aftermarket Vs OEM Options

[njccmd2002]

even tough the celica came with amplified system, and I yanked it out, I have tried to get a good sound system and im yet to find something good.

Ok for example I have a alpine, top of line cd player with an amplifier to speakers. and the sound was not very good compared to when i plugged in a scion FRS Radio, to test for sale.

I was amazed how the OEM radio, sounded better and much nicer than my alpine stereo.

I know the speakers have a lot to do, but why do some oem stereos sound much better than the aftermarket ones.

What are some characteristics i need to look at?

I want to upgrade my stereo, but i dont see anything out there that calls my attention. Now a days stereos are nothing but a bunch of fancy lights. Call me old school, but i like the nakamichis a lot, because of the simplicity in design, but the fact that they have almost no ipod or iphone capability sucks...



but they are very expensive, alpine has dissapointed me.. and their speakers are somewhat garbage. used to get a nice sound of the old stereos, but now a day, it seems u need to run an amp for every head unit.. And i dont want that....

i dont want flashy big UFO knobs...

i like this a lot..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nakamichi-MB-X-Bra...=item1e5dd38b73

i dont know if this is a rant, or stupid. but I want to be pleased with a stereo, yet i dont find anything...

[Syaoran]

Not all cars project sound equally, so it's not fair comparing one car's sound to the other.

Place more importance into the materials the speakers are made of rather than the price point, brand, power handling, etc

OEM speakers are all paper cones and composite tweeters (some are metallic tweeters).


OEM speakers aren't crystal clear but they offer decent sound up until they distort. Paper cone speakers offer a "warm" sound which is easier on the ears than a stiffer speaker, but they don't handle lower frequencies as good as stiffer speakers do.

A good rule of thumb is that the stiffer the material of the speaker, the brighter it will sound. That's why metal dome tweeters are so damn bright (I personally dislike them)

Perhaps you'll find lower-end (paper) speakers will sound better than a set of higher end speakers to you. Also, don't get coaxial speakers. The tweeter needs to be mounted closest to ear-level to give you a good sound stage. Component speaker sets are the best.


If you're into warm sound (OEM-like), get fabric dome tweeters (silk dome are the warmest), and paper cone speakers.

Bass is for the subs, getting bass out of your speakers is more hassle than it is worth in the end. It's better to get a 10 or 12" subwoofer than can handle frequencies a little over 100Hz and a little under 35Hz, with the best performance between those two frequencies, more inclined towards the lower end.

Dayton Audio HO 12" DVC subwoofers are ****ing awesome. They're the cleanest subs I've heard that require minimal space and power (I used 500wRMS in a 1cuft box)