I brought the car like this, and it just does not sound clean. The volume can go up fine, but its murky, especially the higher frequencies. The headunit is terrible in terms of user friendlyness (i mean i know alpine is a good brand but it is no where as user friendly as some other brands imho).

HU: alphine 9856 with ipod hook up
speakers: kickers (previous owner says its components, i don't think it is bec I can't find that box that comes with components usually unless its in the doors)
Amp: Kicker zx200.4

I mean I am no audio guy, but to my ears it just seems louder but still crap quality. Its frustrating because my other Jetta, has a pioneer hu and stock moonsoon speakers, and stock factory amp half the size. It doesn't kick bass as loud but at least the sound is clean up top. Here the radio is not great, reception not great either, but my ipod also does not sound good. Just heavy on the bass, and tinny up top and nothing inbetween.

Maybe its just me thats stupid and can't tune it though. Any suggestions?

(sorry about bad pics, the cam ran out of batteries and I had to use cell to snap the rest)

PS I know almost nothing about audio, just hear what my ears hear.

 

sounds like the installer maybe didn't hook up the power antenna lead...? you obviously do have components; however, Kicker isn't a brand many people favor for anything but subs. you can listen to a set in a store, and compare them to more popular brands like Boston Acoustic and Infinity, etc. to see why. Plus, your radio may not be set up properly. many different things could be going on here.

 

I'd point more towards the kicker speakers. Generally speaking, Kicker's high end subs are good (not anywhere near the best, but good). However, I've never heard anything good about their door speakers (and personally would never think of using them myself).


You want to upgrade your system so it sounds good, that's great. How much do you want to spend?

For approx $250 you can pick up a great sounding component system off eBay - Diamond Audio, JL (X or Z series), MB Quart, etc. (Focal/Rainbow/Genesis/Nertz if you really want to spend money)

As for the amp, I would recommend a different amp for the door speakers. Here is where today's amplifier market is hard. I recommend, for sound quality, that you find a good class A/B amp. This is hard to do, as most manufacturers prefer the class D amp because they have a smaller footprint, are less expensive to produce, and most consumer's don't notice/care about the difference in sound quality.

A few good amps are the Eclipse PA series (not in production anymore, but you can maybe still find them on ebay or craigslist), or JL. (Again, if you really want to spend money, look for Audison/Genesis)


edit: When you do all this, I recommend redoing the wiring. Use high quality RCAs (Monster Cable or JL), use 4 ga power and ground (because clean power is extremely important to the life of your amplifier and the quality of the sound it reproduces), and good quality speaker wires.

 

try changing the headunit settings first, as it's easiest & free.
Alpine puts their user manuals online:
http://vault.alpine-usa.com/products/docum...%20CDA-9856.PDF
I can't make any suggestions on how to tune it, except I'd start by
resetting everything to the factory defaults first. I believe that headunit
has a "reset" button which is a good place to start. good luck!

 

Bringing this back from the dead, I think I'm going to replace the speakers.

I know absolutely nothing about electronics, but since its already installed, I'm goign to assume it is all replace and replug.

Will components be necessary? Or should I just go with speakers and tweeters?

I will have to do it myself as I want to stay sound of $250. Maybe even $200 if possible. Any particular recommendations? Prefer clean sound to heavy bass. Are wires necessary and which wires should I change? (If I have to take too much of the car apart I may not be able to do it)

Cheers

 

Component sets will come with a crossover to protect the woofer and tweeter. Look around Ebay. I found my Diamond Hexes for approx $250. I wouldn't go less than Diamond Hexes or 900 series, JL XR or ZR series, any Focal series, Rainbow...

Whichever you pick, you should try to find an audio shop to listen to the set before buying. Make sure it's the sound you're looking for.

As there is already a component set installed, you likely won't have to change any wires. But that's not a guarantee, the previous owner might have skimped on the installation.

 

sounds to me like it could just be your EQ on your headunit thats messed up. maybe the prev owner turned do all the highs/mids to get more bass outta the door speakers?
If that doesn't work, just buy a component set like above ^^^. that way you will get a lot better mids and high from the separate woofer/ tweeter assembly and a xover.

 

Yeah, please try resetting some of your settings in the headunit.

I have a feeling the EQ is set as such:

Low : + 6
Mid: - 2
High: +6

Just entertain me.

 

Given the speakers, I'd guess that it's not so much EQ as it is speaker quality... But, that's just my take on it...

 

yea, i just never thought/ heard any aftermarket speakers that were so bad, they had to be replaced (unless they were blown, possibly.?)