I am not an audiophile by any measure and it's been near 20 years since I've dinked around with aftermarket stuff. Most OEM systems are more than adequate for me but the S2Ks stock system is absolutely horrible.

Can anybody recommend some decent components? My only requirement is a Bluetooth head unit. Budget for everything is about $500. Would like to stick with Alpine or Pioneer for a head unit as I've had good success with them in the past. I like a balanced sound, not too bass-y, not too tweet-y if that matters at this price point, lol.

I have an 03 with the tweets and will be getting the headrest speakers soon (bought more for the wiring than anything else).

TIA.

 

I tend to forget there's a radio in my '06 car as I rarely use it and it's fine for my purposes as it has OE headrest speakers. The controls on the left panel are very handy though and if I went aftermarket I'd want a way to retain that feature as well as a unit that allows the modesty panel to be closed and keep the radio out of sight.

Bluetooth is only useful for my mobile phone and my Garmin GPS handles that very well. No need to mount a mic or speaker for it. Later Garmins can be obtained with built in dash cams and (maybe) text display, no need to have these features in a radio. Factory reconditioned and guaranteed units are under $150.

-- Chuck

 

I’m running JBL component speakers with a Rockford Fosgate 2 channel amp and Pioneer 5600bt (or similar) HU. Pretty decent over the stock system.

The Rockford Fosgate is a good middle ground between the budget Pioneer amps and expensive JL amps.

Do you have some speakers in mind already?

 

I generally don't listen to the radio when in the S also, but when I do want to, it just sounds horrible. I haven't checked but I'm pretty sure the lower speakers are torn. Tweets, are tweet-y but not really a great sound either. It's saying a lot when the first mod I am considering is an audio system, lol.

As for the left control panel, I don't particularly care for it. The "mode" button is useless IMO with no signal tuning or FWD/REV and going to the head unit for the controls doesn't seem to require any more of an effort.I'd rather repurpose that space for something else really.

Looking for a bluetooth mainly to connect my phone to play music. I don't like talking when driving, even if its hands free. GPS? Blah, the whole point of the car is to get lost.

 

I went with a Kenwood system, https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDC...-Receiver.html, https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120ASW...Interface.html, and https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120701...uzu-98-up.html.

For my ‘01 I put these speakers in, https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113166...-Speakers.html.

All in was was less than $200. Gives me decent sound and hands free calling.

 

If you are just doing a head unit and speakers I would suggest a Sony MEX-XB120BT( https://www.sony.com/electronics/in-...rs/mex-xb120bt ). They have a class D amp built in and will drive moderately efficient aftermarket speakers like Rockford Fosgate Punch P165-SI ( https://www.rockfordfosgate.com/prod...tails/p165-si/ ) or Focal Auditor RSE-165 ( https://www.focal.com/en/car-audio/c...#documentation ) well. Key is to seal all the holes on the door to create a chamber for deeper bass from the drivers.

 

A couple of Alpine options, should be compatible with Modifry Dash Control Interface.

CDE-175BT

CDE-HD149BT

 

Thanks for the suggestions all. The Sony with the built-in amp sounds promising.

From what I can recall, don't amps need a dedicated power line running to them? Would I then need to run a thicker power wire to the deck? Any experience with the Sony?

Tht Crutchfield site is nice. Good prices also.

 

A lot more work to be done with amps. But if you are looking for sound quality and not worried about volume then a head unit and new speakers would be good. Just don’t try to overdrive the headunit past its power output capabilities

 

According to Sony's website : "The amp requires no external battery connection and features a space-saving design that helps keep the receiver slim and compact."The install manual notes you need to connect to external power source if the radio fuse is less than 10A, which shouldn't be a problem since ours are 15A.

A cool little video, these guys tested an older model of the same deck and it seems to output true.
I have been doing some research last few weeks for my new S2000. My last car had 3 amps, one dedicated for each door and a sub, but I am 10 years older now so trying to keep it simple. I don't have any experience with Sony decks, but they have been making good consumer electronics for the last 73 years. They have a real audiophile deck too that looks real sharp, the RSX-GS9 ( https://www.sony.com/electronics/in-...layers/rsx-gs9 ).