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Audio Noob help!

2K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  EJ257 
#1 ·
Hey guys, so I know very little (other than the basics) about car audio... I am looking to upgrade my 2012 wrx, and need some help..

I am planning on buying:
Pioneer AVH-X3500BHS - HU
Kicker 11HS8 - Powered Sub

The thing I am mainly confused about, is the speakers. I am really only looking to upgrade the fronts, unless the rears should be too.. and i want to leave the tweeters alone unless i need to change them..
I was looking at:
Polk Audio db651
Kicker DS60

Money is a limitation, and I dont want to spend a whole lot.
If an alternate speaker system is way better for the price, I would love to know.

I listen to all kinds of music, but dont play it super loud.. My gf (always in my car) likes more dubstep/club music.

any other suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
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#3 ·
To be honest, the head unit will make your door speakers sound way better than they do stock. If it were me I would just install the head unit, and get a decent sub with a box and buy and amp for the sub. Just that will make a huge difference. Then later on you can always do the speakers if you want even more improvement. Good luck!
 
#5 ·
You are going to WANT some sort of sound dampening (i.e. dynomat) because you will rattle like crazy. I just replaced my HU and that made a big difference and now when I turn up the volume the doors rattle... so next would be sound dampening and then a sub for me.

Check out some other threads and search on NASIOC
For headunit you will need:

The HU
Nissan wiring harness (or other)
Steering wheel controls - I went with Axxess
A new bezel surround or a plastic one to fill the gaps (metra)..

There was a thread that helped me greatly... but not sure if you are doing it yourself because I cant seem to find it
 
#6 ·
You are going to WANT some sort of sound dampening (i.e. dynomat) because you will rattle like crazy. I just replaced my HU and that made a big difference and now when I turn up the volume the doors rattle... so next would be sound dampening and then a sub for me.

Check out some other threads and search on NASIOC
For headunit you will need:

The HU
Nissan wiring harness (or other)
Steering wheel controls - I went with Axxess
A new bezel surround or a plastic one to fill the gaps (metra)..

There was a thread that helped me greatly... but not sure if you are doing it yourself because I cant seem to find it
 
#7 ·
Like the others say, head unit will make the biggest difference. The stocker is complete underpowered. Adding a powered sub will add a nice dimension to the sound as well.

If you do go for new speakers, I'd consider amping them simply so you don't waste their potential. But if you do only go for fronts or rears, the fronts are the ones to replace. Rears are mostly filler coming from behind anyway. I would NOT skip out on tweeters since they provide the highs, which is arguably the most refined portion of music you listen to.
 
#8 ·
The sub you're referring to...the Subaru one? If so pass, as there are far better options, like the Infinity Basslink II. Although, a separate sub and amp would be ideal, especially if you plan to do speakers down the line.

Replacement of just the fronts is good. Rear replacement can mess with your staging. I strongly urge you to go with components, though, and not use the factory tweeter location. Install the tweeters in the kick panels or the A-Pillar. The nice thing about this is you can buy a single 4- or 5-channel amp and bridge the 3/4/5 channels to power the sub while using 1/2 to power your components.
 
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