Quality 6x9 speaker options for stock non-JBL third gen?

Same here. However, I would never actually use them for anything other than something outside of my knowledge base, but I have purchased last minute items that I just needed right now.

 

Not even close. Integrated head units simply require more knowledgeable installers. There's numerous shops here in Houston, but my wife and I took our truck to a shop in Clearwater, FL, simply due to the extreme quality of their installations. It was worth the time, effort, and cost.

 

5Star?

 

Yep

 

Absolutely close. 20 years ago car stereo shops were everywhere and BestBuy had about 1/4 of their store dedicated to the market. You couldn't pull up to a traffic light and not get bounced around from some $500 civic cranking out 40K watts through a $4000 system. The fact that you had to take your car to Clearwater is a pretty good indication that the business is a fraction of what it once was. HU sales dropped by more than 60% in a 10 year period. The business is dead. I agree that they have to be more knowledgeable, but it has really become a niche market.

 

My “not even close” referred to integrated head units killing off installation shops. Don’t know where you’re from, but they’re still plentiful here in the Houston area. Hell, every moderate-size town up and down the I-35 corridor has them too. Simple fact of the matter is, while many of them could have done the install for us, I’m past letting run-of-the-mill shops work on our vehicles.

 

Nice. I follow them and CAF. I've learned so much from their videos and practicing, I'll never see an installer again.

The one in my area doesn't solder. Hard pass

 

Of course the integrated HU is killing and will eventually kill the business. The beauty of the aftermarket stereo was the Deutsches Institut für Normung standard. AKA DIN which had the 180 x 50 mm spec to which to which many OE and almost all aftermarket stereos were made to. This is what allowed for the proliferation of models and the business boomed when you could slap any stereo in any car in the late 80s. Also led to the break in of many vehicles for their Blauplunkt or Alpine. The more vehicles integrate the audio into the dash along with ac controls, vehicle info, etc., the harder it is to go aftermarket because you lose functionality. The lack of a standard means that these integrated systems are doing a lot more than just thumping bass making it even more difficult to justify going aftermarket.

 

I always wondered what DIN meant. TIL.

 

I went to a local stereo shop this morning, considering a Kicker Hideaway install. $500 out the door, but he said it won't do anything more than add bass. I told him I did not want to spend a lot of money so he worked up a quote.
Thoughts? $2500
Not to hijack a thread here, there are some great JL audio speakers on his estimate.

 

That's weird, I used a direct snap in splitter that pulls signal from the rear and turn on to the amp from the factory harness.

Speaker level signal to a mono amp with proper inputs then out to a 10" sub. I don't have any problems at all, gain at less than half, no boost and plenty of bass.

 

I am far, FAR from being an expert on anything stereo related, but I think there are a few ways you could save a few bucks if you want. Replacing the front and rear speakers yourself is super easy. You can also take that time to add sound deadening to the doors if you would like. As far as the labor on the LC7i, amp, and sub; I have never installed those before. Also, $20 per bracket seems a bit much to me. Crutchfield just includes them with a speaker purchase.

I'd say, if you want to save some money, there are areas where you could do the labor yourself and/or find the speakers at a reduced price online. However, if you're going for convenience, it's nice to just have someone else do the work and get it over with. Personally, I would not pay that amount of money; but there are also plenty of people who would.

 

I was thinking the same. I could handle the dash/door speakers myself. Maybe I'll just have them do the KickerHideaway.

 

So I have 16’ DCSB just recently did the Subaru kicker tweeters but with all these threads had anyone did just front doors and tweeters with non jbl stock hu? Everyone stating you either have to add amp, key, aftermarket HU. ‍♂️ I’m not an audio tech savvy not trying to get roasted either.