Good head unit and speakers set up?

EriCS · Nov 8, 2008, 10:01 AM

Hey audio guru's, I am looking to upgrade my speakers and head unit in my ix. I do not want to spend a ton of money so keep it somewhat reasonable... I am clueless when it comes to audio so be descriptive as to what i should get. As far as what type of sound I am looking for I recently owned a 05 cherokee with a bouston acoustics factory speakers and head unit. I would like to have that same sound in my evo it sounded perfect in my own opinion. I don't want any boxes or subs. I also would like to avoid any type of whine. I recently fat matted my whole trunk to help with that exhaust drone and road noise, I am planning on doing the doors as well. Help me out PLEASE? What will these components and head unit cost? What size speakers front and rear? Do I need an amp? Do I need tweeters?

btownsoccer22 · Nov 8, 2008, 10:44 AM

For a head unit I have a Pioneer 6000usb ($250) and I can tell you it's amazing. It has this feature called ASR which is audio sound retriever and it makes your MP3 sound like CDs so it's really high quality. After I installed it the stock speakers seemed a lot better to. There are a lot of features on the 6000usb and I'm still learning. And if your looking for something fancy it has a motorized flip down face, it can also be removed if you park your car somewhere shady.

About speakers I haven't upgraded them yet since after the head unit install the speakers sounded totally different. So I can't help you on that. But correct me if I'm wrong don't you need special mounting brackets for the speakers in the door?

biggie5252 · Nov 8, 2008, 12:39 PM

It's going to be difficult to reproduce that "factory" sound from you GC. Factory systems like that have a preset equalizer curve to make them sound like that. Plus a GC is a much quieter vehicle than an Evo. The fat mat is a good idea. Especially on the doors. When you do the doors, seal off the door as best as possible, including the big holes. Any speaker 6", 6 1/2", 6 3/4" will work. You will need to get/fabricate a plate to mount the speakers in the doors. I would just put tweeters in the stock location.

Any decent head unit will work. As tempting as it is, don't convert your music into MP3s. They do not/can not sound nearly as good as cds. The difference is much more noticeable after you upgrade your speakers etc.

You will need an amp. You will want at least 100wrms to your front speakers, not necessarily for volume, but the power really helps with clarity. Power to rear speakers is up to you. Plan on spending at least $300 here.

Yes you will need tweeters, which will come with any component set you buy. I would plan on spending at least $200 for components if you want to match your Jeep's. You will need an equalizer, either stand alone, or one built in to your headunit (there's only a couple that have this). An equalizer that has seperate controls for left/right channels is preferable. Pioneer Premier DEH-p800prs is the only headunit that i know that has this. You can find it for just under $400 on ebay.

Obviously you can do this all a bit cheaper, but it will start to get more expensive the closer you want to be to your Jeep's system. Also, don't skimp on RCA cables. You don't need the most expensive you can buy, but not the cheapest.

1WICKED8 · Nov 21, 2008, 03:09 PM

go with some infinity kappa components up front and some 2 or 3 way in the rear, the speakers are 6 1/2in. You could add a amp if you want but it depends on the head unit you get, I picked up a pioneer DEH-P3000IB for like $140 with a I-pod adapter. It works just fine for me and sounds tits, I have a polk 12 in the trunk for some bass...

1WICKED8 · Nov 21, 2008, 03:12 PM

it all depends on what your trying to get out or your system. If you want some good subs My buddy owns Addictive audio in Fresno, he makes his own subs and amps, these subs compare to the 08kicker L7 12in, they hit hard and sound clean...

berns · Nov 30, 2008, 10:25 AM

the dude specifically said he didn't want subs, boxes or amps... I'm in the same boat.

nobody makes the brackets needed to install new speakers? I just want a nice replacement headunit, with sirius and ipod adapter, along with replacement speakers that will drop right in and use the power from the headunit.

RoughedgesMR · Nov 30, 2008, 04:50 PM

eclipse headunits. DONE.

5 volt

makes stock speakers sound a million times better.

bluebyu36 · Nov 30, 2008, 04:56 PM

i just put in jl audio componets in the front,and rear,added a center channel jl,a three w3 12 jl's in the trunk with a touch screen tv with pc internet,nav,2 caps,1 crossover jl.....and i cant belief how it sounds crazy...stuff.....every door was dynomated as well as the trunk ands some of the firewall and this stuff even kills road noise like crazy.......this stuff is no joke...........i had the plates dynomated to....wires alone cost me about a $1,000...........all my guages are on my tv ...boost.airfuel.and tire pressure....

Solo II Evo · Nov 30, 2008, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluebyu36

i just put in jl audio componets in the front,and rear,added a center channel jl,a three w3 12 jl's in the trunk with a touch screen tv with pc internet,nav,2 caps,1 crossover jl.....and i cant belief how it sounds crazy...stuff.....every door was dynomated as well as the trunk ands some of the firewall and this stuff even kills road noise like crazy.......this stuff is no joke...........i had the plates dynomated to....wires alone cost me about a $1,000...........all my guages are on my tv ...boost.airfuel.and tire pressure....

This does a great job of helping the OP.

Anyways - a previous poster said get an Eclipse HU - Crutchfield has awesome deals right now on HU's, and there is a 5-volt Eclipse one as well. I'm not a fan of the look of the thing, but here it is:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_099CD31...0.html?tp=5684

Personally, I'm going to get the Pioneer 5000UB for Mp3 decompression (through ipod/Zune), good looks, and decent expandability.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130DEHP...B.html?tp=5684