My 98.5 coupe (non-Bose) is in desperate need of an aftermarket amp and new speakers in the front doors and rear deck. I've been to "Al & Ed's" and priced out a PPI 50x4 amp and MBQuarts at the corners. Kind of expensive ($1,500). Any other recommendations?<br>

I had bose and made the mistake of trying to cut corners by adding a sub to the existing system. It sounded like **** (unbalenced). The I bought Sony seperates cause I work there and they were cheep. I blew 'em in one week. So I endded up trashing the entire system and starting over. I sure wish I had done it right the first time.<p>Damon<br>Punch 200, Punch 100, Boston Acoustic 6.5" seperates, boston coaxials, Custom enclosure w/ 2 10" Cerwin Vegas, 10 disc changer, 10 minidisc changer, Sony CDX910 head unit.<p>98.5 30v Avant QMS,AMS chip, K&N, cat back, Bilsteins, H&Rs, Recaro SRs, 18x8.5s

Damon's approach of all or nothing is definently a good mindset to take to this approach. However, you must consider what your main objective is. If you wanna go thumping down the street, and standards are such that you want a system that *performs* on a 400-mile drive, then you should definently change out pretty much everything. On the other hand, if you can't sacrifice the trunk space, and you're not so bass-intensive, then changing the amp and speakers should suffice. <p>However, $1500 for a 50x4 amp and Quarts all around is ridiculous. For 90% of audiophiles out there, any amp in the $350-500 region will work fine. Quarts should only cost $220 in the front doors, and about $160 in the rear. So with only about $800 in components, it appals me how they arrive at $1500 as an end figure. You should go to an independent car stereo shop (not a chain deal like Al&Ed's) and see how far you can stretch that $1500...you should be able to go much further then that. <p>Edmund Louie<br>98 A4Q 30v<br>98 Bose deck, Pioneer 12-disc, MB Quart 215.03 in front, stock rear fill, 2 12" JL Audio W6 subs, RF200ix, RF240x4(deceased,saving for an a/d/s). . .all installed by yours truly =Þ

Remember Edmund, most of us are not so good with the soldering iron and will have to give up a pretty penny for installation. I would totally agree that you should find an independent shop but make sure they stand behind their work for the life of the car. I don't know where you are but if you're in So Cal check out Automotive Entertainment in Santa Monica 310/453-3541. They have treated me great and anytime I have a problem they fix it free of charge.<p>Damon

I know I want to just add an amp and replace the existing speakers. Please tell me some namebrands of alternatives to what I've been told.

Boston Acoustic 6.5" seperates in the front 399 tops. And on the coaxials you shouldn't spent more than 100 bucks there just filler but you will need some bass of some sort.<p>Damon

Hi Edmund,<p>I noticed that you had a Pioneer 12-disc CD changer hooked up to your Bose system. Is this the FM-modulated version of the changer? I've heard mixed reviews about using FM-modulated changers...especially with the Bose system, so I'd be interested in your opinion. Can you hear the difference in sound quality? How difficult was the install?<p>Thanks,<br>-Eugene

The install wasn't too bad, since i had the car ripped apart at the time. . . it was just an issue of running three or four thin wires up to the deck, and i just followed the instructions from the FAQ. The modulator is amazingly small, not much larger then, say, a AMD K6-2 chip. Sound quality is good, i'd rather have full digital with a new deck, but it's a good compromise. . . i haven't seen an aftermarket deck that integrates well with the center console of the 2.8's, so until there is one, i'm stickin to the factory deck. . . <p>Edmund Louie<br>98 A4Q 30V

You really do. That'd be the first place i'd spend any money, becuase it makes the biggest difference by far. You could go with the Boston Pro series that Damon recommended, or MB Quart Competiton series, or A/D/S stuff. . .what kinda MB Quart seperates cost $550 for the fronts??? I bought mines (which are competition series) for $220, and even though it was thru connections (that i got it so cheap), i wouldn't imagine them costing any more then $320. . .those prices just sound wwway too inflated, i'd go and shop around. <p>As for the coaxs, (like Damon said) just get any cheap stuff. . . boston rally's should be fine, they shouldn't cost more then $100. . .sometimes, the more expensive stuff isn't as good, it ends up being too bright, and detracts from the front soundstage. <p>HTH, <br>Edmund Louie<br>98 A4Q 30V

Also use an FM-mod changer, a Clarion 12 disc, with the factory deck and a nice little wireless remote to the left of the steering wheel. Sounds fine to me most all the time, and the rest stays stock. I also haven't seen any red-lighted radios out there. The place installed it for me, but it didn't look like it would be too much trouble.<p>Rich<br>'98 2.8Q sport<br>clarion 12 disc, rockford fosgate punch amp and sub<br>

In my GTI, I ran MB Quart' coax's in the rear (I think 215's) , and a componet MB quart set up front, powered by a precison power amp. <p>You won't find a cleaner, more accurate sound in autosystems, imho. But, you still need a sub to fill in those low frequencies and round out the sound presentation. I put in a sweet, powered sub from ADS that completed the package. <p>While good auto sound is pricey, I encourage you not to compromise on the first install. As soon as you get started, it really never ends.<br>