New Radio install????
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,298
From: Sunshine state , MIami
Mixman
Most Hummers dont have a Sub . Mine is the 2006 Lux limited edition and there was not Sub anywhere
Csi h2 .. if you have a nice set.of.speakers and you dont need a competition audio then a good selfpowered sub under the rear seat will be enough .
Also something to considered the Bose speakers. Imo arent for quality sound but can handle a good amount of bass
Most Hummers dont have a Sub . Mine is the 2006 Lux limited edition and there was not Sub anywhere
Csi h2 .. if you have a nice set.of.speakers and you dont need a competition audio then a good selfpowered sub under the rear seat will be enough .
Also something to considered the Bose speakers. Imo arent for quality sound but can handle a good amount of bass
Thread Starter
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Member
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 61
Ok, here is my new question
I am trying to figure out what the better choice is in this situation....
( and I am sure H2Miami will say that all good middle of the road systems will be good )
But lets just say that my situation is as such... I have a budget of 500 for a headunit, amp and speakers... In this case, which would you dedicate more of your money in to get the best sound you can?
Ie. would you buy a better headunit? would you buy a better amp? would you buy better speakers?
In other words, would you put your money into a good headunitor a good speaker/amp setup? Would a good headunit make a cheap amp and speakers sound better? or a cheap headunit will sound better with a good amp and speakers?
Obviously I am not setting up for competition, but I figure if I can get a decent setup by working the components better....
I am trying to figure out what the better choice is in this situation....
( and I am sure H2Miami will say that all good middle of the road systems will be good )
But lets just say that my situation is as such... I have a budget of 500 for a headunit, amp and speakers... In this case, which would you dedicate more of your money in to get the best sound you can?
Ie. would you buy a better headunit? would you buy a better amp? would you buy better speakers?
In other words, would you put your money into a good headunitor a good speaker/amp setup? Would a good headunit make a cheap amp and speakers sound better? or a cheap headunit will sound better with a good amp and speakers?
Obviously I am not setting up for competition, but I figure if I can get a decent setup by working the components better....
Last edited by CSI H2; Dec 12, 2018 at 12:57 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,320
From: SC
A lot depends on how loud you want things to be and what features you are looking for. Most any modern halfway decent head unit will have 50 watts built in which is often enough for most from door speakers but will be lacking for anything more than that.
I know cheaping on the speakers will probably have the most significant affect on sound quality. Top of the line speakers that are highly efficient 90+db/w need far less power to drive them and can often make some of the worst other components sound much better.
With your budget you are limited to an extent. I'd personally be looking at used but if you are all about warranty and having the latest and greatest than that might not be an option. Contrary to what many still think, eBay is just about bulletproof in siding with a buyer pretty much every time nowadays so there is almost no risk at all other than if you do get something that is defective you lose time and its a minor hassle. I actually had one a few weeks ago - a used light that was not as described. I filed the thing on eBay saying I wanted to return it for a refund and literally in under 2 minutes I was provided a return shipping label. You just have to be sure to do your part and fully test something as soon as you get it.
Its still important to look at pictures closely and read the description fully to be sure of what you are ordering of course. There ARE scams on eBay all the time as well and even those eBay will refund your money. Those are generally easy to spot as the price is almost always too good to be true. If a hundred people are selling something for $450 and one person with little or not recent feedback suddenly has the same thing for $200 then it might not be legit.
A LOT of variety of features on head units. Most (like many things) cater heavily to iPhone users with extra features while a few others might have better features for Android based phones. Do you like a traditional volume **** or do you prefer to look away from the road so you are not blindly jabbing at a screen to turn the volume up/down? Models without a traditional **** do generally have slightly larger screens. Do you want HD Radio - that will depend on how many stations around you broadcast HD sub channels (you might be surprised to find multiple stations with more than one channel). You might not care at all about radio. There are some models out now that are know as "media receivers" which are essentially a head unit without a disc player. If you have no plans of ever playing CDs that might be an option. Future plans for multiple cameras? Might want to see how many video inputs. Built in nav or you might be the younger type who uses their phone for everything.... Bluetooth phone features also vary from model to model. Some models have a single USB port while some have more than one and can also charge your phone. Built in DSP with all the pre-outs you need? Basic or 5V pre-outs?
Also popular now are external DSP's which will let you tailor the sound close to what the Bose system engineers can achieve as far as the balance and sound stage goes.
Amps also have a massive amount of varieties with single channel or stereo dedicated ones to multi-channel models.
Same with speakers....
I know cheaping on the speakers will probably have the most significant affect on sound quality. Top of the line speakers that are highly efficient 90+db/w need far less power to drive them and can often make some of the worst other components sound much better.
With your budget you are limited to an extent. I'd personally be looking at used but if you are all about warranty and having the latest and greatest than that might not be an option. Contrary to what many still think, eBay is just about bulletproof in siding with a buyer pretty much every time nowadays so there is almost no risk at all other than if you do get something that is defective you lose time and its a minor hassle. I actually had one a few weeks ago - a used light that was not as described. I filed the thing on eBay saying I wanted to return it for a refund and literally in under 2 minutes I was provided a return shipping label. You just have to be sure to do your part and fully test something as soon as you get it.
Its still important to look at pictures closely and read the description fully to be sure of what you are ordering of course. There ARE scams on eBay all the time as well and even those eBay will refund your money. Those are generally easy to spot as the price is almost always too good to be true. If a hundred people are selling something for $450 and one person with little or not recent feedback suddenly has the same thing for $200 then it might not be legit.
A LOT of variety of features on head units. Most (like many things) cater heavily to iPhone users with extra features while a few others might have better features for Android based phones. Do you like a traditional volume **** or do you prefer to look away from the road so you are not blindly jabbing at a screen to turn the volume up/down? Models without a traditional **** do generally have slightly larger screens. Do you want HD Radio - that will depend on how many stations around you broadcast HD sub channels (you might be surprised to find multiple stations with more than one channel). You might not care at all about radio. There are some models out now that are know as "media receivers" which are essentially a head unit without a disc player. If you have no plans of ever playing CDs that might be an option. Future plans for multiple cameras? Might want to see how many video inputs. Built in nav or you might be the younger type who uses their phone for everything.... Bluetooth phone features also vary from model to model. Some models have a single USB port while some have more than one and can also charge your phone. Built in DSP with all the pre-outs you need? Basic or 5V pre-outs?
Also popular now are external DSP's which will let you tailor the sound close to what the Bose system engineers can achieve as far as the balance and sound stage goes.
Amps also have a massive amount of varieties with single channel or stereo dedicated ones to multi-channel models.
Same with speakers....
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,298
From: Sunshine state , MIami
If were me . I would put the 500 in a new headunit .
500 will get you a nice unit with Gps , bluetooth capability and will give a different better look to the truck
you already have an Amp and speakers . Not the best but they work .
then I would save a couple hundreds more and buy an Amp
as last will save some more money and replace the speakers . There are nice qualities speaker in a cheap price range
My point is spending the money in the HU will improve the old audio system plus will give you a visual relief when you look at the console
make sure to buy something which meets your future needs ..outputs. gps etc
500 will get you a nice unit with Gps , bluetooth capability and will give a different better look to the truck
you already have an Amp and speakers . Not the best but they work .
then I would save a couple hundreds more and buy an Amp
as last will save some more money and replace the speakers . There are nice qualities speaker in a cheap price range
My point is spending the money in the HU will improve the old audio system plus will give you a visual relief when you look at the console
make sure to buy something which meets your future needs ..outputs. gps etc
Thread Starter
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Member
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 61
MixMan an H2Miami,
Thanks for the advice.
I am actually attempting to get this done soon and have been collecting parts and pieces here and there.
My idea is to install a sub and amp that I had from my old car, along with an amp for the door speakers.
I have a head unit already, BUT it isnt a HUGE name brand and recently I have been reading older threads saying the brand isnt that great. Anything recently has actually said good things about the headunit, but there isnt many reviews. The head unit is a Power Acoustik and of this model specifically, I have not read anything but good on it so far. But in the end, Its kind of a mix. All those audio people say anything less than say a Pioneer is going to be garbage, but then I have also read that some have been impressed with the Power Acoustik. Also, I was thinking about buying their Pro-series or Component series speakers to mate up the system (so it would be a mix of high end amps with lower end speakers and head unit).... But then again I thought about making all the speakers the same as the amps, which are a high end competition level well know brand name out there.
But then again, I have also heard that the place to really put the money is the head unit. that if the head unit is great and doesnt have alot of issues or distortion, then it will make even cheap speaker sound good. where if you get a crappy head unit with issues and distortion, it will only be pushed to the speakers even more.
But then again, I have heard that alot of the newest Headunits are actually good quality, if you arent looking to be running competition sound and such.
just wondering what you would do at this point, provided you realize this int a competition system, but something i just want to enjoy and once in a good song turn it up.
I just dont want to end up with a bad setup or have to redo this system later on, because I will probably end up having to have it installed since I am not sure exactly what to get rid of behind the dash. So my budget is having to include that.
Thanks for the advice.
I am actually attempting to get this done soon and have been collecting parts and pieces here and there.
My idea is to install a sub and amp that I had from my old car, along with an amp for the door speakers.
I have a head unit already, BUT it isnt a HUGE name brand and recently I have been reading older threads saying the brand isnt that great. Anything recently has actually said good things about the headunit, but there isnt many reviews. The head unit is a Power Acoustik and of this model specifically, I have not read anything but good on it so far. But in the end, Its kind of a mix. All those audio people say anything less than say a Pioneer is going to be garbage, but then I have also read that some have been impressed with the Power Acoustik. Also, I was thinking about buying their Pro-series or Component series speakers to mate up the system (so it would be a mix of high end amps with lower end speakers and head unit).... But then again I thought about making all the speakers the same as the amps, which are a high end competition level well know brand name out there.
But then again, I have also heard that the place to really put the money is the head unit. that if the head unit is great and doesnt have alot of issues or distortion, then it will make even cheap speaker sound good. where if you get a crappy head unit with issues and distortion, it will only be pushed to the speakers even more.
But then again, I have heard that alot of the newest Headunits are actually good quality, if you arent looking to be running competition sound and such.
just wondering what you would do at this point, provided you realize this int a competition system, but something i just want to enjoy and once in a good song turn it up.
I just dont want to end up with a bad setup or have to redo this system later on, because I will probably end up having to have it installed since I am not sure exactly what to get rid of behind the dash. So my budget is having to include that.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,320
From: SC
I'm personally fond of the Kenwood units but Pioneer are also excellent. I think the Alpine units are also top notch. Since I want GPS built into the head unit versus using my phone that was one feature I wanted, good Android based hands free phone support, and HD radio were other features I wanted. The other main selling point for me on the Kenwood units is that the built in GPS is genuine Garmin so I know that map updates will be available for a long time as well. I also wanted a traditional volume ****. The one I currently have is a DNX693S which is one of the Kenwood "Excelon" series. The Excelon units from Kenwood are their premium units with 5V pre-outs and a few other extra features.
Their newest version of the same one though, they dropped the volume **** on all but a couple of the models that do not have navigation.
I think that is a mistake on their part but at least they do have buttons along the bottom edge which is better than being forced to take your eyes off the road for a few key functions. As H2Miami said though, you could just get the necessary adapters and go one step at a time with it. Or rip it all out and start from scratch.
Their newest version of the same one though, they dropped the volume **** on all but a couple of the models that do not have navigation.
I think that is a mistake on their part but at least they do have buttons along the bottom edge which is better than being forced to take your eyes off the road for a few key functions. As H2Miami said though, you could just get the necessary adapters and go one step at a time with it. Or rip it all out and start from scratch.
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Member
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 61
I appreciate all the info and advice given, BUT let me ask this (because i am afraid i might be slipping away from my original intention with this truck - which was to build a bad *** truck as cheap as I can).
If the stereo is not going out for competition and such, and will be played at normal levels most of the time (and then maybe a lot louder when that one really good song comes on), will it make a difference what headunit I get or what speakers I get? Will I really hear the difference between say two brands of speakers (ones that play regular, and ones that play competition levels)? Will I really heard the difference between a regular headunit and a competition headunit?
I mean if not, and I really wont hear the difference and the result is a bit better than stock stereo
The only other thing i would be worried about is if the headunit or the speakers are crap that after a month or two they are blown or shot or whatever
what do you think?
If the stereo is not going out for competition and such, and will be played at normal levels most of the time (and then maybe a lot louder when that one really good song comes on), will it make a difference what headunit I get or what speakers I get? Will I really hear the difference between say two brands of speakers (ones that play regular, and ones that play competition levels)? Will I really heard the difference between a regular headunit and a competition headunit?
I mean if not, and I really wont hear the difference and the result is a bit better than stock stereo
The only other thing i would be worried about is if the headunit or the speakers are crap that after a month or two they are blown or shot or whatever
what do you think?
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 592
From: Virginia
I appreciate all the info and advice given, BUT let me ask this (because i am afraid i might be slipping away from my original intention with this truck - which was to build a bad *** truck as cheap as I can).
If the stereo is not going out for competition and such, and will be played at normal levels most of the time (and then maybe a lot louder when that one really good song comes on), will it make a difference what headunit I get or what speakers I get? Will I really hear the difference between say two brands of speakers (ones that play regular, and ones that play competition levels)? Will I really heard the difference between a regular headunit and a competition headunit?
I mean if not, and I really wont hear the difference and the result is a bit better than stock stereo
The only other thing i would be worried about is if the headunit or the speakers are crap that after a month or two they are blown or shot or whatever
what do you think?
If the stereo is not going out for competition and such, and will be played at normal levels most of the time (and then maybe a lot louder when that one really good song comes on), will it make a difference what headunit I get or what speakers I get? Will I really hear the difference between say two brands of speakers (ones that play regular, and ones that play competition levels)? Will I really heard the difference between a regular headunit and a competition headunit?
I mean if not, and I really wont hear the difference and the result is a bit better than stock stereo
The only other thing i would be worried about is if the headunit or the speakers are crap that after a month or two they are blown or shot or whatever
what do you think?
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,320
From: SC
I'm doing the same in mine. I was honestly surprised how much better it sounded just changing to the Kenwood head unit but keeping the Bose amp and speakers and I've never been a fan of Bose.... The sub is a little on the weak side but with it right there in the front is does pretty well for what it is.