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I have an 04' civic coupe and looking for some new components. I plan on re-doing the entire set-up. I had a couple of questions first however. Is it really worth it to put new speakers in the back. I was planning on putting new speakers all around however I've been reading that the rears don't do much for the driver and front passenger. Is that true? I would hate to spend an extra $100 or so on speakers that are gonna be there for nothing.

I'm looking into a new head unit by Pioneer or Alpine - unsure of which models however the head unit will be from one of the two manuf. I'm looking into getting 3-way or 4-way speakers for the front (probably pioneer) and was looking to get either the same or 2-way or 3-way for the rear if it's even worth it. As far as subs go I was looking to get 2 12" subs and a sub box. Compared to the 12" subs how do the 10" subs compare. Is it worth it to get the 12". I was looking into Rockfor Fosgate, Audiobahn, and Lightning Audio - what are your thoughts on those?

This is where it gets into gray areas. As far as amps go - what type of amp and how much power am I going to need to power all of this and keep it sounding clean and smooth? How many amps do I need. Does it pay to get a multi-channel amp or just a 2-channel amp. This is where I need the help - amp selection and determining how much and how many I need.

I'm looking to spend under $1,000. Any suggestions on speakers, head units, subs, and especially amps for my set-up would be greatly appreciated - thanks!

 
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New speakers front and rear will make a hell of a difference. The very first speaker upgrade I did on my car was the rear 6x9's, and it made a WORLD of difference, so go for it.

For the front don't worry about gettin a 2, 3 or 4 way, get a 6.5" component set and mount the woofer in your door and the tweeter in your sail panel... if you have those kewl stock sail panels that is... otherwise mount the tweeter directly on the woofer or devise your own mounting system, but definitely get components.

I say go with 2 10's... I say this as a person running 2 10's and the only thign with me is I give them lots of power so it sounds more like 4 12's

Out of those 3 brands, I would go with Rockford first and then Audiobahn, but I will remind you to consider the higher end models of those manufacturers becuase the lower end lines are not all that great.

You could get either a 4 channel amp for your surround and a mono for your subs, but seeing as you want to stick to a budget, I would just go for a mono sub amp (as large as you can go) and power the speakers off the deck for now until you can afford a 4-chan amp. I also say this as by the time you should have more confidence working on your car and you won't have as much trouble running speaker wires all thru your car which can be a real pain... I just finished doing components in each door off my deck and it took forever for just the little bit of wiring that I had to do, so take your time and do it right...

As far as a deck goes, I have never used one, but I hear good things about Alpine. Very clear signal apparently, and I see more and more people using them these days, so you can't go wrong

Any more questions don't hesitate to ask

 
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IMO all you need is one good pair of speakers on an amp up front. Forget about the rears. If your really concerned, do the fronts on an amp first, then do the rears later if you still think you need them.

 
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I'm with Joe on this one. I have most of my sound faded to the front, so the stock rears aren't doing much at all. I like the way it sounds that way. I'd spend more for a good set of speakers for the front with an amp, then get your subs.

If you want, try fade your sound to the front and evaluate how much you care for the sound from the rear, and remember, even if you don't decide to buy rear speakers, you'll still have your stock rears for fill. You could also get fronts first and amp then, and then decide if you want to spend money on rear speakers.

It's all up to you, this is all our opinion

 
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Even if you fade your sound to the front, your rears will still be alive back there doing their thing, and you WILL hear a difference if you replace them.

 
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I'm with Ed and Joe. Rear speakers are definitely the last thing I am going to upgrade (though I will, indeed, upgrade them, because my friends complain when they ride in the back). If no one is going to be riding in the back, there isn't even any need for rear speakers.

 
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Fading to the front on stock speakers to see if you still need rears is a useless test, because in the stock system your front speakers produce almost no bass so it's going to sound bad. I would suggest getting 2 way components up front, and an amp, and then getting your sub, and seeing how you like it. If the rear still lacks, then upgrade it.

I don't have any rear speakers, I took them out, and I havent missed it once. I actually hate the way my friends cars sound with rear speakers.

And i've never had a backseat passenger complain.

 
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Hmm, I always fade the music back a bit when friends are in the back and they complain that it is all muddy. Maybe I should try just killing the back speakers altogether, then.

 
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Just throw in some 6x9's man, no matter how loud those speakers are back there you will hear it and your ears will thank you if you replace them.

 
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I find fading to the back to sound a lot better. Actually, amlost every car I ride in, the sound is faded to the back.

This is the first time I hear people talking about fading to the front. I guess its just a personal prefrence.


I have infinities up front, and used to have stock speakers in the rear (upgraded to iniinities), and i'm faiding in the rear. I like the sound to fill the car, seeing as how i'm closer to front speakers, and hear them more, I fade a little to the rear so I can hear my front and rear speakers.

 
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I think I'm going to run some tests with the speakers. I do plan on replacing the rears though. I'll probably replace them with something cheaper than I put up front but I do tihnk it will make a difference. How big of an amp should I get if for the fronts? I plan on going as big as my wallet will let me on an amp for the subs but i'm unsure about the fronts and the rears. Thanks for the input guys!

 
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Technically, you don't even need rear speakers, it gets rid of that concert hall feeling if they are up too much. The way I have mine, i fade all the way to the front then go back just till the rears are audible. then I turn the balance to the right a little cause as you know the drivers seat is off axis and by doing this it gives a better "stero triangle" and eliminates the need for a center channel. I would just leave the factory in the rear, get a set of coaxial components, tweeter is mounted on the speaker but its still a component. The closer the tweeter to the mid-range the better. It all depends on the music you listen to also, example.... I listen to slayer, cannibal corpse, cattle decapitation...........On bostons it doesn't sound that well but on JL's you hear every detail, but Rap on bostons sounds good.

 
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This is because many cars had larger speakers in the rear, and thus sounded better. Using just 3" or 4" speakers up front won't work very well. Personal preference, I guess, as you say. I never went in for that "surround sound" feature on lower end stereos, either. I want good, clear sound in front of me, and that's what I care about.

 
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I prefer fading to the front, helps (but does not always achieve) the sound of live music coming from in front of you.

Personally, I prefer to hear my music from the front, have a bit of fill at the back to sound like it is echoing back and then have my subs behind me (obviously) with uber amounts of control over how much/little I hear/feel my music

I've just installed a DVD player and I am finding that this theory works VERY well for surround sound, my car sounds beautiful when I throw on a DVD