Topic: Mono and 4ch off stock headunit?

[coop3422]

Hey All,

Winter is coming so the s2k went into storage and I’m back in the Spec B. I finished the stereo in the S over the summer and it sounds great. It makes the Spec B not as enjoyable, I have a mono and 2 10”s which hit well, but I’m not overly happy with the quality.

I’d like to add a 4ch and new speakers. My question is; can I have 2 amps hooked up to the factory headunit? I believe my mono is connected via a high level input (think that’s what they’re called?). I would just swap the whole thing out for an in dash screen, but that is either way too expensive (JDM bezel) or I lose dual climate. Since the stock unit reads mp3’s, I just bought a bunch of CD-RW’s. It’s ghetto for 2015, but gets the job done.

Thanks All!

[Perfect Dark]

Take it from me, you'll never be happy with the sound until you do the JDM bezel.  I tried everything else but in the end it's easiest to spend the money up front instead of wasting your time and cash on other options.

[coop3422]

Take it from me, you'll never be happy with the sound until you do the JDM bezel.  I tried everything else but in the end it's easiest to spend the money up front instead of wasting your time and cash on other options.

Did you have a 4ch pushing aftermarket speakers?

The JDM bezel is like ~$400, plus still need a double din. Not worth it IMO. Add 2 pairs of speakers and a 4ch to that and it's pretty damn expensive.

[Canuckrz]

An aftermarket head unit on its own assuming it has a proper amp built into it will make a substantial difference on its own. I've seen a lot of night and day differences to the sound quality just from that, and the ability to tune the sound better than just bass and treble on the oem units.

IMO I'd get the bezel and the headunit, leave the stock speakers alone for now assuming they aren't blown, and go from there.

[coop3422]

Yeah, I know replacing the head unit alone will make a significant difference. Most factory units put out 2-5RMS, whereas aftermarket will be 12-15RMS depending on brand. But an aftermarket 4ch would be 50+RMS, I would anticipate sounding much better.

Has anyone ran a 4ch off the factory unit? I could get a 4ch and 4 speakers for the cost of the bezel along, let alone the aftermarket screen on top of that.

[Perfect Dark]

Did you have a 4ch pushing aftermarket speakers?

The JDM bezel is like ~$400, plus still need a double din. Not worth it IMO. Add 2 pairs of speakers and a 4ch to that and it's pretty damn expensive.

I went the Cleansweep route, ran a 4 channel off of that.  While it was better than running an amp directly off of the factory head unit it still didn't sound overly great.

I know how much everything is, and it's still worth it.  Buy the bezel new and go used on the audio equipment if price is a concern.

[coop3422]

If I had to do the bezel, I'd probably just keep it as is. Sounds alright, and for a car I drive half the year and plan to keep for another couple years, it just doesn't seem worth it. Amp and speakers would be about $500 ish, that I could live with. Replacing the head unit adds another $800-1100, not enough value.