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I would suggest trying to buy some good used stuff... Check out ebay and the "for sale" section on this and other forums, buy from people with good feed back.

yeah I think tight budget or low budget system would have been a better choice of words hehe
huge budget is like saying build me a stereo mister Gates! hehe


anyway after my first post I saw you meant you wanted to spend a lot less.
I figured the alpine CD player and two sets of speakers was about as cheap as you'd want to go after the amp and sub.
alpines with Vdrive put out good power for a head unit, and CDT makes some of the best inexpensive speakers you're going to find.

lol..it's obvious we're not on the same page here. Perhaps I should have said "VERY TIGHT BUDGET SYSTEM"..I said Huge Budget..and in my mind it meant im trying to spend the least amount possible..rather than having no budget at all. Sorry, looks like i confused everyone on this topic lol. $300 is a very tight budget..that's what i'm tryin to work with.

maybe saying "huge budget" system in the topic is a bad idea when you only want to spend $300 on the entire setup.

I did a budget system for my mother's SUV for Chrstmas a few years back and spent 3 times that much on it.
that was an alpine source, 6.5" separates, 6.5" coax, 8" sub, alarm system, Alpine 3339 EQ.

Well i'm sure he would be, but I can find some great deals on higher quality products online for similar and even sometimes less than wal marts prices on low quality stuff. If i was gunna go low end pioneer..i wouldn't get him somethin below the DEH-P370..as for Alpine i'm not familar with any of the model numbers.

hmm. i dont know if you have a Wal Mart there. but the ones around here have the lower Pioneer cd players, and i know that they will do the job for your dad's situation just fine..... and plus you can just pick up some Pioneer speakers... im sure he will just fine with that man..

I...personally have had great luck w/ pioneer hu's. But then again the only other deck i have owned is a sony (CRAP). You can pick up the new pioneer 1700 at http://www.woofersetc.com/product.asp?0 ... 424&3=3536

As for the fronts i would stick w/ the infinity's, or look into some pioneers.

TEDD

lol, maybe I should explain my budget a little better and also let everyone know what i'm lookin for. I'm trying to do the system for around $300. For a HU..i basically need something that *works* Id like something user friendly as well. I've decided its' probably better off to go with a good set of coaxials up front rather to be run off the HU, because he'll never be blaring his music. I think I was thinking too much of myself when looking into a component/amp combo. There's really no reason he needs amped fronts. Hell, I don't even have them. Also, i'll also be using a cheap wiring kit. To me, wire is wire especially when using minimal power. I have plenty of MDF at home..plus I already have a ported box for the RE8. Here are some options I have so far for coaxials and a HU:

Coaxials- fronts: 6.5" Kappa
rear fill:who knows?
HU- Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer (all lower models).

I haven't exactly compiled many options yet lol. Any more suggestions would be nice.

Alpine CDE 9843 $170 retail $107-130 E Bay prices

Alpine MRP-T220 $150 Retail $50-$100 E Bay prices

Then take your pic of comps or coaxials.

CDT is always a good choice for comps, especially the $150 Zeb ones. But trying to stay within your budget you will want to find something else.

$70 will be hard to find good speakers and wireing...

you want the RE8 and MTX sub amp, so with that, here's a suggestion for affordable and good:
Alpine head unit with Vdrive internal amp for components
CDT 6.5" separates in the front doors
CDT 6x9s in the back for rear passengers and midbass fill
In a Ciera I think he'd do alright with something in the rear deck.
As you said, it's not like he's going to be competing, and a lot of people like the warmth of having the car full of sound from fronts and rear speakers as opposed to a focused front stage approach.

figure $300-350 for the alpine (etronics.com)
$500 for front and rear speakers together (thezeb.com)
knukonceptz.com for the amp kit for the MTX
3/4" MDF for the sub enclosure, and I'd go with a ported box tuned around 36Hz for that 8" to extend the low end response a bit.
otherwise a single 8" low end sub can feel a bit lacking for low end in a sealed box.