Suggestions for sound system upgrade in steps?

[khisanthax]

Hey everybody,

I thought I would start looking into upgrading my sound system in my 2009 altima sedan. I want to do this in steps so it comes out good in the end but doesn't make me file for chapter 11 yet.

I don't have speakers in the rear doors and the rear panel. So I want to get those 4 speakers first, then replace the four front speakers. Then add amps and then upgrade the wiring.

I would like to spend $400 on upgrading all the speakers in the car (8 of them) but if that's not feasible, since I don't know prices, I would be willing to say $250 to $300 MAX on just the four speakers in the back and then four speakers in the front. And then later on I would be willing to spend another $400 on the amp and wiring later on.

Once again, I don't know the prices of these items all that well, so not only am I looking for suggestions on what to get but also on the prices of what to get as well.

Any suggestions where I should start? Is my upgrade plan feasible or crazy?

[AppleBonker]

If I were you, I'd upgrade just the front speakers and leave the rear stock. I have upgraded rear speakers, but I haven't actually used them in well over a year (seriously, they aren't getting ANY signal). CDs and other music you are going to play in the car is 2-channel, so it seems pointless to try to reproduce it with more than two channels.

Also, I would do the upgrade all at once. Getting good speakers will require an aftermarket amp. If you put the speakers in without the amp, it's not going to sound good until the amp is in there.

If you get speakers that will sound decent without an external amp, a good amp would likely overpower them. I think you'd probably be happier upgrading the front speakers all at once and adding an amp at the same time.

As far as speakers go, I think Doc found a sweet set in some Hertz components (if I remember correctly). But, I don't recall the exact model number. I would think it might be possible to upgrade the front speakers to that set and add an amp for around $500-600. Hopefully Doc can chime in with the speaker model so we can price some stuff out...

[khisanthax]

those are great ideas the only thing is I have the base model and no rear speakers at all. and I wanted to do it in affordable steps what do you think?

[AppleBonker]

To be honest, I don't personally think rear speakers are necessary (even in a sedan). I would focus on the fronts. Your rear passengers can hear the stereo fine from back there. The only reason they started putting speakers in the rear of cars was because they could. It didn't actually benefit anybody, they just wanted to be able to advertise more speakers than their competitors.

My vote would still be a nice set of components (hopefully around $200) and a decent amp (maybe $350). Don't forget, upgrading to an amp will require more labor (easy enough to do yourself) and more wiring (this adds to the cost of the upgrade).

[khisanthax]

I kinda wanted to do the upgrade this weekend, but it's a rush so now I'm just getting info and might head to a flea market on saturday to buy what I need.

So, I would be using just four speakers in the front since I don't have anything in the rear deck or rear doors? I was thinking of speakers all around because sometimes I don't want the sound in the front .... lol odd as that may sound.

I don't plan on getting subs because I really want to keep my trunk space which is getting to be a problem. I was thinking of turning the spare tire compartment into an area for the amp .... since I already have stuff screwed into the ceiling of the trunk .... unless someone has other ideas for where I can put them?

I was thinking of 1000w amp .... but I'm just plucking a number out. I don't mind the labor at all ... I'm just trying to figure out what I'll be doing. Mostly running wires from the harness to the amp or speakers to amp.

Sigh, I was kinda just hoping for speakers that would just replace the old ones ... lol, not too much custom fabricating mind you.

Any comments are welcome!