14 replies to this topic

[WhitWilson]

Looking to upgrade my stock stereo system in my impreza. Going to get 2 tweeters 4 door speakers, and possibly a sub. What do you guys think the best brand and speakers are? Price range $1,100

[Sam]

You'll need an amplifier or two in there, and a wiring kit.
Single din head unit can be had for about $100 for a basic el cheapo... Upwards of that you can't go wrong with Pioneer or Kenwood from my experience.
Speakers- maybe look at Option Audio, Kicker or Rockford Fosgate. Components for the front should be around $150-$200 if you get a sweet deal. Again, Pioneer isn't too bad for this.
Rear 3 ways can be had for around the $100 mark. Pioneer/Kenwood should suffice.
Amplifiers- a 5 channel Option Audio amp is around the $400 mark over here... Could probably find it cheaper online. But this saves having 2 x amplifiers.
Subwoofer- I got my sub and amp as a package, which saved $300~
Pioneer/Kenwood brands have subs starting at around $150 in a box, obviously your paying for quality. I love my Option Audio gear.
Then you will need a 4 or 8 gauge wiring kit. I would go 4 gauge to get as much current flowing as possible.
Rewind 3 years ago when I first bought my car, I would have definitely put some Dynamat in... I put some in the other day, on all 4 doors and the sounds quality is incredible. More crisp, less road noise, slamming the door sounds cool...
You can pick up a pack of 9 sheets (I used 5 to do 4 doors) for around about $200 offline.
If you budget, $1100 will net you a pretty decent sounding system!

Good luck!
Sam

[Adam]

Helpful post Sam!

[Sam]

Thanks Adam!

[bobbyjimmy]

Seeing as thou your in the US, you get everything cheaper than us anyways so your already in front there.

Don't get rear speakers, waste of time and money.

4 channel amp (get 4 x 100 or 4 x 150) - 2 channels for the front components, bridge the rear for the sub.
Or a 2 channel (2 x 100 or 2 x 150) and a 500w or so mono-block for the sub.

How much of the boot (or trunk) do you want to loose?

As above, sound deaden your doors, it makes a huge difference.

Saying this brand is better that the other opens the doors to huge shit fights and e-penis waving.

[Tim.]

That sort of budget in Australia won't buy you much but it'll easily get you a full 4.1 system over there.

That being said, spend as much money as you can on a pair of splits for the front. Front splits will make more of a difference to sound quality than any head unit or amp. You really need splits to also be able to mount the tweeters up high, and closer to ear level.

Rears are not necessarily needed - they will give you net volume but will not help the sound stage.

Brands and specs mean little - have a listen and see what you prefer when it comes to picking speakers.

[U-Shell]

I would say an amp easily makes the biggest difference towards sound quality. There is no point in spending even $300 on some splits if you run a standard head unit, it just won't have enough juice to power the new speakers. I would suggest you go and buy an Amp and Sub first, At least a 2 gauge wiring kit (allows for better expansion later on) and do some research on how to properly E.Q your system.

What type of Impreza do you have? Does it currently have factory splits in it? Subaru have some of the best factory systems in their cars. They employ excellent sound engineers who position the speakers and tweeters in the most suitable spot and analyze how to sound waves interact with the objects and surfaces around the cabin to produce a very reasonable system without bumping up the price of the car too much.

Dynamat is definitely one of the best upgrades for sound quality, but it will add weight to the car if you start doing all the doors and boot. If you want to be a tight ass or don't want extra weight etc. etc. Find something to seal up as much of the doors as you can. It will tighten up the bass and make is a lot cleaner, although it won't be as great as Dynamat. Also mounting the sub to the boot floor or sides will help clean the bass up.

If your Impreza is like the Gen 3 Liberty's, it doesn't have a proper crossover. So make sure if you amp up the stock speakers, you utilize the High Pass Filter on your after market head unit, other wise you might find you will be blowing tweeters when you turn up the loud knob.

Don't go nuts on rear speakers. You want the sound stage to be at the front. So spend your hard earned on front splits and proper crossovers.

As Tim said, everyone has there opinion on brands. The best thing to do is to get out and listen to them and make your own decision. Try and get a speaker that is designed to be run on a 'flat' E.Q setting. This will give you a better base for when you start to tune the system.

[Tim.]

Front splits will make more of a difference to sound quality than any head unit or amp.

I should clarify what i meant. You will (or should) hear more difference between different types of splits than you would listening to differences between head units or amps. As in - it will be harder to tell amps and headunits apart in blind tests than it would to tell splits apart.

Yes, i never meant it to mean don't buy an amp. An amp is a MUST.

[bobbyjimmy]

Subaru have some of the best factory systems in their cars.

Have to laugh at this.

[U-Shell]

I should clarify what i meant. You will (or should) hear more difference between different types of splits than you would listening to differences between head units or amps. As in - it will be harder to tell amps and headunits apart in blind tests than it would to tell splits apart.

Yes, i never meant it to mean don't buy an amp. An amp is a MUST.

I should clarify what i meant. You will (or should) hear more difference between different types of splits than you would listening to differences between head units or amps. As in - it will be harder to tell amps and headunits apart in blind tests than it would to tell splits apart.

Yes, i never meant it to mean don't buy an amp. An amp is a MUST.

Haha all good, I completely agree with you. Just pick a head unit that has all the feature you want/ need and just buy a decent name brand amp.

Have to laugh at this.

Compared with a Holden, Nissan or Mitsubishi etc. of the same price range. I'd say they would have to one of the better options.

[Tim.]

Yeah i reckon all factory systems are shit. Fullstop.

Bose in Mazda
Harman Kardon in BMW
JBL in Peugeot

They might sound alright at low to medium output, but you turn them up to a decent level and they all fall apart.

[bobbyjimmy]

Yeah i reckon all factory systems are shit. Fullstop.

Speaks the truth.

[Samwise]

Yeah i reckon all factory systems are shit. Fullstop.

Bose in Mazda
Harman Kardon in BMW
JBL in Peugeot

They might sound alright at low to medium output, but you turn them up to a decent level and they all fall apart.

21 speaker Harmon Kardon in the Range Rover's is unreal..

Current whatever it is in the Golf's, isn't half bad. Just all the bass is coming out the speakers, which means you can't turn it up.
VW Fail ..

[WALKER]

Will you be doing install yourself?

I'd definitely recommend running 4 gauge wiring kit.
I've run 4 gauge to 4 channel amp under passenger seat and split it, it the runs to the amp in boot.

Also wait till sales are on.. Buy it all at once you'll get a better price.

For the money your looking to spend you'll definitely be satisfied.. you just might not be able to turn heads from across the road.

[FR34KO]

Saying this brand is better that the other opens the doors to huge shit fights and e-penis waving.

Despite this, I could vouch for JL Audio speakers (Not sure about subs). From listening to them in stores and comparing all the ones there.. wow, good quality sound!

Myself, I only have kenwood and pioneer speakers run from the HU, with a 625 RMS amp powering a 1200W fusion sub (lol)(but it goes well) in a ported box. The speakers do well despite not being amplified.