About to pick up a nice S2k tommorow and will be contributing more to the other boards soon. Got a few audio questions though.
I know that the s2k has a weak stock system. Well the lady previous owner put an aftermarket pionner 50x4 headunit in and a cd chnager but kept the tweeters and front speakers stock. I'm kind of a budget now sinceI just dished out alot of money for this mint honda certified s2k and am in graduate school.

Heres 3 ideas I came up with for a budget idea. I did alot of searching but still not sure.

Idea 1: Keep the stock speakers in, and just add a 4 or 5 channel amp to power the fronts and an 8 or 10 inch sub in the back. *I saw a s2k for sale which had this same setup but I didn't get to crank the sound all the way up*

Idea 2: Buy a new set of front speakers, something cheap MTX or pionner brand front speakers etc, use stock speaker wires and add a 2 channel amp for those. No sub though for this set up.

Idea 3: Just buy the Lucid rear speakers, keep stock fronts with no amp in the car.

Again it already has a 50x4 headunit which is a lil better than stock. I only want to spend at most $150 so the amp would be a used one and this is only a temporary setup until I get some more money saved up again. I'm a music freak so wish would give me a better music experiance??

BTW I listen to techno, dance music and and R and B. Has anybody tried these setups already? Thanks so much for any help

 

wow, $150 is a pretty tight budget.

what model year do you have?

personally, here are my thoughts on each option:
1. too much power for factory fronts, especially if you have a MY00 or MY01. if you amp them w/ anything much more than what you have now (aftermarket HU), you will be running the risk of damage.

2. this isn't a bad idea... i'd be concerned about the quality of amp and/or speakers you'll get for this price. chances are any amp that runs you ~$75 isn't going to give you massive gains over the Pioneer built in amp.

3. this is a possible option, but if you really want to save money - go to hardtopguy.com or something and buy the rear panels for $30 each and do the cutting yourself. it will allow for nicer speakers. however, with this solution, you're still sticking your best speakers behind you, and then muffling them w/ the seat.


since this wouldn't be your final setup, i would suggest you plan your setup out in stages, then work forward in those stages. for example:
stage 1: upgrade fronts / use HU power. $150 on fronts
stage 2: add a 4 channel amp for fronts. ~$200 on amp.
stage 3: add a sub and enclosure and run it off of 2 remaining channels. $150-250 on sub/enclosure

 

Understand $150 is not a lot of money so do not expect radical differences. But I like a challenge. I would suggest a 4-phase system upgrade plan. Planing ahead now will make is easier to add on to your system without replacing parts that are no longer needed or parts that are of poor quality.

Stage one: Upgrade your stock speakers. Right now they are the weakest part of your system. Check out the Boston Acoustics FS60. Most dealers sell these components for under $200. Do not try to do too much with your $150 budget, like and amp and sub, you will have poor quality components that may all need to be upgraded later on and might not sound good.

Phase two: Add a 4-channel amp and sub. You can run the 4-channel in 3-channel mode. Channel 1 and 2 will by high-passed to the door speakers and channel 3 and 4 bridged to the 12

 

How to install the Boston FS60 in an S2k

http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...&highlight=fs60

 

Sorry bro, you buy cheap you get cheap. Simple formula.

150 bucks wont buy you anything good.....

The best and cheapest I can recommend is amp these.....
http://www.millionbuy.com/inf6000cs.html

with this.....
http://www.millionbuy.com/inf6000cs.html


Slightly more money that your budget, but its your car for years to come......why skimp on it.....whats another 70 bucks for something that brings HOURS of enjoyment???

Just my .02

 

thanks, I think I will be doing it in stages then. I already have a decent 2 channel amp but I think it sonly 35 watts rms, but I can buy some MTX 2 channel amps used ones off my friends for around $50 dollars or so.
I was reading the FAQs.
Would it be ok to go with MTX component speakers for about $80 dollars or so? I can buy MTX or Pioneer coaxials for around $40.00 also. The front speaker size is 6.5 correct?
On installation, is it easy to install the speakers in the s2k? I can keep the stock speaker wires since it wont be amped to high?
I don't want crazy sound for now but just a slight improvement. Thanks for the suggestions