Ok, so I've got the car, now what audio upgrades?

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NightSurge

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Being as that I am a complete car audio noob, I was wondering if everyone on here could recommend a good $500 system that I could buy? I would have it installed somewhere near myself, and if anyone knows of any reputable brands or who to avoid, that would be helpful.

Basically, my first priority is to add some bass. Nothing over the top like 1200W subwoofers, but just enough to about double the stock subs performance. Also, the speaker quality isn't the greatest, so if you could recommend a 4 speaker set, plus amp and subwoofer(s) that would be the best quality for my budget? I would like to keep installation in that $500 budget, but then I'm afraid I'd be getting nothing, so $500 for parts and I'll assume installation is probably another $50-200???

So basically recommend:

A set of subwoofer, amp, and enclosure only.

or

A set of 4 speakers, subwoofer, amp, and enclosure.

or

A set of 2 subwoofers, amp, and enclosure.

Whatever fits my budget and would sound the best. Preferably keep it under $500 or as cheap as you can without sacrificing quality. Again, I'm a COMPLETE noob here when it comes to car audio, so basically I'm guessing to even get a good 10" sub and a good Amp will be hitting the $500 mark?

MAIN PRIORITY! - Single Amp, single sub, single enclosure for under $500. <<<--Focus on that.
 
All my car has right now is a fosgate 100 with a single 12" sub. Wouldnt have been my first choice but it was already in the car when i bought it and i didnt feel like screwing with it. Does the car still have the stock head unit? If so i would suggest replacing that and getting some decent speakers and just pick up a sub/amp later.
 
You mean in case I wreck or the car gets broken into so I can get my money back on the audio equipment?

And showing my noobiness here, but by head unit, you are referring to the car's stock cd/cassette/am/fm player, right? If that is the case, yes it is still the stock head unit. I really don't even use CD's though, so investing in a high end CD player would be wasted on me :( I just use an FM tuner for my iPod.

Would this be good for a head unit plus Apple iPod support?

JVC - Apple® iPod™ Adapter For JVC iPod-Ready In-Dash Decks - KS-PD100
JVC - 50W x 4 MOSFET Apple® iPod®/Satellite Radio/HD Radio-Ready CD Deck - KDG340

Or would I just need the deck/cd player listed above and not the iPod adapter since the deck already has a 3.5mm audio input for iPods.
 
What kind of car is it? A good 10" with a good box should cost around 100-150 and another 100-150 for a decent amp. Unless you are going for the speaker on wheels thing, a 10" will be more than enough to augment the factory stereo. The reason i suggest a new head unit is because 99% of the time they wont have RCA outputs and using those converters is usually pretty craptacular.
 
i have a pioneer deck and i love it to death. its really nice and simple and works well. has the ipod feature built into it so i plug in my ipod, chuck it in the glove compartment, and am good to go and control it straight from the deck. also if you want tight punchy bass, go for an 8" or 10" sub, if you wanna be that guy rolling around bouncing slightly at stop lights, then go for 12"+ but the bigger they are the more costly they are. i would go with a 10" and you can add another if it isn't enough for you. and yeah get a good amp, like a 4 channel if you wanna run extra speakers off of it or just run the speakers off the deck and buy an dual channel amp for the subs if you might add a second one later. only problem is you'll have to get a new amp if you want aftermarket speakers i feel.
 
It's a 2000 Ford Mustang. Yeah, I think for right now, all I would want is a single 10" sub, with a single channel amp (just for the sub) because I will only have this car for another 3-4 years max and don't want to put money in that I won't get back when I sell it. So you think I should upgrade the deck to something like this:

Newegg.com - Pioneer CD Receiver w/Remote Control and AUX Input Model DEH-2000MP

then this sub:
Newegg.com - VALOR VPB10T 10" 500W Slim Line Subwoofer Enclosure

This amp looks to be future proof for me, plus its cheaper than a 2 channel pioneer??:
Newegg.com - VALOR VPA1005 2200W 5 Channels Bridgeable Amplifier

That brings the total to $380 after shipping. Good or no?

Feel free to advise and make changes. Just how big of an AMP would I need for say up to an 800W sub? The one I have right there is just a 500W that came with an enclosure already, so that's why I chose that. Would that be enough to double the stock bass at least?
 
I would shop around a little more, newegg may be good for computer parts and rice cookers. But prolly not the first choice for amps and car audio speakers.

memphis makes a 1000watt monochannel amp that you can easily pick up for $120.
 
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