What's the best way to piece together a nice sound system

[rdrunner]

Hey 4Runner audio gurus!

I'm contemplating starting on a new sound system for my truck. I have the JBL Synthesis setup. I'm looking for more clarity (without becoming strident or sibilant), tighter sound at the higher volume levels, more and much tighter bass.

Though I'm not set on the details, the basics of what I'm thinking of are:

Head Unit: Pioneer AVIC-F700BT (or there-abouts)
Front: Infinity 6.5 components (Reference or Kappa, not sure yet)
Rear: Infinity 6.5 coaxial (probably Reference here)
JL Stealthbox sub (I want tight bass that hits pretty hard but maintains my cargo area)

So easy enough, right? Problem is I can't really do all this at once. I just can't swing it all financially. I'd like to break it up into thirds if possible.

So what I'm hoping to get some help with is figuring out how to best break this into steps.

My initial question is this: Which part (speakers, head unit, sub) is going to give me the biggest bang initially? Where's the best place to start knowing the next steps might not happen for a while. From this question comes many other questions like "new amps or just stick with built-in for now", etc.

I'm not new to audio but I'm pretty new to car audio and I know some of you are especially familiar with 4Runner audio in particular. I appreciate any help or advice you can give.

Thanks,

Rob
:cheers:

 

[Clemsonfan15]

For what you want to achieve I think you have choosen good equipment.

I would definitely get the head unit first as it will make a pretty big difference.

 

[rdrunner]

For what you want to achieve I think you have choosen good equipment.

I would definitely get the head unit first as it will make a pretty big difference.

Thanks for the advice, that's nice to hear. I'll start looking into a head unit and go from there. Choices choices...

 

[Clemsonfan15]

No doubt. The choices are many and they are hard. I know you probalby know this, but I would go into car audio places and see if you can mess around with their head units that are on display. Maybe even try Best Buy or Curcuit City.

 

[jeffrosheen]

I love Eclipse and Focal products. The security on Eclipse head units are second to none. Had several over the last 8 years with no problems ever

 

[rdrunner]

Yes, lots of choices! I looked at the Pioneer AVIC F series - they're really cool but I'm concerned with the apparent bugs and the boot time was just too much for me. It's so cool though.

I like the Eclipse but I haven't decided if I'll get Nav due to the price. I have a nice portable nav with a 4" screen that serves me well when I need it though it is nice to have it all in the dash.

I want great sound with the ability to shape it fairly well. Navigation is secondary and I want to keep the cost under $600 - preferably around $500. If I decide to do without nav this looks nice:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Source/AV-Receivers/AVH-P4100DVD

I haven't seen any Focal products - not in person anyway.

Shopping and research is half the fun to me.

 

[Woody17]

i put the infinity kappa 60.9cs in my maxima when I had them and they were the best investment I made in the car...i also had the 6.5" 3-way kappas in the rear but the components were awesome.

ridiculous loud, clear, plays all kind of music. I just bought a 4Runner...actually has not even been registered yet, but I plan to put the Kappas back in.

i'm also contemplating the stealthbox...its just very expensive...i'm trying to justify the cost of it...what do u think?

 

[kimboy]

Keep shopping around. The 10" W3 in the Stealthbox was one of my options, but I opted for a Boston Acoustics G5 enclosure that I got on Crutchfield for 250. I can take the sub out of the truck whenever I need the extra cargo space, and the weight of the box is only 40 lbs.

If you want great sound quality, I'd go with a custom box to meet the manufacturers specs. But, that can eat up your cargo space real quickly.

 

[Gtmurray]

I love my Pioneer F700BT it does take like 30 seconds to boot up but with my remote start i just crank it about 5 min before I leave the house and its up and running when I am ready to go.

I am looking to sell my Alpine CDA-9856 with Ipod Connector Cable since I have my F700BT. Any offers just send me a email and I will get back to you. Its in great perfectly functional condition.

Good luck with the search-