That is great advice, but I have one little problem with it.

If someone has the budget to upgrade the stereo and wants to do, why not do it right the first time?

If someone wants to just add bass that isperfectly possibleusing a stock HU and LOC's. I have put LOC's in a number of cars that were just adding subsand they sounded great. If using a much higher quality LOC like an audiocontrolLC6 or JL clean sweek full range audio is very possible. My next vehicle may be an X5 and I will have basically no choice but to retain the stock HU and wiring, and a LC6 would be my audio solution of choice. I haven't replaced the entire system in my wife's bimmer (i'm still using all the factory speaker wiring as well as the factory rear midbass) and I am completely satisfied with the outcome. My only concern is that someone will upgrade thier system using the dirty factory HU and be dissatisfied with the outcome becuase they have a dirty signal to start.

I tend to recommend the same products in the same price range becuase they are, in my opinion, the best available for the money. There are many brands, like JL, that I will not recommend solely becuase of the price you pay for the performance. Most people would like better results for less. I own a profile amp, but I'm not running one in my car. I recommend Ed subs all the time for the price, but I love the way my eclispe sw8122 sounds and don't expect to upgrade for a while. I have run a number of front comps and CDT's I have were the best I could afford. At the time I would have rather had some diamond audio Hex's with the silk tweets, but I was a little capital scrapped. The CDT comps I installed in that G35 were some of the best sounding speakers I have ever heard at any price, and they were less then $400.

Ttocs, you have a ton of experience installing and working on car audio, but the majority of novices do not have the patience or expertise to tune and adjust a stock stereo to sound like an aftermarket system. Most of the time I think mot people would be happy with thier audio results jsut addign a ton of sound deadening and keeping the sound they are making, but it is hard to convice people the value of a great install.

 

Carefull PReal. you made the mistake of thinking that LOC allowed the sub to sound good. apparently you and I dont know what we are talking about when we say that they sound good. but dont worry I am sure a lot of the ******** from the first page will come in here now and let you know that you dont know what you are talking about, just like they did to me.

My LOC just pushes the sub. to me it sounds fine.

 

LOC's are ok, but that doesn't mean I would replace the HU 9/10 times.

When you add those components, will you be running an LOC?

 

actually no. when I add the Front Comps, I will be switching over to a whole new HU, wiring, everything. simply because I want functions that I cant have on the Factory HU. I want my XM integral to the HU, I want a high speed Ipod input, I want MP3 Disc capability, Subwoofer controlls, and a better EQ. all of these things I cant get from my factory Mach HU. Right now my sound from the factory system is sub par. the front stage is shrill and slightly tinny. No matter how I tweak it it still sounds shrill. My sub sounds good to me, but then it is a singel 10 type R in a 1.5cu slot ported box tuned to I believe 32hz. dont quote me on the tuning.. My hz might be off.... but for producing bass via my Crossfire amp and that sub in a GOOD box, it sounds good. My coworker has the same sub, in a crappy box and in my car it sounds crappy. I blame the box for most of it, but I do understand that the LOC signal is not optimum.



The origional point I was trying to make was the OP was trying to get decent sound on a budget. while not AudioPhile sound quality, a LOC can still be a definate improvement over stock for it allows the user to add decent speakers, amps and what not. I do admit the system willl really come alive once a good HU is put in and the LOC is taken out, but in the mean time it can sound good.


On a side note, here are the Comps that I will be adding... http://www.mbquart.com/en/produkte/c...php?nr=rua_213

 

The thing to remember is if he has a $400 budget, then he can buy a HU and have good signal quality. Why sacrifice quality when you have space in the budget?

 

Yea, but I know the HU I want is over a grand, My front comps were 460.00. not much on a 400 budget is it? I was simply throwing out an option. obviously it wasnt the best option.

 

what if they want to keep the stock hu? I know, I know, but some people do.... I get that idea from this post.

 

wouldnt even use those for my pc speakers. dont waste your money.

 

Its like I said, if I buy an X5 I will be using some sort of LOC (An audiocontrol unit or JL clean sweep) and it will be fine.

If someone really wants to keep a stock HU, go for it.

 

why do yo say that Jake? I ask because I listened to them in my local sound shop and they sounded great. One of the guys there has them in his car so I got to listen to them in there as well and I was greatly impressed. What are your issues with them?