Have $450 to spend on stereo components

[SJGSilverSL]

I've got a '99 SL that I bought used last year. Still has the factory AM/FM stereo...no cassette...previous owner added to speakers on the package tray...I think they're blown anyway...I'd like a good quality AM/FM cassette deck with either a 6 or 12 disc CD changer, and a replacement for the rear speakers. Anyone have any recommendations? Thought about a Clarion system, but I haven't done any investigating.

[ElwayLite]

well, all that and $450 you cant go super high end but you can get some good stuff....AS far as a head unit and changer, id go with a kenwood setup, and as far as the speakers, many brands are good....infinity, polk, kove, boston acoustics...even kenwood and pioneer have a damn good sound....just spend what ya can afford...but id buy the player and changer combo first and see where ya are after that... also on the speakers, 6 1/2 2 ways are all you need, a 3way is a waste IMHO.

[Whelan]

I have a 94 SL1 and I put a Sony XPlod! 10 disc CD changer from Tweeters ($270) and it is awesome. I then put infinity Reference 6.5" in the front and those were $100 (Crutchfield). That is what... 370 so minus the 450 is 80 leftover. Hmmm? I am at a loss now cause I bought two Rockford Fosgate 8" subs and a Kenwood 100x2 bridged amp for 20 bucks from my friend.

-Adam

[N2orocks]

Had clarion in my 93sl2: cassette deck, 6disc changer, EQ, Boston acoustics 6.5", 2 12" JL audio subs, PPI amp. Clarion was a great head unit and I found it to be user friendly. But that was 7 years ago and I've gone from sound to speed. Good Luck

[eRic 02sc2]

first thing you want to replace is the speakers, then the head unit. i checked out cruthfield.com to see what fits first and went from there. my 96 sc2 has 6 1/2S polk component speakers in the door, polk 3way speakers in the rear deck, and a sony cd receiver now. installation was easy using the supplied adaptor bits and install instructions that cruthfield included.

[Steve96SL2m]

I would recommend crutchfield.com also. They will set you up with very good instructions, wiring harness, mounting kit. I bought my stuff from them and was very satisfied, will definitely buy from them again.

[Heartbeat - '95 SL2]

$450 is a pretty tight budget for a decent system, so you probably won't be able to get an amp and component speakers. For the head unit, I think Kenwood have the best sounding amps. I've always hated Pioneer due to bad ergonomics -- the controls are usually not very logical. I went for reliability with my system, so got a Panasonic head unit, 6-disc CD changer, and Blaupunkt speakers all around -- total $400. Sony and Panasonic head units have weak amps, so I desperately need to upgrade. If you're going to be adding an amp later, get a head unit which has 2 sets of preamp outputs.

[JasonD]

I'd say keep the factory head, go with a new amp and speakers. The Upgraded amp will give you much better sound than will an upgraded head unit. Go with MBQuart coaxials up front for around $160-$200(keep rears stock, they are only fill anyways). Get a nice 2-4 channel amp with the remaining $250. When it comes to amps I will say that I am not very informed on the latest stuff, but good amps are Kenwood, pioneer, Alpine, stay away from sony(no one likes them for some reason). Hell, it really comes down to what you think souinds good and what is in your price range.

Final: Buy new amp and speakers for front. New head will not make as much difference as new amp.

[mzmtg]

Shop at crutchfield...but dont buy there. You can do MUCH better price-wise by shopping around, especially on the net. I would recommend splitting that money up for an amp too. Get some $200 speakers and a $200 amp to give them about 50 watts each. You'll be much happier with that than with just the factory head an $450 speakers.

You can see the setup I have in <!--http--><a href="http://bgarner.tripod.com/1995nissanmaxima/index.html" target="_blank">my 1995 Maxima</a><!--url-->.