're in the back you can still hear the music and at that point you probably aren't paying attention to it anyway :laugh:. I also wouldn't go with more than one sub. The car isn't that big and you can get a lot out of just one. Power doesn't need to be crazy either. I personally like 75w (rms) to the fronts and 3-500 (rms - 4ohm) to the bottom end. High end amps can handle .5, 1 and 2 ohms but you are gonna spend a grip and you don't really need to. I've installed a bunch of different systems in a bunch of different cars and the cleanest I have heard is a set of fronts and a single sub in the back. If you're interested, I know of a couple systems you could listen to. If you can find the Phoenix Gold XS2500 used and in good shape, I'd pick up a couple. They are rock solid amps that sound great and don't break the bank! I have owned 7 since 97. 1 stolen and sold the other 4 after deciding to downsize the setup. Have fun! :biggrin:
Yet another +1 for Crutchfield. I've always approached anything audio with a buy-it-once philosophy. Get what you want the first time, put it in, and rock the hell out of it. Generally, I think I've spent at least $300 on a deck with the three systems I've had (the last being a premier PRS-880) and was never let down. That last premier actually had more features than I cared to use, lol. I would rather wait a month or two and get everything I wanted the first time than compromise and replace crap later. This is what I am considering for the 98 RS I just picked up. One thing I am concerned about with the door speakers is clearance. Infinity makes a nice low clearance reference series speaker, here's a link. http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1086032SI/Infinity-Reference-6032si.html?tp=105 Yeah, they're $100 a pair, but I've never been disappointed by anything car audio wise from them. Thinking about doing the same series in a non-low clearance version for the rear. I don't know about stock speaker size in mine, so the size may not be correct. I'm also looking into Diamond Audio speaker sets, again not sure about depth of the front doors. It's already got a nice Alpine deck in there (CDA-9855), so that can stay for now at least, lol....I prefer Premier decks, maybe it's a familiarity thing. As far as a sub goes, I'm thinking I'm going to go with a JL this time, probably a 10" W6 series. I'm more into sound quality, not the "bumps", haha. I'm not sure about amps all the way around at this point, just kind of hunting for some deals... Installing this stuff isn't that hard, just a little patience sometimes, hiding some of those wires can be a bear, sometimes this doesn't want to come off right, etc...The whole goal in my mind is to have the best system you can that no one can see, especially if you are driving it everyday. Make it look as stack as possible. Obviously, people will see the deck, but they don't need to see aftermarket grills on the door panels, etc.
I think that's what I read too....if so I can't be of service as a DECENT amp/sub/box is going to cost more than that from the get go. Realistic numbers for a good entry-mid level system (by audio guru's standards...not Best Buy standards): Deck $150 to $200 Component Speakers that will fit in a shallow door and still sound good $275+ Coaxial speakers (front or rear) $75 to $100 Amp (4 channel) $300+ Subwoofer $100+ That is the minimum I'd budget to spend on anything even remotely considered mid-end. Also, please don't cheap out and buy online from a non-authorized dealer...there is so much counterfeit/stolen/b-stock stuff out there its not even funny, the last thing you want is $400 worth of crap that doesn't work and has no warranty. If you are interested, I'll put together a suggested system for you via PM.
True, Crutchfield isn't very competitive with the rest of the online dealers, however they are AUTHORIZED dealers who have to abide by contract obligations (like the brick and mortar stores) if they want to keep a product line. Most of us local/semi-local shops can negotiate on our prices a bit, but we just can't advertise lower than what our contracts states. Of course, when the online guys are selling at below our costs as dealers, it is nearly impossible to match them on anything....just don't come whining to us when a product breaks and doesn't have a warranty and don't badmouth the product line due to your own poor choices.
Components are much better if you can make them fit. Impreza doors are very shallow. Tjamz, what have you seen that works good in shallow fit? Might be looking myself soon.
I have a set of MB QUART non-shallow components with a 3/4" spacer that I made out of MDF. The factory speaker has a built in spacer that is probably twice that - 1-1.5". You shouldn't need to buy shallow... I didn't for a o5 WRX or o8 STI. The hard thing is fitting the 1" dome tweet in the factory location.
Don't forget the price of a box (100-300) unless you make one yourself. The wire will probably cost you 100+ (including the fuse holder, power, ground, distro block, deck wire harness, install kit with pocket, RCAs, speaker cable, connectors for amps/speakers (can't ghettofy it!). There is a lot that you don't necessarily think about that is necessary to make everything work...and it all cost something. Unless you buy the kit, I would stay away from Monster Cable. They charge you for the name...big time. Audio Queen charges 2o-3o bucks for a fuse holder. You can get a standard Rockford Fostgate from BB for 8-1o. Price everything out before jumping into it...there are hidden costs!
Zapco ZSL-165 $325 shipped in MN/ND/SD (shoot me a PM if interested) http://www.zapco.com/news.php (about 1/2 way down the page is the info on them...) I have a pair in my WRX, STi and even in my 3/4 ton Chevy that has plenty of room for whatever I would want to run.
