Help on choosing stereo stuff

Hey, I am pretty new to the stereo scene and I really know a little about car stereo. I am about to buy a new deck for my car and like some new front and rear speakers. I heard brands like Pioneer, Alpine, and probably Kenwood is good. But I want to know what things I need to look for in getting a new deck. Are there any brands and model types that you would suggest? I plan on spending about $350 on a deck. Whats the best kind I can get out of that price range with all the good features, like crossover, etc.

As for front and rear speakers, what brands and models are good? Does it really matter how much max wattage output it has on each kind to get the best quality? I heard some Rockford Fosgate speakers were pretty good. My price range on that is probably $200 for the front and $200 for the back.

I already got subwoofers and an amp to use from my sister. The subwoofers that I have are two 12" Pioneer IMPP. I really don't know the exact model type but they we're purchased about 4 years.

And as for the amp I have a Sony XM 1002 HX. Heh, I don't even know the wattage output it has so if anybody knows then please help me!

Oh yea, this is all going into a '94 Integra coupe. I know this is a lot of questions but I am new at this and I need help!

Thanks!!!

well, let's see .......

For a headunit, it mostly depends on whether you are going to use the internal amp or a seperate one(s). I usually prefer Alpine, just because they basically never skip. You will have to do a little research on which models have what features. In the $350 range, I think you can pick up a good CD player if you shop around ....... just remember, in this price range I highly doubt you will be able to HEAR the difference in CD players (the differences are easy to measure but VERY difficult to hear), so pick one with the features you want.

Speakers - my advice would be to skip the rear speakers and use $200 for an amp for the front speakers. There are a number of good brands of speakers, and everybody seems to have their favorite. Unlike the electronics, the difference in speakers can be easily heard. I suggest you LISTEN to as many speaker brands as possible. Do NOT let volume sway you though, your natural instinct is to favor the louder soeaker - so they can easily fix the sound board to make the brand they are pushing sound louder.

The Sony designation XM-1002 would normally be a 100watt X 2 channel amp. If you have anymore questions .... post on. Just remember, if in doubt - save a little more and buy the stuff you really wanted, since you will end up upgrading sonner or later anyway if you don't.

The way you judge head units and amps and speakers and subs in terms of watts is RMS. RMS is the rating for the continuous watts something gets. Its not important what the max wattage is because it would only get that max wattage at only one point in time and not on a continuous level, thats why the RMS rating was made. Now usually in head units you will see them rated starting at 40wx4 and going up no higher than 60wx4. In reality
For your head unit problems i would say go with either Pioneer or Alpine, those are my 2 favorite brands because they have great features and they are real easy to use. For about $350 you can get the Alpine CDA-7893 which has 60wx4 internal amp which is 27wRMSx4, now that is amazing power coming from a head unit. The Alpine CDA-7983 also has key features like 3-preouts and subwoofer level control along with other controls to help you tune the sound spectrum to your liking. It also has amazing AM/FM reception and the cd player does not skip when you run over hard bumps in the road. It gives you all those key features you would need. Pioneer also makes a great headunit which is DEH-P7400MP which is $330. It is a 50wx4 which is 22wRMSx4 which is also amazing in terms of power from a headunit. This head unit also has a 3-band parametric EQ which helps tune the sound spectrum with 7 different pre-set EQ curves, you can pick one for the different music you are listening to. This also has 3 preouts and subwoofer level control. Both of these head units are remarkable. You would have to go to www.alpine1.com and www.pioneerelectronics.com to find out more detailed info on these 2 headunits. But these 2 head units are both my choice.
Now for speakers I will tell you to go with JL Audio. They make amazing interior speakers. They are called Evolution speakers. JL has 3 lines of speakers which are the TR (bottom of the line), VR (middle), XR (top). For $200 for front and rear speakers you can get as follows. Since your Integra has 6.5" speakers in front and in back you would go for these speakers. In fron you could go with TR650-CXi 2-way coaxial speakers that are 50wRMS which sound amazing and cost $169 or you could get the VR650-CXi which are 60wRMS and cost $200. Now the VR series is going to sound better than the TR but both sound AMAZING! And how do i know its because i own the TR 5.25" and TR 6x9" speakers and they are running off my Pioneer head unit and they are AMAZING! They are only recieving about 19wRMS too!!! Imagine how these things would sound with 22 or 27wRMS going to them! Now i will give you this much advice. For now i would tell you to get the VR650-CSi which is a 6.5" 2-way component system that will sound spectacular for $300 and run it off your headunit which is more than capable of powering it and keep your stock rear 6.5" speakers. I than advise you to save up for a good 2-channel amp that pushes atleast 50wRMSx2 @ 4ohm to power up the VR650-CSi in front. If you decide to do this than do not get an amp that is more than 100wRMSx2 because putting more than that into this speaker might be putting its very long term reliability in harm. If you do not want to do this and just want two 6.5" coaxials in front and in back than just go with 2 pairs of JL Audio VR650-CXi's in front and back. They will sound phenominal and you will not regreat it man. I promise you! I have the TR series speakers as i told you earlier and they wow me as it is! Well those are my reccomendations. For the future i would suggest you in getting 2 JL Audio 12" subwoofers, any models as long as they are W0,W3,W3v3,W6,W6v2, and the MACK DADDY OF THEM ALL the W7! If you have any of these subs dont be bashful, they can handle a shit load of power!
Please write back with any questions about this! I hope i helped you man!

for a deck stick with alpine or eclipse... and pioneer so long as you get a higher end model. Speakers i would say JL, eclipse, or boston. There are better brands but those would suit u best for your price range

I agrree with sc cali:grey: