Nothing more than boosting the low frequencies.

One more thing to add: Head unit power is total :bs
I have personally measured the supposed 50 watt outputs and every single one of them clipped at less than 20 watts RMS 20Hz to 20Khz two channels driven. I was able to get almost 30 watts if I drove one channel with a 1Khz test tone.

By comparison, I tested my A/D/S PH12 amp (rated 20 watts x6 channels) and with all 6 channels driven, pushed nearly 44 watts per channel before one of them began clipping! What's the difference? Two things: Discrete components and heat dissipation. Neither exist in a head unit.

As far as components are concerned, matching speakers to amps is difficult. When auditioning, I always select an amp that has at least double the rated power required by the speaker. It's always easier to reduce power than increase it. Also, every speaker is designed to operate in a power range. It's called the "sweet spot" where the excursion is enough to produce clean waveforms without distortion. Tweeters have a very large sweet spot, whereas subwoofers like to operate at 80% of rated power for best output.

Lastly, there are amplifiers out there that aren't very expensive but can produce enough power safely so as not to damage the speakers. I've installed many systems using some "lower grade" amplifiers such as Kenwood, Sony, and Us Acustics and to hear them, nobody would know it was less than PPI or XTANT, or the likes. Yes, the more expensive amps are better in certain respects, but it is a great example of diminishing returns, especially in an environment that is terrible for audio- the car!

 

A few more thoughts.

Installing head units in a 90-96 vette can get tricky. All the "pro's" will argue that it's a 1.5 DIN unit... it is not, it's a double DIN. And they will tell you it requires trimming... more BS.

Specialty Auto Sound has a install kit for the 90-96 vette that ROCKS.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=470568

Check that thread... it has a my install pics.

Alpine makes the BEST head units out there. Eclipse might sound marginally better, but they have questionable long term reliabilty.

A friend of mine is still running my old 7939 - and it's 9 years old!!!!

Be cautious of buying from the internet. A lot of the makers don't honour warrantee's from the internet. Tuan Le has been dealing with CF members on the audio section for some time now and has generated a very happy customer base. You might want to check him out. Good price, and will stand behind the product. I have not bought from him, but a lot have and I have heard very good about his customer service.

For amps... I highly recommend JL Audio. I have the 500/5, and I LOVE it.

For speakers, you can look at Boston Acoustic, Focal, CDT or JL Audio. There are some others out there, such as Infinity and Polk, but they are a step down. The Infinity's have great tweeters, but to my ear, a bit harsh. The Polks are not bad... rather warm, really.

I am not a fan of Kenwood, Sony, Pioneer or JVC. They are mass market products, through and through. Sure, Alpine is, but the sound quality of their cheap units is on a par with the sound of a good anything else!

I love Alpine heads and signal processors, but the amps and speakers are only average.

Rockford Fosgate makes some nice powerhouse amps, but ever since the Punch series went away, sound quality has suffered.

McIntosh is good... but overpriced.

Nakamichi is nice, too. But a bit pricy and I think Alpine heads are nicer sounding. Nak's, though, have a nice classic look to them.

Clarion is good, too. Their heads are nice as are their amps. But you have to buy their high end stuff to get the best.

Oh, Clarion owns McIntosh!

$750 will get you started, but plan your system well, cause if your not careful, what you buy now could be yanked when you upgrade.

:cheers:

 

Well to give you some confidence... i'm 20 right now, did my install last year and i am completly stupid when it comes to working on cars. The install is quite simple. I pulled all the bose stuff, ran new speaker wire, dad helped me make adapter for the speakers, i ran all the amp cables, then dad helped me figure out the hu wiring and i was done. There is absolutly no reason to pay someone to install a system for you. It is the most simple mod you can do to a car. If you don't have the bose, you are many steps ahead. Just get an adapter for the deck and plug everything in. My install took 2-3 days but i only worked on it about 3-4 hours per day.

good luck and if you have any questions just ask, we're here to help :cheers:

 

My vehicle is an 88. I would like to put a head unit in there that fits the opening. As stated above, on a 90 model it takes a double din. Is that what I need for my 88? Also, I would like the unit to accept a 4 way amp. + sub amp if possible. Or, 2, 2-way amps + sub amp. Is the double din what I need?

 

I'm a die-hard fan of Pioneer, I have several of their H/U's and its a nice product. The semi-new DEH-4500MP makes me druel every time I see it, I just need something to put it in, it's about $180, makes about 22 Watts per channel.

Here is the system I have in my Vette, it sounds sweet for the money. If I were to do it over again, I would still get the triax(three speakers in one) speakers in the front, but the back would be just a 6x9, with no sort of tweater.
http://www.corvetteforum.net/c5/noworries/stereo.shtml

The install is cake. :cool: :seeya

 

I bought my car with a custom system already Installed by audio express. The bose was scrapped and all new speakers, head unit and custom speaker box to fit in the back so the top will still go on top of it. Looks like a nice job and sounds great. I found the work order from the shop and the total was $1600 complete. Not bad for all alpine equipment.

I'm planning on doing something custom with that speaker box. Just not sure yet. Maybe coat it with some plastic or fiberglass and paint it to match the car or something? Maybe a corvette logo on it?

 

When it comes to audio systems the sky is the limit.

I am doing mine in phases and not looking to push any of the limits, just keep it clean.

First phase is just head unit, using stock bose amps/speakers and wiring. Head unit choice for me was more about features and how well it matched the existing lighting, etc. Simple harness adapters can be used. Sounds much better than stock but has a ways to go. If I decide later to get a better/different head unit no big deal, it was really cheap. Right now my head is just at wanting better sound and ipod input...I can do nav on any number of devices.

Next, when I can afford it will be amp, wiring speakers.

 

I used Crutchfield for a double DIN Clarion head unit, wiring harness, speakers. Budget is realistic. Still way cheaper than repairing the Bose junk.
Now I can play ipod, any cd, and what's really nice, a thumb drive.

 

I've got a deck already installed, but factory speakers (88 coupe). Would it be easy to just find and install my own speakers, or would I run into issues with amps and whatnot? I'm clueless as to how audio works, so do I need to get new amps for something like a Sony Xplode speaker set?

 

What did you have in the car? Regular stereo, or the Bose system? If you have Bose, then you will have speakers in the doors.

 

Turns out, they aren't factory speakers. I just couldn't see any writing on the front ones, which are the only ones I checked for some reason.

Here is the deck:


Front speaker. Not sure what it is, really.


Rear. Shouldn't there be something on the left?


And finally, what the hell is this? Another speaker set?



How easy would the deck be to replace with something else?

 

Your car was setup with Bose. That thing on your dash is for a non-Bose speaker system. So, it isn't anything.

That square piece by the rear speaker is supposed to be like that. It is there so air can flow when you shut the door.

 

Whats up with all these old threads resurfacing recently??

After 6 years maybe a new thread is in order

 

Ya beat me to it

 

HU was $90
5.25s $110
6x9s $140
2x 10in subs $220
1080w amp $280

$840 in all but I installed it all myself for a clean setup.
Im thinking of switch my HU tho to a double DIN

 

i put an alpine h/u in my 86 and got a dash kit that made installation pretty easy, but i wish there was a kit out there that could make the h/u flush with the dash. i used a 9883?? or something similar, but it has 4 volt preouts which imo makes a very noticeable difference. i think alpine has the most user friendly h/u's and will accept all kinds of accessories.

im using a pdx 5 amp and i love it! its compact and has a dedicated sub channel, and i can fit it in the storage box. i built a custom box for the sub to fit flush in the other storage box, so that you cannot visually tell that i have a system in my car. ive got 6.5" polk components in front and some cheap 6.5" in the rear, and i think i would be just fine with only the front speakers. the component speakers made a huge difference because the speakers sit so low that your legs seem to block a lot of the sound. now ive got the tweeters in the door panels and the music is right infront of your face.

i did everything i could to try to work with the factory bose system including adapters, bypassing the amps, but even just adding after market speakers and h/u were a huge step. components and a sub really brought it to life.

 

it is my understanding that the bose speakers are 1 ohm, which allows the amps to be lower power and still produce the same volume. most speakers are 4 ohm, so you cannot just put new speakers in there and expect it to work, and although ppl say that you can by an adapter to make the amps work with an aftermarket h/u, i never had any success with it....not work the trouble.