Hello all, first time poster here, so please take it easy on me. ;)
I was very unhappy with the stock system in my 05 Trailblazer. A couple of weeks ago, I had a retail chain install an Infinity Reference Series Amp (7540a), Infinity Reference 6010CS components in the front, 6010I coaxials in the rear, and and Audiobahn Bass Cylinder (ATB10AT). This was all using the stock radio. Last week I upgraded to an Alpine 9855 HU.
While it is certainly an improvement over the stock system, I am just not very satisfied with the overall sound quality and would like to upgrade the speakers and amp. The retail chain said I could return all of the stuff I bought from them within 30 days, so I have about 10 days to get this all wrapped up.
As you can probably tell by my previous purchases, I have no clue what I am doing. I have a budget of about $1000.
I listen to metal and hard rock for the most part, though I do listen to classical pretty frequently as well. I prefer a clean, natural sound that is not too harsh or bright.
I'd also like to replace the sub if I could squeeze it into my budget, but I use the vehicle for work and can't have anything permanant or hard to move. The priority for me right now are the speakers and amp. I am very happy with the Alpine 9855 HU.
As inexperienced as you say you are, you've done a good job so far...
I'm not sure what it's lacking but I would guess you're not satisfied with the bass output. I think the key to making your system sound better would be to take back the Bass Cylinder and get an actual sub and box. I'm also not sure what your budget is, but Rockford Fosgate, MTX, and Alpine are good places to start for subs though JL is one of my personal favorites.
If you need the space underneath...look around (possibly q-logic) might have a box for a 10" or 12" sub that goes underneath the seat. Or even ask the shop to build one for you (Probably $200). That would save you lots of space and headaches at work, plus damage to the sub when loading things in and out.
There is a definite lack of mids/bass from the components, and the bass cylinder doesn't really help. It's hard to describe, but the sub sounds as if it is just out of place, more distacting than complimentary to the music. I'm not looking for big boom at all, I just want something that blends in with the music nicely. The shop I bought the Alpine 9855 from suggested a single 10" Alpine sub box, so that it is small enough to remove when I need to. They also suggested an Eclipse "5" channel amp so that I wouldn't have to add an additional amp for the sub. However, the reviews on Eclipse amps that I've seen are not the greatest so I'm leary of going in that direction.
Overall though, I think I'm most unhappy with the speakers. At high volume, voices get lost and everything just seems to get muddy. At mid/low volume the highs just sound too harsh. The shop did tune the system after the new HU was installed, which made it better, but it's still not anywhere near what I'd like to be.
I love the idea of adding a sub under the seats, but there's no room. The rear seats fold down, so there is literally zero space under them and the front seats have only a couple of inches of clearance.
thats strange are you sure that the amp to those speakers is giving it enough power and that the settings are set correctly because those speakers are supposed to be really good for the price
Well, the speakers are 90W RMS and the amp is 111W RMS x 4 @4 ohms. I'm assuming that means there *should* be enough power? The gain on the amp is turned only about 1/4 of the way up. It seems to introduce a lot of background noise when turned up any higher. The amp was an open box display unit, so maybe it's faulty?
As bad as I am with the technical stuff, I do have a fairly discriminating ear. My home theatre setup has Polk Audio LSi series speakers, an SVS sub, Pioneer AVR and a Rotel amp. It has a very clean, natural sound that I'm trying to come close to in the car.
I realize that a $1000 budget for speakers and an amp isn't going to get me the best of the best, but I'm hoping that I can improve on what I have.
Thanks again for all the input. Please, keep it coming!
The rear seats fold down, so there is literally zero space under them and the front seats have only a couple of inches of clearance.