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Hi all. I am in the process up upgarding my system from the stock components to something a little nicer in my 2002 EX Sedan. For those of you who have experience with the any of the items I have ordered, can you tell how you like them or issues you have had?

Ok, let me start by saying that I do not listen to rap or VERY loud music (but moderately loud once in a while). I mostly listen to my iPod or the radio. But, I do like the music to sound somewhat full/rich with a warmer tonal quality. I like bass, but I do not like booming bass much...more the type of bass that makes the music sound rich. I tend to trade cars a lot and therefore do not want to invest the time and effort to install an amp and sub box. But, if there is a need, I may add a powered sub (such as Basslink) later on.

Speakers:

I have ordered 4 (2 sets) 6.5 inch Polk DB650's. I spent yesterday morning removing all the stock speakers without the benefit of the information in the I.C.E. forums (I never thought to look here). I only managed to break 2 clips on one of my door speakers. The rest went well. Managed to get the rear speakers out without any real issues, just took a while to figure out everything that I had to take apart. Anyway the speakers should be here on Wednesday. I know I will need spacers and I have baffles for the fronts. I will probably use silicone to go between the spacer/baffle and the door itself. I also know I will need to re-drill holes for all the speakers. I may have a clearance issue with the rears and the stock grill (rear tray) because of the mounting depth, but I am confident that I can work that out (I know how to use a dremel).

I also have a new deck ordered. It is a Panasonic CQ-C9801U. I know most of you guys are Alipine, Clarion and Eclipse fans. I got this deck because it puts out 31W RMS/70W Max, has 2 aux inputs(!), has 3 5v pre-outs, plays Mp3's and WMA's, is XM ready, has a lot of sound shaping capabilities, and it looks good to boot. And too it did not cost an arm and a leg. The deck should be here this coming Friday. The higher powered internal amp was a big selling point for me because of my desire not to run an amp for now. But the 5v pre-outs should suffice in case i change my mind later.

I have not ripped the dash apart yet because I could not figure out how to do it. But after reading here today, I now know what to expect. Thanks for that...

Let me know if you have any comments, etc. about my setup. Thanks in advance.

 
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I think that you will be satisfied with this setup. Polk has some good speakers and that should suffice, but I would highly recommend getting an amp for them. It would add the "fuller bass" that you are looking for and really bring out the quality of those speakers, it will also take away the power from your headunit. I know that 31 watts seems like a lot, but the amp in the headunit is prone to getting warm (because it is doing other activities like spinning a disk, processing data, displaying a screen, etc..) and probably won't add the extra richness of sound you are looking for from aftermarket speakers. I could be wrong though, never used Panasonic. I do know that my Alpine 9851 (25 times 4) powered my stock speakers well, but when I added an external amp (Cheapo Jenson that I traded for) they sounded much louder and clearer, and I was surprised. I am going to be upgrading to Inifinity 6.5 reference series because I love infinity speakers, but I know that I will need an amp for them. Check the sensitivity on urs to see how easily the deck will push them. But if you like the sound, and it should be good, just stick with what you got. Oh, and there is a great thread for installing decks somewhere around here, just have to look.

 
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You won't get the power that the deck says it puts out. You might want to consider adding an amp for the speakers. Other than that, if you listed to them in an audio shop and liked the results you heard then they are a good choice for you, as you're the one listening to them.

 
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Thanks for the replies. Yeah we will see about the power of the deck. Supposedly, the internal amp is a class T amp. It apparently very quickly cuts the power and adds the power to the speakers to produce the sound as opposed to supplying constant power and therefore needing a smaller heat sink that allows it to fit in the small package of the head unit. Sounds problematic to me, but the deck has a 2 year warranty...

I have heard the speakers in an audio shop and they sounded pretty nice. Not the best mind you, but a lot better than the speakers of comparable price. They did have a warm sound...not to mean that the highs were non existant, but just fuller over the entire spectrum especially at moderate volumes...