Radio questions need clarifications

Ok, so I have been doing a lot of research on stereo equipment because of how shitty it is. I was looking to just replace the stock speakers and maybe down the road add an amp because I really like the look of the stock stereo, and I have a setup in mind that I like.

So questions:

1. Is there a way to stop the stock radio from doing the "self-protection" of removing bass at higher volumes besides the $300 cleansweep and an amp? (It just seems a bit of a rip-off to have to do both.)

2 a. I seem to be getting mixed reviews with just a speaker upgrade. I am looking into

$149 JBL GTO938 JBL GTO939 GTO Series 6x9" 300W 3 Way Black Car Coaxial Audio Speakers Stereo

JBL GTO938, but I was wondering if the stock unit could power these or not?

2 b. If I were to stay with the stock and get the JBL speakers, would eventually adding an amp help with sound, or would it just make the bad sound louder?

 

Oh, if you are going to suggest getting a new HU, it would have to have an aux in, and be able to play cds still.

 

I just installed a set of Kenwood 6 3/4 inch speakers in the back and Pioneer components in the front. And it made my stock hu sound pretty damn good. Helped a lot.

 

Replacing the stock speakers but using your head unit as the amp will sound way better than just using the stock speakers. Once you upgrade to an external amp, your speakers will sound that much better; the difference between a good sounding system and a great sounding system. I did this two stage speaker upgrade in my truck, and that's how it worked out for me. And BTW, once you upgrade your speakers, you will really want to have a sub to go with it.

 

My suggestion is to do a HU upgrade first, and keep the stock spreakers for a while.

The volume level and sound quality will improve dramatically.

IMO you will get more "bang for your buck" doing the HU first.

 

I bought speakers first and didn't like the results because of the bass adjustment issue and crackling noises at high volume. After I put in a new HU my truck sounded 100X better. Honestly just replace both or you'll probably regret it. I haven't upgraded the "tweeters" yet nor the rear speakers since they are stuck behind the headliner but my system sounds pretty good. I can't wait to replace the tweeters and summon the courage to take off my headliner to replace the rears and add an amp.

 

I agree with this 100%

 

in a system done corectly an aftermarket head unit will make NO ssound quality difference, to get the best sound you will ned some kind of interface, the clean sweek isnt bad but overpriced and no better than anything else on the market. personaly i would use the audio controll lc6i or lc7i, the only difference between the two is a sub levle knob and they only cost about 130.00 and sound as good as if not better than the clean sweep. so if your factory head unit has all the features you want why mess with the factory look of the dash. i have the lc7i in my wifes car and lc8i in mine the pre amp output you get is about 8 volts rms wich is better than all but the most expensive head units. thye also have channel summing inputs so even with crossovers in the factory amp it will give you a full range output from every channel. then you can decide what points to crossover the different channels at. i have put hundreds of these into customers vehicles and all have been very happy with the sound. you can use any amp and speaker combination you like. the best place to start if you want to do it in phases is to replace the speakers then do an amp with an adaptor like this later. if you are looking to actually improve the sound and are happy with the look and features of the factory head unit then replacing the head unit is just a waste of money. and since you have the jbl system if you replace the head unit you will still be using the jbl amp for the speakers so there really wont be any improvement. you would get some small illlusion of improvement in output because an aftermarket deck is going to send a stronger signal into the jbl system and make it a little louder but all you are really achieving is over working the already marginal factory speakers and amp.

 

platinumb, cloud you give me some more clarification on what i would need if i were to get an audio control unit? there seem to be lots of choices on their website. I currently have the single disc unit in an access cab (so four speakers and two tweeters). I will be upgrading door speakers in front, but the rears are in the headliner, so they will stay. I will also be adding an amp and sub at somepoint down the road.

 

Since you will be adding a sub later I would get the lc7 because it comes with a subwoofer level knob you can mount up front to adjust the sub level without affecting the other speakers. It makes a big difference because you can adjust the sub to suit different types of music. I'm not sure what kind ofsound you are looking for but I actually did a system recently for a friend we installed the jl audio stealth box sub woofer. Focal krx3 door speakers and a jl hd900/5 amp off the audio controll processor it sounds Fukin amazing that stuff is definitly worth looking at but no matter what speakers and amps you use you will love audio controll for signal precessing they have been building this stuff longer than anyone. I started in the industry in 1993 and have worked with there product since then and havealways been happy with it.

 

Sounds good. And this cleans out the "self preservation" stuff from the stock radio?

 

yup just remember when you are tuning everything turn the deck only to about 3/4 on the volume and use the level controlls on the audio controll to bring it up to full volume the output from the deck is distorted above that point so you want that to be full output.

 

Sounds good. Will be saving this info