LLL

Firstly, hello out there - i've finally done the sensible thing and got rid of the Alfa 147GTA (after its 3rd gearbox) and got me an 03WRX.

Had it for about 3 weeks and am enjoying every minute of it - unfortunately however, when i'm stuck in traffic for 30 minutes every morning, the quality of the standard stereo is doing my head in. The next unfortunate thing is that I have a very limited budget in the short term to do anything about it, and the final unfortunate thing is that i'm not sure what the real problem is - hence the need for some advice.

Given that I probably have around £150 to spend, what are the recommendations for improving the sound quality (as much as you can with £150)? Over time, i'll get round to putting a top notch ICE in the car but for the next 6/12 months what should I do? Any makes/models of headunits that people can suggest in this price range that will fit, look good, sound better and give me a socket to plug the ipod into would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

LLL.

Optical Race

Hi Mate,

Welcome to Scoobynet (First Post wOOt)

I would think that there are some head units within your budget, either keep an eye on the fors sale sections (been a few nice ones there lately) on this board or go to Halfords. They normally have discontinued stock that's reduced quite a lot and a look on ebay for the relevant Ipod adapters which normally use some sort of FM transmitter that you can tune radio on the headunit into. Cheapest options iirc.

Regards

Chris

COLZO

Welcome mate. IMO Spend your money on Speakers 1st and worry about a Headunit after. Also check out the ICE section, there is alot of info there. I`ve done a thread of my install for my 05 STI.

StudentScooby

ebuyer.com - the UK's largest independent online retailer of computers, components, electronics, MP3 Players,cameras, televisions, DVD Players, car audio, software and more... have an mp3 head unit for about 50quid its got good reviews.

GE90

Hi

As suggested, check out the ICE section.

I replaced the speakers first (MY03), with components, and immediately noticed a differnce - not huge though. I then replaced the HU, and the different was much greater.
If I was to do it again, I would go for the HU first. A second hand Alpine maybe? Then Infinity components, can't be much more than £60-£70 when the budget allows!
I was given this advice before I upgraded, and would agree 100%.

Cheers!

COLZO

No disrespect to GE90 but IMO if you upgrade the Headunit 1st you will see some improvement, but the original standard speakers (which are terrible) will not be able to transform the better sound from the HU. So if you`re on a budget and you`re just looking for an upgrade rather than a major install in the future, get the best quality speakers you can afford and then when funds allow upgrade the HU. In the meantime you will have better speakers to listen to the standard stereo. Only my opinion from previous installs.

LLL

Thanks for the replies - I picked up a nice clarion DXZ838 CD/MP3 on Ebay last night for a snip at £51 delivered. B-E-A-Utiful.

When it arrives next week, i'll have a go at installing it - after reading through some threads it doesn't seem that hard - only thing that seems to have caused a problem to some people is where to drill the extra holes required in the Forrester pocket mounted below the single headunit, and if infact you need to drill 2 extra holes - anyone with recent experience fitting one in an 03WRX - advice would be sweet.

Speakers next. Hmmm....

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Go to a local Halfords etc and actually LISTEN to some speakers before buying. They don't all sound the same, and the ones other people may recommend may not suit you.

I did this and ended up with Sonys, 3-way 16.5cm in the front and the dearer versions of the 3-way 9x6's in the rear. Cost me around £120 all in off the net. (Linx at Hinckley).

I still love the sound, and people riding in the car remark on how good it is too.

Alcazar

LLL

Will do - thanks for advice.

Will the guide at the link below work on my 03? Seems pretty straight forward.

ehgp publishing ltd private pages

scoobysmiff

iTrader: (2)

a head unit upgrade will be the first thing on my list, the point to remember is, no matter what speakers you have, and they could be worth 50 or a 100 quid, they will never sound any better than the sound the head unit produces.
The source of your music is one of the most important parts of a decent ICE system purely because no matter what else is in there it all comes from the head unit to start with.
So, if you have a **** head unit which reproduces tunes badly, you speakers will get a bad signal also and reproduce bad tunes from that, if your head unit is a good un and sounds good, you will get a good signal going to the speakers and you will then have a much better chance of you speakers sounding good (within their limits obviously)

steve nic

non classic imprezas have s**t radios as standard best thing to do is bin it with a decent radio no ebay poo or cheap s**t,buy a good radio like alpines 9843 with mp3 for 150 fitted(thats what we do them for sometimes cheaper!)the speakers are ok but upgrading them is good

GaryCat

Don't forget to sell your original headunit on ebay - I got £110 for mine which went towards my new ICE.

Now, you need to replace your speakers, assuming you have about £100 left, I'd recommend these for the front

Car Audio Direct - The UK's leading car audio and stereo resource.

but whatever front speakers you buy, you will have to get adaptors (check the FAQ thread) and these for the back

Car Audio Direct - The UK's leading car audio and stereo resource.

Also get some of this - it make a lot of difference.

Car Audio Direct - The UK's leading car audio and stereo resource.

whitepilgrim

Hi

Just fitted new hu and pocket to my 05 last night
I had to drill 4 holes in the side brackets getting them in the correct position is a piece of cake.

First fit the hu to the existing brackets make sure you have it in the corrcet position, good idea to insatall the hu back in dash and fit everything back together, just to make sure.

Once your happy your hu is in the correct position on the brackets its time to fit the pocket.

With the hu still attached to the brackets put some insulation tape in the area where you intend to drill the holes for the pocket. Then carfully eas the pocket into position between the brackets and align the front up with the front of the hu
When your happy with the pockets position press hard on the outside of the brackets where you need to drill the holes ( the insulation tape is between the bracket and the pocket)
Remove the hu and pocket look at the markings on the tape and drill

easy peasy

honest

stevebennett

The o3 plate will have a cup holder below the air vents open the cup holder and undo the 2 screws. and pull this out.

The you should be able to pull the airvents out and then remove the trim for the stereo to expose the HU and mounting bracket.

There are 6 screws holding the HU in undo these and everything should just come out.

Steve

LLL

Thanks for all the advice - just finished fitting the new HU now - it looks bob on! Took about 1hr start to finish - probably would have taken a week if it wasn't for the help!!

I've got a couple of pics - the following links should work, but if they don't can someone tell me how to put pics directly in a thread??

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/Fitted01.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...n/Fitted02.jpg

Cheers,

LLL.