After-market Amp

[Rodzilla]

Can I add an after-market amp to the OEM speakers i.e. the 4" drivers, tweeters and 4x6's in the back? Or should I just get after-market speakers and amp?

[Sarracino89]

Originally Posted by Rodzilla

Can I add an after-market amp to the OEM speakers i.e. the 4" drivers, tweeters and 4x6's in the back? Or should I just get after-market speakers and amp?

Well its really up to you, you can do either, however, unless you have the top hifi, which I don't think you have, the speakers are pretty much crap and adding an amp to them won't do much good there.

Something to know would be, what's your budget like, and what outcome do you want from your audio?


Since audio is huge for me, I pretty much am replacing all the speakers and adding an amp (my2011 didn't come with an amp) and the ms-8. It was a bit more expensive then I originally thought I would be spending, but I know its going to be worth it after I'm done installing it.

if you are serious about your car's audio, the best, and "only" place in my opinion to start is with Ken from musicarnw. His username is VP electricity on the forums.

[Rodzilla]

Originally Posted by Sarracino89

Well its really up to you, you can do either, however, unless you have the top hifi, which I don't think you have, the speakers are pretty much crap and adding an amp to them won't do much good there.

Something to know would be, what's your budget like, and what outcome do you want from your audio?


Since audio is huge for me, I pretty much am replacing all the speakers and adding an amp (my2011 didn't come with an amp) and the ms-8. It was a bit more expensive then I originally thought I would be spending, but I know its going to be worth it after I'm done installing it.

if you are serious about your car's audio, the best, and "only" place in my opinion to start is with Ken from musicarnw. His username is VP electricity on the forums.

I've been thinking Rainbow, JL Audio or Bavarian Soundwerks. My total budget would be around 600-1000.00. Maybe start with the speakers and then move on to a louder amplifier. I might even get an EQ, I used to have an Alpine slider EQ with BBE and it was great to balance things out, but that was years ago. I can imagine that there are better products now.

[Sarracino89]

From what I have heard on Bavarian Soundwerks, they are not much of an upgrade and for those prices, your better off somewhere else. With your price range, I would consider looking into the alpine upgrade kit that a few members have been doing, just do a simple search and you should find the thread, or again, speak with VP Electricity. There base package is about 1300 uninstalled, but I am sure he could suggest something worthy and in your price range. You still didn't specify what you were really expecting out of your system. Because if you just want something cleaner than the base audio, you can do it for reasonable prices, but if you are an audiophile(which I gather you aren't) then you could look anywhere from $2500+

[bkochuk]

Ken at Musicar was able to recommend some very nice upgrades for my '09. He understands budgets, so start with him.

[spfdenhugh]

I don't want to start any wars here, but my Bavarian Soundworks speaker upgrade made a nice difference. I do have an 08 that has the amplified system and under-seat subs. It was plug and play. Since you don't have an amplified system, I would agree with the suggestion to talk with VP Electricity first.

[Rodzilla]

Thanks for the help guys. Yes, I am nowhere near an audiophile. I just want something a little bit more powerful and clearer with out going all out on 2500+.

[ignote]

If you are on a budget and are not looking for concert hall sound, you can upgrade the system in stages. Search the forum for Blaupunkt THA-555. You can add this amp to improve the sound quality of the stock speakers and then if you want more you can start replacing speakers.