I am looking at replacing everything in my 05 C6 coupe with nav. My budget is $900.

Here is what I have planned, thoughts, suggestions, or feedback welcome...

On the sub, I was gonna use a truck box and just play with it until I found the sweet spot for location as long as I can store my top

HU Kenwood DDX276BT $165
Amp Pioneer GM-D9705 $205
Front’s JBL GTO609C $97
Rear’s Kicker 43DSC504 $53

Sub Rockford Fosgate P1S4-10 $85
Sub box $50
Back up cam $50
wiring $100
sound deading $100

 

You will never regret the upgrade. Check out Crutchfield for close outs, discontinued, and other price breaks. Amp is key in a vert. Quality two way components in the doors will make sure you are happy with the system

 

Thanks sorry should have said coupe. Yeah I have been watching crutchfield

 

I think I'd invest a little more into a better head unit, but that's just me.

 

Leave the stock rears. Invest in better HU or better front speakers. Run amp in 3 ch. Mode, power the rears off the radio.

What kind of box are you getting fir $50?

 

I agree. Upgrading your sound system should be a one time expense. I recommend upping your budget a little and do it right the first time.

 

Ok, do you have a suggestion? Or are you just suggesting the next model up HU?





Ok, what am I missing or what should I improve my system with?

I am willing to listen, I just need a product or information to learn.

 

I like the Focal components I put in my C5 but they are pretty expensive..they do make less expensive ones. An amp with better tuning capabilities is key though. These cars are tough to tune right. Read Ronins write up of his system..very expensive but good to learn about how these cars respond to things. Read everything you can..all the reviews and info on head units, amps and speakers.

 

Just my opinion, but I would start with a better head unit. Stay with Kenwood but look at one of their mid-level double dins. Preferably something with a capacitive touch screen. A capacitive touch screen is what you have on your cell phone and will give you better graphics and color and touch response. I would also look to splurge a little more on the front component speakers. Many different options here just depends on how much you are willing to spend. The problem with upgrading the audio system is you need to spend a little money to get good sound. Otherwise it's a lot of effort for something that will sound similar to what you already have. Like I said though, just my opinion.

 

Like the saying goes, you get what you pay for. I think you'd be much happier with a mid to upper priced head unit, both in functionality and features.

 

Outstanding, thank you for taking the time to explain it. I will look into the capacitive screen. I had not seen that called out in my research. But, I will start looking at those and the resolution. And I will try and up the budget on the front speakers and see what that nets. Hey, I asked for your opinion, thanks for giving it👍

Copy that, thank you. I will see what features the next model up or 2nd model up offers compared to this one😀

 

I personally like Pioneer myself, and I always buy their top of the line unit, but at a price tag of over $1000 it's not for everyone.

 

I think the components you selected aren't bad. Especially for budget minded. I do mirror other thoughts about the HU selected. 2.5V pre-outs are terrible. Minimum should be 4V, and 5V is always preferred. You can make up pre-out lack of power with more amp power...but the amp you selected isn't a bad amp by any stretch. I think any HU from the Excelon line should get you a better result. Consider sifting through eBay. A lot of times, there are really awesome HUs on there that others have tried and not liked and put up for sale cheap. I've seen $1K+ HUs go for 3-400 before. Hard to pass up a deal like that sometimes. I would invest your dampening money into a better HU. I don't say that lightly because I can tell you that dampening is the BEST THING you can do for audio quality in a corvette. Reason I say not to buy deadening is because $100 worth isn't going to do you much good. You can buy a Dynamat wedge pack for $30 or a speaker install kit for less than $20. That will give you enough to stick around the speakers and what not. But Dynamat doesn't deaden anything unfortunately. It just reduces vibrations and rattles. Deadening will cost considerable money to do it right. I'm over $1200 in just deadening material right now, and I'm still not done. Your money will go further towards your happiness when placed in a better HU. Just my .02.

Side note...ditch the rear Kickers and get matching JBL set of 5.25" woofers. That will keep the Ohm loads equal (your front JBLs are 3 ohm). I also do NOT recommend a 2-way speaker in the back. It causes a nightmare when tuning since the highs coming from behind muddy the sound stage. Rear woofers should augment door woofers frequency range to increase mid-bass which is SEVERELY lacking in the C6 due to the layout in the cabin.

 

That is a ton of info, thank you! I may ask questions as a follow-up, but I will look at what you have suggested first.

I have looked at and read most of your build thread and honestly, I understand about 70% of it. Your level is about 1000 times above mine. I am just trying to improve the sound system to a good level not great or audiophile level

 

Okay, well that being said, my only suggestion would be to change the rear speakers like I recommended. Get a matching set of non-coaxial JBLs. Your component selection isn't bad and should give you what you're after.

 

Ok, your thread makes me ask the questions, would I be better served to run a 6.5 midbass or 6.5 coax in the lower door and a 3.5 coax in the upper door run off the pioneer amp, and then pick a low cost rear 5.25 coax and run it off the head unit?

I did not price check the 6.5 component vs the 6.5 and 3.5 combo. So cost wise, might be cheaper at the component speakers. But, your post about freqs made a lot of sense. So, I figured I would ask you. Maybe a budget 6.5 & 3.5 combo has better sound than a $120 6.5 component system.

And any opinion on ATOTO A6 pro head unit or Alpine ILX-W650? They seem to have great reviews. Lack of cd/DVD is no issue to me.


Thank you very much for all your help. I am reading and trying to understand. 👍

 

Stay away from the cheap Chinese head units (ATOTO) and go with a good quality brand name head unit, you'll be happier you did in the long run.

 

So 3.5" co-axials are interesting. The ONLY ones I would run are the Illusion C3CX's which are stupid expensive. That could be really interesting on a well put together passive 2-way. It's like a rare unicorn though and not a normal practice. By no means could you NOT do that...but you'd be one of very few who ever have. The ideal corvette scenario is an active 3 way with an 8" woofer, 3.5" - 4" mid-range and a 1" or 1.5" tweet. But if I can do that, I want the biggest woofer possible that is not a sub. I'd honestly go with a standard 6.5" component set...but buy the best set you can afford as these are the MAIN attraction to your sound system. 5.25 coax's are not advised in any position. Think about this, tweeters will define your soundstage because they beam the MOST, so their positioning spatially is where the "stage" needs to "appear." Placing tweeters throughout the car will do nothing to help dial in a clear soundstage. I learned this first hand by running coax's in my rear position. It sounded so much brighter than ANYWHERE else in the car, and there was/is simply no way to pull the sound stage forward.

I agree with this whole heartedly.

 

Noted!!



Well that settles it, good 6.5 components up front and good head unit. Thank you sir!