Back in the day, my system was comprised of a Nakamichi cassette head unit, 4 channel amp, and Boston Acoustics Pro Series speakers. A nicely balanced system for a reasonable investment . . . but that was 15 years ago before marriage, grad school, career, and children.

Fast forward to 2005, and while all these things were well worth it, now I'm getting tired of my 2004 sedan's factory standard sound system. My problem, however, is that my audiophile knowledge is stale and I need help. I'm hoping someone has the patience to walk me through both the basics as well as the specifics related to our car.

Here we go . . .

1) If I want to configure my own recorded music, what format do I want: RW-CD, MP3, or Itunes? What are the basic differences and considerations, and how do they relate to car audio?
2) Which of the above formats do today's head units accept?
3) For a well balanced, reasonably priced system, I'm thinking of just replacing the stock 6 speakers I have now. What are the stock speaker sizes?
4) Can I get aftermarket speakers that will fit in the factory mounts or do I need to start cutting the door panels?
5) Is there a factory location for a subwoofer? If so, what size is it?
6) I assume I'll need to do a DD conversion. Other than ordering the right parts (including the device that retains the steering wheel controls) and following the DIY instructions, is there anything else I should know?
7) Is there a good on-line vendor for me to order car audio components, kits, etc. from?

Thanks.

 

wow..these are more than basic questions....AND all of these questions have been answered in previous threads...but here goes.....

1. stock HU will accept CD-R, has problems with CD-RWs. Stock HU will not do mp3s unless it is 05 HU.

2. your 03-04 HU will only accept CD-R discs, NOT mp3 file discs. If you convert to aftermarket HU, you should be able to run CD-R, mp3s, WMAs (unless you install a 1985 Jensen deck).

3. Stock speaker sizes are: front separates 6.5" with 1" tweets, backseat side panels are 6.5"s *shallow* depth (unless you pound in the stock bracket), rear shelf is 6x9"s.

4. Most aftermarket speakers will fit into the stock brackets. The backseat 6.5"s are reall shallow. Depending on the aftermarket speaker's depth, you might need to make small modifications.

5. There is no factory location for a sub unless you have a sedan. Many people use the Infinity Basslink, others make custom sub enclosures, (do a search for 4080, he makes a solid one).

6. You don't have to do a DD conversion if you don't want to but most people end up doing it, it becomes more a matter of how much $$$ you have to spend. One thing you should know is YOU NEED THE BRACKET!!!! lmao j/k you don't need the stupid bracket despite the idiot who wrote that DIY guide saying you need the bracket....lol

7. There are many online vendors you can get quality stuff from. Me.....Crutchfield, sounddomain.com and etronics.com. You might want to ask others about where to buy, it again depends on how much you have to spend.......

My suggestion would be to read much much more on this forum and ask specific questions about specific technical issues for clarifications rather than general questions b/c you might not get answers for questions that have already been answered in threads half way down the forum page. AND you probably will get flamed.

hope this helps start you off.....

doc

 

BTW, a decent system will run you about ~$3K, more or less..........

 

You could always check out my completed system at the Markham meet (I'm sure there will be a couple lookers) It sounds sweet, and was COMPLETELY overhauled thanks to docron and his DIY guide.. including the bracket... NOT!

 

lol

 

YOU DO NEED THE BRACKET... GO CHECK THE OTHER THREAD... THATS ALL THEY TALK ABOUT... j/k

haha

 

alright, lets stop doing the bracket thing already....the horse is dead already, stop beating it......

lol

doc

 

Docron1, thanks for your help.

I do have the sedan. Do you or anyone else know what the factory door sizes are for the sedan? I would like to use the stock panels without cutting to maintain a low profile look.

Also, I do plan on spending around $3K for a decent system. I want to hardwire an IPOD directly into the head unit. Is there a special port in the back of the HU I need to be aware of?

 

I know you have the sedan. I drove up to Lokey with you, remember?

It's 6.5 all around, but I believe you need spacers for them as they don't fit.

All the ipod solutions involve a box of some sort that allow it. In the case of Alpine for instance, you need their Ipod adapter which has a passthrough for either XM or CD Changer in case you wanted to run both.

 

I did remember and sent you a PM (even remembered your name!!!).

If spacers are needed on the 6.5 speakers, then it sounds like the door panels will need to be cut.