What is the best way to start with audio?

What is the best way to start with audio?

Hey guys, I own a '02 Corolla LE, completely stock.

I don't really wanna do anything performance-wise yet so I decided to start with a decent sound system with some BASS (I'm a big crunk music fan) so I can have some good entertainment while I drive to and from school (junior in high school).

I see that many of my friends start by just getting a pair of subwoofers and a box, and stick it in the trunk. Then, they said they got some equalizers, amps, new speakers, etc.

I think these stock speakers are pretty good enough? I don't know.. whats yall's opinion on the stock speakers of the 02 rolla?

Also, I have a casette tape that has a audio input into the car audio, that i connect to my sony mp3 player. That is my main source of music, the quality is very good.

I think I'll just get 2 subwoofers and a box, and stick it in the trunk. That may be my first step, seeing that I don't have a LOT of money to start with.

So, from you guys, I need opinions! What do you guys think? What exactly do I need to start using these subs?

Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

First thing, get a decent deck, a quality deck makes a big difference in the quality of the sound, especially later on if you get subwoofers and component speakers, etc...

What I would do, get a decent CD Deck that supports MP3's and has at least 1 pre-out (for your sub)... do you have 2 or 4 speakers in the corolla? Since it's an LE, I'll guess that you have 4... personally, i'd get 2 sets of speakers, a good set of components up front and a good 2 or 3 way speaker in the rear... then i'd get a sub/amp combo and an amplifier for the speakers...

exactly wahat I was going to say.. almost word for word... and on the subs cause you like crunk whitch I would assume is rap then you would want somting larger maby a set of 12s run off of about 1000 watts (sence you don't listen to rock you don't need the crisper hit you get from 10s, 12s are just freaking loud )... and a dynomat (or the like) trunk kit would make everything quieter (rattle wise)... adn behind your speakers in your doors too...

Definitely a big fan of Dynomatt and completely agree with the 12" vs 10" subs...

What if i kept my stock speakers and my stock deck, and just got 2 subs and box, and a amp.

My budget isn't too high. I'm going to build this sound system over time.

most subs won't sound too good if you just use your stock deck... you will hear the singing and other music insted of just the bass... its also easier to blow your subs like this... if you want to keep your stock speakers thats cool.. It will sound way better with aftermarket ones but will sound fine with just the stockers... but a deck is always a good investment right off the bat... infact you will get better bass responce out of your stock system with just a new deck...

ok lets put it this way.. if you think that your speakers and deck sound good quality wise then you will be happy with 2 cheap subs and a cheap amp... it will give you bass although not great in qualiy but it wont sound worse then the system you currently have!

If you want a nice sound system you start with a deck liek everyone said... then after a while you get a set of front components and an amp for them.... and can keep the rear speakers running on the head unit power or you can just pull them out...

a Good set of components will add a good ammount of bass.... then you move onto subs and an amp for them

In the end you will spend shitloads of $$$ Im talking thousands for a damn nice system.... I easily have on just amps! But if you liek the stock sound and just want some extra thump youll be good with a ported 12" sub and an amp..... wont take too much room and itll sound decent.... 2 12's or 2 10's are overkill.... plus porting it will give you about the same increase as a second sub... also 1 sub is a lot smaller of an enclosure...

Give us your budget and which route you want to ake and we can go from there!

*shutter ported boxes* eh to each his own..

I know what you mean about spending a hell of a lot of cash on amps.. my system in my blazer I had 800 watt amp for my 2 10s and 2 400 watt for front and rear speakers... I transfered the 800 and the subs to the rolla and got a new head unit and speakers... I think I've spent in the nehborhood of 3000 on amps and shit alone... and am looking at amps for my JL speakers

or u just go to pepboys by the Visonik 2 10" subwoofers with box and amp and wiring kit like i did, it thumps pretty good it only cost $99.99

good starter system... you still need an amp tho If I remember correctly

i didnt say I had a ported box... he wants it loud!

However when done correctly a ported box can sound REALLY good... just gotta make a good good box and have to tune it to the correct frequencies and block the wrong ones... i like sealed a little more... and didnt even have the space to think about porting my sub which would sound great ported!

the pepboys kit comes with a 400watt amp

speaking of dynomatt, should i put a trunk kit on mine even though i only run a single basslink? it rattles pretty descently...

If it rattles, it couldn't hurt... what usually rattles is the bracing against the sheetmetal... a low expansion foam that you spray into the recess of the braces helps with that also...

i dun hav dynamat and my ride does pretty good preventing rattles... the only times i can hear rattles of the bumper is when i crank up high on my subs but i rarely do that... imo toyota does really good on sound proofing already from stock...

The trunk of my car rattles pretty loud. I have a 150 watt amp powering a 12" Kicker comp. The bass is plenty loud inside the car, but outside the car you hear the rattling over anything else.

R34... what kind of budget do you have anyway? The old saying goes "The team is only as strong as its weakest link."

Personally, I'd start with a deck. Installation on the 02 is really simple (i've got an '01) so you can put in the deck yourself (hell, if I can do it anyone can). I reccomend getting a deck w/ 2 pre-outs and atleast one of those pre-outs being an independent subwoofer out. That way you can control just how much bass your sub sends out w/o adjusting the volume or bass output.

That's just me though... Have fun with your system!

wow, only 150w... what's the rms of the amp and the reccomended rms on the sub... you could be under powering it and that'll only cause you a world of problems in the long run!

As has been said before, a deck with a specific subwoofer output is going to help out any subs you put back there. I had a friend pick up a deck without sub outs and a set of 12's...I heard it, and by the time he had it turned up where he liked the bass...the sound coming out of his main speakers was so distorted I wanted to cry. I told him to take the deck back and get one, even if it was a cheaper one...with a sub-out. He came back a few days later with a new deck and sub-outs...and the fact that it places control over sub bass separate from speaker bass, really cleaned the whole thing up.

I put together a system made of an old DF-600-U Panasonic deck, a pair of X-plod 10's, a rockford amp, and a box for MTX subs for less than $700 that sounded perfect for what I wanted. Granted, the amp I picked up used and it was a 750. I blew somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-14 subs in less than a year...

My two cents, go with the deck for starters.

My other thoughts if you want cheap. Get a job at Best Buy for a week or so, just enough to kick in the employee discount. Sounds like a lot of work? Kinda, but when you start getting everything at price not retail you will love it *Friend got a set of Alpine type s (?)* for under 50 dollars with his discount.

Other opinion, become a big crutchfield fan. They have pretty decent sales from time to time and the fact they throw everything you need in w/ purchases is a help on the budget.

The Best Buy idea is a good one, depending on how long it takes to get the discount (up here, Future Shop, which is owned by Best Buy, you have to be there for 90 days, not really worth it).

Another option, shop around on eBay, just buy from someone with a high positive feedback and a decent amount of transactions... I bought an Infinity sub like that on eBay, mint condition, worked perfect, and it was almost exactly half the price of the stores up here...

Nope it's a pretty good setup. I bought it from Tweeter/HiFi Buys as a bundled set and I've run the setup for two years now without any problems. Don't remember the rms on the sub, but it's less than 200, so its a good match for the amp. It was a good starter setup, but now I'm looking to upgrade to something with better SQ.

I think he told me there was a small waiting period before you could get discounts, but it was like 30 hours of employement...nothing like 90 days. It probably varies from region to region I guess.

dude.. that system ruled.. I miss that car...

ALRIGHT GUYS! I see all of yall have plenty of suggestions and I think i've come up with a decent setup. Tell me what you guys think.

First off, I'm prolly gonna spend under 300 for this system to begin with. Then i'll work my way up to some new speakers later, etc. when i get more $

I found this guys: http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/bundleDetail.do?oid=86765&bundleId=1838&c=1&cm_re=main%20marquee-_-Buy%201%20Infinity%20sub,%20get%201%20free-_-Save%20$190%20on%20combined%20purchase%20of%20Sony%20amp,%20subs%20and%20sub%20box

I read the reviews, and so far they have all been positive.

I also took the advice regarding getting a new deck into consideration. I think i will go ahead and buy a new deck, since almost ALL of you guys recommended to do so.

So yeah, theres my "plan". $240 for the package... and ?$ for the new deck. i NEED SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEW DECK? Which brand is good? Which would suit this package?

Thank you guys so much for the help!