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car audio advice

highonF4i

highonF4i

wait, what?
Joined
Jun 4, 2007
Location
SF
Moto(s)
are sicks
Name
L
just purchased a new-to-me car (04 WRX wagon) and I'm looking to have some car audio installed and I thought I'd call on the omnipotent barf wisdom.

I know virtually nothing about car audio (what fits, what sounds good, where to have it done, etc etc) but I hear to stay away from places like best buy (for installation at least) if you want it done well.

I want it loud and crisp, with respectable amount of power with about a 10"s worth of bass, and I want it done professionally (amps under seats, wires hidden, dedicated power, etc). Nothing audiophile or show-quality of course, but something to be proud of and trouble free.

I'm not trying to break my bank if at all possible, I already spent too much on the wagon.

I know that's not a whole lot of information, but I was hoping some of y'all had some recommendations for both equipment and places to have it installed, and maybe even estimates on what it might run me. Is it better to source your own speakers then have them installed somewhere, or get everything done at one car audio place? How do you figure out what sounds good and fits in your particular car? That sort of advice would help a lot.

A thread on this may exist already and if so, I apologize, but I searched "car audio" and "car audio installation" and all i got were classifieds.

Thanks in advance. :teeth
 
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How much do you want to spend, and are you going to use the stock head unit or are you willing to upgrade that as well?
 
mikev said:
How much do you want to spend, and are you going to use the stock head unit or are you willing to upgrade that as well?
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I think I plan on replacing the stock head unit because I want an AUX input option, and as far as pricing, I have no idea and I don't want to embarrass myself by throwing out a small number. Can you get something decent for 500 or is that just a laugh?
 
500 total?

I'd say probably not going to happen, considering the extra nickel and dime shit you'll have to buy like amp wiring kits
 
mikev said:
500 total?

I'd say probably not going to happen, considering the extra nickel and dime shit you'll have to buy like amp wiring kits
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all right, good to know. That was just a hopeful guess, not a budgetary maximum. I guess 700-1000 is more realistic?
 
highonF4i said:
all right, good to know. That was just a hopeful guess, not a budgetary maximum. I guess 700-1000 is more realistic?
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1k is probably the jumping off point for what you described in the first post if someone else installs it. it's pretty easy to drop 500 on a head unit alone, depending what bells and whistles you talk yourself into... especially if you start walking down the in-dash navigation route

installing yourself isn't that hard really, but making it clean is where the art comes in that you may or may not wish to pay for. if you have a fair amount of free time DIY is possible.
 
auntiebling said:
1k is probably the jumping off point for what you described in the first post if someone else installs it. it's pretty easy to drop 500 on a head unit alone, depending what bells and whistles you talk yourself into... especially if you start walking down the in-dash navigation route

installing yourself isn't that hard really, but making it clean is where the art comes in that you may or may not wish to pay for. if you have a fair amount of free time DIY is possible.
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damn, 1k jump off point. A bit more than I anticipated, but manageable. I definitely wont be doing any in dash nav or screens or anything. how bout if I get a ridiculous deal on all the speaks, sub and head unit, but need wires and an install? Is it generally an hourly rate, or based on the number of speakers and amps you're installing?
 
highonF4i said:
damn, 1k jump off point. A bit more than I anticipated, but manageable. I definitely wont be doing any in dash nav or screens or anything. how bout if I get a ridiculous deal on all the speaks, sub and head unit, but need wires and an install? Is it generally an hourly rate, or based on the number of speakers and amps you're installing?
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i dunno, haven't paid for anything like that in ages. iirc box stores (best buy etc) will charge by the item but that's the basic install, looks mediocre and might need some finish work, i suspect an independent shop is hourly but don't know.

someone already suggested crutchfield, go look around on there and see what you want. speakers make the biggest difference IMO, you can tell good from crap but everyone has their own standards. the difference between a $50 sub and a $200 one will be significant but only your ears can tell if the money is worth it. FWIW i had a VW GTI years ago, it has similar interior volume to your WRX and i had 2 10" infinity perfect 10s in a sealed box. it was way too much, one would have been plenty..... and the box took up tons of space.

you can go in stages too. start with a good head unit, upgrade the factory speakers and see if you're happy (leave factory wiring alone, it's mostly plug and play). next step would be add a subwoofer somewhere. after that, you're talking stand alone amps, crossovers, running new wiring etc etc etc
 
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I put a 10" in the back of my 03' Legacy that I used to have, it was plenty.

I've done all the work myself since I was 16 though:
'69 Chevy Truck
'83 Subaru Wagon
'86 Toyota 4Runner
'03 Subaru Legacy

I haven't done anything with my new 4Runner yet, but we will see. I am thinking just another 10" should be plenty for my purposes. Just have to figure out where to put an amp.
 
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