I am cruising crutchfield and they ask about a w/ or w/o a pocket under the stereo. Which do I have. I am planning on doing a stereo make over. Supposidly I have a bose made system?
It's not very clear but maybe it will do some good.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/Wickednycowboy/Camry6.jpg
Also I am wondering what to replace with aftermarket speakers and head unit. The whole reason for this is because when I hit the brakes the cd player skips big time. When we first got the car the dealer put a new CD player it didnt do anything. But I just want something aftermarket anyway. I would really like some opinions on brands. I am not looking to go crazy.

Sorry, your picture is too dark and too small to read.

Your 99 Camry has a double din size opening for the audio system. A pocket is a little shelf in that double din area under the audio system. It fills the second din space of a double din opening, when only a 1 din sized audio system is used. Some of the pockets may have a little door on them that opens from the top.

Mike

Sorry, your picture is too dark and too small to read.

Your 99 Camry has a double din size opening for the audio system. A pocket is a little shelf in that double din area under the audio system. It fills the second din space of a double din opening, when only a 1 din sized audio system is used. Some of the pockets may have a little door on them that opens from the top.

Mike
The pocket is b/w the radio and hvac controls?

The pocket is b/w the radio and hvac controls?


That is correct, if your audio system is only a 1 din size unit. If you do have a 1 din size unit the front of the unit will be approximately 2 inches high by 7-1/8 inches wide. The front of a double din size unit will be 4 inches high by by 7-1/8 inches wide.

Mike

Its measures out to be 4X7 1/8. What are some brands to look at. My friend just put in a Pioneer Head unit and JVC Two Way Speakers in his g/fs Altima sounds pretty good. I like more bass though. I was thinking either a 10" woofer or two 6X9s in boxes in the trunk.

Don't box the 6x9s in the trunk; it will be too muffled. You can mount 6x9s in the rear deck of the car tho, and replace the factory ones. If you like bassy speakers Rockford or Infinity may do it for you. Just go to the store and test them to see your taste. JVC and Pioneer are good as well, but generally pioneer don't have the extra bass you probably want. JVC may, but you really have to listen for your own taste. Each company uses different compositions and designs and they sound different. There is no "best" way to go. Buying online is cheaper usually, but you would want to window shop in a local store that you can preview the brands. There will probably be people who will say I am wrong with how I described these brands, and again it's mostly due to taste. Kenwood can be good too, but make sure you know the model you want. Some of their low-end stuff is.... low-end. That's more of a general rule tho.

I have Infinity Component speakers, and they produce really nice bass. I imagine their 6x9s will as well. But again, you'll have to hear for yourself. If you go with Infinity tho, go with Kappa, not Reference.

As far as head-units there's really a lot of good brands. Alpine, JVC, Pioneer are the most popular. Most of the time you can just pick the one that has more WOW to it's features, they usually all put out 200 watts (50x4).

If you do replace the rear speakers, I would replace the fronts as well with matching speakers. Again since each brand uses different designs it's best if they match. But if you're good, you can mix two different kind and still have it sound great. It would just be easier to keep it uniform.

If you get a 10" sub, you will have to install an amp. If you feel you can do this, or if you want to pay someone to, it's a splendid idea. It really depends on how much bass you want. I would recommend doing the speakers first tho, and if you're still not satisfied get a sub. You don't want to put in a nice sub and keep stock speakers.

As far as subs JL Audio, JBL, Infinity (Kappa), MTX or maybe a Kenwood may fit your taste. I have two Infinity Kappa 12.1 and they produce nice, clean, and loud bass. I used to have 2 12" Alpine type S subs, but the bass was more floppy sounding and low, and not really clean and crisp. And the subs fell apart. They should have been able to handle my amp, but apparently they didn't.

As far as an amp. I would do an Alpine amp. They are nice clean and stable. And they don't overheat easy.

For the box, a ported box will give you more bassy sound. But for cleaner bass you may want a sealed box. To make a sealed box sound even nicer stuff it with polyfill. Don't buy polyfill from any car stereo place, you'll most likely be overcharged. Just go to an Arts and Crafts store, it's pillow stuffing.

Ported boxes will make a sub sound more bassy, but at loud volumes they tend to make the bass sound bad. I prefer sealed with polyfill for more clean and crisp bass. But again this is my preference. It really depends on the sub you pick and the volume and bass that you like. Also the type of music you listen to can impact the kind of system you want. Ported is generally louder, sealed is generally cleaner (but can still be loud with a good sub and amp).

How about tweeters?? Can I get like the entire speaker set up front, back, tweeters in one set? I'd do an amp no matter what. From what I understand factory system is a Bose or JBL? I have problems sometimes when I hit the brakes CDs skip and i can just tap them on smooth pavement, doesn't matter whether or not the rotors are warped or not. Will a new set up fix the problem?

A new head-unit should fix the problem of the cd skipping with the brakes. It's most likely due to the kinetic energy and the read strategy the cd-drive is using. It can also depend on the quality of discs you are using. Is your car New or Used? There is a chance that somewhere along the line the mounting brackets or bolts for the stereo got messed up. This can allow the stereo to move slightly with the g-force, and can also be a huge contributor to skipping.

I have experienced Toyota factory cd players that are really touchy, especially with burned cds. Other people have had no problems tho. I would think it has to do with the read strategy of the drive, being that it seems to be picky to the discs. Note also that many modern commercial CDs violate the original red-book standard. Such CDs usually are "copy protected," and go against the standard and manipulate certain protocol to fit their protection in. These discs sometimes have problems playing in some players.

As far as CD-Rs, there are really very few plants around the world that manufacture the discs. And the "Brands" just label them. Mitsubishi Chemical Corp is one of the best ones. I think Verbatim uses that plant, and possible Kodak Gold. If you have a device that is picky with CD-Rs, try a Verbatim, or other brand that uses "AZO dye". I've had really good experience with them.

As far as tweeters. They come in a set called "Component Speakers" You'd most likey fit them in the 6 3/4" front door hole. The woofer will replace the original speaker, and you would have to mount the tweeter somewhere. Then there is also a device called the "Crossover" that basically isolates the high frequency to the tweeters and low to the woofers. This is done not only to make it sound better, but it also protects from damage from the speakers from playing notes they are not meant to play. The Crossovers are usually the size of a VHS Cassette, but can vary. They are not too hard to find a good spot for. The Woofer, Tweeter and Crossover all come in the component speaker set (pair)

The Component speakers come in pairs, and never for 6x9, or at least none that I have seen. It is a good idea to put Components in the front, and regular 6x9s in the back. You may have to adjust the "fade" to give more power to the components, but usually they're pretty well balanced. If you go with components you will definitely want a speaker amp seperate from the head-unit. Otherwise it'd be like buying a 40" HDTV for a UHF antenna signal.

Car speakers always come in pairs. So you will have to get a set for the front and a set for the rear. But each model always come in different sizes so you will be able to match them all. With some work you can mount component speakers in the 6x9 factory holes, but that would more than likely be going overboard. 6x9 speakers should do fine with Components. That's what I have, and I have no complaints.

As far as if it's JBL or Bose, I don't know for sure, but I would venture a guess that it's Bose; if it's not just standard stuff. That has been a favorite for many car manufacturers. Generally the Bose systems also have a speaker amp, which you will want to circumvent or replace with your own amp.

If you want a really good system, you will want a seperate amp for speakers and one for subs. Make sure the sub amp is a sub amp! A lot of people use 2 channel speaker amps and bridge the connection for a sub, and it's just using the wrong tool for the job. A sub amp will generally have only one output, and will be more poweful than a speaker amp. Because it is harder to sustain high volume output at low frequency due to the longer wavelength, you need an amp that is designed for this... a sub amp!

Also a good tip is if you get two amps, speaker and sub, let the sub handle most of the bass! You'll find if you adjust the bandpass filters on the speaker amp so that they only start playing 25-50 hz below where the subwoofers end, you can get more volume out of them without clipping. You always want to overlap a little bit so that it blends. If the sub does 25 to 125 hertz; let the speakers start at 75 or 100 hz. This again has more to do with using the right tools for the job. Adjusting the bandpass frequencies can be the difference of a really good sounding system and a really bad sounding system! It is important and is often overlooked. This is best done by ear, because each speaker has it's own characteristics, and blending can vary greatly to each setup.

Another way to get more "power" out of a sub is using the amps "subsonic filter" if it has one. This will let you dictate where the frequency starts playing. Human ears can only hear 32 hz the lowest (on average). If you turn that on at 30, then the amp won't waste power trying to play 25 hz or anything else lower than 30, which leaves more power for the audible frequencies. Some people like the subsonic frequencies tho, because you can still feel them. But the lower the frequency is the more power that is needed! If you want to feel it, buy seat massagers! Use the right tool for the job! lol

Are you going to be doing the work, or having it done somewhere?

I have factory tweeters. I got the car from my mom, she had it since 99. Toyota put a new one in and we experienced the problem again and she never brought it back. So yeah. It's on its second factory deck. I think I me and my friend are going to tackle this one.

With factory tweeters you can probably fit new ones in the same spot. You may be able to find a pair of tweeters alone. But it's still best if you get them in the component set.

As for the skipping problem, it's probably a conflict with the discs you are using and the read strategy of the factory player. Replacing it with another factory player may not fix the problem. Aftermarket players usually have better parts because of the competitive factor. Crutchfield will be great if this is your first project, because they will give you pamphlets specific to the car about how to take it apart. Also you can check out InstallDr.com for info. I believe Crutchfield will provide you with any brackets or wire harnesses you need.

Yeah it's mostly my friend doing the work. I am not much for electrical stuff. I'll rebuild an engine and or tranny though. I noticed that. I think when I am ready to do this I will order from crutchfield it has just about everything you need and the instructions are good.

I will be going to try a Kenwood KDC MP2035 headunit. My parents agreed to get me it for my birthday since it's coming up soon. I've been researching speakers and component sets. I discovered the Infinity Kappas are only made for fitting in factory location. Whats a comparable front speaker?

For the fronts, look at the Kenwood KFC-P707; or the JBL GTO607C. They are similar and have a better fit. See if you can find them in a store to test hear them, or at least to compare some Kenwood speakers to JBL and see which you like more.

Fitting in a factory location is what you want, it's the easiest. The Infinity Kappas only fit in the rear deck of your car tho, you would want them in the front. That's where the problem is. So pick one of the suggested above, JBL or Kenwood (or a different one if you have a different preference) and get matching rear 6x9s.

Also note if you do go with 2 amps, you will want to pay attention to your electrical system. Keep an eye on the battery voltage (test it like every month to be sure) and if it is a maintenance battery, keep an eye on the water levels.