Upgrading audio system.

[King Charles]

1996 Q-45
Need to know the specs/sizes of the factory installed system so I can start looking for speakers,head unit, amp etc.

Thanks in advance.

[Q451990]

Crutchfield is a pretty good resource for this kind of information. Double-din for the head unit, and I think 6x9 for the rears. Fronts are going to be custom boxes or fit something into the OEM box. The Bose systems sends line-level audio to each speaker, which has an individual amp on each unit, so plan on running all new speaker wires since the OEM wire is relatively small...

Heath

[Turbon8er]

^ exactly what he said. replace tiny wires, build front boxes. Twisting your new speaker lines will also help reduce noise traveling.

you can also use metraonline.com for parts/size, just pay attention to the unnecessary "Universal" parts that come up.

As far as speakers go, there are lots of decent sounding setups, but something i always recommend to folks is to get SOFT or Silk dome tweeters. They reproduce sound much more naturally than a harsh Mylar or Titanium/Aluminum tweeter. I have a pair of Vifa xt25sc90 -04 tweeters to run upfront. I put a pair in my 240 and they are absolutely phenomenal!!! I've heard notes in old songs that i never noticed before! They are 4 ohm and will replace the included tweeter on nearly any component set. I have a pair to replace the already silk domes on my Kicker QC6.5's ($500 components) if that tells you anything. At $50ish a pair, they're not cheap, but TOTALLY worth it. They are a high-end home theater speaker that goes up to 20khz and the detail is amazing. Vifa makes many, many types of speakers, all top notch, but i chose these for the Waveguide and directional clarity, which also means they need to be aimed at the listener for the best detail.

Another tip is to keep your cone-type material the same across your mid-ranges (and tweeters especially). A polymer cone sounds different than a paper cone and a carbon/kevlar cone. Some people may not notice it, but if you have a discerning ear, you probably will.

[King Charles]

Yea I'm pretty aware on quality audio components. Basically going to restore this cherry & bring her to the year 2013. Engine's squared up next it's audio,paint,rims then interior recovering. I'd love to find a decently priced President,50 body kit. The trunk lip/spoiler is what I really like.

[King Charles]

The Metra site says the front speakers are 4' Crutchfields says 6' ?! EDIT I see that the factory ones are in an enclosure that includes the Bose amp.

Also looking for a rectangle sub to port through the rear deck 1st Aid storage compartment. Only one I have found so far is this one.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KSCSW11 ... tml?tp=114