I have a 2012 HB with the base 4 speaker system. Never been crazy with how it sounds though I'm not one to blast music or anything.

From what I gather, the question is which OEM part sucks more, the head unit or the speakers? This can vary widely depending on the make and model, so was curious what everybody else's experience and perceptions are.

I'd only replace the front speakers on the door since I never use the rear speakers. Looking to spend about $100-150 on a double DIN head unit (Clarion or Pioneer) or around $100 for a pair of Polk speakers perhaps...which would make a bigger difference?

Speakers

My Versas have all had the 6-speaker systems. The tweeters up front make a lot of difference. It used to be that the cutouts and wiring were already in place in the pillars, so you might look into adding them to your speakers, too.

Hmmm, I just looked and didn't see anything that could be pre-cutouts. If there were then yeah, I'd jump at the chance to add component speakers because I know they make a much bigger difference than coaxials.

I'm more of a home audio guy, and if you were asking me whether to upgrade the amp/receiver first or the speakers first in a home setup I'd say DEFINITELY do the speakers first since they make 80% of the sound quality. But with car audio and OEM head units I get the impression there's a lot of mixed opinions on this question. I've even heard differing opinions from guys who work in car audio shops! About 10 years ago I kept the OEM head unit on a new Camry but added an amp and aftermarket speakers (Infinity Kappas), and the installer seemed puzzled at that, he said "But Japanese speakers are pretty good already" and afterwards I think he was right because I really didn't hear much of an improvement.

Well, sound is a very subjective topic, but you know that. My wife and I bought a base model Versa. It didn't even come with a stereo. So I bought her a head unit, JVC with iPod input, pretty basic... Well, lucky us, the wiring and the speakers were all in the base model and there was just a plug in place of the head unit (single DIN, there was a pocket in there that stayed). So I wired in a harness adapter, plugged it in and we were rockin'! I'm pretty surprised with how good the OEM speakers sound. It's a rather full sound, nothing crazy with sub-bass and all, but the mids and lows sound off nicely and the highs aren't a problem for the OEM drivers. Short of adding a woofer for Sub-bass, I'd leave it alone. Since it's my wife's car, she doesn't want the sub. She plays it pretty loud sometimes and I'd worry about blowing a stock speaker, but she doesn't worry and hasn't blown one in 4 years. I have some affordable components in my 240sx and they are lacking in the lows and have nothing for sub-bass. I actually like her stereo more than mine... until I upgrade!

So, based on my experience, I'd do the head unit first. If you listen for a while and still find you want new speakers, then you can buy those in conjunction with an amp and get the power to match each other properly.

Wow, that's strange that the car would have OEM speakers but no head unit at all! Kind of blows my mind. What year is your wife's Versa?

My main concern with upgrading to an aftermarket head unit while keeping the OEM speakers is if there are any big impedance differences between the two...which would result in the speakers getting damaged and/or actually sounding worse. That's the most common complaint I've read about by people who've gone that route. But from your account, it seems like the Versa's OEM speakers don't have these issues but actually match the impedance of the aftermarket HU pretty well, which would be awesome!

We have a 2011 model, bought in 2012 I think. Anyway, I was certainly surprised. They might be a 4 ohm system. All matched up properly. We have the usual head unit power as well. Like 22 watts RMS per channel maybe? No amp. I have yet to pull the door panel and inspect the OEM drivers. Maybe there's a picture online of those.

Because it was a base model, it had a single din blocker and a pocket. So I didn't have to buy any faceplate adapter things at all and we got to keep the pocket. Our stereo was in the low $100 range from Best Buy. Certainly not fancy, but pretty good numbers in the specifications. It was nice not having to remove and discard the OEM stereo. Easiest install I've ever done!

Great to hear, thanks for your input. Ok, I guess I'll do the head unit first in that case...will keep the fingers crossed!