Best prices on car audio?

[SteelCityNitro]

So, after all the work that I put in on my Corvette this past summer I didn't have the cash to fix the stereo. It has a bose sound system in it that is supposed to be great, but I've never been impressed with bose. There's too much to this system that can go wrong anyway and it obviously already has. I was considering scrapping the whole deal including the speakers. What I know is the factory head unit works and it sends a signal to the speakers, but only the front passenger side gets any sound and it's barely there. I think the receiver in the back is shot. On top of that each speaker in the car has it's own amplifier built in. Just too much junk to deal with to me.. and as I said before bose does not impress me. To get things refurbished for the system I'm looking at 300 bucks per component and if I end up being wrong about what is actually shot then I'm losing money. I don't want to invest a ton of money in a product that I don't even care for anyhow. I was thinking that component speakers would be awesome, I have a set of alpine 6" two way speakers with a separate tweeter and crossover setup in my ranger and I just love them. I know for a fact that I could put a pair in front and back of the car without too many issues, and I probably could put a 12" sub in the back if I really wanted to. I'm not looking to be one of those guys that irritate people at red lights, just want a nice stereo to listen to on those summer days with the top off. So, if you guys know of a place that has good deals on stuff please share them with me. I've used crutchfield many times and I'm not against using them again, but looking for options.

 

[frickenjoey]

There is a ton of good places out there...I got some stuff from http://www.sonicelectronix.com/ I had pretty good luck with them and decent prices. If you are just looking for good filler sound a 10" will do all you need. Heck i had a couple 8" JL that no one would believe what they were...took almost no room in the trunk too whic was nice. Space is more important to me now than boom. I guess I am getting old....lol

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Throw a single w7 8 in the back, and you will be good to go on bass. Mobile audio is one of the few things that I would only shop for locally, to support the local places.

 

[frickenjoey]

Yeah true Alpine...since I have no local places to support I have to do EVERYTHING through the mail. I tend to forget there are local shops some places....lol I had 2 8w6 and they were still more than I needed for normal listening.

 

[hamz9561]

Crutchfield also has decent gear and prices. I use an Infinity Bass Link powered 8 in and have all the low end sound I need in my F150 in a small-ish package.

 

[SteelCityNitro]

The last time I tried to support local business with car audio stuff a guy tried to sell me an amplifier the size of a picnic table. Tried to tell me I needed it for 2 10" rockfords. Must have thought i was some idiot. lol

 

[slowngreen]

Sonic is the best place to buy from imo for off the shelf stuff. I've bought and installed LOTS AND LOTS of car systems and they have never let me down and are way cheaper than Crutchfield...

 

[SteelCityNitro]

Yeah, I was checking out some of the stuff I'm interested in. nice prices on stuff there for sure

 

[Rolex]

I upgraded my system to 4 6x8 2 way Alpines, and the sound and the clarity at any volume is amazing.

 

[olds97_lss]

I had issues with installing my latest system... I went with polk db571 5x7 triaxial ($59.95 shipped) in the front and db691, 6x9 triaxial ($89.95) in the rear. Found it difficult to not spend a mint on an amp to run the speakers to a volume that is not tolerable. Eventually bought a RF punch 800a4 amp ($165 ebay) and it just pounds. Clear as a bell, crisp highs, warm mids, thumping lows.

Bought the speakers from vminnovations via ebay a while back and can't recall who I got the HU (kenwood BT945u) from, but got everything on ebay. Had best buy run the wiring... didn't feel like messing with it that far.

If I'm not mistaken, you may end up with a better deal through sonic on ebay with BIN and free shipping. I paid just over half what Fry's electronics (local box store) was asking for my speakers.

The HU is really nice, but is last years model. $113 shipped via ebay, can't be picky!

Posted all that just to say eBay is a good way to go.

 

[Inakina]

I had issues with installing my latest system... I went with polk db571 5x7 triaxial ($59.95 shipped) in the front and db691, 6x9 triaxial ($89.95) in the rear. Found it difficult to not spend a mint on an amp to run the speakers to a volume that is not tolerable. Eventually bought a RF punch 800a4 amp ($165 ebay) and it just pounds. Clear as a bell, crisp highs, warm mids, thumping lows.

Bought the speakers from vminnovations via ebay a while back car dvd players and can't recall who I got the HU (kenwood BT945u) from, but got everything on ebay. Had best buy run the wiring... didn't feel like messing with it that far.

If I'm not mistaken, you may end up with a better deal through sonic on ebay with BIN and free shipping. I paid just over half what Fry's electronics (local box store) was asking for my speakers.

The HU is really nice, but is last years model. $113 shipped via ebay, can't be picky!

Posted all that just to say eBay is a good way to go.

Ok fine. Ebay is the site which holds reliability and make those speakers available. I will try my luck now.

 

[override]

I used to be a big Car Audio Guru, back in the day Rockford Fosgate, Kicker and JL Audio were some of the top brands you could buy. Since then, Rockford Fosgate and Kicker have gone more mainstream and lowered themselves to putting items on Wal-Mart shelves. JL and Alpine still hold true to there names though and since I guess Kicker lost the patent on there square subs MTX audio has come out with some nice products. My most recent install was 2 years ago in my sisters car as a christmas present. Went all out, Sub/Box, Mono Class D amp, 4 ch amp, door speakers, DVD/Nav deck and a farad cap making it all look very presentable. I had been out of the loop and ended up just finding the going prices for all items and then searching online for cheaper buys. Wound up doing the whole system for about $1050 which is pretty good considering the components I used. Believe it or not Ebay is a good place to find deals and even Craigslist.

 

[Skwerly]

The last time I tried to support local business with car audio stuff a guy tried to sell me an amplifier the size of a picnic table. Tried to tell me I needed it for 2 10" rockfords. Must have thought i was some idiot. lol

Haha, I know what you mean. I’ve been doing my own stereo stuff since the nineties. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a couple of the things I’ve installed.

Jensen head units are highly underrated. They go and go and have really clean sound.

Kraco amps put out the power they advertise they do. I don’t even know if they are still around, but I liked my Kraco 140 so much that when it got stolen, I bought another. It was in a VW Bug.

There are a LOT of Brand X woofers out there that really bring some thump. I picked up a set of 12” no-names in a nice plexiglass type box for $120 at the swap meet one day. They hit so hard in my ’68 Plymouth that I never bothered replacing them.

 

[hamz9561]

A side bar here: I have the Bose sound system in my car and just replaced the factory head unit with a decent aftermarket Pioneer (I was doing it on the cheap) and the sound quality is way better than I could have hoped. I don't think I'm going to add a sub because there is good enough bass for me.

 

[Kyleb]

Check out www.woofersetc.com. Great prices along with ebay