I am going to be upgrading a Delco system in a 97 Z/28.

I am going to keep the stock HU because of the looks, speed controlled volume and a remote disk changer. I have listened to other systems ( Alpine , Pioneer, Sony ) and honestly could not tell that much difference in the FM and CD. I think that Delco really has a good FM tuner. Your ears might be much better than mine but I can not tell that much difference.

Because I am keeping the stock HU, I am looking into line output converters. They seem to go in price from $20 to $350. You usually get what you pay for but there is also a crossover point where you are not getting that much more improvement for your dollar. Question:

Is the LC6 unit at $150 worth the difference over just a PAC oem1 for $45?
( I am looking into components up front, rear fill, and a 10" single sub in back )
Is the JL audio unit at $350 worth the difference over the LC6?

Up front components. I was looking into putting a set of tweeters in the A pillar and replacing the doors speakers with Alpine or Infinity. Any suggestions on model numbers that are good but at a reasonable price???
Should I just use a Cap for the crossover for the tweeters are do they come with one??

Suggestions on rear fill speakers or just get rid of them?

I was looking at the sub box that fits into the rear side well on the drivers side. I will have to relocate the CD changer. Any one have this unit? Does it sound OK for the small size. I believe that it is only .6 cubic foot. I would like to keep the rear well open for the T tops.
Does a unit that fits in the rear well that is larger in volume just sound so much better that it is worth giving up the T top storage over the unit that mounts in the side???

I was looking into a 6 channel amp an bridging two of them for the sub. Any suggestions on model numbers for this? I don't need to let the people 2 cars over know that I have my radio on, I just want it to should good to me.

RCA patch cords. Do you make your own from shielded wire? I also saw some made from a twisted pair. Are these as good as the single conductor with a woven shield??

Has anyone removed the rear speakers and built up an enclosure for to 8" subs on the side?? Are 2 8" subs better than a single 10"

I am trying to make this look as unobtrusive as possible and keep most of the utility of the car in place.

 

TTT for ya....I'm planning the exact same upgrade(s) for my 97 SS and would like much of this info as well.

 

I did more research and here is what I came up with.

Alpine SPR-17LS components up front.
Leave the 4 rear speakers alone.
PAC OEM-1 off of the factory head unit to get me 4 RCA jacks.
The front speakers will be disconnected and replaced with the Alpines. These will be run off of a 4/3/2 amp ( Looking and some Alpineamps on ebay )
The rears will still be hooked up to the factory head unit and driven off of it. This will be for rear fill.
The RCA for the rear speakers coming off of the PAC oem-1 will run to the amp and be bridged to run the sub.
The sub enclosure will be the Stealth from SUBTHUMP with an MTX 10" subwoofer.
WIth the sub being run from the rear channels, I can use the front to rear fade to have some controll over the SUB volume

I will have to relocte the factory CD changer to just up on the rear deck or m ount it vertically in the T-Top well.

As far as the LOC's that I looked at
Use the JL CleanSweep if you have the money and want the best.
Next would be the LC6.
Next would be the PAC. I went with the PAC for the price and the fact that I really did not need the flexability of the others.

I don't think this will be the absolute perfect system but I think it will sound very nice and still keep the factory HU and CD changer in place. And I will still be able to put the T-Tops and other stuff in the back.



SPR-17LS from Ebay $120
PAC OEM1 $40
Alpine 4/3/2 amp $190
Sub enclosure $110
10" rear sub $60 - $120 depending on what I find.

This keeps me in my $500 to $600 dollar target.

 

You could probably find the Amp and Sub cheaper on Ebay. Also, that sounds like a good setup, but make sure the amp you get has a filter for the rear channel, cuz you dont want too much going to that Sub. Also, look into getting an Amp Rack from Sub Thump, they are nice pieces and will allow you to mount both your amp and CD changer to it, and if you ever decide to upgrade to a dedicated amp for the sub and one for the speakers, you can add a second amp onto it.