Is this stereo guy full of BS?

[Devilboy28]

I went to a shop called Ovation. They sell mostly high end stuff, and I have taken 4 cars there in the past with good results. I take my Bird in yesterday to have an Alpine devk and 2 12" subs installed, and the salesman tells me I have to replace all of my factory speakers because I have the Monsoon system! I told him to forget the whole thing and left. With the deck, new speakers, 2 amps, subs and box, it was going to be $3600!!! So can I just have a new head unit installed without all the drama??

[TheRealWave]

You do not need to replace speekers or monsoon amp if your just putting in a new deck. If your new deck has preouts they go to an amp that goes to the subs.

[megabass]

Holy cow, that's a lot for that setup. Even if you did replace all the speakers and get two amps a deck subs and box, you should be able to do it for way less than that. I'm curious as to what box they were trying to sell you. You can probably get one from me for less. Or, v6maro has one for sale that I made for him and it's an awesome performer and a good deal. Did he show you a breakdown of how much the individual pieces cost and how much the labor would be. That's the worst part. Paying somebody 30-40 (or more) an hour to rip thru your car and do that. This is why I learned a long time ago to figure it out and do it myself. I'm sure they do a nice job compared to say best buy or something. But those places just like to have their way with you and your money IMO.

steve
www.subthump.com

[Devilboy28]

They were gonna custom make the box, and $650 was for the construstion and install of everything.

[pigglyroot]

yeah, he's an idiot.

[jamie]

HEY, I HAVE A GREAT DEAL ON THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE!!!!!!!!!!!1

[96firebird311]

If you just want an aftermarket h/u, no adapters are needed. You can keep the whole monsoon system and change the deck. Just get a wiring harness and an install kit and you will be set. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[megabass]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Devilboy28:
They were gonna custom make the box, and $650 was for the construstion and install of everything.<hr></blockquote>

Doesn't sound like they really want your business pricing stuff like that. It only takes like 5 minutes to install a new deck. Running wires to an amp might take awhile, but not 650 worth. And who knows how long they'd screw around with the box. I bet you could get a couple friends to help you do it if you bought them some beer. (if you're old enough--that is). Then you could take all the $$ you saved and go buy some sound deadener or something.

[naptown]

Ovations is the best but their prices are high but havent you ever hear of
"You get what you pay for"

[jamie]

installing stereos is very easy. its just running wires that are a pain in the *** . and an FBODY isn't that hard to run wires. we have a hole in the firewall behind the PCM. the head unit comes out nice and easily. there's plenty of room along the sides of the car to run wire. easy ground where the spare tire is. very simple. parts can just get expensive.
H/U - 300$
Sub - 300$(top of the line)
Speakers: Front - 200$
Rear - 100$
Amp - Subs(300$)
Speakers(200$)
box - 300$
Wires - 50$

thats about everything and roughly half of what you would of paid. maybe some of those prices could go higher, but either way you are saving a ton of money.

[Devilboy28]

Thanks guys! Now get this:
I called him back and told him about this thread, and my conversation with a few other F-body owners and what everyone has said. He said "those guys don't know what they are talking about. we do All camaros and Trans-Ams that way. It sounds like they are telling you a bunch of lies." My reply was rather loud and I also reminded him there was a difference between Firebirds and Trans-Ams. He told me "go somewhere else then, but your stereo won't work". :rolleyes:

[TheRealWave]

I did all mine myself. HU/subwoofers (box by megabass) amp, ran wires. Mine has been working for a year so far. I dont think i did anything wrong. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
I have pictures of every single step but i dont want to shrink 80 pictures otherwise id show you.

[Bliggida]

He's telling you a half-truth. You can install a head unit with an external amp and subs.

But what he is talking about - with the Monsoon system, the front speakers and I believe the B-pillar mid-bass drivers are 4-wire connections. If you try to hook up a regular 2-wire speaker to them they will distort, by either not having the tweeter active, or sending bass to the tweeter and having no component.

The Monsoon system has a built in crossover along with the amp, and for this reason you can't just hook up replacement speakers. You'd have to rewire your doors and (most likely) run another external amp to power those door speakers and mid-bass drivers due to their size.

Its more of a problem if you try to upgrade while still retaining the stock head unit. Less if you are getting an aftermarket head unit.

Why aren't you doing the work yourself?

[Devilboy28]

Lazy. I'd rather pay someone that knows what they're doing. It's always just been easier and faster to pay someone.

[slacker69]

I still have stock head unit and a 5 channel PPI amp powering 4 spreakers and a sub. Had no problems till i was rewireing something and blew the power supply on the amp.