blank canvas, any ideas?

I am the owner of a UK spec 2001 Daewoo Lanos 1.4 and would like to upgrade the sound system. As the car is 3dr and space is tight, I am limited to what I can realistically do on a tight budget. It would be nice to have a reasonable amount of bass, but again space is at a premium, especially when the spare wheel is under the boot(trunk) floor. I would prefer not to do too much cutting at trim panels or wiring looms and would consider putting a system together in stages to spread the cost. Would a Pioneer head unit and JBL speakers and amp(s) be a good choice(I prefer to stick to one brand). Sound quality is more important than volume(although its all good to turn it up sometimes) and music choice is usually Hip Hop/R&B or Dance. With this in mind, I was reckoning on getting a set of front components, something for the rear including relevant amplification for both and maybe a sub or two at a later date. Would such a system require a capacitor, or crossovers etc.( I am fairly inexperienced with electronics)? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated and I hope there is enough info to be of use. Thanking you in advance, Slider.

Need a dollar figure. On a tight budget here are the steps I would take: 1) Decent head unit. Do your research here, you'll see what people prefer. 2) Spend as much money as possible on front components. 90% of what you hear will be heard from them. Shoot for at least 5.25". Place the tweeter within inches of the midrange. 3) 4-Channel amplifier. Decent brand. Again, seach for this. 4) Don't replace the rear speakers. Power the stock ones off the deck power. Rear speakers should be the absolute last priority, imo. 5) Buy a subwoofer, svc 4-ohm or dvc2-ohm, and power it off channels 3 and 4 of the 4-channel amp. 6) You'll never need a capacitor - they are a waste of money, for 99% of the systems out there, imo. 7) Get a pro to do the install or get ready to take care and do your own research and use common sense. A bad install of any component can make even great components sound bad. The 4-channel amplifier should have the crossovers you need. If it doesn't, most decent heads will. 8) THINK about what kind of box you want. For the type of music you listen to I would go ported. Consult us about the box construction or have someone in your area that does good work do it for you. Again. I'm not mentioning brands because this is hashed to death on this board. Seach back a month or so and you'll see polls and discussions about brands of almost every type of component. New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

Thanks for your replies. It all seems like sensible advice. Taking £1 stirling as roughly $2, I think my budget is about $1200-1500. The average cost in U.K. for a decent HU is equivalent to around $400-500. I understand the policy with this site about promoting brand names and do not wish to get anyone into trouble on my behalf. I will search for said forum and investigate. Thanks again, Slider

$1200-$1500 is enough for a really nice system if you're willing to shop around for deals. Let us know what components you pick and if you have any further questions. Also, there's no policy against brand name favorites or recommendations here, actually quite the opposite. We just seem to talk about it so often, I usually try to leave it out of my posts when someone asks for general advice. New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

Well, after trawling through several different websites, I think I may have found a suitable system. Its based on a JBL 6channel amp and includes a set of 6.5" components, 6x9s and a 12"sub with box and all the leads for the equivalent to $501. At that price I could get it in one go and either get a better HU or uprated cables and connectors. Another bonus is that its all one brand. Given the "spare" cash, is there anything else worth getting to improve the system?

I really would skip the aftermarket 6x9s. They should be the absolute last priority. Last priority as in buy them if you have money to spare AFTER you're done w/ your cd player, front stage, and subwoofer. Again, use the money saved to buy a better subwoofer, box, or head unit. $500 seems really cheap for all that. I suspect some of it isn't worth it - list the components. New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

Here is a link to the list of said items: http://caraudiosecurity.com/catalog/product_info.php+cPath+3_96_263+products_id+1320 Another $19 would upgrade to 6.5" components, but I'd need to check what space is available behind the door cards. I was wondering about the pros/cons of just running say, "higher spec" components, and a sub with a 4ch amp as a lot of advice seems to point in this direction. Alot of SQ competition cars over here just seem to have front components running from one amp and two subs from a dedicated bass amp.

Here's my rationale behind the 4-ch amp right now. 1) It will save you some money. 2 amps are almost always more expensive than 1 4-channel of comparable quality. 2) You can put that extra money into better fronts. 3) If you ever do decide to upgrade to a separate bass amp, you can use the rear channels of the 4-channel amp to bi-amp your fronts (really nice), power some midbass speakers, or power your rear fill. See, buy a good 4-channel now and it can be a component that grows with you. :-)New Project: 2003 Pathfinder