Hey there you all I was wanting to change out my speakers in my Monte for even better ones I知 going to be honest audio is not my domain I知 more on the mechanical side of things but definitely want to learn I for sure am going to purchase a small sub I don稚 want anything too huge lol but I知 also wondering what radios would you recommend as well my personal preference would be something kenwood but I知 open to anything pictures would be excellent thank you!

 

Sadly, I am in a similar position. I know what I like when I hear it, I don't know how to put it all together.
I started a quest that has hit a stopping point. My 2004 Grand Am is equipped with GM's 8 channel Monsoon audio option. Because the rear Monsoon speakers die, I replaced them with an older generation Rockford PUNCH series 6x9 and re-wired them to work with the Monsoon amp (long story short, the woofer of the 6x9 is one channel and the mid-range part built into the 6x9 is another channel).

My Monte is a 6 channel setup. I have been wanting to see if I can convert it to the GM Monsoon system in the Grand Am. I am so close and stuck by one problem.... I have Rockford P1694 (current generation of the speakers in the Grand Am) in the back of my Monte, re-wired like the Grand Am needed. I have the Monsoon amp from a junk yard Grand Am and made a testing plug-n-play harness. The problem with getting the Monsoon amp in the Monte, no matter what I do (and some of it has been using a GM Tech II), the factory Chevy radios will only all adjusting Bass/Treble, they will not allow adjustment of the Mid-range. End result, unlike the Grand Am, I cannot dial in my sound to be what I want. I could put in a Pontiac radio and have it all work perfectly, but the down side is that the other reasons why I want to keep a Chevy factory radio go out the window (plus, the Pontiac ones are prone to display failures, one in my Grand Am has been repaired twice for back lighting going out).

But, I am running those Rockford P1694 speakers in the Monte, wired back the way the factory designed them and they sound pretty good. I think they would sound better with a different amp. I've been tempted to change out my front speakers.

Here are some pics of my Monsoon craziness lol. Keep in mind, this was all testing. If my testing was successful, I would have re-worked my test harness to be easier to manage and tuck everything so it would have a pretty close appearance to a factory fit and finish.

 

Rockford is good same as pioneer as well. I have alpine head unit with pioneer front speakers with Rockford rear speakers. the mix sound great. but it is also what the owner likes to be honest

 

I知 completely open to suggestions I appreciate your imput!

 

I know it's a month late, but did you ever decide? If not pm me, I'm a bit of an audio guy.

 

No I haven稚 come up with anything when I get the chance I will pm you

 

You can still PM me, but just an FYI, you have stuff like Hertz, Audison, JL Audio, Arc Audio, Zapco, Focal, Rockford...... the list goes on and on, no one brand is top dog in every aspect of the game, but the good ones are all in the hunt! There are newer, boutique brands that post a bunch of numbers, but who makes quality stuff, and who's been in the game for a long time and still makes quality stuff are the questions you should ask.

Me personally, I like JL Audio, been running JL for 18+ years, and their quality has stood the test of time, their technology has only gotten better! Priced upper mid range, and damn good. I like Arc Audio and Zapco amps, as well, Zapco is a legend in the game and Arc Audio is getting there! I currently run JL Audio C2 Highs, 2 JL Audio W6 subs, Arc Audio xdi 600.4 highs amp and a Zapco ST-2000XM II sub amp, big four wire upgrade, Singer 250A alt, and I'm killing ****!

At the end of the day, it boils down to mission, budget and tuning. Do you want sound quality, SPL, or both? Can you afford Audison, or are you an upper mid range JL Audio guy, or do you have to buy some lower level stuff? No matter what you buy, if it's not tuned correctly, it will sound like ****. Some stuff is just plain garbage, but if you spend a few bucks, and tune it right, you can buy low level hifonics and make it sound good. Just my 24 years of personal experience, been at this since 18.

A systems output, is only as good is only as good as its source input (Good in, good out). Get a good aftermarket head unit, quality speakers and an amp, bypass the factory amp, tune it with a volt meter, or even better, a SMD DD-1 (or take it to a shop with a SMD DD-1), don't touch the gain after tuning, and you'll be good.

 

But what if I want to raise or lower the volume on my subs?

LOL JKJKJK