Gear in our rides

Systems

I had to run up to my least favorite store in the world, well while I'm working anyway, Home Depot. I'm drivng along listening to Cuban Blues: The Chico O'Farrill Sessions and thought about how good it sounded in the truck. I've spent alot of time with the install, Dynamat, tuning and tweaking the headunit to get all the crossovers set right, the slopes, volumes, EQ, time aliagnment and all that jazz. It sounds pretty damn good to me and several folks have told me how good it sounds. I started to wonder how many of the Polkies have ditched the OEM stereos in their rides? And did they go a touch overboard as I may have on the system. I mean I don't have that much in the sig down there but the behind the scenes is nothing short of OCD in some cases.

How many of you folks have opted out on the factory stereo in your rides and extended your audio pleasure to the 12V side?

Chuck

exalted512

I've done a little to mine.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/531337/9
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/531337/10

-Cody

Systems

Thats what I'm talking about.

Chuck

bigaudiofanatic

Both cars that I have no long have there stock systems once you go aftermarket you never go back.

mrmusicman

The stock stereo in my dodge ram also sounded horrible..it came with sirus radio which was great,but the head unit wouldn't display the text for the songtitle or group and it drove me nuts.It sounds much better now.:D

Systems

Yeah, I wish I would have documented MY install. Took me over a week to do everything. I didn't have to build a box, but I did build/fab enclosures for my HERTZ comps in the front doors. And did so much damn Dynamat (at least 250lbs) all over the truck. Layers and layers then another layer and bags and bags of polyfill to take care of rattles. I used a test tone cd and played tones on a loop to isolate rattles and buzzing in the trim and stuff. It was fun....really was.

Chuck

candyliquor35m

I have polk db650's in my pathfinder's rear doors and couldn't be happier with them.

Rivrrat

I might install something better than the stock high end Ford system when I spend more than 12 mins a day commuting.

MillerLiteScott

Stock. Bone Stock.

Not worth the investment to me.

Sherardp

Ditched the Bose system in my Escalade for some goodies. Never ride stock.

Willow

Stock in our Xtrail. I think about replacing but we lease so what for....

BaggedLancer

For now I'm keeping the stock radio and speakers. However, I have added 2 kicker S10L7's in the trunk with a Kicker 1200.1 for just a little bit of bass since the stock speakers lacked any.

I've been on the prowl for a JDM dash kit for my car, since it converts the factory radio(all integrated into the dash) into a double din unit so I can add in navigation is all that good stuff. But to do that whole job it's gonna cost $2000ish, wayyyyy out of my price range, maybe in a year or two.

For now I've ordered all the parts to hardwire my TomTom and my Ipod, and that will be fine for now.

For speaker upgrades, I plan to add 2 pairs of Boston Pro 6.5" and some sort of 4 channel amp.

steveinaz

I used to do 3 things to all my cars:

1. Tint the windows (must have in Arizona)
2. Get a dashmat (another must-have, if you like your dashboard)
3. Replace the stereo

I don't replace the systems anymore unless they really suck. Most modern vehicles have pretty decent sound these days. My Suzuki Forenza has a pretty nice system; 8 speakers (4 mid/woofers; 4 tweeters) and the tweeters are mounted high, so your body doesn't block/muffle them. It sounds real nice for what it is...

Jstas

I've done the whole deal in every car I own mainly because the stuff I want doesn't seem to come without all the other stuff I don't want anymore. All I want is a decent stereo with a large capacity CD Changer that doesn't skip when I sneeze.

Right now though, I have Polk Audio dB components all around and a 12 inch sub, not the new stuff, the old stuff based on the old RT/RTi series drivers. I have 1200 watts of Kenwood eXcelon power in a KAC-X650D amplifier with signal coming from a KRC-X858 head unit and a KDC-CX87 CD Changer. The head unit actually has a tape player in it! Just because it's old doesn't mean it's junk. It's one of the last MASK units too and it's not a cheesy looking D-MASK either. All wiring is done with StreetWires.

brijenjas

Well, I wasn't going to replace the stock system because I don't spend that much time in the car, but my wife does.

The story.

Two Xmases ago I bought my wife the IPod Nano because someone at her work got her IPOD speakers, they thought she already had an IPOD, or maybe it was a PLOT to get her an IPOD.
Since she had IPOD speakers she had to have an IPOD. So I bought her one.

Then it snowballed....."Honey", she said with a sheepish grin, knowing my audio addiction and that I wouldn't just replace the stereo, but the stereo and all the speakers,
" I have this new IPOD with all my music on it, but I can't listen to it in the car, there is no way to connect it, we need a new stereo in the car."
So i replaced the stereo, then the dash speakers(one of them was blown anyway), then the door speakers and then the rear speaks. All with Polk and Pioneer.


I will never understand a woman's logic,except in this case where I actually agreed with her, so I could use her flawed logic for my future audio purchases......:D:D

ME..Honey I just got these new speakers, I need a new Amp to go with them;)

Sami

brijenjas wrote: »

" I have this new IPOD with all my music on it, but I can't listen to it in the car, there is no way to connect it, we need a new stereo in the car."

Don't they have FM adapter like with the portable CD players back in the day?

The only custom stereo was in my GT-R, and now there's no sound system at all (you'd lose your hearing if you tried to listen to music over the sounds of the car). There is no way in h**l I'll put an aftermarket stereo on my 745, and not going to happen in the Altima either (that Bose is good enough for mobile audio).

bigaudiofanatic

They stink I use high speed alpine ipod connection cable.

Sami

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

They stink I use high speed alpine ipod connection cable.

Are they that bad? After all, it's only mp3 you're listening.

BaggedLancer

FM transmitters for ipods are terrible. That's why I just ordered all the stuff to wire mine right into the factory system.

edbert

Sami wrote: »

Are they that bad? After all, it's only mp3 you're listening.

It really just depends. I had a Monster FM transmitter that sounded like butt in my car, but it is as clear as other major radio stations in my wife's car (05 Altima, no Bose). Doesn't really make a lot of sense, but at least it wasn't a total waste.

GaryZ06

Bone stock radio.....don't need to upgrade when I have a 7 liter 427 up front for true music:D

audiobliss

Pioneer DEH-P860MP feeding a Memphis Car Audio 16-MCA3004 amp pushing a set of Boston Audio RC-520 components. JL Audio wiring for power, ground, and interconnects...won't make that mistake again. Never did get around to a sub, though. Just not enough funds to allocate to it.

zingo

I finally replaced the stock speakers in my 1992 Honda with a set of $20 "Roadmaster" speakers from Walmart. The surrounds were rotted in the 17 year old speakers and they sounded terrible. The new ones aren't an upgrade, but at least I can listen to my talk radio while I drive.

I've had audio systems in many cars, but since it can't sound close to as good as what my home setup does, I don't really bother.

greg2350

My setup first install.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55451

demaples

Bone stock in a 06 Harley F-150. Sounds good but might consider a better woofer.