I own a 96 GS (without the infinity system), and have owned it for about 2 years. Well when I first bought it I didn't know too much about audio, what was good, what was bad, and such. I have a kenwood headunit, two kenwood speakers in the back, stocks in the doors, and the tweeters don't seem to work at all(if they're even there). I have two kenwood 10" subs in a sealed enclosure powered by a 900 watt amp (also kenwood).

The system has a little kick, but the sound leaves soooo much to be desired, and I'm looking to re-do the entire system. Considering my money situation, I'm planning on buying the entire system minus a new sub/amp for the trunk, I'll leave that for later. New head unit(something with plenty of features and tune-ability, something good for subs that I'll get later), 4 speakers and two tweeters. Any suggestions? (for under or near $1000, I don't need top of the line, just something quality)

I'll also be selling the current subs, headunit, and amp, which are in great condition as far as I've seen, I'll take a closer look soon and post up pics and models, if anyone is interested in buying either lemme know.

how much work do you wana do to it? do you just want a headunit and some speakers or the full setup with sub/subs and amps?

if u like the old kenwood check out

http://kenwoodusa.com/products/ListProduct.aspx?k1=2&k2=4&k3=23&pr=1985

a friend pick one up for 350 canadian

also when u go for subs get a ported box you will gain 3dbs

"also when u go for subs get a ported box you will gain 3dbs"

sorta kinda...in theory. that sort of blanket statement is like saying "by a header you will make 5hp". it all depends on the type of improvement you are looking for and in what band of usage, which depends on the music (or in the header case, power band) you use. which brings me to a few questions:

1) what is lacking in your system (you gave a broad description)? do you want louder midbass/treble? more detail? both? do you care about soundstaging or imaging?

2) what do you not like/want to have in a headunit? also, what model do you have?

it seems to me that you are happy with the bass portion of your musical reproduction, but are unhappy with the midbass/midrange/highs. my gut instinct is to tell you to buy a good set of components and power them from an additional amp...and to have them installed correctly with damping and rear-wave isolation taken into consideration. that alone should be under $1000 (even if you need a shop to install it) and get you great results.

although others may disagree, almost any reputible aftermarket headunit is as good as the next at simply producing a signal. if you need fancy EQs and the like, you need to fix the installation...not the signal. the headunits job is to cleanly read the incoming information and output it with as little signal degridation as possible. thats why high end headunits dont have any features beyond a volume control (and other basic operations) and possibly a "bass" and "treble" cut feature. however...if you want a gazillion features at a relativly low cost, pioneer is, well, a pioneer at that.

remember to trust your ears, and not the flashy graphics, demos, and salesmen.

Well as of right now the sound just feels very thin and weak. There is bass coming from the two 10's, but it doesn't hit clear or as hard as I think they should. Right now I have a Kenwood HU, which only has two pre-amp outputs, front and rear. Now I've ordered a JVC Headunit (AR5500) with three pre-outs and a bit more power, and a lot more features. I'm hoping that hooking this up should offer a good improvement in the bass and all-around sound.

So as of december 28th (when my HU should be arriving), I will be content with my head unit and subwoofer setup. From there I'll work on some dampening and insulation (Dynamat still the trusted brand?), and replacing the front (door) speakers and putting tweeters in the dash. Right now I have an empty bank accoutn due to christmas gifts, but in a month or so I should start buying some more stuff.

I'll keep this updated, especially after the new HU goes in, see if it makes as much a difference as I think it will (not having the dedicated, non-fading sub output on the HU would decrease the quality of the bass right?)

I'm in a similar situation myself and thought I'd share....

I recently replaced my older alpine HU (m-bus, rear ch. pre-out only) with a newer alpine unit
with all three sets of pre-outs, sub control, bass/treble center frequency settings, etc.
BIG DIFFERENCE.
The ability to tune the bass and treble frequencies to suit your speakers makes a noticeable difference in clarity.
And being able to fade to the front speakers without cutting and distorting your signal to the sub is the way it should be.
With the ai-net adapter... my ipod has never sounded so good. I've got a 4ch amp too (eclipse ea3422)
but need to find some decent 6.5" components and 6x9's to push with it to complete the system.

The rears I'm not too worried about, but which 6.5's can play loud and clear from down by my feet?

-T

Originally posted by Blk95GS
I'm in a similar situation myself and thought I'd share.... I recently replaced my older alpine HU (m-bus, rear ch. pre-out only) with a newer alpine unit with all three sets of pre-outs, sub control, bass/treble center frequency settings, etc. BIG DIFFERENCE. The ability to tune the bass and treble frequencies to suit your speakers makes a noticeable difference in clarity. And being able to fade to the front speakers without cutting and distorting your signal to the sub is the way it should be. With the ai-net adapter... my ipod has never sounded so good. I've got a 4ch amp too (eclipse ea3422) but need to find some decent 6.5" components and 6x9's to push with it to complete the system. The rears I'm not too worried about, but which 6.5's can play loud and clear from down by my feet? -T

whew that makes me feel even better about getting my new head unit, should be here on the 28th =) Can't wait to hear the difference!! Tired of hearing my friends say "hmm, whats wrong with your bass, sounds funky". How much did that amp run you price wise?