Hello.

After much research of searching this board and other audio system research for my 2005 S2000, I have come up with the following plan for an audio system upgrade. I would appreciate any input anyone with experience in this type of upgrade anyone has to offer, including flaws in my plan or advice on if I should take this on myself as a inexperienced audio installer with a general knowledge of how things work (I am in a technical-professional trade field for my work, so I have a general sense of mechanical items and how things work/go together - as the S2000 is a second car, doing this over a weekend or two is not an issue for me - if the car needs to be out of service for a short period to do this work). As with anything, I have noted varying opinions on some of my items below after much searching, so anyone with specific experience and advice to offer is much appreciated. I am looking for as much of a stock look as possible, excepting the head unit.

Thanks.

David

PLAN:

Upgrade head unit to Alpine CDE 147, 148 or 149 (haven't made a final decision on head unit yet) - this seems fairly straightforward for my 2005 AP2, main concern is if these will fit without blocking the radio cover panel from closing (my existing unit will not grab CD's to load, so this has led me to the upgrade strategy and the desire to get the most bang for my buck and effort).

Install Modifry DCI/harness, no speed volume control - install box behind head unit area - this seems fairly straightforward for my 2005 AP2, curious if there are any fit/mounting issues with this or securing this so no rattle type issues exist, in particular with other items below.

Install Alpine KTP-445 power pack with RCA leads to pre-out - concerned about fit - my desire is to also mount this behind the head unit as well and secure it so there are no rattles - I have seen varying opinions on if this will fit behind the head unit (some say yes, other say no and mount it elsewhere - I am also concerned any heat issues or issues of running the head unit and KTP 445 off of one fuse, and any electrical issues - input here is particularly appreciated.

Replace speakers - not sure of what I want here and what works best, and open to a 2 way set of speakers integrated, or component 2 way with crossovers - I have seen varying opinions of whether Polk db651s shallow mount, Alpine SPR-60C or Pioneer A series are good options. In general, I am looking for something with decent sound quality (I am not looking for the highest end speakers with price as no object), higher sensitivity to get good volume/clarity, ease of installation and limiting the modifications I need to do). I understand that without a subwoofer, I will not get great bass, and I am ok with that - sound quality and ease of installation trump major modifications or added complexity to me. I am probably looking at no more than $200 +/- for the speaker system all-in purchase cost - input here is particularly appreciated, and I expect based on other research that there may be a multitude of opinions here.

I will likely purchase most if not all items through Crutchfield (outside of Modifry items) for support, ancillary parts, tools, etc...

Any input is much appreciated on this system, any thoughts, experience, advice, links to photo or video instructions for this effort (I have seen a few and bookmarked them via my past searches of the discussion) or alternate recommendations, and if this is something I should tackle myself or engage in a reputable audio shop to do for me.