HU first. definitely. Major improvements with that addition alone.

 

Sorry, but that is so far untrue that it's ridiculous. If you buy a head unit that works with Modifry's DCI you not only get all the same controls as standard, but several more using combos of keys. On top of that you get speed dependant audio control.

Take it from me, someone who was there in the days of Pinky's Audio Control, S2kman's DCU and all versions of Modifry's DCI's (and yes, I've had them all) the DCI is so competent it makes the stock controls look "cheezedick".

 

BTW, the absolute low budget upgrade IMNSHO is a small 2 channel amp under the seat and consumer quality speakers in the doors. Should only cost a few hundred bucks and considering the quality of the stock speakers (particularly 00s) will seem like a massive upgrade.

I wouldn't bother with really expensive speakers and amp if you're going to stay with the stock headunit. You just can't polish a turd.

 

Ultimately whatever upgrade path you choose to take is up to you, and if you feel you will be happy with the quality then by all means enjoy the setup, but think about what Flitcroft said about his sound quality actually getting worse. If you add up the $500 you're hoping to spend to the eventual cost of a sub and enclosure you plan to add later (lets conservatively say $200 for that) you would have spent $700 on something that in all likelihood will hurt your sound quality rather than help it. I am no audio expert, but the opinion of the experienced users on this forum is pretty unanimous in regards to the necessity of replacing the stock head unit.

I'd look at it this way: if there was an exhaust system (or air intake, or turbo kit, or whatever) that for $700 increased the weight of the car but actually lowered horsepower, and a competing system that cost $900 (figure $200 for a pretty basic head-unit) that dramatically raised HP, I seriously doubt anyone would be having this discussion. Hope this doesn't come off as overly intense, I just would like the experience of this board to be put to its best use. Good luck with your build-up.

 

BTW, I know audio, and I also know that it sure seems like you should be able to add an amp and good quality speakers and great sound from a digital source like a CD player. I thought the same thing. Wow, was I wrong. I couldn't even turn on my radio for a week, the sound was so much worse than stock. That's why I said in bold above that it is impossible to get good sound by adding new speakers and an amp to the stock HU. I can't tell you for sure how bad the stock paper coned-speakers are since I didn't upgrade in that order, but I can say for certain the the HU must go first. You may read otherwise from people on the board. IMO, they are dead wrong. The sound isn't just a little bit worse than stock, it's unlistenable. (But, the better the components you put in, the worse your sound will likely be with the stock HU).

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks again for all the input. It wasn't my intention to ignite the HU v/ Amp debate, and I'm no car audio expert either, I know enough about how amps and speakers work to seriously doubt that upgrading amp and speakers alone will make the stock headunit sound worse. I'll concede that third party headunits are much better than stock, but it doesn't follow that the stock HU has bad sound quality, it's just not as good. I've said all along, I like the sound quality from my stock headunit.

My own upgrading experience tells me this too. I upgraded my Civic's CD player to an Aiwa, and then an Alpine (whin the Aiwa was stolen). I had no beef with my Civic headunit, and the sole reason for the upgrade was to get an aux input for my iPod. What I found was that (aside from both being ugly, IMO), even though the headunit put out more power, the speakers were not up to the higher power output. This didn't matter in a coupe, but in a convertible, you need it louder. Let me repeat, in the S, with the top down, I have to max the volume, and maxing out an amp connected to paper speakers creates distortion. A new headunit will cost more than $200, too, since that means a new adapter for my ipod kit, and rewiring the dash controls. I appreciate the feedback on the question I asked, i.e. an economical amp and speaker package, but I don't need to rehash the pros and cons of getting a new headunit. All due respect, it's not what I want, and the insitence that the stock headunit puts out garbage, especially when given more power and better speakers, is nonsense.

The actual purchase will be down the road a ways, so I think we can put this thread to bed for now, but I'll be sure to give everyone an update when I put the system in.

 

Could it be that the line level converters you had were defective or installed with some sort of a ground loop? That would cause poor sound with an amp and speakers, but retaining the stock HU.

The '02+ speakers are MUCH better than the '00-'01 speakers, but they still pretty much suck.

The speakers are what turns eletric signals into sound. NOTHING else in the system does this. Better speakers will improve sound quality. However, you must drive the new speakers at their power sweet spot. If you underpower speakers they will sound like crap. The stock HU puts less than 20 WRMS to the speakers. This is not enough power to drive fancy new speakers.


I know this has gone WAYYYY off topic from the original post.

 

Good luck to you. You have been warned. I am trying to steer you in the right direction. You may be happy with the sound quality but countless others before you have tried it and been sorely disappointed. When you ask for advice here people will give you what they think is the right answer. In this case I think you are completely wrong and I have no problem telling you this. This is nothing against you or anyone else here. I know from experience what the correct answer is, and you can take my advice or not. I am only trying to help you spend your money well.

Nope, I had all the wiring correct, upgraded every power and audio wire and connection, had a top-of-the-line line level convertor. Remember, as I said above, I was $1,500 into my stereo at this point. I spared no expense and wanted the exact same thing as BlueDevil. Unfortunately, it is not possible with a MY03 HU.

 

For $500 you'd be looking at something like a Soundstream Edge amp and two Infinity 6.5" components in the doors. Figure <$400 for the amp and speakers because you will also need an amp wiring kit and will want new RCAs and speaker cables.

I would recommend ditching your spare tire and buying fix-a-flat. Check your owners manual and see that the spare can require that you change both front and rear tires, and then if you have anything in your trunk your spare sits on your passenger seat or your passenger's lap. It's a pretty useless solution. That's the reason most cars in this category are offered with the option of run flat tires. Your spare hurts performance and gas mileage in a small way and serves little use in a blowout unless you are alone with no cargo.

 

I agree with this recommendation for a basic upgrade, and I disagree that anything OTHER than replacing the stock HU is crap and folly.

The other benefit here is that done right, this can be part of a more comprehensive upgrade path later. Get good speakers now, and a decent amp with speaker level inputs-->Later you can use the amp to drive rear speakers, or bridge it for a sub.

It all depends what you want, and there are many options other than buying an Alpine HU (plus a DCI and an AiNet Ipod interface), Infinity components, and a Soundstream or JL Amp. There are an infinite combination of solutions but for some reason you will almost always get the above shopping list on this forum.

The best thing you have going for you is you know exactly what you want. Although it's great to listen to and to benefit from other's experiences here (and there is a wealth of knowledge here) don't let anyone else convince you you want something different from what you really want, and don't let anybody tell you there is only ONE way to do it.

Upgrading your speakers and adding an amp will not make your HU sound quality worse, unless it is done wrong or with the wrong expectations. That is one person's experience, but the fact that he put $1500 into it suggests he might have had higher expectations for his investment.

Personally I would never spend $1500 on audio in an S2000 because my opinion is you can never benefit from that investment unless you listen in the garage. And $1500 on a partial upgrade???? I just don't get it. But that's just me. For $1500 it better include GPS, wireless networking, engine monitoring and coffee brewing, but that's just my opinion...

Any added piece of equipment will add noise but that is only detectable at very quiet volume levels. For driving-level volumes you will do better using an external amp, rather than the internal OEM HU amp. Upgrading your speakers will be an improvement no matter what.

By the way, I do have a new Alpine HU and I love it. I just know it's not the only way to go.

If you are not in a hurry, cardomain.com occasionally has rock-bottom prices on great amps.