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Basic setup questions

3K views 20 replies 4 participants last post by  milhouse82 
#1 ·
Hi everyone, I'm looking to upgrade my setup for the first time and have some questions.

I'm not an audiophile (maybe yet, haha) but I do love music and want it to sound reasonably good, considering price. But I wanna start with something basic and go from there. My plan is to buy the parts and get a local shop to install everything. Hoping to keep it around $500 all in if possible.

I have a 1997 Honda Civic CX. There's an aftermarket Kenwood deck in it but its old and I'll be replacing it. Beyond that there's 2 stock speakers in the back, and none in the front, just the plastic things that look like speakers, which I found kinda odd.

So onto the questions. How many speakers do I actually need? Can I just get a new deck, 2 speakers, and a powered sub and call it a day? Or do I need 4 speakers? The first scenario seems more convenient, because if I understand correctly (correct me if not), I can only plug in 4 things to the average lower-end deck. 4 speakers plus a sub would require me to get an amp, yes? Prefer to not go down that road if possible for budget reasons. Can I get 2 new speakers and keep the existing rear ones? Would that sound bad? I don't need crazy bass or crazy high volume.

Examples of components I'm looking at:

Heads:

JVC-KD-X360BTS
Pioneer-DEH-S5120BT

Speakers:

Pioneer-TS-F1634R-200W-2-Way-Speakers
Kicker-43DSC6504-Coaxial-Speakers
Rockford-Fosgate-R165X3-6-5-Inch-Full-Range

Subwoofer:
Rockville-RW10CA-Profile-Powered-Subwoofer
Sound Ordnance B-8P

Will appreciate any help. Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
I have been on these forums for a short amount of time compared to most but I think the general response to your question will be to
1. Get two nice speakers upfront,most you can spend on them within budget
2. Add an 2 channel amp to power them
3. Skip replacing the rear speakers
4. Add a sub in back,powered or otherwise.
5. Save up a little bit more $$$ if you can swing it and get the best quality you can afford.

Adding an amp to a great pair of speakers will boost your sound quality over just running off of the factory head unit power. Worthwhile in the long run. Amps are super affordable nowadays too. Find a cheap 2 channel amp to run the front speakers,most will say just disconnect the rears as with some good front speakers you wont miss them. So you could go

2 channel amp powering front speakers plus a powered sub
or
4 channel amp (2 channels) powering front speakers and (2 channels bridged) powering a non powered sub.

If I were in your shoes
Id go with the Pioneer headunit over the JVC
Id get this powered sub over the two you provided,for $20 more you'll get better bass https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-TS-W...Q29KHM5R8MZXK4JBW6ZG&qid=1560934119&s=gateway
And Id save up a bit more and get these speakers https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108R6532EM/Infinity-Reference-REF-6532ex.html
And lastly a 2channel amp to power the Infinities,something like this https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108P6002AM/Infinity-Primus-6002A.html?search=2+channel+amp&avf=N or this https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130GMA3702/Pioneer-GM-A3702.html?search=2+channel+amp&avf=N would be enough.

That would put you at $400 plus whatever shipping costs.
 
#4 ·
You dont need it per say. You could always add one later down the road if you wanted. Ive heard they (infinity)run well off of just deck power. Yes you will need an amp kit for your sub. If adding an amp you would need one as well. Check out Kno knoise website. Also you may need speaker adapter wiring for hooking up the new speakers to your factory speaker locations,but it may just be plug n play as well.

Edit This amp kit would work for your powered sub KCA Complete 8 Gauge Amplifier Installation Kit - Merchandise
 
#7 ·
Alright, getting close to pulling the trigger here. Looking at this setup:

Infinity Reference REF-6532ex speakers
Sound Ordnance B-8P sub
Pioneer DEH-S5120BT deck

and mayybe
Pioneer GM-A3702 2-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier

Toying with the idea of installing everything myself. I have the free time and I'd prefer to save the ~$300 for the shop labor if possible. If I went this route, what else would I need in terms of accessories/tools to complete the installation? Obviously the amp wiring kit for the sub, and a second one if I get the amp, yes? What else? Crutchfield includes a free receiver wiring harness and a dash kit with the deck, and speaker wiring harnesses with the speakers. Is there anything else? I'd prefer to know in advance so I can order everything at once if possible. Thanks in advance for any replies.
 
#8 ·
I believe that's everything you need,someone please correct me if I'm wrong. For tools crutchfield has pry tools on the cheap,doors may have torx or regular screws or both,plus bolts of some size. Check online to see. Crutchfield may also send u a free instruction guide specifically for your car via email. It should tell u the tools you'll need and can be had at most auto parts stores.
 
#9 ·
I’d aim for 100 dollars on a headunit, base level pioneers are good in my experience

100 dollars on components, sub and then use 150 dollars on a 4 channel amp, then 50 dollars on sound deadening for the front doors as putting speakers in a stock door will sound poor, not a lot of midbass, rattles galore... whereas even a stock system can be made reasonable with addition of deadener from experience as manufacturers don’t seal doors up very well at times... vag group cars are probably some of the better vehicles for having sealed up doors...
 
#10 ·
What is required for deadening? Any recommendations?

I don't have the original keys to remove the current deck so I guess I'm gonna try using some butter knives or something.

As for pry tools, would I need those for anything considering it's an aftermarket deck in there already?
 
#12 ·
Thanks, appreciate all the replies so far.

Next question. I looked at like 10 youtube videos for installing speakers into a Civic like mine, but in all of them they're replacing existing speakers so they can easily attach the new ones to the existing wires. My car has no speakers in the doors, just plastic covers on top, and no wires inside that I can see.

So the question is, how do I get the wires into the speaker hole? Do they come down that metal shaft in the first pic? Do I need to buy speaker wire? How do I do this? :laugh:

(Sorry for the sideways pics, my phone does that for some reason)
 

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#17 ·
Hmm, okay, why would they be in there? You mean they came like that from the factory or a previous owner did it? Keep in mind there's an aftermarket deck in there already.

Let's assume there's no wires. What else do I need to buy? I'm just gonna start with these 3 items:

Infinity Reference REF-6532ex
Pioneer DEH-S5120BT
Dynamat 10415 Xtreme Speaker Kit
 
#20 ·
Alright so after digging around inside the door I did find the wires and harnesses. Got the deck installed and wired up, but I'm only getting sound out of the passenger side. It's not a speaker issue, I swapped them and they both work. I double checked the wiring and it's correct as far as I can see. So why isn't the driver's side working?
 
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