Shamu

I'm looking at upgrading the sound in my car, my goal is to get more oomph across the frequency range for a reasonable price.

Now I've talked to 2 stores, and one has gone with a complete sub, amp, and speakers pkg., but the other swears that with very nice speakers and a very nice amp, you don't need a sub. Furthermore, their experience has shown that subs in the trunk of our S2K are wasted due to the design of the car...I would've called this BS, but they are a very reputable shop known for their skill, honesty, and experience/knowledge.

So I'm confused...which route do I go down? Also, do I really need the top of the line equipment to experience better sound? I mean, what if I go for the "average to above average" equipment -- will I notice a differentce?

Any advice/info/experience would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!

Tedster

Be aware that people have very different goals, standards, and perspectives on car audio. It's important but very difficult to try to talk the same language...

Do you want chest-pounding, shake the car two lanes over, bass? Or do you just want some more volume and higher quality than the stock system? What kind of music do you listen to? What volume level? Top up, or down?

Ted

Rowland

I am personally reluctant to upgrade the sounds system other than speakers. When people look at the car and see an expensive sound system in a soft top they think easy money.

Just my $ .02.

matrix

Shamu, the easiest way to answer your question is to know what YOUR goals are for the system like Tedster says. The main reason most people think a sub in the trunk is a waste in the S2K is that if you are going for SPL...forget about it in a convertible, if you are just going for some lower sound (lower freq. response) a 10" in the trunk will do nicely.

The best piece of advice I could give you is to listen to a couple of S2Ks, one with 4 good speakers another with a sub and decide which you prefer.

Just my 2 cents.

Naka

I put the kenwoods from Lucid in the back and the sound really improves. Specially the high's. But the bass sucks. Actually the front speakes have better bass response than the rear ones (due to bigger size) but I can not raise the bass level too much because the rear ones start to distort. Does anybody know any head unit that would allow me to regulate bass level front and rear independently? I have a kenwood excellon on my Civic and has a high pass crossover built in that would limit frequencies below a set limit (one for the front and one from the rear, without the need of an amplifier) to prevent distortion from the smaller speakers. The problem with that HU is the rotary mask that doesn't seem to be compatible with the S2000 Stereo cover door. Currently I still have the OEM head unit.
Would the Clarion units let you do that? I'm looking at the DXZ-725.

lucid

You really will benefit from a decent sub in the trunk. There's really no SUBsitute for a sub.

Naka

Lucid:
I'm not looking for a killer bass. I just wanted something decent. My point is that the factory speakers have a better bass than the Kenwoods. Obviously, this is down to size only, not quality. The distortion is probably due to lack of good amplification from the OEM unit as well. I don't want to add any unnecessary weight to the car. I just wanted a good sound solution at highway speed without having to go to AMP+SUB formulas. Don't get me wrong Lucid, The Kenwoods are all I need, but the problem is that I can not increase the bass with the OEM stereo due to distortion of the rears (while the fronts still can handle more bass). The solution for me would be a Head Unit with independent front/rear bass modulation (besides, and aftermarket HU would also give me more decent in-dash amplification).

lucid

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Naka
[B]Lucid:
I'm not looking for a killer bass. I just wanted something decent. My point is that the factory speakers have a better bass than the Kenwoods. Obviously, this is down to size only, not quality. The distortion is probably due to lack of good amplification from the OEM unit as well. I don't want to add any unnecessary weight to the car. I just wanted a good sound solution at highway speed without having to go to AMP+SUB formulas. Don't get me wrong Lucid, The Kenwoods are all I need, but the problem is that I can not increase the bass with the OEM stereo due

Shamu

Thanks for all your input guys -- I really appreciate it!

Do you feel that adding a decent 10"-12" sub (something like an Alpine Type R) with a decent amp (something like an Alpine V-Power 75Wx4) and not upgrading the stock speakers would be worth it? In this situation, I would get the 4-channel amp just in case I do decide to upgrade the speakers....but I'm worried if the bass will over-power the highs in this setup?

Shamu

I guess I'm shooting for more volume along with the same or better clarity of sound than the stock system. As for the "bass", I'm looking for something tight that beats/thumps and won't drone and over-power the rest of the frequency, especially if I decide to keep the stock speakers...