[Shotimes] A quick one for all the aftermarket stereo guys....

[Donald Mallinson]

The one true fact of audio is the NOBODY can tell YOU how 
something sounds.  Everyone hears differently, and everyone 
has unique likes/dislikes.

As others have mentioned, the entire system should be good 
to get the best sound, but sometimes that isn't needed or 
possible on a budget.

For me, I think clear strong bass adds a dimension that 
other upgrades just can't match.  My '89 with the basic 
sound system sounds great to MY years with just the addition 
of a dedicated subwoofer and amp.  A 10" sub in a tight and 
big enclosure in the trunk gives the stock system super bass 
that does a number of great things.

1.  I can turn down the bass on the factory system, freeing 
up the power used to reproduce that bass in the factory amps 
to do mid/high.

2.  By turning down the bass I also "free up" the factory 
speakers from the job of reproducing high volumes of low 
bass which they do a decent job of, but like the one person 
said, when any speaker is asked to do all frequencies, it 
can hurt the reproduction in all of them.  So without the 
big bass output in the stock speakers, the mid and high 
frequencies are much cleaner.

Also, by bass I don't mean the distorted junk that a lot of 
boom box cars put out.  My system will reproduce a strong 20 
hz string bass and still handle the big bass songs popular 
with many, I just don't need to let the world hear my sound 
system.

Yes the factory system is not as good as a lot of after 
market systems, but it is a HUGE step better than many older 
stock systems.  Freed of the need to pump out low bass, many 
people can live with the stock system forever or at least 
long enough to afford better speakers/amps/head unit later. 
  And Bass is pretty cheap to do.  A cabinet and quality 10" 
speaker will run a couple hundred at most, and a 100 to 200 
watt mono amp is also cheap.

Also, bass sound is more uniform than mid/high where 
personal preference is all over the board.  I hate some 
brands of speakers and love others.  And within a brand, 
sound can be all over the board, so when someone says "BRAND 
X is the ONLY way to go" take that with a bit of 
scheptisizm.   That brand or that model sounds great to THAT 
person, but you might HATE it!  Or you could buy a different 
model within the brand and it will sound totally different.

If you don't do the install yourself, then find a shop that 
will work with you to make the system sound the way YOU want 
it to sound.  Try out speakers a LOT to get an idea of what 
you like.  Speakers in a store may not sound anything like 
they will in your car.  So an installer that will be willing 
to try some different combinations is important.

Try some bass to start if on a budget, you can't go wrong!

Don Mallinson

Michael wrote:
>  Which components of the factory system is it that really limits sound quality? Speakers, subwoofer or amplifiers? And what is the best sound upgrade one can do with the most bang-for-the-buck?
> 
> ---Michael
> 94MTX,green,BOS+ --- On Thu 01/02,   wrote:From:  [mailto: BJamesjr@aol.com]To: zap@columbus.rr.com, Shotimes@autox.team.netDate: Thu, 02 Jan 2003 18:06:25 -0500Subject: Re: [Shotimes] A quick one for all the aftermarket stereo  guys....> Does anyone know of a place that sells a good kit to > install an aftermarket> stereo in the SHO and use the factory amp system?  I got a bypass cable from Crutchfield for free when I bought a new head unit.  I didn't have a subwoofer so didn't need that feature.  They might have a head unit that would drive a sub or it might take an aux. amp to do that.  They had an adapter that cost $50 that would allow me to keep using the factory amp, so this may be a more accurate price._______________________________________________Shotimes mailing listShotimes@autox.team.nethttp://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shotimes
> 
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