Does anyone have aftermarket audio system pics?

[Scooby]

I'm planning on purchasing a Techno Gray RL within the next few months. I like your forum and I'm finding it very helpful, but I'm curious what other members have done with an aftermarket stereo system. Since trunk space is an issue I would like to know if anyone has any pics they can share to give me an idea of what they've done. Thanks in advance for your help!

[byronsky]

Custom SKY for sale


Scroll down a bit and you will see 5 pictures of my setup!

Eclipse head unit with 7" screen, with Nav and backup camera
10" Eclipse sub in custom enclosure
Eclipse components in the doors and pillars
2 amps mounted behind drivers seat. Bigger one for the components and smaller for sub.

Sounds EXCELLENT!!

[Scooby]

Wow -- it never even crossed my mind to have it installed behind the seats!!

BTW that's an absolutely gorgeous car!!!

[MidniteBlues]

I would submit to you, that you buy the best stereo option they offer, hear it, then decide if it is not "good enough" for you, before you spend another 1K or or so, to "upgrade" a perfectly sounding system..

[Morfious]

Check my signature for my head unit install. The car goes into the shop this weekend for the sound dampening, amp and front speaker upgrade. And back again later this year when the JL thin sub finally comes out. In case you are lazy here is a pic of the finished unit:

Pioneer AVIC D3, bypassed and installed with all the options.

[byronsky]

Originally Posted by MidniteBlues

I would submit to you, that you buy the best stereo option they offer, hear it, then decide if it is not "good enough" for you, before you spend another 1K or or so, to "upgrade" a perfectly sounding system..

Gotta disagree with this one! If you sit in a stock system car and then in a car with a system such as mine, you would change your mind.......BUT, my system would cost around $4000 to duplicate!

[gadget]

Originally Posted by MidniteBlues

I would submit to you, that you buy the best stereo option they offer, hear it, then decide if it is not "good enough" for you, before you spend another 1K or or so, to "upgrade" a perfectly sounding system..

I agree with midnite blues in that the sound of my monsoon system is very clean and has enough power.
My gripe is with the way GM engineered the head unit you can't truly integrate anything except a stupid Ipod into it. and if you want map style navigation you need another box hanging on the dash with wires hanging all over Oh thats right I'm supposed to pay for a phone call +$100 a year every time I wan somebody from BANGLADESH to tell me on one line of my receiver where to make the next Turn and don't miss it cause that's gonna cost you another phone call. Add to the fact that Onstar diagnostics is a load of B#$%@P and you can add another box on the dash for OBDII and god forbid GM should allow you to use the GPS thats In the car you paid for wouldn't want to be able to hookup a serial cable to their Precious Can system that I own

I'm just about to the point that I'm going to go off and rip out this head unit and install a Din computer system.

[Scooby]

I don't have a problem with the monsoon system, it's just that I'm looking for something different. At the same time I'm not looking to spend 4K either. That's why I was looking to see some examples of what others are doing in hopes it could inspire me to a decision. Your input and opinions are appreciated.

[LostBoyz]

For a stock head unit the Monsoon is pretty decent.

The speakers on the other hand. Yes, there is a huge difference! The 8" paper cone "sub" is woefully weak. As byronsky said, if you listen to a decent custom sound system .... well it's like the diff of driving a Civic and .... a Sky!

I put in an Alpine W205 6.5" A/V head unit
JL ZR 6.5 component fronts
JL TR 4 rears
Pioneer 10" Flat sub

JL 4/450 amp for fronts/rears
JL 250 amp for sub

Samsung Backup cam

Alpine Blackbird II for mp3/Nav/Bluetooth

I retain steering wheel control (except the damn Blackbird doesn't respond to Track +/- in mp3 mode ) and OnStar even though I made OnStar irrelevant.

Morpheus. I gotta check out how your JL sub compares when you get it installed. Over the holiday, my friend an I spent some time adjusting the cross-overs on the amp and I have a better bass response. It would be interesting to hear the diff between the JL and the Pioneer.

[gadget]

Originally Posted by LostBoyz

For a stock head unit the Monsoon is pretty decent.

The speakers on the other hand. Yes, there is a huge difference! The 8" paper cone "sub" is woefully weak. As byronsky said, if you listen to a decent custom sound system .... well it's like the diff of driving a Civic and .... a Sky!

I put in an Alpine W205 6.5" A/V head unit
JL ZR 6.5 component fronts
JL TR 4 rears
Pioneer 10" Flat sub

JL 4/450 amp for fronts/rears
JL 250 amp for sub

Samsung Backup cam

Alpine Blackbird II for mp3/Nav/Bluetooth

I retain steering wheel control (except the damn Blackbird doesn't respond to Track +/- in mp3 mode ) and OnStar even though I made OnStar irrelevant.

Morpheus. I gotta check out how your JL sub compares when you get it installed. Over the holiday, my friend an I spent some time adjusting the cross-overs on the amp and I have a better bass response. It would be interesting to hear the diff between the JL and the Pioneer.

I'm not sure what you mean by woefully weak but too each his own! The Monsoon system has Clean well balanced Response to the extent that the Amps will deliver. which is well above 90 Decibels. I'm not into making the doors puff in and out or staging an audio assault on the vehicles next to me at a traffic light. I'm into the music. Most any Genre as long as it's well done, clean and without interuption. The scratching records while pounding on a drum and yelling profanitys into a microphone thing I don't quite understand but as long as I'm not forced to listen to it at a traffic light while the guy's trunk lid and hood rattles I don't care.

I like your head system it's pretty Does it have any media storage capability?

[LostBoyz]

I am not talking about a dB beast. The paper cones will become muddy over time and 8" is just not enough to drive a full spectrum bass response.

The system that I put in is clean through out the entire spectrum. The 1" inverted dome tweeters from the ZR components give the brightest, cleanest highs that I have heard without becoming "tinny" as some tweeters can. There is also less beaming.

The sound is clean and tight even at low volumes. Trust me, there are whole parts of the spectrum that the stock speakers are not producing with any fidelity, especially in the bass. That 8" "sub" just cannot adequately handle frequencies below 50 Hz. It does make a difference.

Since the cockpit is so small in our Skys, huge power amps are not needed for good clean sound. But, better speakers really do make a difference.

A good reference cd is Linkin Park: Meteroia. It has a good mix of highs mids and bass. There are even modalities going on in the bass instead of just "thump thump thump ...".

I can still feel my bass (down to 25 Hz) even at low volume. You just don't get that out of the stock speakers. The bass however does not overpower the rest of the spectrum.

The Monsoon head unit is pretty good for stock. It is even more capable in some areas than after market heads. But the speakers and the amp had to go!

The W205 doesn't have media storage, but the Blackbird II slides into the W205 and supports 4GB SD cards.

My system set me back about $5K including the install.

[gadget]

Originally Posted by LostBoyz

I am not talking about a dB beast. The paper cones will become muddy over time and 8" is just not enough to drive a full spectrum bass response.

The system that I put in is clean through out the entire spectrum. The 1" inverted dome tweeters from the ZR components give the brightest, cleanest highs that I have heard without becoming "tinny" as some tweeters can. There is also less beaming.

The sound is clean and tight even at low volumes. Trust me, there are whole parts of the spectrum that the stock speakers are not producing with any fidelity, especially in the bass. That 8" "sub" just cannot adequately handle frequencies below 50 Hz. It does make a difference.

Since the cockpit is so small in our Skys, huge power amps are not needed for good clean sound. But, better speakers really do make a difference.

A good reference cd is Linkin Park: Meteroia. It has a good mix of highs mids and bass. There are even modalities going on in the bass instead of just "thump thump thump ...".

I can still feel my bass (down to 25 Hz) even at low volume. You just don't get that out of the stock speakers. The bass however does not overpower the rest of the spectrum.

The Monsoon head unit is pretty good for stock. It is even more capable in some areas than after market heads. But the speakers and the amp had to go!

The W205 doesn't have media storage, but the Blackbird II slides into the W205 and supports 4GB SD cards.

My system set me back about $5K including the install.

I'll take your word for it on the speakers but I'm happy with the Monsoons for now. Jeff Beck and Joe Satriani can put some serious strain on an audio system and it hasn't had any problems reproducing it.
I'm looking for serious storage 100GB or better I don't like playing with the CD Scratcher (CD Changer) My CD's right now get played one time (when I buy them) unless something happens to the database I have in the house or Car and that's fairly unlikely. I don't want SD cards or media laying around the car. Right now I update the data base in the car by wireless Lan and it is very convienent.The sound from the PDA is Good but there are some issues with it. Like it's a theft magnet and has to be stored away when the car is left especially when the top is down and processing power could be better it's only capable of doing one thing at a time. It also other than Volume as of right now cannot be integrated into the system.
As of right now I want nothing to do with anything Apple makes what's on my database is nobody's buisness but my own.

[Morfious]

Originally Posted by LostBoyz

Morfious. I gotta check out how your JL sub compares when you get it installed. Over the holiday, my friend an I spent some time adjusting the cross-overs on the amp and I have a better bass response. It would be interesting to hear the diff between the JL and the Pioneer.

I can't wait for the sub to be released either. It's a 12" sub that only needs a 0.67 cu ft enclosure to operate in. My dealer says it's on par with the 12W3 in terms of output. This weekend the car should go in for the amp and speakers (ZR series was back ordered for a bit and should be in some time this week). Here's hoping the extra dynamat will help quiet teh exhaust a bit so the stereo can really shine. I can't wait to get my sound system just right. Even without the sub it will be a huge improvement.

[todaresqSL2]

Originally Posted by LostBoyz

I put in an Alpine W205 6.5" A/V head unit
JL ZR 6.5 component fronts
JL TR 4 rears
Pioneer 10" Flat sub
JL 4/450 amp for fronts/rears
JL 250 amp for sub
Samsung Backup cam
Alpine Blackbird II for mp3/Nav/Bluetooth

I retain steering wheel control (except the damn Blackbird doesn't respond to Track +/- in mp3 mode ) and OnStar even though I made OnStar irrelevant.

Morpheus. I gotta check out how your JL sub compares when you get it installed. Over the holiday, my friend an I spent some time adjusting the cross-overs on the amp and I have a better bass response. It would be interesting to hear the diff between the JL and the Pioneer.

I have a similar set up...

Pioneer AVIC-Z1 7" (includes Nav & MP3... and Bluetooth & XM with addition)
JL Audio XR's in the front
JL Audio 450/4 Amp behind the drivers seat
Pioneer Flat Sub behind the passengers seat
License plate rear view camera

Originally Posted by Morfious

I can't wait for the sub to be released either. It's a 12" sub that only needs a 0.67 cu ft enclosure to operate in. My dealer says it's on par with the 12W3 in terms of output.

I also am awaiting it's release... but man, the wait is painful!!! lol First it was supposed to be 4th quarter of 07... now they are saying April of 08.

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/jlaudio_pages.php?page_id=213

[Dave@ddmworks]

Here is one of the set-up we had in Randy's Car:

[Nova-Exarch]

Originally Posted by LostBoyz

I am not talking about a dB beast. The paper cones will become muddy over time and 8" is just not enough to drive a full spectrum bass response.

The system that I put in is clean through out the entire spectrum. The 1" inverted dome tweeters from the ZR components give the brightest, cleanest highs that I have heard without becoming "tinny" as some tweeters can. There is also less beaming.

The sound is clean and tight even at low volumes. Trust me, there are whole parts of the spectrum that the stock speakers are not producing with any fidelity, especially in the bass. That 8" "sub" just cannot adequately handle frequencies below 50 Hz. It does make a difference.

/argee

I do like the output level of the Monsoon system. If there was a seperate subwoofer volume control then I might be much happier.

There are a few songs I like especially for their driving bass lines and I have to turn the overall volume up too loud to get the monsoon to deliver that. :|

Can't really say where in the lineup it is, but a stereo upgrade is certainly on the list of mods/upgrades. I mostly got the monsoon so I would have a good system in the interim.

[Morfious]

My very first car I purchased the best factory system I could (it wasn't even an option available, but I found out it would fit and had one of the few 1997 Jeep Wranglers with a factory 6 disc changer). Well that lasted about 2 years before I blew the speakers 3 times sand decided to upgrade the stereo system. Once I heard what a good aftermarket system can sound like I vowed to never again pay for sub standard audio. From that point on I will order any new car with the worst stereo system available. Heck I would prefer to get one with a hole in the dash. You can get much better sound for less $$ going aftermarket (assuming you can do some handiwork yourself). For some the monsoon will sound good, to me it was too much $$ for not enough sound.

[sidejam]

So far, I'm pretty happy with the stock Monsoon stereo. I don't want to lose my steering wheel controls so I doubt I'll change the radio. But, I might change the front speakers for something a little better.

Anyone know if the stock speakers are 4 ohms?

[Morfious]

I believe they are, you will not have an issue using the factory head unit and installing aftermarket speakers. Just so you know many, if not all of the major manufacturers have adapters available that will keep your steering wheel controls. I use my steering wheel controls every day on my Pioneer head unit. more food for thought.