Same hear, after looking at the different head units, picked a Kenwood because it had better audio settings. A lot of the radios added "flashy" features I would never use, while leaving out good audio adjustments. Got the Kenwood KDC-BT952HD, it was a bit more than I was looking to spend, but plan to use many of the features in the near future. The way I ended setting it up, I have no complaints, the bass is powerful, yet not overwhelming (their is still headroom to turn it up) Being able to save the stock sub box was a huge plus to save cargo room. The stock box will never bump like a 10" setup, but again the revamped bass box level is good match to the rest of the system.cptnsolo77 wrote:Im planning to pickup a Kenwood Exelon HU as well. Im going the same route as you did...quality speakers, HU & sound deadener. So far with just my factory unit, speakers & 3 doors "deadened" ( I have one door left ) my bass response is REALLY nice with 6.5" speakers. I just want to top it off with a good HU. I like the Kenwoods because they have so many audio settings. Im just curious, how is the bass boost ? Thats a BIG selling point for me cause I dont want to get a sub. If I could squeeze a bit more bass out, that would be great.
so you did not bypass the stock amp and used both HU amp and stock amp to drive the speakers? hmm... I was just fearing I would blow the speakers doing so... but I guess if you replace the speakers as well, they would handle more power.GTeezer wrote:I just upgraded my "Moon & Tunes" system on my '04 GT. I got my system through Crutchfield, which they supplied the free GM adapter harness - which has the blue and white stripe "amp & antenna turn on wire". I got a Kenwood system;
Kenwood Excelon KDC-X796 CD Receiver, Kenwood KFC-P709PS 6-1/2"/6-3/4" Component System (front speakers and tweeters), and Kenwood KFC-1694PS 6-1/2" or 6-3/4" 3-way Speakers (for the rear). They also sent for free the speaker adapter wire harnesses, the 1 DIN bracket to mount the HU, antenna adapter, and speaker adapters. This was my first full system install, and it was fairly easy. The hardest part was prepping the doors with dyna mat and spraying under coat inside the doors for acoustic re-inforcement. I did however had to drill 1 additional hole for each front speaker, as the bracket didn't quite line up with the original holes. For the tweeters, I just used the original metal bracket and glued my new tweeters to it, much like the original ones - with the exception of the screw. With the harness I got, I didn't have to run any additional wires to "turn on the amp" and "power the antenna' as was described in earlier posts I read. The speakers I got handle 240W peak power, so between my receiver and factory amp, I'm pushing about 70W RMS to each speaker, which is the speaker's RMS rating so I did not have any issues whatsoever with the factory amp overdriving and distorting the speakers - although, I'm old school classic rock-metal-alternative so I don't require high power levels for bass "bump" Iv'e had it in about a week now and have cranked it pretty good with no distortion issues - I picked a great system! Good luck guys with your Moon & Tunes upgrades!
GTeezer
When you use the line level adapter, you turn the Head Unit wattage into low level audio. Example, if your head unit put out 25 watts per channel at maximum value, you are only sending milliwatts (thousandth of a watt) to the amp. Same is true when you use the RCA jacks on the back of a head unit, it only sends milliwatts to the attached device. So your wattage is based off the amp, the head unit is just along for the ride. Unfortunately, I have found no documentation for the Vibes amp power output per channel. Best guess is anywhere between 25-50 watts per channel. Being a 2 ohm amp, if you have 4 ohm speakers attached you would cut the effective power in two, so it would be 12.5-25 watts per channel. This is why I bypassed the amp for my door speakers, the head unit was going to be a near tie with the stock amp feeding 4 ohm speakers. By going direct I was also able to use the EQ in the head unit instead of the presets built into the stock amp.GTeezer wrote:Hey guys,
As for the post about not needing line level adapter, when I made my speaker and HU choices, I kept in mind how many watts the factory amp + the HU would be sending to all the speakers, and *so far* have had no issues. The loudest I really listen to is about 75% volume, and I don't run a sub so I'm really not pushing my system to the max. If I do reach the point of blowing speakers, I may consider going for an aftermarket amp, and using the line outs from the HU to drive it.
Rock on fellow Vibe-sters!
GTeezer
Same here, I don't know why Crutchfield said their brackets would fit, I had to drill extra holes. Just curious how did the Dyna Mat work out for you? I tried a different product, worked good, but I thought the adhesive they used was a bit lacking, had to heat it up to make it stick. Did you do anything to the hatch area?GTeezer wrote: The hardest part was prepping the doors with dyna mat and spraying under coat inside the doors for acoustic re-inforcement. I did however had to drill 1 additional hole for each front speaker, as the bracket didn't quite line up with the original holes. For the tweeters, I just used the original metal bracket and glued my new tweeters to it, much like the original ones - with the exception of the screw.
GTeezer