I Need Sound System Suggestions!

[307 Regal]

Hello all. It's been quite a while since I've posted but I've got a decent income again and I'd like to start playing with my car again here and there. I've decided that I'd like to deck-out the sound system.
It's one of the few things on my Regal that I've not messed with. It still has the stock AM/FM tape deck and front speakers, and has had old home stereo speakers sitting in the trunk for years. It's a driver / autocross car (not full-on either way), so I'd like a good balance between weight and sound. Nothing too crazy, but I do like my music reasonably loud at times with plenty of bass. Some of the music I listen to is techno/electronic/club music which is by nature sort of hard on speakers. I'd like a rigidly mounted system (i.e. bolted down so I don't have to take speakers out at the track) but I don't think bolting in new 4x10s in the stock location is going to do the trick. Maybe I could make some 6x9s work? Is there something better? I'd like to have the sound inside the cabin for once instead of in the trunk. Also any suggestions on the actual stereo itself are more than welcome.

 

[565bbchevy]

They have adapters to fit 6 x 9's where the stock 4 x 10's are or you could do what I did and cut a notch in the deck behind the rear seats (seats cover it) about 1" x 6" so I could just mount the 6 x 9's directly to the rear deck without adapters and also solves the interference with the trunk bars that some speakers might have and I also opened up the holes in the rear deck to the size of the 6 x 9's.

 

[axisg]

yup. Decent head unit with usb. I like the infinity kappa series speakers in all 4 corners myself as the highs are already "capped". Personally I have a small 10" box made of 3/4" plywood in the trunk. Plus remote highs in the dash vents as well for some extra thump and volume. With my amps ( 3 ) it adds 110 ( ish ) pounds to the car right over the rear wheels

 

[87BlazeLS]

I have been installing stereo's for more than 30 years. And For me the best bang for the buck today is
from Crutchfield. The Kenwood series 4 channel 22 watts RMS are great quality and last a long time.
also the JVC brand comes in equal power ratings.
Nice systems on the Crutchfield.com site less than $200 and offer all the hardware and wiring
harness included.
The RMS power ratings are true power. Not the peak power some radios claim...
I have a Kenwood unit in my truck and is at least 5 years old and still works flawlessly and I play a ton
of CD's on it all the time.
The JVC unit in the monte has the same power rating and I run 8 speakers on it.
2 6x9 in the rear deck and 6" rounds mounted in clear plexiglass enclosures on each
side of the rear seat, 2 - 3"x5" mounted on the center floor console and 2- 4" in the front dash.
I steered clear of the front doors because originally they did not come with front door speakers.
And the speaker mount door panels are not cheap.
Even without an amp or sub the system works great. Could use a little more bass with a subwoofer
mounted in the trunk or under the seat.

 

[307 Regal]

Using you guys' advice I've already found a head unit and some 6x9s for the rear. What are some suggestions for replacing the front speakers? I don't know what size they are or how big I can go in that location. Also, what would I need to change in my car in order to run 2 additional speakers (for a total of 6)? Thank you for the replies so far.

 

[87BlazeLS]

If your regal is like my monte the dash speakers are very small, 3.5" or 4". You can get these in Triaxial version.
They have tweeter ,mid range and the small cone driver. Since your head unit has 4 channels (Front RL and Rear RL)
You will need to tap into either the front pair or the rear pair for the additional 2 speakers.
This will also change the impedance loading on your output. Most speakers are 8 ohm impedance.
Doubling the speakers on one output will reduce the impedance accordingly..

for great speakers in multiple sizes check out the Polk Audio DB series. Very nice ! great sound and power handling
6x9" in the 3 way version run $99 or less. Worth every penny. Excellent speakers for the money.

Here is a pic of my 6" speaker location made with plexiglass and screwed to the arm rest area.

 

[565bbchevy]

I modified my door upper door panels to accept a 6.5" component speaker and I put the tweeters up in the dash where the old 3.5' speakers were.

If you are looking at other mounting options and don't mind spending the money you can get kick panels and lower door panels with speaker locations and I believe the door panels have a one or two speaker option.

 

[ssn696]

Agree that Crutchfield is the best source. Very helpful customer service, and returns and tech support are no problem. You might save a few dollars on Amazon, but you better know exactly what you are buying. The dash speakers are 3-1/2", and you need a right angle screwdriver (and a lot of perseverance) to pull those @$%^& phillips screws out. You need really shallow cones so they don't run into the grilles. Be careful pulling the nuts off the grilles - the posts are just cast pot metal. You might have to trim the dash around the opening, under the grille, to make them fit. The nice feature of the OEM speaker location is that the sound bounces off the windshield right at you.

 

[87BlazeLS]

ssn696 is correct on the trimming of the opening. Harry Houdini would have trouble getting those
blasted speakers out for replacement. They leave room for a child size hand only.
The passenger side can be accessed from inside the glove box when removed (under side of speaker)
The driver side is buried by you know what. Make sure when you pull the driver side speaker from the hole
you keep the wires from falling into said black hole.. Fishing them out for a reconnect to the new speakers
will be colorful. I used tape to hold them up top while speaker was installed. Easy...

 

[online170]

I did a sound system on the cheap years ago. I stuck to US made stuff, and only bought a couple of speakers new. I think my goal was the same as yours. I wanted to be able to drive on the highway with my T-tops off, and be able to hear my music loud and clear, without any "noise" (as in electrical noise).

I ended up finding 2 10" subs with box that were Kenwood. A phoenix gold amp XS2500 (dont remember the wattage), 2 new 4x6 and 2 new 6x9 Sony Xplods during the after-christmas sales. For the headunit there was a website i found that sold the lowest quality offshore stuff called mp3playerstore that i think is closed now, i bought a $69 unit with all the bells and whistles. If i spent around $100, i could have gotten a flip up screen. For the wiring, i used old jumper cables, and the only thing i bought new was a fuse. My car was usually garage parked so no cold winters or overly humid days, and all of the stuff lasted for the 3 years that i owned the car. It sounded great on the highway. If i could change one thing i would have added a capacitor, cuz the alternator had a hard time keeping up. All in, i think i had about $320 into it.