diggerdan11 Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 So I forgot how bad the sound quality was on a stock non-bose GM stereo. My 1500HD has a regular single disc non-bose system and it sounds like crap. I have to turn the bass way down or it makes the truck rattle and the overall sound quality of is just awful. None of the speakers are blown The sound quality in my SS when it was stock was much better with the bose system. AnBefore that in my 2001 chevy I dont remember what the stock stereo sounded like because I replaced the Deck and all the speakers within the first week of owning it. Before that in my 1989 Ford the stock sound was obvioulsly crappy, but when I replaced the head unit the quality was a million times better and I never replaced the door speakers. So my big question is what is the main cause of the crappy sound quality. Is it the headunit, or is it the speakers? I was thinking about replacing the speakers, but I dont want to waste my money if the reason for the crappy quality was the head unit. On the other hand if I replace my head unit with an aftermarket one will the sound quality be better because of the quality of the headunit? How do the stock speakers sound with an aftermarket headunit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueAKSSS Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) I want to say from what I have found its the head unit usually that makes the bass and treble really muddy sounding to my ears. With those stock decks you can never really get bass or treble or any clarity to the sound so my suggestion would be to replace the head unit first of all. I know it made a world of difference in my SS by just changing the deck. Also in my regular cab long bed truck I owned for a bit I changed from the AM/FM base radio to the single CD and the sound quality went down when I switched to the single CD so I assume that is also the cause in your 1500HD. Edited January 10, 2013 by Matt* (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1BAD2K Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Put a good set of components in and a good 4 channel amp. Would sound muuuuuch better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLNAWAY Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Put a good set of components in and a good 4 channel amp. Would sound muuuuuch better. doesnt sound like he wants to put that much into it but yes that would be the best way to solve the problem but from having experience with car audio I would find a nice aftermarket radio I prefer alpine but make sure it puts out amped power and with that you can change the hertz n frequency which ultimately improves sound quality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggerdan11 Posted January 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Im thinking i should replace my head unit. I have always been a huge Alpine fan but i have been frustrated with with them lately. I think they are just way to expensive for what you get. Not a lot of functionality for the price. There is a nice pioneer unit i have been thinking of and i am very happy with my pioneer in my SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 I would also replace head unit first. It is still not going to solve your issue unless you also replace some speakers. Will improve it slightly but it is still going to sound like factory speakers. Factory speakers are made for the factory deck and the wattage its rated at. Once you do get a aftermarket head unit you will prob start clipping the factory speakers. Would recommend pioneer also. Sent from Rezound using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLNAWAY Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Im thinking i should replace my head unit. I have always been a huge Alpine fan but i have been frustrated with with them lately. I think they are just way to expensive for what you get. Not a lot of functionality for the price. There is a nice pioneer unit i have been thinking of and i am very happy with my pioneer in my SS ya i agree alpine has gotten way more expensive and now are making more app radio and along thoes line but i figure you could pick up a nice use CDA-9886 or something like that with same features for cheap that way you dont spend a ton of $$$ and it has amped power the preout for that amp are 4v out which give lil extra to a amp if you install one down the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggerdan11 Posted January 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Here are the headunits Im looking at. I need XM radio ready, Bluetooth, and of course the ability to control an Ipod through the headunit. Both of these are around the same price and require the same Sirius XM tuner which is not very expensive. Alpine http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/cde-hd138bt/ Biggest issue with this is that it has the only USB port on the front, and I would like to be able to hid my Ipod and not see a bunch of cords hanging around. Pioneer http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/CD-Receivers/DEH-X9500BHS This has 2 USB ports in the back, so I can hide the Ipod If i decide to go with a double din http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/DVD-Receivers/AVH-X3500BHS Biggest issue with this is the extra price, not only for the headunit itself but also the XM reciver is much more expensive. It would only be about $330 for the headunit, XM reciever, Ipod conector, wire harness, Antenna adapter, and mounting kit. Vs. closer to $600 for the double din. But of course the double din is much cooler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLNAWAY Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Here are the headunits Im looking at. I need XM radio ready, Bluetooth, and of course the ability to control an Ipod through the headunit. Both of these are around the same price and require the same Sirius XM tuner which is not very expensive. Alpine http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/cde-hd138bt/ Biggest issue with this is that it has the only USB port on the front, and I would like to be able to hid my Ipod and not see a bunch of cords hanging around. Pioneer http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/CD-Receivers/DEH-X9500BHS This has 2 USB ports in the back, so I can hide the Ipod If i decide to go with a double din http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/DVD-Receivers/AVH-X3500BHS Biggest issue with this is the extra price, not only for the headunit itself but also the XM reciver is much more expensive. It would only be about $330 for the headunit, XM reciever, Ipod conector, wire harness, Antenna adapter, and mounting kit. Vs. closer to $600 for the double din. But of course the double din is much cooler the first 2 have basicly identical spec... Outa those I'd choose the pioneer solves the problem of wires hanging and also only one USB for me wouldn't be enough But both those have the same amped power going out and able to change you LPF and HPF along with 3 preouts powered 4v All in all seem like the pioneer would suit you better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Pioneer. I'm a double din fan. Sent from Rezound using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLNAWAY Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Ya all my vehicles got double din wit navi right now in the SS im running kenwood double din that has every option under the sun but i did pay over a grand on just headunit Pioneer. I'm a double din fan. Sent from Rezound using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.