[mtrunz]

Want some advice from another old fart? I've been at this for over 25 years and had my own car stereo sales and custom install business before anyone in my are was doing it. I was one of the first "kids" to have a component stereo setup back in the 70's. It consisted of two Pioneer GM120 amps, a component tuner/cassette and EQ with four 8 ohm speakers. Back then everything was based on power boosters rather than todays power amps. The "booster" would boost or increase the head unit's 2 watt per channel built in amp. Unfortunately it also amplified the distortion rather quickly too. Anyway, the old Pioneer component system was the lastest thing back then because the head unit had no internal power at all. It got all of it's power from a seperate amp or in my case, amps. Today, that type of system is old news and the head units offer a nice built in amp section that can kick pretty good if you don't want to go with seperates. Enough about the origins of the modern day car audio system. I will concur with a previous member who suggested getting what you want the first time and will elaborate. It is imperitive that you understand a few things before you start auditioning equipment. First, keep in mind that distortion is the enemy. Do not over drive your equipment or you will toast speakers and smoke amps. Learn how to tell when enough is enough to keep your music "clean" and distortion free. I set my amp gains so that if some idiot turns the volume up all the way, it's not going to fry the system.
Start learning by auditioning equipment often. Bring a few CD's of different types of music that you listen to. Don't rush the process. Buying amps is fairly simple as there are so many quality pieces to choose from if you stick with reliable brand names like Alpine, Orion, Sony etc. Don't buy a Pyramid amp or some other cheapo at the local Wal Mart. There are many options regarding power & whether you want 2 channel or multi channel amps etc. Go to your local stereo shop often. That's how I learned and trained my ear to know what "clean" sound was. The most critical purchase will be your speakers and subs. You really need to spend some time listening to speakers and switching back and forth between your favorites to decide which set is right for you. An example; you have it narrowed down to a pair of Infinity's and a pair of Boston Acoustics (BA's). These are both high end speakers but sound very different. At first, the Infinity's tend to grab most people's attention because of the bright sounding tweeters and quite honestly, that sells most people. The people who rush the process and buy the Infinity's without listening more closely miss that the BA's have a much richer and open mid range and a smoother and more realistic sounding tweeter that will remain a pleasure to listen to for years. The majority of Infinity owners will be just as happy but the more discerning tastes of some will change and they'll find that same "bright" sounding tweeter annoying after awhile and will find themselves going back for the BA's. Spend the time to really listen carefully to all of the subtle sounds. It will take you some time to be able to pick up all of these subtleties but that's what makes it necessary to start listening months ahead of time and it's fun. Keep in mind that most rock music is muddy sounding in the mid-ranges so it's not always the best for demo's. I try to bring music that I know has nice horns or percussion. Acoustic guitars can sound great as well. That's why you want to bring a few CD's along. If you want some suggestions on demo recommendations, let me know.

At 43, I've had a blast with this stuff and will continue to for some time. My current system consists of 9 speakers, 3 amps and two 12" subs. The power is awesome but it's cleaner than any system I've ever had. I still have people tell me it's one of the best sounding systems around because when I crank it, the sound just opens right up. The point is, it's easy to get carried away with numbers. It's OK to start with a pair of 6x9's and a 4 channel amp. You can add the front speakers later to fill up the 2 unused channels without having to do a complete install. After that, you can buy another amp and subs. Just go out and build a system with quaility components you can crank and not have to hurt your ears listening to. You'll appreciate it one hell of a lot more and you'll get a lot of compliments. Good Luck!!!