06 GP replacing full audio system

[regirockpeak]

I recently got my first car, an 06 Grande Punto 5dr (which im pretty pleased about ) The only issue i have is that the speakers and stereo are pretty pants. I've looked around the forums here trying to make sense of everything, but I am a bit of a novice with all this stuff so I thought it best to just ask...

What i want is a new Headunit, new speakers, an amp. Sub if I can get it I will be happy, but if not it wont be the end of the world for me.
I have about £350 to play with, maybe a bit more, and will fit it all myself/with help of more experienced friends. Looking through a lot of packages and i have come across what i think are deals, but i really have no clue. so would just appreciate some feedback on them/telling me what i really should be looking for.

I cant post URL's (not enough posts yet) but if you go to caraudiosecurity, i was looking at the
Infinity: REF 6-Channel Amp + 12" Sub + 6x9 + 13cm Components deal
and the
JBL: GTO 6-Channel Amp + 12" Sub + 6x9 + 16.5cm Components deal

HeadUnits all i want is something I can plug my ipod into, so im pretty happy with what i want. Its just speakers I am unsure about, im not even sure if those ones there are the correct sizes... so really any help would be useful, thanks

 

[GavinAshford]

I believe the first thing you'll be told is forget any 6x9's/parcel shelf speakers.

And the second will be add sound deadening.

I cant help on the head unit front (I've got blue&me in my '58GP) but as for speakers,
Front speakers are 165mm (6.5")
Rears are 130mm (5") (i think) - they are 130mm in my 3door and should be the same in the 5 door.

As a novice i found matching RMS of speakers to the RMS of amps (along with the ohm numbers) a good way of deciding what to get to ensure nothing was being over worked.

Packages might seem good but if you don't mind 2nd hand you can get much better stuff for the same (or less) than you would be spending anyway - and who's going to see anything other than the head unit anyway??



If you can be bothered to read it all here's my recent experiences from my ICE project:


I also have a GP and have been slowly replacing the audio system in it over the last 4 months, adding bit by bit. It was my first time I've done it also so I was (am?) a novice too.

Firstly I sound deadened (definitely a job for the summer!) - boot floor+wheel well, rear wheel arches, boot lid, under rear seats and both doors - £35 for a huge cheep roll of unbranded stuff - I'm sure others will say use Dynamat etc but for me, it was my first time doing this so I didnt want to an expensive product only to waste it - this definitely makes a difference, even to the stock system.

I decided I wanted to keep the stock head unit, partly to ensure I kept the blue&me bluetooth and USB inputs and steering wheel controls, and partly to keep the OEM looks.

I have some Rainbow SLX265 Deluxe components (£130) in the front - be warned though, the tweeters require cutting the plastic door card on the inside and glue gunning the new ones in place, I imagine any aftermarket speakers will need this - there's a good guide in the guides section to help fitting.

I ran these from the stock head unit until I found myself an amp, I eventually found and got a suitable 2nd hand JBL 75.4 - 4 channel 102w rms @4ohms - for £50. This does have a speaker level input, however as they're never the best, I chose to use a 2nd hand (£90) JL Audio CleanSweep CL441dsp to take the speaker outputs from my stock head unit, flatten the sound and give rca outputs to the amp.

My rear speakers I left as stock and connected to the head unit for some rear fill - mines 3door GP so its a nightmare to get to them to replace them and I hardly ever have rear passengers.

Recently, to add some bass, I got a temporary 2nd hand 300w rms 10" Infinity sub for £25 - I forget the model number now, but its now discontinued since 2005ish anyway, running off the bridged rear channel of the JBL (specs say 284w rms @ 4ohm). This is temporary because ideally I want to get a shallow sub and build my own enclosure because I want to keep as much boot space as possible. But before splashing a fair chunk (£100+) on a shallow sub and building my own enclosure I wanted to make sure I (and the missus, really) found the added bass not too over powering.

Add some Knukoncepts wiring into this for £30 aswell as some other bits (rivet gun, zipties, etc)- and all-in-all I've only spent somewhere between £350-375, so far, but personally its so much better than stock that it will be the first thing I do on any other car I own.

 

[regirockpeak]

Ahh i had completely forgotten about sound deadening, thanks for reminding me.
tbh, i don't really like the look of parcel shelf speakers that much but is there more of a reason not to get them? I assume there might be a greater chance of some idiot breaking into my car i guess...

So you would recommend Component speakers for the front? because of the tweeters next to the door handle, and if i were to replace the rears (which i plan to) again Components?

Thanks for all the information though, it is making my life a bit easier.

 

[volxstu]

Having parcel shelf speakers will ruin the sound stage. A good sound quality set up will only have the mids and highs coming from the front and sub bass from the rear. That way you don't get frequencies hitting you at all angles and because of the distances at different times. It just creates a messy sound.

My advice is to leave the rear speakers as they are and use your budget for better front set up and sub. I don't even have my rear speakers turned on as my front end is loud enough to carry to the rear. That's in a stilo too which is slightly bigger than the GP.

 

[GavinAshford]

Definitely components for the front, not sure whether there are comps in the rear 5 door though - the 3 door only has 130mm mid's in the rear:

anyone know if the extra 'cone' coming out the front allow them to be classed as coax?

pic pinched from the 'changing rear speakers' guide

So if its the same in the 5 door then rear passengers would probably prefer coax in there (to give some higher notes in the back) but as volxstu says, you really want the highs solely in the front. I have to agree to not bother with the rear door speakers until you've done the front+sub and see how you get along.

 

[regirockpeak]

Right, I've finally got all the money in so I am starting to look at more specific stuff...
HU i have found this, looks snazzy and you seem to get a lot of bang for your buck (still cant post urls :bang: )
The Beat 550 is the one im looking at

Now speakers i'm still stuck at, dont know if i should go for this deal,
GTO-1004e Amplifier
GTO6508c - 2 way 16.5cm components
GT5-1204BR - 12" Bass Reflex Enclosure

which would give me everything else I want,
Or if i should get a 4 channel amp and a some better quality components for the front doors for the time being, then slap a sub on there when i have a bit more cash.

If you guys think i should wait, could you give me an idea of an amp and speakers that you think are quite good?
thanks

 

[volxstu]

It doesn't seem a bad start to me. I would personally look into runing the speakers active on the 4 channel amp and then runing the sub on a dedicated mono amp.

 

[regirockpeak]

Issue is I am pushing the budget a bit as it is, so I really don't think i can afford another amp, however I guess if I get that package then i can always grab an amp specifically for the sub at a later point.
I really just wanted to check that the Front speakers were up to scratch, and if you think they are then i shall grab that up quick snap while its still on sale.
thanks for all the info

On another note, i just want to check the mouting depth before i finally bite and buy the kit.
Im sure i read somewhere that it was 55mm (the speakers in that kit are 58 so im sure they would slip in or i will just get some rings on there) but all I can find is the mounting depth for the older puntos, not the grande.
Anyone got an idea about this?

 

[volxstu]

The difference isn't massive so I'm sure a pair of spacer rings will bring thm out far enough. Ive even used 4mm sound deadening to bring out speakers with good effect before.