stereo system price shock

[toddwarren]

Ok all you members I need assistance. My son wanted a new stereo system for his Lightning so I went by JRs to get a quote.
3 grand I know by my face they knew I was about to crap myself!!!

they quoted 2 10" subs in a custom box behind the seat.
1 993 Kenwood head
some HD 600-4 amplifier
2 speakers in the door.

Sounds a bit high for my liking all thoughts appreciated!

[whitelightning'02]

:eek:

[RSVT]

try a pawn shop, theres nothing wrong with some used subs, a bought a 1-10" JL Audio W7 for like $80 bucks, and that speaker goes for $700 ea.

1 is all you need also, it sounds like i have king kong in the trunk....

[0'Lightning]

I have a JL 10" behind my driver seat, and Infinity door speakers with a 1k watt amp on the sub. Sounds great, defiantly enough sound for me, but sometimes I think I wouldnt mind adding another 10". When I turn my stereo all the way up I feel like I could have more base, but the door speakers sound crisp as can be. I can turn it all the way up, and walk 100 yards away and can hear it like its parked right next to me.

[Silver_2000]

I had a Earmark do mine a few years back and one sub with nice amps and good speakers on all for locations was under 2k


You price sounds really high to me

[tucamote]

Wow thats way too much for what you are getting.

[Shiner1]

WAY to high. You can pick up some good stuff at the pawn shops as stated before and do the labor yourself. I've got 2 10" subs and an amp that replaced the prior hardware for less than $500. It's not gonna win any awards but It's good enough for me. Hell I have a hard time hearing the music anyway...:rll:

[L8 APEX]

head units are cheap if you don't run the touch screens with nav and iPod control. WalMart and others online have a cheap double din with nav for 400 bucks or so. Of course stereo stuff is #1 to get ripped off by crooks. I would get him a nice head unit and replace the stock speakers to start with. It won't have much bass but he would get a lot more enjoyment out of the touch screen and iPod controls with nav than a CD player with bass.

like this one.
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_20833_Clarion_NX409.aspx
or
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_23332_Kenwood_DNX5140_RB.aspx

Then about 150 for all 4 door speakers
another 60 bucks in install gear.

These are decent door speakers with good mid bass.
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_20482_Kicker_07DS680.aspx

Alpine and Infinity have better voice and highs with les mid bass.
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_18369_Infinity_Reference_6822cf.aspx

[toddwarren]

I want to assure everyone I am not considering 3K for the job.

I will price Earmark on Beltline.

Maybe JRs has helped to many rich people and has not realized the

recession is still full bloom!

Thanks for the comments so far.

[BC Lightning]

Ok all you members I need assistance. My son wanted a new stereo system for his Lightning so I went by JRs to get a quote.
3 grand I know by my face they knew I was about to crap myself!!!

they quoted 2 10" subs in a custom box behind the seat.
1 993 Kenwood head
some HD 600-4 amplifier
2 speakers in the door.

Sounds a bit high for my liking all thoughts appreciated!

James has always been high on prices. He does a ton a work for Mavs and Cowboys players. He had a $85,000 custom Dune Buggy that Vanilla Ice bought a year or two ago

I bought all of my system stuff off ebay and had it 2-3 days later, then took everything to a shop to have it installed in my Tahoe. The mark up on speakers are ridiculous!!!

[ZeusSVT]

I'd go with what Michael has mentioned. Buy it all separate and then have a shop install it. There are shops in town with reasonable prices, but theres still tons of mark up on the equipment regardless. That's where they tend to make most of their money.

Try Car-Toys in Frisco, if you really wanna CHIT yourself. :d They are thru the roof on markup.

[BC Lightning]

I'd go with what Michael has mentioned. Buy it all separate and then have a shop install it. There are shops in town with reasonable prices, but theres still tons of mark up on the equipment regardless. That's where they tend to make most of their money.

Try Car-Toys in Frisco, if you really wanna CHIT yourself. :d They are thru the roof on markup.

You wouldn't believe how much cheaper you can find stereo equipment (from a preferred seller) on ebay. I bought a JL audio HD 600/4 amp for $485.00 and it was at my door 3 days later. MSRP is $799.00. You just have to be careful on who you buy from.

All I have to do now is get the sub box made and have everything else installed

[BC Lightning]

Todd,

here is a JL Audio HD 900/5 amp

http://cgi.ebay.com/HD900-5-JL-AUDIO-AMP-5CH-500W-HD-SERIES-AMPLIFIER-900-5_W0QQitemZ120509555641QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Ampl ifiers?hash=item1c0eede3b9

nice thing about it is one amp controls your front/rear speakers and subs, more than enough power and cheaper than buy two separate amps. then all you need is subs, front/rear speakers and a head unit

[Sandman]

Hmm.. That's interesting. I've been out of the stereo scene for several years, but I have never seen an amp rated at 1.5 ohms.

[toddwarren]

Appreciate it Michael and everyone elses input. Michael I would assume that is the Amp JRs was trying to sell me for 700.00!

I have priced Earmark on Beltline and they have quoted me 1,600.
not including tax for an Alpine head unit, 2 speakers one 10" sub with a box and 1 amplifier.

I am getting the feeling I would be better off trying to buy the stuff like Michael and Terry has mentioned.

[BC Lightning]

Appreciate it Michael and everyone elses input. Michael I would assume that is the Amp JRs was trying to sell me for 700.00!

I have priced Earmark on Beltline and they have quoted me 1,600.
not including tax for an Alpine head unit, 2 speakers one 10" sub with a box and 1 amplifier.

I am getting the feeling I would be better off trying to buy the stuff like Michael and Terry has mentioned.

Looks like the one JRs quoted you was the JL Audio HD 600/4, I got it off ebay for $485

I like to buy things piece by piece, that way I can shop around, get the best deal and not have to drop $3,000 all at once

I know the stuff James sells is top notch stuff, but he also marks it WAY UP!!

[1stlightning]

JR's is high on their stuff. I have a couple friends that worked there and told me to get my stuff somewhere else. I would definately go the e-bay rout. I purchased my speakers and amps on e-bay and saved about 30% - 40% on retail from shops. I then took it to Car Toys on Rufe Snow in North Richland Hills. They built a custom fiberglass box and I had it painted to match the truck. Total on the box, paint, and install was less than 800.00

[toddwarren]

Michael what head unit and speakers did you decide on?

[BC Lightning]

Michael what head unit and speakers did you decide on?

I had some focal ploykevlar's already, theyre awesome components, I bought them off ebay 4 years ago, they're hard to come by

I went with the Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT for both my Tahoe and Lightning. The reason is because I wanted built in navigation, not the ones that require a nav cd, it has blue tooth and syncs with your iphone so you can make calls through it, and it has a cool nav app. You pic a route or location on your iphone, it syncs to your head unit and maps out your route on the screen

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/In-Dash/GPS-Navigation-Systems/AVIC-Z110BT

Again, I bought both off of ebay for close to $500 off MSRP which is $1,400

Here is a Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT for $930

http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-AVIC-Z110BT-2-DIN-7-DVD-GPS-NAVI-BLUETOOTH_W0QQitemZ280446893709QQcmdZViewItemQQptZ LH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item414beffe8d

I also bought the subs in a package deal off ebay for around $550.00 ($275.00 a piece and MRP is $440.00 each)). Theyre JL Audio 10 w6s and are brand new, never installed.

I also have the number for a guy who does mobile installs, he mainly does home audio but has done car audio for 18 years, he's in Vegas right now for some electronics show, but will be installing my Tahoe system, I can e-mail you pics after he's done and show you his work, he's bringing his table saws to my house to build the sub box and mounts for the 3 way components in the doors

[toddwarren]

Yes please send those pictures Michael. I priced the components JRs wanted to sell me online and can get it for 1,100.

Earmark best price on same equipment is 1,700.

They are trying to spook me with if you buy online you dont have a warranty if something breaks!

Heck for the price difference I think I will take my chances.

Michael obviously you buy alot online any particular vendor for this you recommend?

[Silver_2000]

there are some old posts here about a former lightning owner who did stereo stuff - aqua sound I think he called his business - did a nice job on my old boat - you might try to contact him - I think his name was scott

[BC Lightning]

Yes please send those pictures Michael. I priced the components JRs wanted to sell me online and can get it for 1,100.

Earmark best price on same equipment is 1,700.

They are trying to spook me with if you buy online you dont have a warranty if something breaks!

Heck for the price difference I think I will take my chances.

Michael obviously you buy alot online any particular vendor for this you recommend?

I look for the cheapest price with shipping from a "top seller" that is a business. Through ebay woofers etc usually is the cheapest,m and is even cheaper on ebay than they are on their own website

I don't buy extended warranties, cause honestly everything comes with a 1 year manufacture warranty, and if it breaks after a year, it will probably cost the same amount to replace as it did for the warranty

I'll pm you the guy's number that I use for my installs

[L8 APEX]

I have had good service with both Sonic Electronix and Online Car Stereo. I stay way from refurbs and buy new. I would do all four cab speakers.

[BC Lightning]

I stay way from refurbs and buy new. I would do all four cab speakers.

+1 I make sure its brand new, not used or refurb

[smbony9]

mtx make a box for 2 10s but it only 500 watts max i have bucket seats with a console in my 02 lightning i have a pro box with one 10 on 600 watts there not enough air space for 2 10s and have leg room i did mine my self

[BC Lightning]

mtx make a box for 2 10s but it only 500 watts max i have bucket seats with a console in my 02 lightning i have a pro box with one 10 on 600 watts there not enough air space for 2 10s and have leg room i did mine my self

Not true, There is enough room for a custom sub box and 2 tens, just depends on the subs. Most run 2 JL Audio W3 10s, good all around sub, doesn't require a lot of power. I have only run custom sub boxes in my Lightnings, my new one is being built is a single downfire box for a JL 10W6.