I have found a lot of good information on here (and some other places) but it has been a slog. My intention is for this to be the one-stop-shop for info needed to replace head unit, amplifier (most importantly), and speakers. The system I am building is not top of the line, but will add power, clarity, and tunability.
Credits to those who precede me;
Derfs post: viewtopic.php?t=40421
samsonites post viewtopic.php?t=44984
I also learned a lot about general car audio stuff from watching videos from these two YouTube channels:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DIYAudioGuy
https://www.youtube.com/c/CarAudioFabrication
I purchased most of my stuff from Crutchfield.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE OEM MONSOON SYSTEM.
- There is an amplifier under the front passenger seat.
- The amplifier takes 4 channel input and puts out 8 channels. (2x front tweeters, 2x front woofers, 2x rear woofers, 1x dual voice coil subwoofer in the cargo area)
- The speakers are all 2 ohm.
- The output of the factory head unit is not speaker level, so if you only want to replace the head unit ONLY you will need a line output converter.
- The OEM subwoofer enclosure is 0.34 cubic feet. I measured this with water. RIght in line with sampsonites post as well.
- 2 ohm speakers are uncommon and expensive. Replacing door speakers will require tying the speaker level outputs of an aftermarket head unit to the speaker output (as Derf had done), or replacing the amplifier. Otherwise the sound output will suffer.
- The OEM amplifier is probably under-powered for the stock subwoofer, which is itself struggles with feelings of inadequacy I'm sure.
- I have some hissing sounds that I believe are coming from the amplifier. Hissing is present whenever the engine is running. They go away if I turn off the head unit. An aftermarket head unit is already installed, remote wire would turn off the amp as well, so either the head unit or amp. Already replaced the garbage JVC unit from the previous owner with an Alpine UTE-73BT and hissing is still there (maybe even worse). Fingers crossed it will go away when the new amp is installed with clean battery power.
- New head unit: UTE-73BT. I don't like touchscreens, and pretty much use Pandora or Bluetooth to stream music. Can also customize light color and has blackout mode.
- New amp: JBL Club A5055. This was a decent 5 channel that was on sale at the time. I was also looking at the Rockford Fosgate R2-750X5. The latter has distortion light which is a real plus for tuning. The JBL has lots of wattage on the 5th channel if I decide to upgrade my sub later on.
- Door speakers: Rockford Fosgate R1675-S, Rockford Fosgate R1675X2. These were on sale at the time as well.
NOTE: After receiving these I found that the screw holes for the speakers don't line up with the speaker adapters that I got from Crutchfield (Metra 82-8148). I suggest using speakers with the correct screw hole pattern diameter. It looks like the Rockford 6.5" speakers fit from the reviews on Crutchfield. - Subwoofer: Kicker 48CWRT672. This 6.75 inch sub should go into the OEM subwoofer enclosure with very little modification. This is also smack in the middle (logarithmically) of the suggested enclosure size. I didn't want to go through as much work as Samsonite to get an 8" in the box. The box is on the small end for an 8", so low end response could suffer.
- Use receiver wiring harness adapter and Crutchfield instructions to wire the head unit without the speaker level output wires. (I actually did put the line-output converter in on the speaker level outputs, but is only for the ability to revert the amp if/when I sell the car)
- Install the JBL amp in the factory amp location.
- Run RCA cables from HU to passenger seat.
- Run power wire from battery to passenger seat.
- Use Metra 70-2054 to tie into factory harness for speaker outputs and remote input. This is NOT the correct kit for the 2005 vibe with monsoon and subwoofer, but it has the correct connectors (hopefully). It will be required to de-pin some of the wires and move them.
- Run bass knob up to the dash somewhere.
- Install speakers in factory locations. Add sound deadening materials to taste.
HEAD UNIT INSTALL
I'm not going to cover this really since it is the same as any other vehicle. Thinks to note.
- There is a lot of room behind the head unit to put wires and stuff.
- The dash kit (Scosche PT2049B) isn't the best fit, but better than the Metra one that the previous guy had installed IMO.
- If there is still static in the system after I Install the new amplifier I am going remove the ground from the harness and ground it the the chassis behind the dash.
SUBWOOFER INSTALL
This went even better than I anticipated. I used a pair of lineman pliers to tear off small sections of the ribbing where the speaker interfered. The screw holes lined up too!!! The OEM hi-low screws have too large of a head to fit in the Kickers screw pockets (8.3mm/.325"), so I found some that fit. I plugged the hole at the rear of the enclosure with dynamat from both sides. Time will tell if this is sufficient. I also added acoustic fill in the enclosure cavities as Derf had done. MORE TO COME