Originally posted by chill1110:
Thanks Bill Nye
You're welcome, but what's the Bill Nye [censored] for?
Replace the HU first it will make the most difference, then do your front speakers if you still want more improvement. It's fairly straightforward so I didn't think a two page writeup on it was necessary. A quick search over the last month will answer any of your other questions, but lets do this anyways.
HU for around $300-$400? That's pretty much any HU made right now. I'll suggest the CDA-9835 because I am most familiar with Alpine. Eclipse, Pioneer, etc... all make perfectly good HUs and at any price point the difference between them is pretty minimal so go to a shop and play with them all until you decide you can live with one day to day.
For door speakers, really pretty much all the 6x8s/5x7s all sound the same, don't expect alot of bass and don't expect a night and day difference. The door locations in the Contour suck and bass response from anything in there is really just a dream.
You won't have to amp them to sound better than the stock HU. I can reproduce music better with my ass than that piece of garbage can. Take it out of your car and smash it, you will be doing the word a favor. Seriously, the "premium" stereo in the Contour is one of the worst stock systems I've ever heard in my entire life.
If you do get that unit posted by cthomp21, be prepared to buy new speakers as the stockers will die fairly soon after installing that HU. But instead of looking at 6x8s, spend a little bit less on the HU (meaning get a mid level HU, you obviously won't be needing 90% of a high end model's features) and spend the difference on a decent set of front 6.5" component speakers. Make a plate and pop them in the doors. Well worth the litte extra.
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