hey guys i am looking at upgrading my car audio from the stocks of my 2000 TH Ad. I want to get some splits for the front and a pair of 6x9's for the back and a deck also. I'm not really interested in a woofer atm, but I would be inetrested later down the road, so looking for a head unit that is good for expansions of sub later on.

i am leaning towards kenwood brand for all but still not 100% sure yet. does anyone have any probs with kenwood or any better recommendations. i don't want to spend too much, but willing to spend a little bit to make sure its worth spending money at all. thinking of round $700. is this a fair call?

any help would be appreciated

cheers Nathan

for cheap stuff go response, much better than kenwood


your local jaycar will stock it

$700 before install?

1st point: No kenwood... naughty!

2nd: You'll want to amp the splits, and just get cheap 6x9s as you will get more difference with a sub later.

so...
HU: Pioneer/Alpine/JVC - $320 (anything that equals $320)
Amp: Response/Jaycar 2x80W RMS - $160
Splits: Response/Jaycar Splits - $120
6x9s: Pioneer - $100 (if you have any cash left from these, put towards HU) (Or leave the stock ones in, and put the $100 towards a much better HU)
*Note this list just has the splits amped as the extra cost to amp the 6x9s wont be worth it imo*

there ya go, all entry level stuff, but will be better than stock :)

ahaha whats wrong with kenwood?

is it best to mix and match brand or keep with one brand?

Definately mix and match to get the best you can.

Just got new components for my bro's mirage, Soundstream Picasso 2x 80WRMS and Hertz HSK-165's for under $550 :D Its all about how much you can save. Do it right the first time and save urself lots of money!

save up a bit more and get an Alpine Type S starter kit, HU, Splits, Amp, Sub for about a grand

if your in victoria go down and see Brett Hill at PCA (Performance Car Audio) in ringwood.

how about these head units, can someone tell me which ones will be better for what i'm after, basically i want an AUX in (don't need the USB), want to 4x 50W and a sun sontrol thing for later dpwn the track, found on some site, i thought prices were reasonably cheap...

Head Unit: Kenwood MP4036AXS $259 http://www.ryda.com.au/Kenwood-KDC-MP4036AX-Car-CD-Tuner-p/kdcmp4036ax.htm

OR Pioneer DEH-P4950MP $250 http://www.ryda.com.au/Pioneer-DEH-P4950MP-Car-CD-MP3-Tuner-p/dehp4950mp.htm

OR JVC KD-G435 $165 http://www.ryda.com.au/JVC-KD-G435-Car-CD-MP3-Tuner-p/kdg435.htm

or should i go something like this?

Pioneer DEH-P5800MP $267 http://www.ryda.com.au/Pioneer-DEH-P5800MP-Car-CD-Tuner-p/dehp5800mp.htm

spend the most you can on a decent headunit, thats something you dont (and probably wont) end up uprading later.

JVC KD-DV7205 on ebay - $299 (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BRAND-NEW-JVC-DVD-MP3-WMA-CD-PLAYER-KD-DV7205_W0QQitemZ320157636334QQihZ011QQcategoryZ505 59QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
DVD/Giga MP3/Divx/Ipod control/USB control/3x line-out

that will be the best start to your system you can get, and later down the track you just have to buy a screen and u'll have the lot :)
and at $300 it fits into my price breakdown listed previously.

$300 DVD player with a good brand name... i wouldnt pass that up imo

yeh man that is really cheap aye, but i don't think i need a DVD player for my car. i'm thinking round the $250 doller mark for head unit

EDIT: and with regards to it all, would i be needing an amp for the components too? if you haven't gathered allready, i know **** all bout car audio. what amp is best, a 2ch amp or more?

yeh man that is really cheap aye, but i don't think i need a DVD player for my car. i'm thinking round the $250 doller mark for head unit

why not pay the extra $50 and get it anyway? ;)

hey another bonus is you can fill the dvd with mp3s and play it that way.

means that an upgrade to a whole dvd+screen later on is alot easier

why not pay the extra $50 and get it anyway? ;)

hey another bonus is you can fill the dvd with mp3s and play it that way.

means that an upgrade to a whole dvd+screen later on is alot easier

Dude.. Porn on the road!!

Gigamp3 would be VERY handy, especially on big trips. And if you don't like changing cd's all the time. You can roughly fit around 10 or so albums on a 700MB cd as MP3's, think of 500 or so on a DVD! You never have to change!

Even though I don't rate JVC, this little HU is pretty.

Go alpine for your deck, their units crap on the others for sound and build quality.
You can get decks from them starting at $199 now, steer clear of Kenwood = dodgey

Depends on what sound you like and how loud, you can get Alpine CDE-9870E for $199, this deck is full of features for the price, incl High Pass filters, sub control, MP3 etc. Then a set of Focal 6.5" splits(165 A1) for $259 and their 6x9s (690 CA1) for $199 which will run off the deck for now. And then later on buy a Jaycar AA0426 4x100w $299 amp, two channels running the splits and the other two channels bridged(run as one) for a sub.

So for now you'd be looking about $657rrp for that gear, leaving a bit left over for some sound deadener for the front doors.
Hope this helps.

Go alpine for your deck, their units crap on the others for sound and build quality.

Each to their own (albeit at least ten people I know of now are having problems with voltage reg's and LCD's burning out on their "quality" Alpines..)

The best bet dude is to take what we all say with a grain of salt, GO OUT, TEST SOME - see what YOU like best because we'll all pimp our own brand of choice which may persuade you in the wrong direction.

You now know a few brands and models that have the features you desire so give a few places a call and see what they stock and have on a demo board and go have a play with the deck - remember the more complex it is to do a task the less concentrated on the road you'll be at the time.

cheers guys for the help
is it best to go to shop and get it? i've been on quite a few online shops where their prices are way cheaper? is it a good idea to go through these site?

It depends on quality of sound your looking for... how loud your going to listen to your music etc.
I have Pioneer 6's and 6x9's and there great and were like 100 bucks per pair on sale! I dont run them off an amp and there still pretty good sound. It depends what you wanna do with your $700. I would get a sub to be honest. You dont have to have them cranked up like you see a lot of people doing and just hearing doof doof, but there a great part of a decent sound system. I spent about $600 myself and got:

SoundStorm 1200 watt amp + Kenwood 1200 watt sub - $200 (second hand off a mate)
Pioneer 400 watt 6x9's - Discounted to $100 from JBHiFi
Pioneer 350 watt 6's - From Autobarn for $100
Pioneer Headunit 3 RCA out - Worth $320, got it down to $190 from JBHiFi
http://www.ryda.com.au/Pioneer-DEH-P4950MP-Car-CD-MP3-Tuner-p/dehp4950mp.htm < that one (by the way its really good i would suggest it)
8 Guage wiring kit - $30 or something

Thats pretty much a simple system nothing crash hot.

im assuming for this your going for an el cheapo install, this is the cheapest i would go

HU: http://www.jvc-australia.com/JVC/client/c_products_details.jsp?catID=27&prodID=233

i love my jvc unit and would most definately recommend it to anyone and everyone!!

$209 :)

Front Splits: http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.com/temp/fhrxstudios/pdfs/hertz_pricelist.pdf
Hertz ESK 165.3
$265

4x100 amp from our good friends at jaycar
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-RESPONSE-4x100W-RMS-HIGH-POWER-CAR-AMPLIFIER-AMP_W0QQitemZ260159856461QQihZ016QQcategoryZ130668 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

$250

Wiring - $40

Total
$805

this is an awesome base for a good system, just add a sub to the rear channels when money permits and you have some nice sound :)

p.s i know its about $100 more than you wanted but spending the extra now will save you more down the track, trust me, i did it the complete wrong way :(

cheers guys for the help
is it best to go to shop and get it? i've been on quite a few online shops where their prices are way cheaper? is it a good idea to go through these site?

Mate the best idea would be to audition these at an audio store and then go buy online to get the cheaper price once you have a hands-on personal review of them. Remember to query warranty procedures though. Personally I'd rather not spend $50 postage an amp/HU back to an online store for a repair.

Each to their own (albeit at least ten people I know of now are having problems with voltage reg's and LCD's burning out on their "quality" Alpines..)

Compared to probably 100 or more who have problems with JVC, Kenwood, Sony etc.

Another quality unit (in my opinion) to check out, Eclipse and even Panasonic arent too shabby.
But as the others say, only you can really go out and listen to, and then determine a good sounding, aesthetically pleasing, "feels right" brand of equipment.

By the way, have you also considered buying 2nd hand well looked after gear? Can get some great bargain prices for good, well taken care of gear.

Luke

tbh jvc dont go into the same catergory as sony or kenwood..

alpine and eclipse however are better units (hence the price)

tbh jvc dont go into the same catergory as sony or kenwood..

alpine and eclipse however are better units (hence the price)
True, maybe not in the same category, close though.
Personal experiences are all I go on when I say this, I have JVC gear in my house, very happy. Twice ive bought JVC car gear, 1st deck CDs just constantly got jammed in the slot(from the day I put it in), 2nd one the LCD went(3mths into ownership).

Ive had 4 Alpine decks, 6 amps, bout 7 subs, 2 bass engines and had no probs with any, barr me overpowering one VR 10" sub I had. And 2 pairs of Eclipse speakers which sounded great and went hard.

Luke

ah ok, from my personal experience no problems have occured with jvc, or any other brand of head units except kenwood (terrible) and sony (nearly as bad)

speakers is another story, jvc ones are terrible

well imo (and i'm running an eclipse deck) JVC bang-for-buck surpasses that if most decks <$350...eclipse lower end models are overpriced for that money, alpine isnt quite as feature packed, and pioneer/kenwood is left in its dust. for a n00bie looking for an ok setup to build on later, getting a cheap-ish dvd deck with 3xpreouts, usb etc etc is a bargain, and definitely a brag-worthy deck :)

as said by everyone, theres always gonna be fanbois of different brands. as i said, i own eclipse but would recommend jvc to anyone looking for an entry-level unit. just check them out, ignore anything the sales people say at jb hifi/strathies etc (they will sell you whatever is on special) and go for what seems best.

ebay can be good, but depends on whether it will need a warranty replacement, might be easy, might not be.

you have my recommendations, and others, now weigh them all up. just make sure the deck isnt pioneer/sony/kenwood, has 3xpreouts (front/rear/sub) and the rest is up to you. dont get suckered in by flashy lights or anything tho

If Its Gonna Blow up You know Ken wood...

Kenwood are just plain nasty.. even in their High up gear.

JVC can't go wrong for money VS Value..

Pioneer's Decks sound Good, especially if your not looking at Amping up the Internal speakers. They Have Quality and punch and my New System in my current Car (Vitara) is headed up by pioneer..

Response Gear as far as Speakers, Subs and Amps go are brilliant with the Kevlar Gear being rated very Highly..
(I only wish I had gotten the 5inch Kevlars instead of the fusion 2-ways I got for rear fill)


as for XPLOD... Just try turning up the volume... they soon XPLOD.