Being "audio-challenged" it is difficult for me to read threads and figure out if various upgrades described are for base stereo, Bose, Bose/Nav and whatever else is available.

I'm ordering a C6 with 2LT/base stereo and from what I read, the stock system is not that great. So anticipating an upgrade I talked to an "expert" at Circuit City who recommended new speakers on a 4-channel amp and a sub that will fit in a storage compartment with 1-channel amp (when looking at vettes, I didn't notice a back storage compartment - is there?)

Long story short. I would expect to keep the stock head unit, add a sub and better speakers. Can anyone direct me to threads or provide me some opinion?

Thanks

 

at the top of this page there is a 'what do you run' (or similarly titled thread) sticky that has a breakdown of what a lot of us run in our cars. what i would suggest is to not get rear speakers, or at least don't power them off the amp. in a small car like ours you don't need rear speakers and it ruins 'soundstage'. (this is just an opinion, some people prefer rear fill) i would then get a four chan amp, power your door speakers off two of the channels and the 'bridge' (i.e. combine) the other two chans to power a moderate sub.

what is your budget? we can make some recommendations based on our experiences and knowledgebase if you want too.

 

I would agree with Scott generally speaking and incorporate some of what the Circuit City "expert" had to say...

If you're going to keep the rear speakers then leave them as-is and being driven from the stock amp. They're only for fill and there's no sense in disabling them and very little benefit for upgrading.

A 4 channel amp, but use the front 2 channels to drive a set of component speakers mounted in the doors. Then bridge the 2 rear channels of that amp mono to drive a sub in the rear compartment as suggested by the CC guy.

As far as recommending speakers.. very tough as they're the most personal choice of ANY system. But since it doesn't sound like you have much experience I'll throw a few names out and a couple of suggestions, but GO LISTEN so you know what YOU like.

First of all do NOT put a set of 6x9's in the doors no matter what anyone says. Yes, they're cheaper and they will produce a reasonable amount of bass but they are inherently inferior due to their oval shape. I cringe every time I read that someone has done this. I cringe like the elitist snob that I am, but I cringe!

I would recommend a set of 2 way 6.5" component speakers. Since it sounds like you're not looking to break the bank they are a nice starting point for a sytem. A 3 way would be great, but they're more work for install in our cars and they're also quite a bit more money. If you're willing to do that, absolutely go for it but a 2-way would give you good sound.

I am an unabashed, unapologetic fan of Focal speakers. Their Polyglass line (165V2 would be the 6.5" 2-way) has a very nice smooth sound. I am a particular fan of their Kevlar, I put the 165KF's in my '06 vert.

The Elemental Designs 2-ways are well thought of around here and the price is excellent. http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/index.php

There are also fans here of CDT, Diamond, DLS, JL Audio, Dynaudio.... the prices are all over the place and so is the sound. Again.. go listen!