New To Car Stereo Game, Need Advice

[gmcierra]

Hey everone, I am hoping to get some advice and opinions out of this. Any help is hugely appreciated!

First off this will be going into a 96 GMC ext cab truck.

I was thinking of going with the Alpine ida-x305 HU, Alpine SPS-600c door speakers, and Alpine SPS-406 rear speakers.

I chose the HU because of the ipod compatibility, I don't care to have a huge CD case lying around in the truck.

The speakers were chosen simply because they fit.

Are these good choices? Are there better choices? Where is a good place to buy? This will probably be the extent of the stereo for a long time, maybe a small sub in the future, but not likely.

Thank you.

[thecraft]

Hey everone, I am hoping to get some advice and opinions out of this. Any help is hugely appreciated!

First off this will be going into a 96 GMC ext cab truck.

I was thinking of going with the Alpine ida-x305 HU, Alpine SPS-600c door speakers, and Alpine SPS-406 rear speakers.

I chose the HU because of the ipod compatibility, I don't care to have a huge CD case lying around in the truck.

The speakers were chosen simply because they fit.

Are these good choices? Are there better choices? Where is a good place to buy? This will probably be the extent of the stereo for a long time, maybe a small sub in the future, but not likely.

Thank you.

Good choice on the headunit, but lets start over on the speakers.

 

First, forget about the rear speakers in your truck. The rear panels are a PITA to get off without breaking them, and nothing you can put back there will sound good anyways. You'd be MUCH better off fading out or disconnecting the rear speakers and using that money you would've spent on rear speakers towards an amplifier and/or sound deadening for your front speakers.

 

[EDIT] Did the 1996 trucks have the third door? If it does, then the panels aren't as bad to take off, but it's still not worth the trouble or money.

 

The SPS-600c isn't a bad set, but I would definitely recommend you power them with an amp. The best thing you can do for the front speakers is go to some brick-and-mortar car audio shops and demo as many speakers as you can, and pick which ones you like the best. We can give you a huge list of recommendations, but we would be picking for our own ears, not yours.

[Zembonez]

I think your choices are pretty solid ones. I like the HU. I'm not a huge Alpine speaker fan. They farm them out to some other manufacturer and then brand them Alpine like many others do. You end up getting less quality and paying for the name. I agree that the rears are worthless. Filler sound is all they are good for. I'd look at a GOOD pair of separates for the front doors and maybe a small sub / box / amp combination for under the back seat. The sound quality will be many times better than just replacing the 4 speakers.

[gmcierra]

I'd look at a GOOD pair of separates for the front doors and maybe a small sub / box / amp combination for under the back seat. The sound quality will be many times better than just replacing the 4 speakers.

 

 

So what would we call a GOOD pair. I am very open to suggestions.

 

 

 

Thanks for the replys though

[Dukers]

i like that HU that you selected... but i just hate how you have to select the songs via the HU rather than your ipod itself with that $30 cable... why cant we just use the ipod!

[Zembonez]

Thanks for the replys though

I like the Polk Audio db6501 and the Boston Acoustics SX60. Both are strong in the mid bass range, have good crossovers included and run premium tweeters (you'd have to confirm that they will fit your truck). I agree that you should go out and listen to some. Always take a favorite CD with ya.

[bluemonstercali]

i like the boston pro60's.

[thecraft]

For the record, I'm a Diamond Audio fan, but like I said earlier, listen before you buy.

[Unknown123]

i like that HU that you selected... but i just hate how you have to select the songs via the HU rather than your ipod itself with that $30 cable... why cant we just use the ipod!

 

I hate how alpine did the ipod connections i have the CDA9883, its an older unit so i thought they might have changed that but i guess not.

 

I changed the rear speakers in my 95 without any problems, is the 96 different

[gmcierra]

thanks for the replies guys.

 

my 96 will be same as your 95.

[04silverz71]

well in my opinion I would say good choice with the head unit, but with the speakers im not going to say anything because im not an expert on those and would hate to lead you in the wrong direction