Cheapest way to improve sound?

[jDally987]

Hey guys, I'm extremely tight on money but I want to do SOMETHING to my speakers to improve their sound a little bit. I listen to a lot of metal, so I was interested in swapping out the speakers for something more decent than stock, but I also listen to a lot of electronica/dubstep/rap, so I thought adding subs would be a good idea too. However adding subs usually entails adding a new amp too, amirite? And it's expensive to add subs/amp AND new regular speakers - I'd probably want to stick to only one of those upgrades in the interest of saving money.

My budget is really tight - I'm a stupid broke teenager left penniless paying for a recent accident (not my fault, mind you ) so I'll probably ask for one of these upgrades for christmas. That means it's gotta be really cheap, as in no more than a couple hundred dollars - I'd say my budget would probably be less than $200 if that's possible.

I only know a little bit as far as speaker wiring and car audio go, so I'm not exactly sure what I should be looking for. (actually, speaking of that, does anyone know of any good articles or sites where total noobs can learn about those types of things?) I don't care about trunk space, so putting subs in there would be no problem, although subs as big as that would probably be expensive anyway :x Any suggestions?

[Athikerguy4life]

you can find cheap sub/amp combos online as long as you dont HAVE to get one of the "name brands". I have a BOSS sub and amp, and although they have a pretty bad reputation for their headunits, as far as I ca tell, theirs nothing wrong with their speakers. They do overrate their amps wuite a bit though.. a 1500 watt amplifier is only using a 25 amp fuse? give me a break. Other than that, I have no complaints, and the sound is great with mine. I've had it installed for 7 months so far with ZERO issues. Here's what it cost me:

Boss ph1500 mono amp: $80
Boss CW2000 DVC subwoofer: $45
My box was $90 cause I wanted it to be ported, but you can get sealed boxes for nothing, like $30, or you can build your own.

As for speakers, you can upgrade to some cheap components in the front, and decent 3-ways in the rear. You can get 2 pairs of speakers for less than $100 and have great sound quality. I have pioneer 3-ways that I got for $45 a pair, and they sound awesome, but there isn't as much bass to them as other speakers I've had before.

I hope this helped!

[jDally987]

Sweeeeettt, I might just copy your set up right there. What sites are good to find more deals like you found with the boss speakers, just in case I want to see if I can find something cheaper/better?

And what kind of enclosure should I get if I replace the subs? I imagine metal would sound best on a sealed box due to the sound quality, but I absolutely want to have as much thump and raw power as I can for rap. And then I guess the middleground in between those would be dubstep and the rest of my electronica, for which I'd need both power but also a bit more clarity since it's not all just BOOM BOOM like rap is.
Would that mean I should just get a ported box that's tuned to a lower frequency?

Also, is one sub good enough for plenty of thump in my low end? Or would I be ripping myself off by skimping on that.

And if I upgraded the front speakers, would those have enough range to handle the low end of my metal by themselves? I'm thinking maybe I can get that sub in the back for all my bass-heavy music, but still have the front speakers cover their whole frequency response. so I'd have the heavy bumping bass for rap, but when I shuffle to a metal song, the smaller speakers can deliver the low-end clarity of the guitars and vocals that I'm looking for (instead of using the sub in the back exclusively for all the lower frequencies, rendering the low end of my metal muddy and too powerful)

[Athikerguy4life]

One 12 inch sub running on 300 watts will have plenty of bass. Any more than that is just for show, IMO. The best way to upgrade it is just like you but, get better speakers in the front stage, add a sub in the back. Every system is different, but I think that my system sounds good with rock, hip hop, and dubstep.

You can check out sonicelectronix.com for some INSANE deals on car audio equipment. They have some ported enclosures for 12's for $50. Grab a sub for $40 and an amp for $80. Then throw in a pair of 3-way speakers for the front and you're probably right in your $200 range. I am a broke teenager too, so I know how it is. One thing I did is add a switch on my amp turn on wire, that way if I'm listening to music that really shouldn't be bass heavy, I can just flip the toggle switch and turn off the bass.

There's nothing wrong with buying cheap equipment, the problem most people have is they buy cheap equipment and expect it to perform like high end equipment. If you don't push it and you do a quality install, you'll be alright. Just remember, you DO get what you pay for, so do your research before you buy.

[jDally987]

Hm that's a good point. Ooh black friday is coming up too, I should capitalize on that. And I'll definitely check out sonicelectronix. But sweet that sounds like a good idea, so you're saying a 12" inside a low-tuned ported box is a good idea for all those genres? And didn't you say components in the front and 3-ways in the back? What's the difference? And will going with one or the other allow me to not buy another amp for the 4 cabin speakers? (because I'd like to avoid spending more on that if I can..) did you have to add another amp for all those pioneer 3-ways you got?

Which reminds me...what difference does a head unit make in all this? I read that it matters for something relating to the cabin speakers, but I forget what. I realized I'm probably going to have to replace my stock HU when I upgrade all this stuff because I can't keep using the FM modulator that I'm using now for the music on my droid.

[Athikerguy4life]

3-ways's are 3 speakers built into 1. Components use a separate mid woofer and tweeter. You would have to find a place to mount the tweeter though. 3 ways give you pretty good sound and they are pretty cheap. Get low wattage speakers and you won't need to amplify them. Also, the stock stereo in the Versa doesn't have pre-amp outputs for subwoofers so you would need to upgrade if you want one. I'd start with new speakers first, then upgrade your HU, then add a sub/amp. This is the way I did it, and it helped ease the cost.

[jDally987]

Alright sweeet. And you're sure some cheaper speakers/subs would still be a good and noticeable upgrade? I want to save as much money as possible, but I don't want to get such mediocre speakers that the difference is barely audible.

[Athikerguy4life]

with any speakers you wont notice a huge difference unless you upgrade to amplified speakers, but you will see a difference with a sub, cause the added bass will definitely be audible.

[jDally987]

Wait so you're saying I should shell out for an amp for the cabin speakers if I want to notice any difference with new components/3-ways?

Won't an aftermarket head unit provide enough power for some better speakers

[Athikerguy4life]

an aftermarket HU will power speakers fine, what I was trying to say is that with amplified speakers, the difference will be much more noticeable.

[jDally987]

Oh ok so if I want to make the speakers sound much better, I should throw an amp in there at some point in the future.

[Athikerguy4life]

key word "future" start with what I said and see what you think.

[jDally987]

Haha good look. Alright sweet thanks so much for the help, I'll check out the amp you mentioned and......well I can't find the sub but I'll try and find one that's 350w or below

[mrclean17]

I'm a broke teenager myself, and I wanted to upgrade the bass in my car. So I got SDX Audio dual 10" subs, and an SDX 800 watt amp at Pepboy's for $80, on sale from $140. (I think it was part of a black friday deal, so I'm not sure if it's still going on.) Anyways, I just wired it myself (took about 5 hours, but many places wanted $150-200 to install), bought a few connectors from Radioshack for about $20, and there we go. The speakers are well enough in my opinion, so I didn't change them. Overall though, it sounds great to me and those I've shown. Well worth the investment.

[jDally987]

I saw that thing just now. $80 for dual 10s and a 800w amp??!?!? Jesus christ.......how did I miss out on that deal. But wait it's $140 normally? Where did you find that deal, that's still pretty damn good.

[mrclean17]

I know, I was pretty stoked. It was Pepboy's in San Diego, I saw it on their black friday ad in the newspaper, so I'm not positive if the deal is still going on... It's well worth the 80 bucks though. SDX isn't the best, but it is by far better than stock.

[jDally987]

Yeah I think it's gone now. Damn....and I can't even find a place to buy it anywhere on the web. Oh well....i found this little baby

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_777B8P/Sou ... B8P&tp=114

It's only 8" and 80w but apparently it kicks, judging from the 102 reviews, none below 4 stars. I sent it off to my dad, hopefully I'll get that for christmas. And hopefully it'll deliver the bass I'm looking for since I'm still skeptical........but apparently everyone else was too, and was pleasantly surprised, so we'll see.

[mrclean17]

Hey, still better than the stock. The fact it includes the amp inside it will save you a lot of time/hassle if you're wiring yourself. I would see how the 8" works, and if you decide you still need more you can just get another. Are you going to wire it yourself or get it installed?

I took a photo of my setup but I can't figure out how to get it on my post

[jDally987]

Eh most likely just wire it myself. I'm a DIY guy all the way, I hate paying money for stuff i could be doing on my own for free. My dad's a genius when it comes to this stuff too so if I have any trouble I know he won't hesitate to make it look beautiful.

And just go to imgur.com, upload your photo and paste the link here.

[mrclean17]

It's a crappy photo but here it is. I took the photo the second I finished wiring it, since then I've finished organizing and hiding the wires. I drilled and screwed the amp to the back of my rear right seat, so it's out of the way in my trunk and all I have to do for easy access is fold the seat down.



I definitely prefer DIY as well. My dad helped me install too, one day working on your car is better than paying 150 bucks for someone to do it any day. Also, the Versa is super easy to take apart. An Allen wrench and a flat head screwdriver got me everywhere I needed.

I recommend for one of the power connections wiring the amp to a 12V outlet, if you have one, instead of the radio. That way you don't have to tear into the dash, and the plastic cover for the center console that covers the 12V wiring is extraordinarily easy to take off (at least in the 2012).