Here in the next month or so, I'm thinking about upgrading the system in my Firebird. Actually, scratch that. I'll be putting this in my daily driver Z34 to decide if it's worthy to go into the Firebird lol. Both systems are mediocre at best, but I haven't put any money into them, yet. The Z34 came from the factory with a Bose system in it, speakers and amp. However, the cheapo dinosaur Sony head unit I inherited in like 2000 won't power the amp. All 4 speakers are directly wired to the Sony. It sounds alright at lower volumes, but sound quality quickly drops and it starts to distort as the volumes go higher. The Sony will be the first thing to go, but are the speakers mediocre, or are they just putting out the low quality the Sony is feeding them? I don't have a problem with new speakers, but if the factory Bose ones aren't a contributor to the high volume sound quality, I'll keep them.

This is the Alpine head unit I've recently acquired free of charge from a friend who went newer: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-L0V4zaB...-CDA-9857.html

Thoughts on this? I'd like to use it if possible, however the wiring harness wired directly to the speakers won't put out any sound. The RCA terminals do work. So the first assumption I'll make is I'm in need of an amp. That way, I could work around the harness not working correctly, and just run an RCA line to the amp, then wire the speakers into it. This is where my knowledge runs out. What specs should I look for in an amp? Sub or not? How big? What should I look for in speakers? The Z34 has dash, door, and rear speakers.

I listen to anything Rock really, a lot of classic rock, a lot of new rock/alternative. That's about it. I'll start with about a $500 budget for speakers, sub, and amp. That's assuming the Alpine hu is acceptable, and I have the tools and parts to wire correctly. I'm not looking for anything crazy or competition type quality, just something that will sound good at higher volumes without distortion or quality drop. Wouldn't mind a little bit of hit from a sub occasionally either. The car sounds good with the motor and exhaust. However, I want it to SOUND good too

I'm pretty good with working on my car, I pretty much turned it into a drag car over the winter by myself. However, being my first real sound system endeavor, I'm not too experienced in this department other than wiring. When it comes to the details of specifications on these different components, I'm a bit lost. Might as well ask the guys who've done this before right?

What do you guys think?

 

If the headunit amp has failed and you are on a tight budget of $500, I'd say run a 5 channel amp with 4 speakers and a small sub.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-OA1100.5.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...rt-PVM216.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...rt-ONX110.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...BT1024DVC.html

All this adds up to a little over $500, closer to 600, but its a complete replacement system and will be plenty loud enough for you without being stupid earth shaking loud.

 

Have a look at JBL speakers. Might be a better fit (sound) in your price range.

 

i have to agree with devestator, just the components would be custom but minor fab. the firebird has 6x9s and most of the wbodies did too so that might be easier.

as far as the stock bose most of the time the limiting factor is the amp. ive had a few gm's with stock amps and when replacing them it sounds a ton better at higher volumes. my 03 monte you could turn all the way up and it wasent even loud.

 

I have those exact components in the sail panels on my Z28. Doesnt really need any "custom fab" work to make them mount, Sonic Electronix sells a plastic adapter plate for $20. They are listed to fir 5.25 and 6.5 speakers, but the hole is for 5.25 and took some massaging with my dremel to get the 6.5s to fit. Other than that, its pretty plug and play and the adapter can be used in both cars.

And as far as JBL vs MB Quart, in 4" the MBQ's are $54 and the JBLs are $70 while the 6.5 components are $99 for JBL while $119 for the MBQ. Like I said, I have those same 6.5 components running for my deck with only 22watts RMS and they crank quite loud and clear. I love them so much that I am planning on buying a 2nd set and putting them into kick panel pods in the front.

Everything I have read has said that MBQ amps are excellent budget amps. Very clean for the price tag. That 5 channel amp is on my watch list when I think about upgrading in the future (after some needed repairs are made)

The bazooka will be certain to fit in both cars easily and will give you plenty of thump. they can play nice and tight when you need them to, but wont distort if you want them to play boomy type bass either.

 

that would be minor fab, you dont really have to buy any plates, you can just take the 6x9 plates out and trace the bolt holes on a new piece of metal and cut out holes for the components. major fab would be like putting 6.5's in the door of a 3rdgen f-body. i had a 88 cutlass and a 90 gp, i think i remember them going into a plastic ring with the standard 6x9 holes. so a different plate (or the same plate with two sets of holes) may have to be fab'ed with those holes in it if he decides to go that way

 

I tried both methods of putting in the 6.5's in my car, cutting metal first, then since my fab skills suck, I bought the plates. When I had them mounted to the metal, I got huge vibrations and it sounded like crap unless I turned the bass way down to them, which defeated the purpose of mid-bass drivers. After getting the thicker plastic plates, the vibration stopped and the bass got nice and deep. Of course like I said, I cant fab anything up worth crap. For me, taking a piece of plastic and making a hole 1.5" bigger was much easier than trying to cut steel plate with tin snips and a dremel.

Either way, we both agree that 6.5" components are the way to go for the OP.

 

Thanks for all the input!

The first thing I'm going to do is try the Alpine stereo with an rca line to an old Optimus amp I have, and then run them to the existing Bose speakers. That'll tell me if either the speakers or Sony stereo are junk. If it sounds good, I may just keep that setup and stick a sub on it, and really be budget

 

original bose speakers are normally 2ohm so make sure the amp is rated to handle that