Story is this, basicly I have NO sound in my car, I'm going for a road trip and I definately need some sound for the ride. All my speakers are blown (wasn't my fault, previous owner...) My HeadUnit's CD player doesn't work and plain sucks anyway as the dashkit isn't even mounting it correctly. If I slam on the brakes it will come clean out!

Well I'm going to have to be conservative aswell, meaning easy on the price as in I can't really spend anything over $100 for a headunit $100 alone is pushing it. I need to replace all my speakers aswell and can't splurge for those either. Also the Antenna cable isn't hooked up

So here's my questions...

#1 - What kind and WHERE should I look for a relatively reliable CD-Player Headunit? Any in my price range?

#2 - Speakers, 6 1/2's right? are there any differences WHATSOEVER between the front's and the backseats? What kind and where should I look for some decent speakers? I'm not going to have it on full blast but I would like some decent quality if at all possible.

#3 - Will I need an AMP?

#4 - Adapter, will I need any to connect the Head Unit into the wiring system?

#5 - The DASHKIT!! I need a better one DESPERATELY, This one has the headunit mounted like 2 inches outside the console and looks HELLA Ugly, and whenever I step on the brakes the headunit has a tendancy of falling out. Where can I get a Headunit that will fit it all perfectly into the console for a decent price?

#6 - Antenna Cable?!?! I dunno if it's just lost in there or not, but incase it's not, what am I going to have to do to install a new one and how much is it going to cost?

 

#1. Nope. Maybe you can get last year's 35Wx4 CD player from Sears or something. Under $100 is gonna be very difficult. Avoid Kenwood if you want reliable.

#2. I have sony's in the front and I dislike them. I have Pioneer and JBLs as well and they were great.

#3. Do you want a sub, and can you afford it?

#4. You don't need it but it makes wiring 10 times easier and you can upgrade your system much easier.

#5. Maybe just take yours apart and make sure its installed properly (which it isn't if its just falling out).

#6. Antenna cables are like $2 from a junk yard, but running it is a pain. It has to be in there somewhere, just find out where it comes through the firewall and see if its there.

 

Try the weekly sales at Best Buy or Circuit City.

Or try www.crutchfield.com They have several cd players for $99... Shipping is only about $6... They also include the mounting bracket, antenna adapter, and wiring harness for free... I've dealt with them in the past and always gotten my stuff quickly... Great company to deal with.

 

What about Ebay auctions?

How much would I expect to pay for them for the front and rears? for both brands.

I don't want any sub's yet, this WON'T be my last sound system, just something to hold me till...

Then I'll definately get one, how much should I expect to pay? are there different adapters for different headunit's? How will I know which one is compatable with mine?

I think mine is missing pieces, I need a new one anyway cuzz the one in my car technically isn't even FOR my car as I was told be a few Audio Shops.

Can I get one out of any car provided I need one? or does it have to be an GM or F-Body vehicle?

I'll check with them aswell, but what is the mounting bracket? Is that the DashKit to make my stereo fit in my car without sticking out of my 1.5 Din area? Is it that thing that closes off the remaining space so you don't look and see all the wires and mechanics (DashKit)? Will I need an antenna adapter?

 

I don't want to seem like a jerk but do some research before asking questions. If $100 is pushing you budget for a deck then you are really limited and they are all going to be about the same. Get a brand name if you can, and get what features you want.

Ebay is a good place to get decks but you probably won't find much cheap either. Best buy and crutchfield are great resources as posted already.

For speakers, LOOK AROUND! There are thousands of places and on your budget they will all sound decent-good, nothing really spectacular. Once again, get brand names if you can afford them.

If you don't have much money and don't want subs yet, then why get an amp?

Don't install this yourself since (no offense) you clearly have no idea what you are doing. All decks come with an adapter that plug into the deck it came with. Then it has bare wires that you connect to the car. If you buy an adapter that goes with the car (just match up make and model), then it plugs right into the harness so there is no cutting, just solder the harnesses together. A harness is like $10.

The antenna can be had from any GM car I imagine, but it is beyond me why anyone would ever cut that wire out.

I can't help you with the dash kit since I'm a 3rd genner, but I made my own kit since nothing really looked good in my car. It's just a bracket essentially so I got one generic kit and modded it. Good luck and SEARCH AROUND!!!!!

 

Yes, the mounting bracket mounts the radio into the opening and fills the area around it... Same thing as a dash kit... If you go to the Crutchfield site, just click on "add to cart" on one of the decks, then it will take you to the check out page and you can click on receiver kit and it will show you what it is.

The GM antenna plug is smaller than most antenna inputs, so you'll need an adapter.

Ebay is a good place if you get lucky... I bought my JVC CD player from a guy there for $24 including shipping... It looks/works like new... I'd stay away from the cheap audio stuff they sell on there though like some of the Legacy or Pyramid decks.

 

Go here: www.installdr.com to get an idea of what you need.

 

100 dollars for a head unit? yeah, you can get a decent one for close to that...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....6&type=product
My friends got that in his Accord, stock speakers, stock everything....from what i've heard of it, it sounds pretty nice :-)
i mean, 10 bucks more......assuming your installing yourself, i dont think anyone could REALLY have a big problem spending 10 bucks more and getting something real good for the $$...
:-)

 

oh, and for the speakers...dunno what size you need or whatever, but you can get Boston Acoustic's speakers for under 100 bucks probably....theyre nice, too!
http://www.bostonacoustics.com/ca_pr...&CategoryID=14
119 bucks.....
I'd say that would be a nice system right there.....230 bucks....IMO it would be worth it....

 

i can hook you up with the head unit. its a 2003 sony cd pull off face. the details are on and ebay add i ran that didn't make the reserve. i was only asking for 75 plus shipping. heres the add
ebay add

and since you dont know me from adam here are my feedbacks
feedback

definately get the wiring kit. i have one for a chevy astrovan but i doubt it would work for the camaro's wiring harness. i bought the adaptor kit from the local walmart and the wiring harness for about 20 bucks. i also picked up some infinity kappa 6.5 (not sure what year you said your car was) for 85 brand new on ebay. there are some inexspensive mb quarts for as low as 75 a pair. it wont be very loud and it wont bump but it will be enough to make your road trip much much better than what you have.

hope that helps some. my email is in the sig if your interested.

david

 

Cool, I was wondering if it has a CD player?

Hey guys thanks for the replies so far, really helpfull advice here...
I went to bestbuy today and I think I found what headunit I'm going to get, and it's for $99. One other question though. Regardless the fact that BestBuy may install it or not... Is the dashkit and installation kit the SAME THING or two different things? and will I need to get a special compatable Dashkit? where should I start looking?

 

i just had a friend buy a new head unit at circuit city. they had two seperate charges (none of them were installation). the dash kit was the plastic mounting kit to fit a DIN sized radio into the factory opening. the installation kit was the wiring harness / antenna adaptor (if needed) to connect the factory wires to the aftermarket unit. for the advertised free install he ended up spending another 35 bucks. (way to much go to walmart, buy the same parts, do it yourself). you dont have to be a rocket scientist to install a head unit. try it if you have never done it.

david

 

yes it ahs a cd. the pics and info are in the link.

david

 

Well I finally got one... It turns out that the speakers were premium speakers however just were not wired. It also turns out My car had a Bose and it was stolen and the dealer just replaced it with a crappy stereo and didn't even hook the Antenna up. The wires, EVERYTHING was BUTCHERED. I took it to a pro and he hooked me up with a $120 Panasonic Headunit and it looks nice! He even replaced the crappy dashkit so it's perfectly inside the dash. I get great reception and all four speakers work however to get the back two in the trunk to work he says I'm ganna need a 2 way amp because the stock one wasn't ganna cut it. I'll wait awhile before I do that. He had to replace all the speaker wires though so it costed me an extra $50 ... which was at first planned on speakers but it turned out I didn't need them...

Sounds great but thanks for all the info!