Hey guys, first time poster in this forum.

I have a '97 Camaro. A few years ago, I added some subs (2- 12's, Kenwood) and a Kenwood amp with a crossover and all that jazz. It sounds good, thumps real hard, but now I'm not really happy with it. All the speakers and head unit in the car are stock. It's the Delco Unit.

I want something that gives a nice, muscular full sound all around. Instead of all the bass coming from the rear. As it is now, all the muscle is coming from the rear, and my door speakers, rear speakers, etc., can't keep up with the subs. I want something that sounds more like newer cars now that have real good stereo systems for being stock, but a little more muscular.

I've kept the stock head unit to keep it looking stock, hoping to ward off thieves. If there's any way I can still do that by just upgrading the speakers possibly and maybe using the amp I currently have? Just looking for some suggestions....

 

look at second page in my sig

 

You can run a second amp to power some component speakers , they will have more power than they can get from your delco, and they will have a fuller range of sound. Or you can upgrade head units and components and run the components of your head unit power, but it wont be as much as if you run another amp...

 

Nice set up man! How does that sound?? Do you get good range from the other speakers in the car? I currently have the box that sits down inside of the trunk space. (Not very good space utilization.) Never thought of installing the subs that way! Nice job!

Chris,
Thanks for the reply. What about using the amp I have to run ALL the speakers? Would that draw too much from the subs and not sound good?

 

it depends on what kind of amp it is, if it is a mono block amp then only the subs can be run off of it, if it a 2+channel you could possinly run both subs and something else, but it depends on the power...If you'll tell me what you have and what you plan on getting(with specs) i'll tell you if i think it will work or not...

 

You can also look at my setup for an idea, i have not upgraded my door speakers but i did replace the head unit with pioneer premier deh-p860, and my stock speakers keep up fine with my sub...

My car

 

Will do. I'm at work...but leavin' in an hour. As soon as I get home, I'll post the specs on the amp. Thanks a lot for your help!

 

Chris~
My amp is Kenwood. Part number KAC-728S.
Specs:
Maximum Output-
Normal - 200WX2
Bridged - 600WX1
Max Power Output - 4ohm
Frequency Response - 5hz - 50Khz
Signal to Noise Ratio 100db
Low Pass Filter 80hz

This help any?? Currently running 2 Kenwood 12" subs, stock head unit, and speakers.

 

WIth 600 max watts you will probably be getting about 300 rms, so you dont have alot of power to play with. unless you are going to send very little power to your subs, i would suggest that you try to find a good deal on a head unit(used is probably your best bet) and power your speakers with that, and then use your amp to run just your subs. But the choice is up to you, you can also invest in a bigger amp if you wanted, but if it powers your subs well i wouldnt worry about it, i would look for a new head unit...hope i was helpful..

Post if you have anymore questions or you are confused...

 

I'm not confused yet. But I was really hoping to keep my stock head unit. This may sound stupid, but you know how aftermarket stereos have like a 2 inch height? If that. I don't like that look with having the stereo in the dash like that. And all that black plastic around it. So, I've looked at the taller models, and I don't care for those either. Not to mention, keeping my stock unit makes the system look stock. Maybe I'm just being too picky.

What about getting an additional amp to power the stock speakers? Something reasonably priced with enough power to do the job?

 

If you're not going to replace every piece of the POS factory stereo there's no sense in making any upgrades to the rest of the system. The factory HU puts out so much distortion at even moderate listening levels that you will get little, if any, improvement in sound. Using the speaker level outputs from a POS unit like the factory HU to power a high quality after-market amp is pointless IMHO. If you don't like the look of a single DIN HU in a DIN and a half space you can always do what I did.

My HU solution

 

You can get another amp to power those speakers but like LS1RULZ said there will be alot of distortion through your speakers. I would suggest getting a better head unit, because in the end you will appresiate it much more becuase the difference is very noticeable, but yes you can get a seperate amplifier if you want...

 

Okay, thanks for all your help guys!