I don't claim to be an audio expert by any means. I don't even qualify as an audio rookie, but I can appreciate good music at higher than average volume, at least occassionally. I just had all the speakers replaced in my 2000 covertible (ie. only 4 6.5 speakers). I have Sony Xplod speakers in my 3000GT and they sound great, so that is what I chose for the Z28. I am unimpressed with the result. Is there a reason that the speakers do not sound as good as the stock speakers did (before I blew them)? I have a Monsoon w/ single disk CD player, if that helps.
The installer is the same one that installed the other set and he swears he put them in correctly. I also had speaker savers and rear dynamats installed.

Thanks for any help.

 

The biggest problem is that the factory speakers are 2ohms. You replaced them with 4ohm speakers which means that they will only be getting about half the power that the factory speakers were getting. That and it takes a lot more than new speakers to improve the POS Monsoon.

 

So what can I do without spending a small fortune?

I realise that most audio afficianados think the Monsoon is garbage, but I am not planning to replace it, at least not right now. Would a new amp help, if I left the Monsoon and the new speakers as they are?

 

In your case I would get a 4 channel amp and use it along with the factory HU. Make sure the amp you choose has speaker level inputs.

 

If I buy a four channel amp, would it need to bypass the stock rear amp in the trunk or would it be wired between the HU and the stock amp?

 

The stock POS Monsoon amp won't even be used anymore. Take it out and use it as a boat anchor or something.

You'll run the speaker outputs from your factory HU into the speaker level inputs of your new amp. Then run new wires from the amp to your new speakers.

 

Thank you very much for all your feedback, LS1 RULZ.
I greatly appreciate it.

 

LS1 RULZ,

Just in case you were curious, I just went ahead and replaced the Monsoon and had the car rewired. Probably the best bet for potential later upgrades. I went with a Kenwood KDS-419. Not the world's greatest HU, at least as compared to a serious audiophile, but it works fine for me.

Thanks again for the help.

 

Good call. You'll be much happier in the long run with the new setup.