new to car stereo systems

freddy1919 · Post by **freddy1919** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 12:49 pm

i have a 2002 honda civic lx. do you think i could run 2 way speakers with an amp and subs with the stock headunit? i don't know if thats a stupid question or not...anyway i was also thinking about just getting 3 way speakers instead... http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pioneer- ... tDetail.do

i just got the car so i don't know much about the stock headunits watts or anything like that. i don't wanna spend too much money, thats why im thinking about getting the pioneer 3ways ^^^.

just wanna know if i run those speakers and/or subs with a stock civic headunit assuming i get a harness and stuff, or if i need to get a better headunit

Ampresearch · Post by **Ampresearch** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 1:47 pm

freddy1919 wrote:i have a 2002 honda civic lx. do you think i could run 2 way speakers with an amp and subs with the stock headunit? i don't know if thats a stupid question or not...anyway i was also thinking about just getting 3 way speakers instead... http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pioneer- ... tDetail.do
i just got the car so i don't know much about the stock headunits watts or anything like that. i don't wanna spend too much money, thats why im thinking about getting the pioneer 3ways ^^^.
just wanna know if i run those speakers and/or subs with a stock civic headunit assuming i get a harness and stuff, or if i need to get a better headunit

in general if your looking to give your stock system a boost you simply need to get a nice little sub amp and run your sub with that. then run your mids and highs with the head unit. do you have any sort of "premium" sound system that came with your car? if you have the one that comes with 6 speakers depending on the options there may already be a stock amp for the highs. if i researched this right the head unit and speakers are all made by pioneer for that car and for a stock system is not all that bad. if this is the case I would think there is a stock amp. this amp would be fine for the level of replacement speakers you are looking at and you would be ok with just an amp for your sub

if you want to spend a bit more you could look into a 5 channel amp. run all of your highs as well as a sub with one amp. this can also be done with your stock unit. this may not be ideal but it can and is done all the time.

you need to decide exactly what your goals are for your car audio system. come up with a budget and then we can all help to guide you in a direction that will get you to or as close as we can to your goals with your given budget. you dont need to spend a ton of cash to get a decent sounding system.

freddy1919 · Post by **freddy1919** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:12 pm

yes, i have a "premium sound system", what does that mean exactly?

my budget is about $200-$250.

AMPRESEARCH, are you saying that only the speakers connect to the headunit and the sub would obviously connect to the sub amp, which does't have to connect to the headunit? if thats true, then can i get the 3 way pioneer speakers^^^ and then get an amp and subs?

my main goal is to spend as little as possible to get decent speakers that produce good, clear sound.
the reason i am considering subs also is because i don't know how much bass the pioneer speakers would put out. but by no means am i trying to shatter my windows with the bass, i just like rap and want to hear a good clear bass when i play my favorite songs.

a simple solution to my problem would be if anyone has the same pioneer speakers that im talking about(link above) then let me know how you like them and tell me if there is enough bass....cause then i won't get subs

Darthness · Post by **Darthness** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:29 pm

no 6.5" three way speaker is going to put out as much bass as subs, period.

Ampresearch · Post by **Ampresearch** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:51 pm

freddy1919 wrote:AMPRESEARCH, are you saying that only the speakers connect to the headunit and the sub would obviously connect to the sub amp, which does't have to connect to the headunit? if thats true, then can i get the 3 way pioneer speakers^^^ and then get an amp and subs?
my main goal is to spend as little as possible to get decent speakers that produce good, clear sound.

.

no the amp and highs all connect to the head unit. IF and its a big iff your head unit has preouts you sinply connect your amp to that but odds are you will simply take your rear channel outputs and convert them to low outputs so that you can run rca's to your sub amp and use the remaining channels to run your highs.

like said above there is no way to compare a 3 way speaker to a sub. IMO you should get a nice pair of fronts and then run a small subs and amp. or even better if you think for a second that you would end up wanting a complete new system and strive for a super nice sounding set up i would bite the bullet and wait until you have the cash to do what you really want. it may suck to wait but its better then buying everything two or three times and end up spending alot more cash.

freddy1919 · Post by **freddy1919** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:53 pm

thanks for all the help, but i have another question. could i get a 2way speakers (for the front door panels) and connect them to an amp? that would give them more bass, correct?

Options (and correct me if any of theses aren't good/possible) not in order

1. get a 2 channel amp and connect it to a pair of 2 way speakers

2. get a 4 channel amp and connect it to the new pair of 2 ways and my back stock speakers, until i can afford subs <--- planning ahead, but could they blow out my stock speakers in the process?

Ampresearch · Post by **Ampresearch** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:56 pm

freddy1919 wrote:thanks for all the help, but i have another question. could i get a 2way speakers (for the front door panels) and connect them to an amp? that would give them more bass, correct?
Options (and correct me if any of theses aren't good/possible) not in order
1. get a 2 channel amp and connect it to a pair of 2 way speakers
2. get a 4 channel amp and connect it to the new pair of 2 ways and my back stock speakers, until i can afford subs <--- planning ahead, but could they blow out my stock speakers in the process?

i would do the 4 channel amp and save up for subs and a sub amp. any amp can blow a speaker if your clipping. you should get an amp that would fit your needs in the future. then simply adjust your gains acordingly so that they do not blow your current stock speakers.

freddy1919 · Post by **freddy1919** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:03 pm

i could always just get speakers now and hold off on the amp too.....if i do that, would 2 way speakers or 3 way speakers be better in the long run (speakers+amp+subs)

Ampresearch · Post by **Ampresearch** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:07 pm

freddy1919 wrote:i could always just get speakers now and hold off on the amp too.....if i do that, would 2 way speakers or 3 way speakers be better in the long run (speakers+amp+subs)

thats how i build my very first system.

I purchase one part at a time over the course of a year.

i would go with a decent set of components. look into rainbow. focal, boston, MB, jl. for some of the better ones. those are the only ones i have owned that i can comment on but there are lots of others

freddy1919 · Post by **freddy1919** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:10 pm

components? i was told to get with 2 or 3 ways first. what exactly is the difference and why should i get components instead