Printer Friendly Forum Posts - Love stock sound?

I know this is going just about every last person who reads this post laugh but I have a 2002 Mazda Protege DX with stock sound and I love it. Anytime I try a different head unit or speakers the sound isn't bad but was better before. The back speakers are 6x9's and the front speakers are 6x8's (Factory head unit). The speakers have no built in tweeters and don't even appear to be made with higher quality material like aftermarket are. Last but not least I have no idea if there is a factory amp in the car somewhere possibly helping the sound. Even though I love the sound I just hate the idea of having stock. Is there ANYONE who is famaliar with the sound in the Protege and can match my factory sound with aftermarket components? The one thing I do hate is the tweeters on the aftermarket speakers. I seem to have too much voice coming in over base when those are on my speakers. Is there a head unit to control this? Can anyone help me?

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Lead, follow or get out of the way.

It'll cost you, but get the pioneer avic-n2... Pioneer has always had the best EQs in my opinion, and the N2 simply blows anything else away... I switched my kenwood 815 out for the avic, and I was completely enthralled. Its like I got a whole new system put in, not just a headunit.

Does your car have any additional speakers up front? 3.5"? 4"? Tweeters?

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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

If you're happy with the sound why mess with it? But I will say that I've known many people who say they are happy with a factory sound system until they get a chance to listen to a really good system. The usual reaction is something like "Wow, I didn't realize how much better it could be!"

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Throw a nice head unit in there, a 4 channel amp, 4 new speakers, a single sub and sub amp and you will be amazed, all will probably cost you around $1000 too.

I think what you like in your system is the over exadurated mid bass comming from those speakers, with that you are not hearing the beauty of music.

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2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.

Funny you mention that; In my current quest on my Honda Accord I'm trying to do without a sub in the trunk. As you guys may have read I installed those bass shakers. Crazy thing is I tuned up the midbass like you said and am using the bass shakers to bring out the super low notes. It sounds pretty crappy to me but it's managed to awe some people. The problem is that there is a big gap in the low frequencies.

But if this poster likes the way his factory system sounds I say get bass shakers. (Whoa I never thought I'd tell anyone to get bass shakers) My main reason being price. Because you can do like me and get the shakers off ebay for like 70bucks, a cheap 300w poweracustic amp to push them for like 70bucks, and some power cable for like 20 bucks. Total is like $160 for an experiance of bass that takes up no space; less than the price you would pay for 1 quality sub.

I'm not going to be the bass shaker pusher of this forum but you gotta admit.
-once you go subs you'll go broke
-You can't just change one peice of the factory system without changing it all.

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Tell the Snap-On guy I'm not here!

5150azn wrote:

But if this poster likes the way his factory system sounds I say get bass shakers. (Whoa I never thought I'd tell anyone to get bass shakers) My main reason being price. Because you can do like me and get the shakers off ebay for like 70bucks, a cheap 300w poweracustic amp to push them for like 70bucks, and some power cable for like 20 bucks. Total is like $160 for an experiance of bass that takes up no space; less than the price you would pay for 1 quality sub.

I'm not going to be the bass shaker pusher of this forum but you gotta admit.
-once you go subs you'll go broke
-You can't just change one peice of the factory system without changing it all.

I have to disagree with a couple of things you wrote. First off, bass shakers are just that, vibrators. They can add to the sensation of low bass, especially in a home theatre setup, but they do absolutely nothing to enhance the sound. I suggest they are a waste of money and amplifier power. But hey, if you like them then go for it! Second, what do you mean by "once you go subs you'll go broke"? Please explain this one. And thirdly, yes you can change one part of a factory system without changing it all. The best low-cost single upgrade anyone with a factory system can do is replace the factory speakers with good quality after market drop-ins. This one change can dramatically improve the sound qyuality of an OEM system, and nothing else needs to be changed to accomplish it. Of course changing it all is the only way to create the "best" sound, but it is certainly not necessary!

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I have heard some stock systems that sounded pretty good. My friends sport trac had a 6" sub and pioneer speakers from the factory, also a friends mom had a envoy with a really nice stock system. Both of these systems were good if you listened to rock becasue they got loud and sounded clean, but didnt have much bass. One stock system I heard was in a Infiniti (i think) at the buffalo auto show, there was something like 15 speakers in the car. Personally I could never go back to stock, I could never deal with the lack of bass, but whatever floats your boat.

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What I mean is ...

Once you decide on getting a sub you can't settle for just a $89 special. And you can't settle for a $100 amp. You end up paying at least 500 bucks minimum for a quality sub amp set up that will get you by. And by then the bug has bitten you and audio equiment will suddenly appear out of no where and you wallet will start losing weight and then.... you go broke

And if you just replace the speakers of course you'll need a new headunit in order to take advantage of the added range of your new speakers. And you'll need more power to take advantage of your new speakers power handling range.

Bass Shakers... I only suggested them because the poster liked his factory system. Yes they don't add to the "sound quality". But they can add to the whole "experiance". And for less than the price of 1 sub! And if your happy with the sound already... what the hey? For less than 200 bucks your car can feel like you have some major lows.

Again, I'm not trying to sell them or say that I love them. I still love real bass. I just think they are a legitimate option; and an option that has been under played.

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Tell the Snap-On guy I'm not here!

I disagree with that. My woofer was on sale from cardomain, an authorized dealer for $130. My sub amplifier was purchased refurbished, from another authorized dealer, for $170. I built the box. So, for less than double the price of the bass shaker setup, I have what many folks regard as a decent quality sounding 10" driven by enough honest power to add some bass at moderate listening levels. I don't think my decisions or story is uncommon. If I wanted a get as close to your price as possible. Try a Dayton subwoofer from partsexpress (nice quality woofers for the money) and match it with a small refurbed amplifier from MTX or someone else in that brand range. You'd spend less than $200 and have actual sound.

So, I think if you have -some- self control, there IS a middle ground of quality products that won't run you broke.

I guess if you know you'll go insane and spend beyond your means, then well, ok... bass shakers to the rescue.

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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

I agree with kfr, I have less than $400 rapped up in my sub system and would not go any other way. I purchased my MTX801D refurbished from an authorized dealer for $160 and a set of MTX MXS1004 10" subs from the same dealer for $90 for the pair. I built the box myself and woo hoo, nice clean bass at moderate levels. Just goes to show that you do not need to spend thousands of dollars on a system to get good sound. As a matter of fact I have less than a grand into my set up and not only by my ear but by others as well, it sounds worlds better than any stock system that I have ever heard.

Alpine CDA9833 $299 on sale at Crutchfield

Diamond Audio M661s 6.5" components on sale for $200 (last years model)

MTX Thunder 6000 components for rear fill $70 on sale (last years model)

Cadence Q400 4 channel amp $200

MTX 801D mono Amp $160 (refurbished)

2 MTX MXS1004 10" subs $90

Dual 10" Box for subs $50 total cost in materials

Best system I have had in years at half of the cost that I have spent on other systems I have built.

Just my 2 cents.

Chris

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Alpine CDA-9833 HU
Diamond Audio M661 Components
MTX Thunder T6.6 Components:rear fill:
Cadence Q400 4 Channel Mains + rears
Thunder 801D Subs
MTX 1004 10's
Dual 4g wire to rear
4g grounds

got kinda off topic there right? anyways, the reason you like your factory sytem soo much is probably because they are matched well, the factory cd player puts out just enough power to properly go to the speakers, so if you get a system and match new speakers to it (i.e. get a cd player with about 26 rms output, or get a 4 channel, and then get speakers that will handle a little over that (just so you arent pushing them to hard, but don't get like 500 rms 6x9s) then you will love how it sounds,

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Bad Boys Customs
audio - video - security

If you use it. Suport it. Donate to the 12 volt!

I don't have any additional speakers or tweeters besides the 6x8s in the front doors and the 6x9s in the back. I have been in cars with aftermarket sound and it doesn't sound quite as good as my car. My sisters car has a JVC head unit and Alpine speakers in the front and it sounds like complete crap, no matter which speakers are there the bass is too much for the speakers, if I turn it down the bass is fine but then I get too much clear noise coming through. I do agree the im probably just picking a bad mix but im not just good at matching that stuff up. I know Pioneer is great for this but what specific head units are good for tuning? The following are the speakers I had my heart set on, can anyone suggest a good head unit to match them? Infinity Kappa or Pioneer

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Lead, follow or get out of the way.

Also, what the difference between 2-way, 3-way and 4-way speakers? Thanks again

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Lead, follow or get out of the way.

2 way is mid range + tweeter

3 way (triaxial) is mid range + larger tweeter? + small tweeter

so on, ect, et al.

I have cs5000 componantsin front with their tweeters, and 6x9 kappas in the back, on a hifonics zeus zx6400 (200.00 on ebay.) and I love it, but Ive blown all my cheap subs, and now am saving to upgrade. With out subs it get way high, way clear, and way load with almost no bass (head unit crossover set to 70 hz highpass) I cant say it enough I LOVE IT. Man I have a sort of cheap Sony head unit, and eveyone says they suck, but I don't see it, I have had two of them and the first one started skipping when I was smoking. this one never skips, and I think it sounds great, but I have no basis for comparison. I dont know why, but my brothers stock 98 gt mach 460 sound system, is ok to me, but he wont trade it for anything, I have tried several times to upgrade his beats with my hand me down parts.

I had some mid grade pioneers in all my interiors once, but I have to say that titanium tweets sound like metal washing over you, i like the silk dome tweeters of the infinities, some people complain about the harshness of them, but I used the -3db setting on the tweeters, and its fine to me. at least it sounds smooth and nothing like metal. I dont know what mylar dome sounds like.

thats all I have for now.

Kevin

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Sony CDX-f5700
Hifonics Zeus 170x4 zx6400
JBL BP1200.1
2 infinity Perfect 12" subs
1.70cft, 37hz
Infinity CS5000 Front 5.25" and Tweeters
Infinity Kappa 6x9" Rear Mids
Pioneer 4" rear tweeters

I was under the impression:

2 way: Woofer+Tweeter
3 way: Woofer+Midrange+Tweeter
4 way: Woofer+Midrange+Tweeter+Super Tweeter

And man, I wish I had a setup in my car that woulda kept me happy. I've since upgrades my HU(Twice), all 4 interiors which will be yanked for even better as the next stage of the project, subs and an amp which will then again be upgrade. So far, the HU is the only project that is done. Everything else is just getting me by. And that doesn't even include the energy it'll take to finish sound dampening this thing. *sigh* BTW, I'd advise, avoid this damn car at all costs with sound.

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1998 Monte Carlo w/
Eclipse CD8454
2xRockford 5.25" Power 2-way T152C
2xRockford 6"x9" Punch 3-way FRC4369
1xMemphis 16-MCH1300 5-channel
2xKicker 12" L5 Solobaric-2 Ohm

Most righteous dude, I think you may be right. My old pioneers where 3 way, and it just had the blue woofer cone, and two tweeters. To me, a tweeter is a tweeter though.

Kevin

I personally put a couple subs in the trunk with an amp wired to the stock HU with a line converter and it was nice to have some low end to back up the rest of the stock system. A few weeks after that I added a Sony CDX-M630 (say it sucks if you want but I love it, and when I turn it off it blends in with my interior) and WOW, what a difference. Im still sporting the 10 year old stock speakers for now, but I know when I do finally upgrade them I will definitly notice the difference and be VERY happy.

I'd say the first thing to upgrade would be the HU (I know, I did subs first, but hey I got 'em cheap, and HONEST I wasnt going to add anything to this car!). Actually before I added ANYTHING I would add an alarm if you don't already have one. Its a bummer when you come out and find someone "borrowed" your HU. Oh well, at least they didnt rip up or break anything getting it out, and didnt know about the subs in the trunk!