I am having popping sounds coming from two of my stock speakers and the other 2 dont make any sound at all. Looking at old posts it seems there might be a problem with the stock amps. I have an aftermarket Alpine deck installed. Now, my question is, if I rewire the car which wires should I use (brand, gauge, etc.) and, can I wire straight from the deck to the stock speakers or does there have to be an amp somewhere in the line? Boss stock amp or an aftermarket. I don't need a loud bumpin stereo, I just want a stereo that works right now. Thanx for any help.

 

if you have a powered head unit, meaning, it has an internal amp, you don't need any additional power. The way you can tell, the harness will have a LOT of wires coming out of it! That and the fact that Alpine only makes a couple of head units that do not have internal power... the 7998 (about $750.00 and another real expensive one (about $3000.00)).

the Bose amps will not work with aftermarket equipment... they won't power an aftermarket speaker, nor will they interface very well with an aftermarket head unit. They are weird... very proprietary...

Run new wire!!! You have a number of options here... Radio Shack has some nice 16 gauge speaker wire for car audio. About $17.00 for a 50 ft roll. I have used it in simple installations, and would use it again.

I don't hear a difference between Radio Shack's 16 guage and the expensive stuff that the stereo shops sell.

If you want higher quality, you will want 14 guage speaker wire, but that stuff gets $$$... And you can only get it at the stereo shops. I would also recommend this if you want to run an aftermarket amp(s).

The only real difference is aging, but it will take 8 to 10 years for the radio shack wire to harden enough... so yes, it's an issue, but is it a big one? Na, I don't think so. And the RS stuff has improved quite a bit over the last few years.

In my install, I used Phoenix Gold speaker wire. Great stuff, but it's not cheap... then again, I have one of those Alpine 7998 heads... and a JL audio amp (500/5)... and boston acoustic speakers...

if you are looking for cheap speakers that sound good, check the Polk Audio GRX line. Rather nice. Also, check Infinity's.