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I just purchased a 1988 Lesabre in true mint condition.
since it's a 88, it has a tape deck.
I'd like to upgrade to a detachable face CD player with MP3 compatibility.
I don't want 12 inch woofers, amps in the trunk nor a "bass only" sound system. I want a good sound for jazz and talk radio(sports,etc) But i would like a nice crisp sound for listening to my jazz.
I don't expect the worlds greatest sound, but, I think you smart folks get what I mean.
I want to get the stereo, 6x9's and door speakers.
What are the quality products to purchase for a price sensitive buyer.
Ex: stereo could be no more than $150,etc...
I saw some good things on Amazon. Is this a good one: Amazon Stereo
Instead of setting a budget for the headunit, set the budget for the entire system. How much can you spend on the entire system? Are you going to do the install yourself or pay someone to do it?
My starter advice:
- Consider buying from Crutchfield if you will do the work yourself. They will know exactly what fits and can supply any adapters you need.
- Concentrate on the sound from the front door, not the rear deck
- A modest separate amp will vastly outperform the built in amps of the headunit
- 2 ways are usually better than 3 ways. It is generally silly to put a crappy midrange and a crappy tweeter where there should be a good tweeter.
Instead of setting a budget for the headunit, set the budget for the entire system. How much can you spend on the entire system? Are you going to do the install yourself or pay someone to do it?
My starter advice:
- Consider buying from Crutchfield if you will do the work yourself. They will know exactly what fits and can supply any adapters you need.
- Concentrate on the sound from the front door, not the rear deck
- A modest separate amp will vastly outperform the built in amps of the headunit
- 2 ways are usually better than 3 ways. It is generally silly to put a crappy midrange and a crappy tweeter where there should be a good tweeter.
You can but if you take your car to a car stereo shop to have them do the install, they may frown on you bringing in your own stuff as opposed to buying thru them. Or they may not give you a full warranty.
Are you only wanting to spend $150 tops on the head unit and speakers? Or just $150 on a head unit alone?
The CD player you posted looks like a nice entry level. It would probably suit you well. I still remember when you had to spend $300 to get a CD player. How times have changed.
As for speakers, I like Infinity speakers or Polk.
Putting a head unit and 4 speakers in your car is very simple, as far as installs go. It's all standard GM harnesses and dash kit. An experienced pro could do it in an hour. I could do it in my driveway in two, and I haven't done any real install work in 15 years.
That being said, I'd wait on the speakers. Spend more on the deck than $68. That is extreme entry level for a name brand unit. I had one like that in my truck when I bought it used, and it sounded terrible. I put in an Alpine with much better on board amplifiers, and the sound improved by a huge margin. Put a better deck in, and the speakers you have will sound much better. Then you can replace the speakers as necessary. $150 for a deck and 4 speakers, if that was your goal, will end up as crap.
When you replace the rear speakers, which are assumedly 6x9s, screw them into the back deck from below rather than use the brackets that hold up the factory speakers. They still won't be visible from above and your bass will be much better this way.
You can but if you take your car to a car stereo shop to have them do the install, they may frown on you bringing in your own stuff as opposed to buying thru them. Or they may not give you a full warranty.
Are you only wanting to spend $150 tops on the head unit and speakers? Or just $150 on a head unit alone?
The CD player you posted looks like a nice entry level. It would probably suit you well. I still remember when you had to spend $300 to get a CD player. How times have changed.
As for speakers, I like Infinity speakers or Polk.
Hi,
thanks for the reply. $150 for the head unit only.
Yeah, I remember back in the day, only the guys with money had Kenwood and Alpine. I used to dream about getting one of those.
Do you think I should keep everything one brand. What about a small amp?
Putting a head unit and 4 speakers in your car is very simple, as far as installs go. It's all standard GM harnesses and dash kit. An experienced pro could do it in an hour. I could do it in my driveway in two, and I haven't done any real install work in 15 years.
That being said, I'd wait on the speakers. Spend more on the deck than $68. That is extreme entry level for a name brand unit. I had one like that in my truck when I bought it used, and it sounded terrible. I put in an Alpine with much better on board amplifiers, and the sound improved by a huge margin. Put a better deck in, and the speakers you have will sound much better. Then you can replace the speakers as necessary. $150 for a deck and 4 speakers, if that was your goal, will end up as crap.
When you replace the rear speakers, which are assumedly 6x9s, screw them into the back deck from below rather than use the brackets that hold up the factory speakers. They still won't be visible from above and your bass will be much better this way.
The $150 is for the head unit only. Not speakers.
Can you recommend something Alpine or Kenwood? I need 6x9's. The set in the car are finished. Even though the car is in mint as it relates to body/engine etc.....the speakers are from 1988 and they're finished.
I'd do it in stages. Start with decent brand speakers to replace the horrible GM speakers. You should listen to them in the store. What works for one person's ears may not work for your ears. Stnce you're on a budget, stick with speaker brands like Kenwood, Sony, Pioneer, etc. Price higher end brands to see if you could swing their prices. Bose and Boston Accustics would probably be on the retail high end prices. Even a factory stereo sounds fantastic through the right speakers. Besides, if you first replace the stereo without replacing the speakers, you'll easily blow the factory speakers. My personal preference is two or three way speakers. I generally prefer two way because high pitches are painful to my damaged ears (multiple sets of tubes, one ear drum removed and replaced, along with damage from working in a Navy engine room). I made the mistake of listening to the sales person and got four way 6x9 rear speakers. If the fade is balanced, it's too much treble even with the treble at the midway point. Got Kenwood 2 way door speakers and adjusted the fade about three levels to the front to help balance it out. I hate door speakers. My ears aren't in my shins. To overcome the lousy GM placement of their door speakers, you should try to go as quality as possible on the doors. Once you have the speakers, shop around for a decent stereo. Plan on nothing less than $125 which means putting aside enough to cover your local taxes and any installing fees (some places will install for free if the stereo is over a certain price. Live with your system for a while and decide if you feel you need the amp or if you're satisfied with what you have. Since you don't want to blast the neighbors, a low powered amp would improve your sound without blasting away the clouds.
A small amp would be an improvement over the one inside the Pioneer head unit. You will get a cleaner sound and not as much clipping.
When buying an amp, look at the RMS power ratings, and not the peak power ratings. Also if you're going to buy speakers too, I would wait until you find the speakers you want, then find out what their RMS rating is, then buy an amp with a little more power than what the RMS is but not more than the peak power.
This way you will have an amp a little more powerful for the speakers and you won't have as much of a clipping issue. Also I'd say look into a 4 channel amp and if possible buy a head unit with 4 RCA pre outs.
Just checked Crutchfield.com and it says you have speakers on the door, rear deck, and front dash. If correct, you'll need to replace 6 speakers.
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