Upgrading 2010 WRX Sound System...Desperately In Need Of Help lol

[roscioli21]

Hey guys,

So like the title says im looking to revamp my sucky stock sound system in my base 2010 WRX. Im looking to get a pair of component speakers for the front, but after that is where im lost. Ive been reading online but i cant really get a clear cut answer as to what i need to get to make a really nice full range music experience. Like, do i need a new head unit (how much power should it put out), do i need to buy an amp (how many channels on the amp), some of the nitty gritty. Im hoping someone with some experience with this upgrade can guide me. Oh and im looking to stay around a $700 budget for the project if that helps.

Thanks a lot guys i really appreciate it!

[Vew]

You typically start with a HU. Most today will have an RMS power of 22 watts per channel. Peak power is useless to you for all intents and purposes. Providing additional power to your factory speakers from an aftermarket HU will give you some improvement.

Moving on from there, you typically upgrade your front speakers. Components are good because it separates the high frequencies with a small tweeter. Ideally, two way is best with a crossover, but it's a more difficult install since you now have a tweeter to locate higher up and a crossover box to wire and hide. The reason is because of the placement of the tweeter.

From there you can move on to the back speaker. Many will argue that it's not a worth while install because it's located in the door and not in the rear deck. It's a cheap upgrade if you're doing all this work anyway IMO.

For an amplifier, you want to adequately power your speakers without overloading them. You'll want a 4 channel amp unless you only plan on concentrating on only the front speakers. This is getting more advanced if you're doing the install yourself.

After that, you're looking into subs, sub boxes, and mono amps to power it/them.

I generalized everything, so please do your homework. This is just a rough guideline.

[dirtydeeds02]

After a HU I think sub and amp is a better bang for your buck before upgrading interior speakers. The stock speakers are decent the factory HU is terrible. A sub will give u a full sound and improve speaker clarity by providing the bass.

[roscioli21]

Originally Posted by Vew

You typically start with a HU. Most today will have an RMS power of 22 watts per channel. Peak power is useless to you for all intents and purposes. Providing additional power to your factory speakers from an aftermarket HU will give you some improvement.

Moving on from there, you typically upgrade your front speakers. Components are good because it separates the high frequencies with a small tweeter. Ideally, two way is best with a crossover, but it's a more difficult install since you now have a tweeter to locate higher up and a crossover box to wire and hide. The reason is because of the placement of the tweeter.

From there you can move on to the back speaker. Many will argue that it's not a worth while install because it's located in the door and not in the rear deck. It's a cheap upgrade if you're doing all this work anyway IMO.

For an amplifier, you want to adequately power your speakers without overloading them. You'll want a 4 channel amp unless you only plan on concentrating on only the front speakers. This is getting more advanced if you're doing the install yourself.

After that, you're looking into subs, sub boxes, and mono amps to power it/them.

I generalized everything, so please do your homework. This is just a rough guideline.

thank you thats actually a huge help! i really appreciate it!

[Vew]

Originally Posted by dirtydeeds02

After a HU I think sub and amp is a better bang for your buck before upgrading interior speakers. The stock speakers are decent the factory HU is terrible. A sub will give u a full sound and improve speaker clarity by providing the bass.

A lot of people go this path. I don't necessary agree with it, but I know why people do it. Bass makes the most noticeable impact. Most people won't notice everything else. It's also a lot more complicated than just swapping speakers too, however.

The worse IMO is when people tap line out converters on the rear speakers to hook up a sub to the factory HU. But I digress.

[the RIOT act]

I have to agree with deeds that a sub/amp should be next after a h/u. I've yet to ever have to replace interior speakers in a car I've owned. The h/u is enough of a boost for OE interiors IMO. But if you do want to replace interiors first (certainly not a bad move) vew is on point with the way to go about it. Either way $700 should get you quite a nice set up! GL


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[dirtydeeds02]

On a $700 budget you could get a decent HU any name brand will do Alpine Kenwood Pioneer etc. Add a self amplified bazooka tube either 8" or 10" and you will get large sound for a small price tag.

[RINGY91]

i went cheap with a JVC KW-R500 got it on crutchfeild.com for 150 and came with free wire harness and some other little goodies. If you're not going local for your stuff that site is awesome.

My 2 cents ahah

[Tasty Js]

I actually just left my job as a sales manager for Audio Warehouse so i know my way around this topic very well.

The other members are absolutely correct when it comes to the most important piece. Your head unit is the heart and brain of the system and even a basic aftermarket unit will greatly improve the quality (not to mention expandability) of the factory setup. My personal reccomends would be to go with any Pioneer HU that you can budget for. Some key points to look for in a HU:

Connectivity
-Some people enjoy the new mech-less HU's as they have no moving parts for those who view CD's obsolete
-Definitely need a means of digital media (USB, BT audio, or for ideal bitrate CD's)
-Bluetooth w/internal or external microphone
-Number of pre-outs and the voltage (ideally 3 sets of 4V but 2V has become ever so popular)

Tweakability
-Equalizer (your most "accurate" sound would be to leave this flat, but if you like to play there are 3,7,9 etc. band equalizers available)
-Crossovers (both HPF High Pass Filter, and LPF Low Pass Filter. This will set the frequency cutoff points and "slope" of the cutoff. Either 6 or 12DB/Octave)
-Sound Retrieval - Attempts to "warm" the tone of a lower bitrate MP3 file

Honestly i went more indepth than I intended to for the HU, and my shift just ended, so feel free to email me for any questions regarding your next step past the HU.

baridude@gmail.com