If you can believe it, I still have the stock stereo in my '02. I would like to improve the system, but within reason due to the open-air nature of the S. I will likely be doing this in stages due to current budgetary reasons. What I have in my head at the moment, in no particular order, is upgrading the head unit to an MP3/WMA player, upgrade the door speakers, possibly add the S-Pods (I understand not a great solution in a perfect world, but it puts sound closer to your head and blocks some wind which can't be all bad in an S), and amplify if necessary.

I am leaning toward upgrading the speakers first, which leaves me in the following predicament: find component speakers that will run OK on the stock headunit, and even better (at a later time) with an after-market headunit and possibly an amp. However, my concern is that if I get speakers that work with the EOM headunit, they will glaringly show their limitations with an upgraded hu/amp. On the other end of the spectrum is speakers that would do nicely amplified, but that I would probably destroy with the stock headunit until I upgrade further. Is there a happy medium with respect to component speakers, or do I need to upgrade the headunit first?

My goal is to get decent sound quality and volume (i.e., better than stock), yet without going over the top. I have an enclosed vehicle for bad weather/hauling/crowds that I have a very nice stereo in. The S will always be a challenge with respect to sound due to wind/traffic/etc. noise. But it would be nice to be able to hear the music when travelling on the highway.

I have read many posts, FAQ, etc. which all have excellent info. But I still haven't found anything to satsify the questions I pose here. If I missed something that directly refers to this issue, I apoloqize.

Thanks.

 

A lot of the guys here will say this is not the way to go... but I started by changing the speakers first and ended up leaving the stock head unit. First thing I did was replace the door speakers with a set of Kenwoods that I got from Lucid with the proper harness. They cost $169 for the pair and I believe they are 7" (over-sized); they also came with an adaptor ring to fit in the original hole. Result: slightly less bass, crisper high end, overall cleaner sound but not a dramatic improvement. Next, I added some rears, also Kenwoods, 5.25", also from Lucid and already built into the panels, with wiring. I think I paid $169 for those as well, plus $50 for the panels. With the four speakers you'll have more sound overall but there's still a distinct lack of bass. Finally, I threw Aura Bass Shakers in the flaps behind the seats ($50 or so on ebay or other places on the net), powered by a Clarion 2 channel amp that I stuck on top of the gas tank, no screws, no nothing, it sits flush in there and gets enough air. $125 for the amp. I had an installer take care of wiring all the stuff to the head unit, an hour or two of labor.

So, end result is the feel, if not the actual sound, of bass for both driver and passenger, a totally stealth system, reasonably clean sound, functional remote dash controls, enough volume for me (I'm 40 and done losing my hearing to loud music)... all for pretty cheap. And although it would pale in comparison to a lot of the systems you'll read about on this forum, it seems to me you want to do your work in stages and not go overboard right away... and this might be one way to accomplish your plan.

 

I went that way too in an effort to keep the dash buttons but it's not the best bang for the buck. IMO, ideally, you should go in this order:

Headunit (the stock HU is by far the worst part of the system)
Front speakers
External amplifier (2-way for stock, or buy a 4-way if you plan on SPODS)
Bass (ugh, so expensive)
Rear speakers

How much do you want to spend? You can get away with decent speakers for $150/pair and a headunit for $200 (althought the sweet spot is $300). Figure $60 for install + tax + shipping and you can do the first two steps for a good system for well under $500.

 

I did
HU
front speakers
rear speakers
and then sub and amp

i found this the best way to go....
my next is to amp my highs......

 

That works too. Rear before sub, huh? I guess I love my bass

 

yes cause u get full sound witht he rears then after u complete everything with a thumpity thump

 

sparta: how do the bass shakers sound? i was also considering these instead of a sub. do they put out a reasonable amount of bass, comparable to say a standard 8 inch sub? anybody have opinions about these?

 

Bass skakers shake. They're not speakers and they shouldn't make any (or very, very little) amount of sound. They're used to shake your seat to emulate the feeling of strong subs.