Saginaw Street and Strip

"I cant afford all that stuff" is something I commonly hear from alot of folks that are looking to put a better system in their car.

The most common mis-nomer that installers push is to "Upgrade your speakers"

For the most part, this is not necessary.
In all the years I have installed stereos, 80% of the time, it was the Head unit (Radio) causing all the mumbled tunes.
Most of the factory speakers are either Delco, Bose, Infinity, Pioneer, or Panasonic. Take for example the factory subwoofers used in my pontiac. They say "Delco" stamped right on them. In fact, it's Pioneer that makes them for Delco.

If your speakers are not cracked or popping when played, then they should be good for the next most important step. - The Head Unit.

Aftermarket head units come in all shapes and sizes, for different vehicles.
GMand Chrysler are most commonly called Din-1/2.
Some of the newer domestics are going Double Din.
I would recommend a High powered 4 channel unit, with a built in crossover critical, and at least one pair of subwoofer outputs.

The reason for the built in crossover, is to give your stock speakers a break from the bass tunes. If you use the crossover to limit frequencies of 80Hz up, you'll be able to crank your stereo twice as loud, with much less distortion, while saving your speakers from the harmful bass current.

Take for example, my 90 bonneville has 4X6" factory plate speakers in front, and Factory 6X9's in the rear.
I used a Pioneer DEH-P77DH 50WX4 high powered head unit on the stock speakers for 4 years with no issues.
Now...because I'm a euro-trash junkie, Im not easy with the bass lines.
I have my 4 stock speakers crossed over at 125HZ, to give the speakers in the stock locations a Midrange/Tweeter Sound Stage.

Where's the bass?
Here's where that set of preamp outputs come in handy.
I used a small 300W amplifier to power 2 12" subwoofers to round out the bottom end. Limited to 80Hz, the soundstage is pretty well rounded overall.

Really, you dont need a 1000W amplifier to get the job done, unless you want to rock the neighborhood.
I've got a 600 watt amp in the truck, and Its got more than enough power to really bump the techno when I want to.

Power is control. Purchase subwoofers in the power range of your amplifier. Low power on a high powered sub only leads to distortion, and overheating of the sub coil, causing premature failure.

I prefer to power my subs up to near their rated power for max control.
If you can afford it - choose a Digital amplifier. They are more efficient, and easier on your electrical system than the old Class AB amps.

How much does all this cost?

Well since your only buying a head unit, amp and subs, your talking around about $350 for new equipment.
$100 head unit, $100 amp, $100 set of subs, and about $50 for cabling.

You can do it for less if you shop around.

I probably should say a bit or two about Speaker Boxes....

I build em, so if you want a price, give me a shout.

I commonly use 3/4" MDF, Glued, Screwed and caulked to seal.
I also fill each chamber with polyfill for sealed applications.

For ported box applications, I use a sound deadning foam on 3 sides of the box.
Gold binding posts are best rather than the spring terminals, and dont cost much more for me to build.

For lightweight applications under 600 watts, I'd seek 1/2" MDF. Stick with the gold binding posts, as they offer better current transfer, and use a MINIMUM of 12ga speaker wire.
I use 8Ga power wire for my sub boxes on the inside.

Port Slotted box give the biggest DB, and sealed applications are good for Rock, Pop, and Techno.

So, when shopping for a box, always ask what its made of, how thick, and how its assembled.