Questions about upgrading 2005 OEM system

[davebutch]

Up front, I'll admit I know very little about amps and subwoofers, but I want to upgrade the stock system in my 2005 EX-L. I'd like to keep the OE head unit and CD changer.

I've already replaced all four door speakers with Infinity's and they made a world of difference. I'm considering adding an amplifier and replacing the stock subwoofer with a better aftermarket one, using the advice from other posts on this forum. My questions are:

1) Will I get much bang for the buck by just adding a sub with an amp driving it?

2) Would I get more bang if I used the amp to drive both the sub and the front door speakers?

Any guidance will be appreciated.

[THE215]

Hi Dave whats your budget?

You can do this a few ways:

1. You can add a Mono amp to power your sub

2. You can add a 4 channel amp to power your front stage & bridge the last 2 channels for a sub.

I see you made a change to aftermarket door speakers but they would sound much better amped.

[nsaspook]

Originally Posted by davebutch

Up front, I'll admit I know very little about amps and subwoofers, but I want to upgrade the stock system in my 2005 EX-L. I'd like to keep the OE head unit and CD changer.

I've already replaced all four door speakers with Infinity's and they made a world of difference. I'm considering adding an amplifier and replacing the stock subwoofer with a better aftermarket one, using the advice from other posts on this forum. My questions are:

1) Will I get much bang for the buck by just adding a sub with an amp driving it?

2) Would I get more bang if I used the amp to drive both the sub and the front door speakers?

Any guidance will be appreciated.

What's the budget? A nice 5 channel amp should handle the power in a small package.

5 channel amps with speaker level inputs.

5-Channel or more Amps (Speaker Level Inputs: Yes) | Car Amplifiers | Car Audio | Car Audio, Video & GPS at Sonic Electronix

[davebutch]

Thanks for the insights. I was hoping to be in the ballpark of $200 - $250 with the upgrade. I foung a remanufactured shallow-mount MTX subwoofer online at a decent price - the one that others have used in their Pilots.

I'm leaning towards amping both the sub and front door speakers. So, you feel amping the front door speakers would make a noticeable, worthwhile difference?

[nsaspook]

If you like to listen at moderate levels an amp will make the speakers sound much better with lots of clean power without clipping. I don't know what the OEM unit per channel power is but it can't be more than 15W rms at most per channel.

It's a lot of work to run the amp power cable and connect everything so I'd get something that can handle all 5 speakers and rewire all four doors now even if you currently plan just on the fronts and sub. Upping your budget to $350-$400 will allow you to get a 5-ch amp for future upgrades.

Something like this should get the job done.
2500W Boss CE2505 Chaos Epic Series 5-Channel Power Car Amplifier

[THE215]

Check out this page, keep in mind 5 channel amps tend to be more expensive than regular amps.

5 Channel Amplifiers | Five Channel Car Amps

I have the Kicker 10xz700.5 in my truck now giving me 420 watts for my sub. It really makes my Polk door speakers stand out with clarity. There's lots of good amps on that page that can satisify the average listener. I have a 12 inch 300 watt sub and the 420 watts going to it is plenty enough but I want more. I have the sub in a custom built box & it pounds but I don't have enough patience to remove the stock sub and put something else in there. If you are gonna do it you have to sound deaden the area and your doors because what most people don't know about the Pilot it has no real insulation for the sub & that's why it rattles.

The 5 channel amp is an option or you can this route with a mono block amp for the sub:

WoofersEtc.com - TXA-1000D - Cadence Class D Mono Power 1000 Watt Amplifier

That's a good amp and it will provide plenty of power for a sub at a decent sound level.

Or you can go with this Soundstream amp - that's one heck of a deal for a nice amp.

WoofersEtc.com - DTR4.500 - Soundstream 4 Ch. 500 Watt Class-A/B D-Tower Series Amplifier

Either of those 2 amps will do for a nice system also. What's nice about the 4 channel you can amp your front speakers & bridge the last 2 channels for a sub & have your rear speakers run off the headunit.

Either way you can choose what's best for your listening environment.

[davebutch]

Thanks to all for the information. If I do opt for the new sub, I will use Dynamat and polyfill in the cavity. The 4-channel amp with two channels to the front and two bridged to the sub sounds like the option I would go with. Right now, though, I'm still in the pondering stage. I'll post if I move ahead with an install. Thanks again.