Fast Ca$h

I want to upgrade the stereo in my 97 limited 4runner and here's what I've been thinking of doing. Upgrade the head unit to the Alpine CDA 7894 or something similar that'll play mp3's. I have a 10 inch sub in an enclosure that I want to use, I just need an amp for it. Basically, I can afford the head unit, an amp for the sub and installation costs, but I don't think I can upgrade the speakers just yet, or afford to amp them for that matter. I may not want to if this system sounds good enough. How would this system do just using the Alpine's power for the stock speakers and a 2 channel amp for the sub? Anyone have this same or similar setup, and if so how does it sound?

Are there any wiring concerns I need to be aware of since the stock front speakers are seperates?

Any suggestions on a basic amp for the sub? Its a Kicker Comp 10" (probably not the best but it was free).

rowan

well for the sub, the first thing you want to do is find out how many watts it is. then get a amp with similar power.

i have a very similar setup. kenwood headunit, stock speakers, and a 500 watt 10" MTX sub run by a 2 channel 600 watt kenwood amp. sounds great! i was also thinking about upgrading the speakers but now i dont think i need to. the headunit really helped with the sound quality. you should be fine with the sub. and if you want to, you can always upgrade in the future.

4FonZ

well, my opinion is...the speakers are the most important upgrade you can make....

the sub will definitely make things sound better on the low-end...

and i'm not sure if replacing the head unit makes the system sound better b/c of sound quality, or just b/c you have more power and it's "louder"....

you really can't appreciate how much better aftermarket speakers sound until you listen to your speakers and then to someone else's aftermarket speakers...

but it's not a bad place to start, add to your system piecemeal and save up for speakers later....

Cebby

I'm with Rowan on this. I have an Alpine head that I just finally put in my Runner. It must have better dynamic range, cause the stock speakers never sounded so good. I wouldn't worry about the separates, just get a Metra harness and plug-n-play. You can always upgrade your factory speakers later.

midiwall

Speakers are often the weakest link in a mobile audio system. *Especially* when you're talking about factory speakers that are 5+ years old!

The cones in many cheap speakers (i.e., most common factory sets) are based on paper of some sort. They're rarely sealed, and as such will absorb moisture in the air. Have you ever noticed mushy bass response and muddy low-mids on a humid day? That's why.

I replaced my front door speakers with a pair of Kenwood KFC-1738's for about $80 and the difference was incredible. Three years before that, I had replaced the head with the higher end of the Sony Xplod line (at the time) and a Kenwood Equalizer. It wasn't a killer system, but it was light years beyond the factory "premium" system.

By far the largest change came with the speakers, and that included _disconnecting_ the door pillar tweeters that come with Toyota's system. They were just shrill.

About 6 months after replacing the front door speakers, I put the same speakers in the rear doors. That brought on another dramatic difference.

The end result is that I have a MUCH tighter bass and no mud in the mids. The top end is much less shrill - cymbal strikes don't fizzle, they have a nice clear sheen to them.

You can supplement up the sloppy lows with the factory speakers by using a sub woofer. But you're just covering up the real problem. Start with an investment in decent door speakers, _then_ add the sub and see what happens. If you start with crap, then all you'll do is make it smell sweeter.

dhammeraudio

I have several contacts in my area for Car Audio Components if anyone is interested. Near wholesale prices. I have an excellent Ebay Reputation.

Travis

If you're interested in that Alpine head unit, I found it on this website http://store.yahoo.com/brilliant-sto...a7incdpl1.html for $300.

If you get this unit, please post a review of it. I've had my eye on this mod for a while. My 12 yr old factory CD player is giving me fits.

Good shopping site www.froogle.com .

dajabr

Just My 2 Cents since I just put in a new system in my 1st gen.

A. SR5 stereos are pretty good and may still do fine with better speakers. They look stock, which may disinterest thieves too.
B. Deluxe models have crappy Heads AND speakers. Duh.
C. I didn't believe it, but you don't need the huge thick wires according to a multi winning stereo competitor who built my boxes. I Ran the stock size wires on my left 6x9, the thicker wire I got at best buy on the right, and I can't hear a difference after weeks.

Fast Ca$h

Wow Travis, that's an awesome price. I went to my local Custom Sounds shop yesterday to check it out and it retails for $399. The shop manager Had one in his truck (dodge full-size pickup) and gave me a quick demo. His Alpine was running the stock speakers (seperates) and a huge amp pushing three 10" subs (can't remember the brand or power rating). It was plenty loud! Anyway, it sounded awesome and had so many cool features. He had a mp3 CDR that sounded just as good as a normal CD. For mp3's that lose some sound quality it has a media expander which kinda emphasizes the highs and the lows. It had total bass control including timing which would be good for us SUV owners. The readout read the file names exactally as they were named, it kept track of folders as well as files, told the file size of each song, dual amber/green illumination is a cool feature (I still prefer the original Alpine green), the entire face even tilts to the desired angle... He even said it has inputs so you can hook up a DVD or laptop and run it thru the stereo. Unfortunately he did not have XM radio installed, which I was interested in hearing more about. He also didn't show me the remote control.

Overall, this seems to be a very cool unit. In the five minutes that spent listening to it and going throught all the features, I absolutely fell in love with it. I just have to get it now!
I know there's several other members who already have this deck and love it. I heard about it through the forum. Try doing a search on cda 7894 and see what comes up. I would be willing to do a full write-up review once I get one installed. Hopefully that won't be too long. Maybe next week at the earliest.

DavidO06

Hey, i have the Alpine 7894 in my 4Runner. I changed to that from a pioneer. The sound quality is much better. I really like it and recomend it. One thing i would recomend is getting a warrenty if possible. The only bad thing i have heard about alpine is sometimes the mechanical things (motorized face plate) tend to be a bit buggy. But i dont have a warrenty and things are still working fine. I also would recomend installing it yourself. It will save you a lot of money, and it isn't as difficult to do as it sounds.

turboale

I agree with david,
I have an older alpine with the flip down face, and sometimes it gets really moody... if i angle the face up, when i turn off the car and turn it back on, it won't hold a disk for about 5min... then it will finally takeit. its really weird, but other than that I love my deck. It really helps the stock speakers out too. Unless you are trying to out bump the local civics, a good single sub with a decent amp will be plenty. Ive got an MTX 12" with a 700w amp and it hits plenty hard for me.

White SR5

What are the pre-outs on your Alpine head unit? Some will say MOSFET 4x50, so look for something like that. Also, what's the wattage on your 10-inch sub? You probably will be alright for now, but I'd say go with an amplfier for your speakers first. If yours are 5.25 or greater, you'll get some midbass with them. Low-end bass and subsonic come wih the sub. It enhances it, but you don't go around listening to just bass notes when you're in the 4Runner.

Jason B

I have an older ALpine 7982 in dash 3 disc changer. I love this setup:

Skydigger

I have the Alpine 7894 in my 2nd gen. Works great. I really like the 4volt output on the RCAs to feed my amp. I'm running it with JL separates on some MDF panels I built to really bring out the mid-lows and a couple of JL 8" subs in a custom box in the rear. MTX power under the passenger seat. It's a great system.

Here's some pics, not super-pretty but quite functional.

Warren

2wheeler97

when getting subwoofers, first thing to consider is how much space you can manage to lose without it being a hassle with storage issues. Find the best placement and dimensions, then find a sub that works well with the space restrictions. After getting a sub, look at the wattage on amps. If you have a sub with an R.M.S. of 200 watts, don't get an amp with any less than two-hundred. I have two kenwood subs, 300 watts R.M.S. each, 800 watts max. I only have a 600 watt amp, so I actually do better with one amp bridged than two on separate channels.(Any one close to Santa Barbara, Ca. and want a sub, write to me.) Basically make sure the max power on the amp is more than the R.M.S. of the speakers. If you are going to use one sub, get an amp that gets close to twice the max output as the R.M.S. wattage of the sub itself. Hope that made sense.

A+

skydigger-U have a real nice hu, its not all about the bell and whistles.Love the red interior u got, it looks pimped out!

Skydigger

Thanks. I hated the red interior when I first bought it but it's kind of grown on me. Only beef is that when the sun fades it, it goes kind of purple.

Sure cleans up nice though.

Oh and 2wheeler, good points on the amps. Double the power is a good rule of thumb. You want all the headroom you can get which allows for undistorted peaks in the music.

Warren

2wheeler97

It keeps the amp from being driven too hard to. The last thing you want is a killer sub, and an amp to blow out on you. When a speaker is at its max, or near it, you can hear it, an amp, you can't, until you hear a pop and sizzle from it, and that's a BAD thing!!

PirateFins

Fast Ca$h,
I sent an e-mail to you but I don't know if you got it. Anyway I have a Pioneer 140W x 140W amp still never used new in the box (never got around to installing it) that I am trying to get rid of. E-mail me and let me know if you are interested. It's a great amp to dive subs with.