I agree on the craigslist and infinity ideas. Too many people looking to make a fast buck. There are, of course, good sellers, but you need to know what you are looking for and it's clear that your experience is from the good old days of audio (not an insult, mang, I lived through them too and relish the old PPI, Audio Art, Xtant, Orion, and other "high end" brands quality).

I would highly recommend following the advice from previous posts. Front speakers should be a larger portion of the budget. I have to disagree with Alpine being the only way to go, as I'm a Premier fan, but they're very comparable from what my ears tell me.

I would recommend a decent 12" sub (I know you're looking at a 10", but the pass through to the passenger compartment does take it's toll on the bass). And 300-400 watts is PLENTY.

I would venture you can get a decent set of fronts for about $125. Amp for them $80. Sub - $150. Amp for sub - $125. Deck $200. Wiring - $100.

I'm still debating what to do with mine, as I have a myriad of options with all the damn equipment I've "invested in" over the years. Holy crap would my garage be lighter without some of this stuff, but I'd be crushed if I had to get rid of it, but this is your thread and not mine.

Big Mack

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Sounds (no pun intended) like you got a good deal on the Infinity stuff. Keep in mind, the car has 4" front and rear, so you're going to have to do some work to get 6.5" in there, but it's doable for sure.

Since you're well under the budget, you can do a sub sooner rather than later!!

If the amp you buy has a good crossover in it, or can sum the inputs, you don't necessarily need a sub output. It's definitely helpful, but not required. You'll still be able to adjust the bass level from the deck, and that's what's important. If you like the Clarion, go with it. I helped a friend put one in his Silverado, and aside from having to deal with GM's idea of a harness, we were done in a decent amount of time.

Big Mack

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If you don't like the Clarion, then the Pioneer would work - especially with the flexibility that it appears to be built into the amp you're getting. It should be able to utilize one of (or all of) the inputs to derive the sub channel. Having the external sub control means you don't have to worry about having a sub control on the deck, so that makes the Pioneer a good fit.

I haven't looked at the manual, but the amp sounds like it has good flexibility, and the built in crossovers will give you additional options. Keep in mind that if you use the high pass built into the deck, you'll be eliminating the bass. In other words - don't do it.

Big Mack

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yeah, I definitely am cheap but don't want cheap stuff

If you use a high pass on the RCA outputs, you only "pass" the highs above the crossover point. Presumably, this is set at about 80 Hz and no lower, so that means there will be virtually no bass coming from the deck for the amp to split off to the sub. Just defeat all the crossovers on the deck and let the amp do the processing, and you'll be fine.

And yes, I agree with Ryeno - quality is better in the Pioneer. The Clarion you chose isn't horrible, but the Pioneer is better.

Big Mack

If only the clients I used to deal with could figure that out easily. I was appalled at how people would think that spending $300 for a CD player was outrageous, or expected to be able to replace an entire factory system they overpaid for with $500 worth of gear and expect it to outperform systems tailor made for their vehicles with no custom installations required.

You would be amazed at the look they gave when I showed them the display with factory parts that had been removed. Speakers, amps, decks, etc. We had several variations we could show, and it was a great tool for educating them.

Big Mack

Clarions aren't bad. Some of their high end stuff I use to have were awesome, but for the lower priced stuff, Pioneer hands down.

Oh trust me, I know, but there is at least some understanding that spending more on equipment will get you better stuff. What I couldn't understand (and still don't) is how they couldn't discern that a $500 system wasn't going to perform like a $2000 one after seeing and hearing the difference. Granted, it was in a display system (albeit a well done one), but the concept of "good, better, best" isn't exactly revolutionary.

Oh well...

And I don't think the OP is blind or oblivious to buying better stuff - just needs to adjust the budget or be willing to build in pieces and get better grades a piece at a time.

Big Mack

No booth, no wall of woofers, no wildly colored displays. We had pods that could go into car in a "typical" location and slide into custom fixtures. Since the options were limited, this was practical. If we had 10 different offerings in each size like many shops now mistakenly do, it's next to impossible to test them well.

I always encouraged people to bring in their own music and truly listen to it so they could do exactly like you said - hear it again for the first time. Ah, the good old days...

Big Mack

Well, if you guys notice, the original budget I set was from a looong time ago. At this point, my OEM headunit/amp/speaker/crossovers are dead or dying so anything is an upgrade to me.

Like I said, I know someone and I can get brand new 09 model Infinity Reference components/coaxials/amp/sub for under any prices I've seen online. I also am setting funds aside for things like baffle board, box, sound deadening, power cables, interconnects, fuse, wires, etc.

Sure, if I spend more and get an ampless Denon deck, power with a Luxman amp, run them through Morel speakers, and wire it up with Audio Technica cables, have a professional install it, it'll sound beautiful. I like to listen to music and I do appreciate high end audio equipment. But I'm someone who is satisfied with my iPod playing 192kbs VBR mp3s ripped using LAME+EAC from my CDs and playing through my Shure e2C...I'm not that big of an audiophile. I've seen and heard really nice systems while I was back in Japan. But to me, after a certain point, I just can't tell the difference in sound quality. If I can, it's so marginal to me that the difference in cost is something I can't justify.

I just want to enjoy the process of researching, learning, installing, and improving within my budget and what difference in quality I can hear. And maybe when I do understand what and how to use a high pass filter and can hear the difference, I'll upgrade.

But right now, I want to spend on performance mods and enjoy driving the car; like a torsen diff, final drive, and sway bar. Who knows, I may end up liking car audio so much that I'll stop doing performance mods and invest more in audio. I am enjoying it thus far.

I do appreciate everyone's input and helping me out!

I can appreciate that, mang. As you can tell, I'm very much into the audio side. I like performance as much as the next person, but I'm not all about tearing into it and trying to make it so I can take corners at 90. I'm very happy with the car's performance aspect as it sits, so I focus on the stuff I like to change.

Like I said - you'll be fine with the stuff you've got earmarked. The amp will work, the Pioneer has the features you need, and if you can get the speakers for that pricing, you'd be hard pressed to justify spending more if you're just wanting an upgrade in the sound quality that isn't there now due to the deceased components.

It's good to see that you're learning and gleaning some information from us audiophile/technoweenies. I can't even tell you how many times I've explained the whole concept over the years, but I thoroughly enjoy it.

Big Mack

I noticed you're on the audio side . and I wish I knew about car audio as much as you. also glad to hear that Infinitys are crap . I figured they wouldn't be too bad...as long as I don't do a horrible job at installing them. I'll install these, play around with the amp and headunit, and maybe upgrade little by little if I do feel the need.

and hey, i love cars, and i hate to be that guy who makes threads on CL thinking its a blackbox that spits out answers. I can research terminologies and go to shops and listen to equipments, but I just cannot compensate for the lack of experience through the interwebz. at the same time, I really do appreciate the resources on here and the input you guys give!