Howdy, I have a 2006 Honda Accord. I'm keeping the original radio, i like it and i'm adding aux capability later.

My friend today told me about Crutchfield and that they're having an okay sale for Black Friday. I thought it'd be an awesome time to upgrade the whole sound system. I'm talking the speakers in the doors, the tweeters, the speakers in the rear deck. I want to add new speakers in the front and back, tweeters, a nice subwoofer and an amp. I'm new to this stuff but i want it to sound sweet. I listen to every genre out there, so i love listening to the lows of the bass and i love listening to the highs, but lets not forget the treble. I like being able to hear every detail. Someone please help? it would be nice if the stuff recommended was on sale or something like that. Thank you!

 

there are a lot of good brands out there. but the quality of sound you get is going to come down largely to how much work you are willing to do to make it sound good.

But in order for us to help you, you need to give us a budget. The focal Utopia series is going to sound better than the kickers basic series, but there is a 4000 dollar difference in price. so what are you looking to spend.

 

Well I'm willing to go to $1,000 if it's really worth it.

 

It is up to you if it is worth it. My subs are about 450 a piece. to most people not worth it but to me they are. the more you spend the better equipment you can get. I never include sound deadning when I do suggestions, I assume most people assume they dont need it so they will save the money. take whatever it is you want to spend and add 150 dollars to it and get sound deadning IMO. but here is just a list of some quality equipment that would do well in your car. there are tons of others out there. If KHA gets online and sees this thread he will probably give you another list of equipment that fits in your price range too. there are so many options out there that are good equipment. I dont run any of this in my car but have installed each one of these items before and was satisfied with the results they provided.

start with this.
PAC SOEM-4 Factory Integration Adapter Connect a new car stereo or amps to factory vehicle wiring with this universal 4-channel line output converter at Crutchfield.com (30)
then we need some wire.
4 Gauge Amplifier Installation Kit (55)
4 Gauge OFC Amplifier Amp Installation Wiring Kit (50)
then some amplifiers:
Kenwood Excelon X500-1 Mono subwoofer amplifier — 500 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms at Crutchfield.com (200)
Alpine MRP-F300 V-Power Series 4-channel car amplifier — 50 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield.com (130)
speakers:
front: Rockford Fosgate Punch P165-S 6-1/2" component speaker system at Crutchfield.com (200)
rear:Rockford Fosgate Punch P165 6-1/2" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com
(100)
sub:
Alpine SWS-12D4 Type-S 12" subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils at Crutchfield.com (170)

that puts you at 935 for equipment. you can build a basic box for around 50 dollars. sheet of mdf and some glue is all you need.

and a side note, if you were to use someone other than crutchfield for all of this you could probably save 200- 300 dollars.

The happiest I have ever been with a build was full PPI pro audio mids, PPI pro tweets, PPI amps and a GPI twelve. It was an spl build and we did a 141.7 with 1 twelve. It cost about 1700 dollars and it performed better that expected. but I dont think SPL is what you are going for.

 

I checked out the PAC SOEM-4 Factory Integration Adapter Connect and it said it didn't fit my car. The speakers look nice, and i like the amp and subwoofers. The only confusion about the speakers was the size of the rear speakers. The Rockford Fosgate is 6-1/2" and the size of the rear deck hole is 6x9. I don't have the time to build a box, so what kind of box would you suggest? You have me very interested when you say i can save more money if i buy from somewhere else. Do tell.

 

you will need adapter plates to fit the 6.5s in the rear deck. they are like ten bux on ebay.
if you dont want to build a box then about all prefabs are the same. you could check with a local shop but a good box built at a shop will cost you 300ish. The box is the heart and soul of a subwoofer. It affects the way the sub sounds more than any thing else. an LOC is an LOC. you tap it into the wires. it is impossible for it to not fit.

sonicelectronix.com, woofersetc.com, and amazon can all save you money. crutchfield offers a bit better service. but you got us to help you out. and with the saved money you could buy a equilizer, which is a very nice thing to have when keeping the factory headunit.

price matched on just sonic:
start with this.
PAC SOEM-4 Factory Integration Adapter Connect a new car stereo or amps to factory vehicle wiring with this universal 4-channel line output converter at Crutchfield.com (30)
then we need some wire.
4 Gauge Amplifier Installation Kit (55)
4 Gauge OFC Amplifier Amp Installation Wiring Kit (50)
then some amplifiers:
Kenwood Excelon X500-1 Mono subwoofer amplifier — 500 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms at Crutchfield.com (200) (119)
Alpine MRP-F300 V-Power Series 4-channel car amplifier — 50 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield.com (130) (139)
speakers:
front: Rockford Fosgate Punch P165-S 6-1/2" component speaker system at Crutchfield.com (200) (104)
rear:Rockford Fosgate Punch P165 6-1/2" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com
(100) (60)
sub:
Alpine SWS-12D4 Type-S 12" subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils at Crutchfield.com (170) (100)

second bracket is sonic price. that is 270 saved if you ordered the speakers amps and sub from sonic

 

An equalizer sounds nice. Okay, im really bad with knowing cables and such so if i buy all the speakers, and cables, and the ambs and the sub and box and everything, it's just plug and play? There aren't any adapters or or anything i have to worry about?

 

thats what that LOC does. it converts the signals so that your amp can interpret them. I would highly suggest a equilizer (after I thought about it some) even a cheap one. it would make the tuning of the amps a little easier and make it more plug and play. It isnt just throw it in there and you are done by any means, but it is not something that can not be done yourself. You said earlier you dont have time to build a box. in order to get good results it does take some time.

the last install I did I put in 9hrs of install time (not including box build time). It consisted of 4 door speakers, tweeters, 2 subs, 2 amps, and an accessory battery. He is coming back over in a few weeks to really get it tuned. It is safe right now but by no means at potential. I figure about 2 hrs of tuning and he will be set.

It doesnt have to be all done at once. the car I mentioned that we did the PPI build, it took about 12 hrs install time. it was a indash dvd/radio, 4 door speakers, 4 tweeters, 2 amps, a box, amp rack, sub, and tuning. he did not have a lot of time all at once either. we did it in 4 sessions in the evenings. it took about two weeks from start to finish.

I dont want to sway you from doing it yourself, but I dont want you to think it is something you are gonna knock out one saturday morning, before you hit the greens.

 

My fall semester is coming to a close, and i could set everything up over the break and after the semester is over. I definitely want the best results i can get. For now, i'm just focused on getting what i need. So this is definitely something i need guidance with. Would you recommend getting the adapters for the speakers? Could you help me with deciding where to put the amps, and how to tune everything, and where the cables go and such, because i need help with the technical stuff.

 

I just bought everything. I'm going out later today to buy the subwoofer box. Sealed or ported? Can anyone recommend me a way for me to connect an auxillary or usb for my iphone?