car stereo guru needed

[bryan750]

I have a 93 nissan king cab pickup and I need a system for it,head unit($150),6 1/2"component set for the doors($150)probably a 10"subwoofer($100)and a 3 way amp ($150)to run them any ideas on brands,where to buy,installation tips,would be appreciated.

[Frzninvt]

With that kind of budget you are better off going with some used higher quality gear because $150 does not buy you much of a new head unit, or an amp for that matter. You could get a few year old Alpine CDA-7949 for about that is a killer unit provided you don't listen to many CD-R's or MP3 since it won't support them.

Best bet may be just to go to Best Buy or Circuit City and let them outfit you with a cheapo Aiwa deck, and maybe some Jensen amps, speakers and subs. They offer buy one get one free sub deals on occasion.

Some suggested older gear that sounds great:

Nak CD-45Z

Nak CD-35z

Alpine CDA-7949

Alpine CDA-7939

Alpine CDA-7940, 7941, 7930

HiFonics Series VIII amplifiers

Orion XTR (removable top versions) Series amps

a/d/s amps

older Nakamichi PA series amps

There is a ton of stuff out there to choose from I am sure others will chime in.

I just picked up two Orion NT2 10" DVC subs in an enclosure on eBay for $100 and got it delivered for $40. The subs sold in the $300 apiece range when new and they were in great shape.

Good luck with your mission!

[neomartic]

I disagree. I think you should save your money up for a new vehicle instead of putting a system in a 93 pickup.

[skonopa]

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On 8/11/2004 2:47:36 PM neomartic wrote:

I disagree. I think you should save your money up for a new vehicle instead of putting a system in a 93 pickup.

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And to think, I went and put a system in a 1990 Mazda B2200 pickup truck. But then again, it is a second vehicle, which I don't put a huge amount of miles on. Despite being old, it is in excellent shape. The old stereo died (some piece of junk Sony that the previous owner put in), so I went and splurged a little and put a half-way decent system in it that had CD playback capabilities (the old Sony was a cassette player). Since the truck is paid for, and that I plan on keeping it for quite a long time, I figure it was worth it to have some decent quality tunes in the truck. If the truck does give up the ghost, I'll take everything back out (or at least the amp and the subwoofer), and put it in the next one.

And this brings me to help answer the original poster's question:

As for the idea of finding used gear, that is an excellent idea. If you don't want to go the used route, this is what I did for my truck:

Clarion CD head unit (don't remember model number): $100

Not the fanciest thing out there, but it certainly does the job and sounds pretty good.

JL Audio 10inch W0 subwoofer $100

Custom box so it can fit behind seat: $100

Again, not the fanciest thing out there, but it certainly works. The bass it produces is still nice and clean and tight. Was funny when I was at the river. The kids in the car parked behind my truck turned up there system, thumping the bass. Since I usually take the truck to the river, not my car, I only had this system to work with (The system in my car is another story!). I cranked up the second track on Kamelot's Karma album, and only wish you could've seen the looks on those kid's faces.

Alpine 375 watt amplifier (again, dont' remember model number): $200

Two channels to the front speakers. The other two bridged to the Sub.

Decent enough power, and actually sound pretty darn good. The only gripe is the fixed 80hz crossover.

For the front two speakers, it is just a pair of 4 inch Bostan Acoustics CX4e speakers. Good sounding speakers, plus I only paid $9 for the pair since the dealer had several pair they were trying to get rid of. Normally, these are about $80/pair on the street - $150/pair full MSRP according to B.A.'s website. The only gripe is that I wish I had more midrange. As mentioned above, the amp has a fixed 80hz crossover. Those Bostan Acoustic speakers rolloff at 90 hz. Thus, I wanted to set the crossover higher on the amp. Perhaps, I'll look into getting a 6 1/2 inch component set. I'll have to make some hip-panels for the door to fit these speakers, though, since the stock speakers are in the dash.

After installation and all, I paid a total of around $600 for this setup, complete and installed. A good sounding setup, and probably will best a good many of other systems. Just wish the mid-range was better.