A lot of people are going to disagree with me here but here it goes. I have installed literally probably a thousand different sound systems ranging from spl competition stuff to basic radio and speaker upgrades, and what has proven itself to me over the years as far as pricing, sound and build quality, and reliability is Pioneer.

I will always recommend Pioneer headunits and speakers to everyone looking for the "best bang for their buck" as far as subwoofers and amps go though I have other preferences. If you want the best sound for the price get a good Pioneer head unit and Pioneer TS-A speakers. You don't have to get TS-A's if they are out of your price range but they are the most powerful, clearest highs, lowest lows speaker for the money you can buy in my opinion. It's what I use and have always used for basic sound systems. All of Pioneers products are great and there are other good companies but I'm just telling you what I think would work the best for you for the money you'd spend which isn't much.

As far as installing, anyone who can crimp butt connectors can install a headunit and speakers. Simply buy the correct wiring harness for your car, connect it to the harness on the radio, buy a spacer if you are using a single din and plug it all in and you're done. The speakers are just as simple, take off the door panels, cut the old wires off the stock speakers, crimp or solder and screw them in. The back ones can be slightly tougher to get to considering the other panels you have to take off to remove the deck panel they are under but it's all basic stuff with basic hand tools, you can do it!

 

i use crutchfield.com for my selection unless i can find the same thing cheaper some where else.

As said above pioneer is good ive used it a few times in my vehicles. wide range of prices and never had a problem with their product.

Just couldnt find one that I thought would look good. I just bought a Clarion CX501 and should get it in a few days. It fits the large DD hole in the dash. It should look good IMO it looks close to a stock stereo because its not all flashy. As far as speaers go I like Polk they sound good and are reasonable on the price.

 

i use crutchfield.com for my selection unless i can find the same thing cheaper some where else.

I just bought a Clarion CX501 and should get it in a few days. It fits the large DD hole in the dash. It should look good IMO because it looks close to a stock stereo because its not all flashy. As far as speaers go I like Polk they sound good and are reasonable on the price.

+1 The CX501 is the one I have been looking at. Crutchfield is the BEST in my opinion. With the $219 stereo purchase, you get the dash kit (adapter) FREE, factory wire harness adapter FREE, which BTW allows you to use the factory Mach amplifiers. If the words "stereo" or "speaker" even cross your mind, you owe it to yourself to go to crutchfiled.com, punch in your car info, and they will show you only what works/fits your vehicle.

 

Pioneer TS-A6874R 6"x8" 3-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com

That is the latest model of the Pioneer TS-A's that fit our cars. They are cheap, are a 3 way design (tweeter, midrange, woofer) have excellent sound clarity, and the cone and surround is made from good material not crappy paper or foam. The weight and design of them when you unbox them tell you right away that they are good speakers. I have seen people spend twice as much on whatever they heard is good and they are disappointed with the cheap build quality and cheap materials used and most importantly the poor sound quality. Again, just telling you what I prefer, to each their own. However considering I am very rough on my audio equipment (I love loud music and listen to all kinds) and these speakers have stood up to insane volumes/power levels and have never blown or even so much as distorted, I will always choose TS-A's over the competition.

 

Also if you have any trouble making final desicions with your purchase, need opinions on comparing products, or need help with installation feel free to pm me. I'd like to think I'm as knowledgable with audio as Jazzer is with suspension for a quick comparison. Not a lot of serious audio guys on here so I rarely get on any audio topics, mostly tech, but consider me your personal audio guru haha.

 

I agree with the other people here about the pioneer head units, but not for speakers. There are much better speakers you can get for not too much more. I recommend JBL, Polk, Rockford, or JL. any of them will work. And speaker sizes are 6x8 up from, or you can get an adapter to go down to a 5.25. And for convertibles, the rear is a 6" and a 6.5" will fit. Not sure bout coupes though.

 

I have to disagree with you here because I have seen and heard way too many polk products that are cheap to say the least. I have never been impressed with them. As far as JBL and JL Audio go, yes they do make good stuff but I have never seen an affordable 6x8" speaker...or any 6x8" speaker from them for that matter. As far as Rockford Fostgate goes, just overpriced junk that can be matched by other brands such as Kicker for less money. Remember we are talking speakers here and not subwoofers. JL Audio and JBL make good subwoofers but are way too pricey for what you get. My opinion on Polk and Rockford stands for all their products.

To whom it may concern, my personal list of preferred car audio brands being best in price, power and overall sound, and quality.

Headunits: Pioneer
Speakers: Pioneer
Subwoofers: Infinity
Amplifiers: Alpine or Kicker

Granted this is just what you can commonly find in stores for good prices and is certainly not the best of the best, just what I would recommend to someone looking for a decent entry level sound system. I've always been impressed and never let down by the quality or sound of any of the companies products I've listed. As a matter of fact, after turning heads and getting people asking questions I have turned on many people to similar products because they were blown away by the sound/price. I have heard many disappointing stories about "popular" audio brands that are supposed to be good and have seen many people ditch those products for something similar to what I listed above.

 

As for Jersey, the ONLY problem I've ever had with Pioneer, or anyone referring them, is when they forget to point out, DO NOT buy your Pioneer products from Wal-Mart. They, like MANY other companies, mass produce their items strictly for Wal-Mart for a certain price, and the quality will not be NEAR what you will get if you go to an "Authorized Dealer" at an Audio/Video store. Pioneer does make VERY GOOD products, just not the "wally world" versions!

 

Lol thanks for pointing this out. I don't buy anything from walmart period so this has never even been brought to my attention. It's been said before, if you are going to order car audio products, it's crutchfield at the top of the list. I call them the Summit Racing of audio :yes

 

Im about done with cosmetic stuff on my Mach. I wanted to be able to listen to music off of my phone and not have wires running everywhere. Ends up getting wrapped around the shifter or ebrake handle. Drives me nuts

This summer will be working on suspension and such. It drives straight and smooth @80 on the highway but while backing up the front pass side pops. Something is wearing out.

 

I heard that! My crap CD changer was not working when I bought the car, so I use an FM modulator that plays my iPhone through the FM stereo. It's not IDEAL, but it works pretty well! I used the acc. power outlet located under the arm rest, so I only have about 5 or 6" of wire hanging out from under the arm rest. Easily tucks out of view when not in use. I place my iPhone in the cup holder, and let it play! I can deal with that til I get everything else I want done!

 

Re-directed to audio/video section, for more input and proper location.

Jazzer

 

Thanks for all the info so far. I'll definatly look into some pioneer products.

If I'm just replacing the stock speakers/headunit do I need an amp?

Another question I have is I currently don't have the triangle speakers on my windows. Are there aftermarket speakers I could put there? Or would it even make a difference?

 

Triangle speakers meaning tweeters...meaning mach 460 right? Oh hell I wish you had anything besides the mach, that makes it a bit more difficult. I'll elaborate more on this later tonight when I have more time.

 

Sorry I have no experiance with any of this. Whats the difference in type and size of the speakers behind the the rear seats and the speakers in the door near your legs? Are they all 6x8?

 

What you are better off doing is buying these adapters for all 4 speakers in your car. (Turns out all of your speakers are 6x8) The difference is not huge, but you're better off going with a standard circle speaker because more brands make them and they are easier to work with.

SPEAKER ADAPTERS PLATES FROM 5X7 6X8 OR 6X9 TO 6.5" OR 5.25" SPEAKER (PAIR) 6090 | eBay

Then you need 4 speakers like these examples:
JBL P562 Full Range Car Speakers at Onlinecarstereo.com

JL Audio C2-525x Full Range Car Speakers at Onlinecarstereo.com

Polk Audio MM521 Full Range Car Speakers at Onlinecarstereo.com

 

i have the chance to get this same deck off a buddy of mine for $150 but im not really sure if thats a good price or if this is even a good quality sounding unit. Opinions please?
JVC KD-AV7010 (kdav7010) In-Dash Touchsreen 7" LCD Multimedia

 

I'm going to try to find some people with different sound systems that I can listen too around here. Are there any places to go listen to speakers (kinda like the setup Walmartd have)? I'm just never sure of how youtube will sound in person.

 

I'm not familiar with your area, but the Best-Buy store in my area has a "sound booth" which simulates the in vehicle effect. They carry some good brand names too. And about any aftermarket car audio store will have the booth also.

 

I have a 02 GT Convertible. I put Polk MM 6 1/2 component speakers front and rear with a 4 channel amp pushing them. They sound cystal clear and LOUD. Bass is not bad either for that size speaker. I also found a nice loaded and amped sub enclosure that fits in the trunk, Being a convertible is was very limited selection that would fit. Let me know if anyone is interested and i can get you the specs on it.