Can anyone in the know give me an impartial opinion please...

I have a standard Subaru double din cd/headunit in MY03 WRX.

I want to add my old Kenwood Amp, which is has a graphic equaliser built in (reasoning being is that I can tailor the sound in the car better with the amp) and cannot really afford major upgrades at this stage.

"Specialists" have dissuaded me from taking this route stating
1. "no pre outs will mean you get loads of "amp/ignition buzz" coming through the system.
2. you wont notice any benefit because;
a. the speakers need upgrading
b. the head unit needs upgrading

Are they right? Am I wasting my tim just fitting the amp alone?

 

The loudspeakers are as good as the headunit; the standard stuff is very well matched.

Sadly, all of it is very poor!

Having said that, some people have found that replacing the headunit does improve the sound. This could be, in part, due to better amplification.

I replaced the 'speakers first, and found the standard HU couldn't drive them well at all (had to run it with about +10 bass).

I would guess that you wouldn't waste your time fitting it, as if done well it will mostly be re-useable when you upgrade the HU and 'speakers (which you will at some point!). Just don't expect miracles - and please post your results.

 

The standard speakers will only handle 30w so the amp may damage them... You should be able to get a decent head and component speakers for under £200

e.g. Alpine head - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/prod...oducts_id=4670

Kenwood Components - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/prod...oducts_id=4792

and a few quid for a wiring adaptor, dynamat and the Subaru pocket to fill the DIN-sized hole. I sold my original head unit on ebay for over £100 which offset the cost of the new stuff nicely.

 

Thanks Guys,

What makes are good for a double din unit? How much would I need to spend to get a reasonabl unit?