Replacing HU and door speakers
 

Hello,

I know essentially nothing about car audio, so I thought you guys could help me out.

I have a 2014 370Z + Sport. I'm looking to replace the stock head unit with a Pioneer-AVIC-6000NEX. I also plan to replace the door speakers with whatever 6.5" speakers I come across (haven't looked at these yet really).

My question is: Will I have to have any type of amp or extra items to have this installed? I will most likely take it to a local audio store and let them install it, but I don't want to go and have them sell me unneeded hardware.

I apologize for my ignorance.

Thanks.

That's a nice head unit. I would pair it with nice speakers (Focal, Hertz seem to be popular) powered by a decent amp. Do research on the speakers and amp (plenty to be found on this and other forums). Buy online and take the stuff to a shop for install.

If I'm only getting the door speakers with this head unit, will I really need an amp?

ANY speaker is going to sound better with an amp, Especially if you end up with component speakers with a crossover (a tweeter and mid range). It is not necessary to HAVE to run an amp though.

If you are going to be doing nice upgrades to the head unit and door speakers, have you thought about putting a small sub in? If you went with an 8" (or 2) you can 1. have a much better sounding system 2. make the subs basically invisible 3. run a 5 channel amp and have your whole system running of one. I think you will be happier doing it that way.

I was planning on testing the waters without a sub first. I don't listen to music with a lot of bass typically and I'm more about clarity (The Eagles and Led Zeppelin are not exactly bass thumpers). If I had a sub, it would probably just end up turned way down anyway.

I may change my mind after the upgrade, however.

Well thats exactly why i recommended an 8" woofer. 8's will not give you any type of really deep bass because they dont have much excursion. 8's are perfect for listening to rock and that type of music. Just nice tight puncy bass that complements a nice clean sounding system.

Gotcha. Thank you for the help. I'll look into prices and see how it all budgets out.

Apparently I have to buy Christmas presents for other people and not just myself. How inconsiderate others can be.

What a horrible horrible ordeal

I just bought a set of Image Dynamics ctx65cs speakers ($230) and paired it with a used pioneer amp I picked up on ebay in awesomr condition for under $100.....Best set of speakers ive ever bought. Ive done a lot of audio. I really like the pioneer avic line and used them on more than one occasion. but pick up a good set of comps and a 4 channel amp to bridge 2 channels for a small sub...anyhow that's what id recommend.

also the ID CTX65cs speakers have reaaallly good mid bass for comps you may not necessarily need a sub with them depending on your likes. im running them without a sub currently...

Just buy local, don't be a Ebay shopper and then expect any shop will gladly install stuff you bought on Ebay. Most shops I deal with will not install product you didn't buy from them. reason is they can't offer any kind of warranty on their work with unknown products.

I buy online and install myself...local shops mark up stuff extremely high.

What would you consider extremely high?
Things to remember, shops have overhead, the build and staff are not free, warranty returns are not free, and sometimes not covered, but the shop looks after you, at least the shops I've bought or worked at.
As well most brands have minimum sale prices, which authorized resellers have to go by. Online, you are at risk. Local, you have a place to bitch if something goes wrong.

I'm not saying don't buy on line, well I am, but if you do, don't expect a shop to jump at the chance to install it for you, and if they don't, or wont, don't bad mouth them, they have very valid reasons for not.

I just bought a sub and enclosure off of our sponsor....and some stuff from crutchfield all cheaper and more friendly customer service than anyone local.

First things first, welcome to the forum!

I would like to reiterate what some others have said: a decent amp for ANY aftermarket speakers is never a bad idea. The NEX headunits are pretty nice (I have one myself and enjoy it immensely), but there isn't a headunit out that has enough grunt to really drive a set of speakers efficiently, the NEX units included.

Having said that, adding a sub is really a matter of personal taste. Some people really dislike the idea of adding one, but you don't have to be a basshead to really appreciate the benefits of a sub. There are some component speakers designed to deliver excellent midbass response, but quite honestly I've never heard a set that can satisfactorily produce the full audible range. A subwoofer can help achieve this and really give your music a nice, full sound, whether it be the Eagles or the latest hiphop.

My suggestion to you if you are really on the fence about adding a sub: get the amp no matter what, but get at least a 3 channel and while you have the installers installing your HU and speakers....HAVE THEM RUN THE SUBWOOFER CABLES ANYWAY, even if you aren't going to take advantage of them right now. If you should change your mind down the road and decide that you do want the sub you already have all the infrastructure in place and won't need to tear apart the interior of the car all over again.

Best of luck!

Well bro, This is my setup!

My amp is Precision Power PPI 900.4 (900watt 4 channels)- it's the phantom series so it's really small and easy to tuck! I placed it between the spare tire and behind the brace(?) bar that's behind the seats under the styrofoam to keep it hidden. Got a 4gauge amp kit with that.

My door speakers:
Since I am not an audiophile but still wanted sound quality bettter than base.. my friend recommended me to get Alpine SPR- 60c. They are component speakers and hearing them in person before having them installed i fell in love with them because I am a clarity over loudness guy! Although they may not have as much bass as other speakers, that's why ill get to the sub.

My Sub.
I am using an old solo baric l5 and the zenclosure box. I have it wired to take up the other 2 channels I didn't use on my amp (the each component of the door speakers using 1 channel) and that alone provides more than enough bass I'll ever need. Considering the Z is a small car interior wise, I figured I didn't really need rear speakers.

To answer your original question:

No, you wouldn't need an amp to run both the HU and the door speakers, but if you don't have one, your speakers may be underpowered and may not be getting the amount of signal it needs from the HU to produce what they were made for

Good luck!

If you want acceptable sound quality, then yes. In my younger and more ignorant days, I ran a subwoofer off a Pioneer HU. I now know that what I thought worked pretty well at time actually sounded terrible. If you're going to upgrade the speakers you should run an amp to them.

You cannot underpower a speaker. That being said, amplifier power never hurts, just not an absolute necessity.

You can't underpower a speaker but what happens is people don't have enough power and turn it up louder than it should thus introducing distortion and clipping.

Agreed. However, if your speakers power handling capability is much higher than your HU power, you can clip it all day long. Distortion just sounds like hell, it doesn't harm anything but your ears.
The problem with adding an amplifier is the same, though. Most will set the gains wrong, and clip it anyway.... Now you're at a higher power level...Poof. there goes your speaker.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm going to go to a couple local shops and see what my options are from them.

:confused:

First, I go to eBay to buy cheap crap cheap, not to buy quality stereo equipment. There are plenty of other online sites that aren't people selling stuff out of their basement.

Second, major online retailers, such as Crutchfield or Amazon, have better prices and better customer service than any retail shop with very few exceptions. Warranty is generally from the manufacturer anyway, not the retailer, so there's no difference there.

Lastly, any shop that refuses to install equipment you bring in yourself is a shop that I have no interest in doing business with. If they refuse work because you didn't buy your equipment from them, it's most likely because they didn't get their markup on the equipment purchase. Any good shop will not hassle you over this. I've had a shop spend hours on the phone with Crutchfield trying to figure out an install, and it turns out they were missing a part. Crutchfield overnighted the part at no cost to me or the shop. I didn't even have to get involved as the shop just took care of it. That's what a good shop (and good online retailer) should do. The audio shop may not have made a ton of money on my job, but they have made much more from the additional customers I have sent their way because of the stellar service I received.

Just to clarify, I'm not against local spending. In fact, I'm all for local spending. Unfortunately, most electronics are sold in big box stores that aren't truly local. Any real local electronics shop is generally significantly more expensive than the big box stores, which are generally more expensive than online retailers. And it doesn't help that the big box stores only hire idiots that can't answer even basic questions about the products they sell. Crutchfield is far more helpful on the phone than employees in the car audio install bay at Fry's or Best Buy.

:iagree: That's the truth. I'm all for buying locally as well, But finding a dealer nearby that sells what I specifically want is basically impossible.
A close friend of mine owns a shop nearby, and is an authorized Pioneer dealer. When I was shopping for my P99, he tried to get me one through his channels, but Crutchfield was the ONLY place even authorized to sell it.. too bad for him, but he understood. I also drove 100+ miles to Philly to a shop for my Hertz components. (that's only because I'm a lunatic, and wanted them in my hands that day) or I would have bought them online.
Point is, not everyone has access to a local shop that carries anything worthwhile. And although if I need something that is carried locally, I don't mind paying a little extra, but Most high end stuff is special order, so you need to wait for it anyways. Why am I paying local shop guy a markup to place the order for me? That's just foolish.

I'll always buy my produce from local sources.....anything else is up for grabs.

I supported my 370z site sponsors for most of my stuff. Something wrong with that?

i support amazon 134% :tup:

I just talked to the guy from my local shop and he said that he would install anything I bring in.

He said: "Install on the door speakers would be $35 if they are coaxial speakers or $85 if you get a component set. Installation on the headunit would be $125 and if you wanted to run the amp wiring it would be $50 plus any necessary wire."

So I'm pretty set on the HU. Do you guys have any recommendations on speakers for around say $150? How much would an amp cost and what would you recommend (I'm not looking for anything fancy obviously)?

As mentioned previously, The Alpine spr 60c 's can be had for around $150. As for amplifiers, well, there are literally 100's of brands, and prices from here to eternity. Your best bet would be to set a budget amount for it, and give us something to shoot for......

I actually have the AVIC 7000NEX and I got it on Ebay for a pretty good price. More functionality that the 6000. In reference to the HU part don't get the AXXESS module if you plan on keeping your steering wheel controls. I'm actually looking at NVX for my subs and speakers.

Gotcha. Would the $100-$150 range be too low end assuming I get the Alpines you mentioned and I don't get a sub?

OP, you don't NEED an external amp, it is recommended for better performance from your speakers. However you are going to get better quality from your new speakers and head unit then with the stock system. It's basically to be had in steps and stages, options as well. However keep in mind dropping 300+ on a set of speakers and only running them off the 18-22 watts RMS of a head unit is basically chocking their performance.

Big basically summed up everything already discussed in this thread.
However, you will not be "choking up" the performance of your speakers by only feeding them 20 watts or so, as he put it. In essence, that statement says that your sound quality is degraded every time you lower the volume. That's just not the case.
I have heard people say things like "these speakers love power", or these speakers "come alive" with more power. Its all BS. the only thing they do with more power is get louder.
An amplifier does (or should do) one thing, and one thing only. Amplify. it does not color the sound in any way, shape or form. if I does, it is of poor design.
Conversely, speakers are meant to do one thing, and one thing only...Recreate the signals they receive. Some do this better than others, and that is why you can pay $10 for one, or $1000. Linearity also comes into play. To say a speaker sounds BETTER with more power is questionable, at best. To say it is LOUDER is a more accurate statement.
Your system is only as good as its weakest link.
Buy the best stuff you are comfortable paying for.

So how does this look?

HU: avic-5000nex (chose this because I really don't need the HD radio)

Speakers: Alpine SPR-60C

Amp: Precision Power P900.4 Phantom Series Class D 900 Watt 4-Channel Amplifier

Anything you would change or anything else I need?

If your going with an amp go with something a littler higher quality. Such as one of these.

MB Quart RA400.2 Reference Series 400W 2-Channel Amplifier

JBL GTO-504EZ 4-Channel GTO Series Class A/B Car Amplifier

Alpine KTP-445A (ktp445a) Plug and Play Head Unit Power Pack for

Given a choice of the 3, I'd go with the JBL.

Soundstream REF2.370 (ref2370) 300W, 2-Channel Reference Series also worth a good hard look.

So I keep seeing some of these amps at 2-channel compared to 4-channel.

What is the tradeoff of going with 2 instead of 4?

Once again, pardon my ignorance.

You can bridge a 4 channel amp into 2 channels and produce more power from them. Or a 2 channel just gives you 2 channels you can use for your speakers.

OP, what did you end up buying?