1996 Honda Civic -suggestions

Thanks for the information.. yes i did check the wiring and it is correct.. Sweekster you have a good point about how manufacturers do rate their head units and how the OEM used their amp to work with the existing wires. Your thoughts make the most sense to me and I do believe that overall the OEM/Alpine radio is a stronger amplifer than the Panasonic I bought.

Side note : Sweekster, I did have another civic in which i spent close to $1500 for amps, sub, speakers, head unit, etc.. and just matched what the original radio with 4 speakers did for volume and bass..  Not worth all the hassle and money just to arrive at the same place!! 

Looking at Alpine they rate their amplifier section for a bandwidth of 30-20khz at 20watts, whereas Panasonic only give 50 watts max rated at 400hz, so obviously, a lot less wattage for the given Alpine bandwidth of 30-20khz!  I already checked some junkyards for the original radio, since the buttons on the faceplate died yet my OEM radio is still good..The faceplate is replaceable on the OEM radio, replacing just that would save me some money until I can go all out for a really good headunit.  I did find an OEM radio for $70, with a 90-day warranty from a recycler (aka junkyard).. Going to use that instead, it was in better shape than my original radio!!  About the aftermarket radios that I have is is that they are too flashy, sure I love all the graphics and colors, but didn't anyone in the industry realize it just screams "steal me"?? 

One thing, I do agree with one person who said the Civic wasn't customized in it's sound.  I did speak with an Alpine engineer who worked on the 1996 Civic's radio and he said that they did spend some time on making sure that the audio (soundstage, treble, bass) were good, so they did spend some time on tweaking the interior sound for that headunit.  I asked him about the aftermarket radios and like it was said, they would have almost the same sound..  So thanks for all your input.. It is appreciated..