stephen wilson

All in all how much installation time did that require and how much $$$ did you end up spending? I'd like to upgrade my speaker setup eventually, but it looks like a serious and costly undertaking. For my entire setup, I did the install myself, here's what I paid for the parts: JL ZR650-CSi - $440 MB Quartz PVI-210 - $140 JL TR350-CXI (for Rear Deck) 2 sets - $45 a set - $90 total JL 300/4 Amp - $249 JL 300/2 Amp - $229 Porsche Avic / Alpine Head Unit Installation Kit - $150 Alpine IVA-w505 with P1 Navigation / Bluetooth Unit - $1099.95 JL Audio XC-PCS4-2B - 4AWG Premium Power Connection Wiring Kit for 2 Amps - I paid $89 for the kit with tax, but it was at a place by me going out of business... JL Audio Speaker Wire - 16AWG roll of 100ft - $20 1 Sheet of 3/4" Oak Plywood - $18 1 Bulk Pack of Dynomat Extreme (enough to cover both doors no prob, and plenty for other applications) - $54 I also got the XM adapter, and Alpine Imprint2 Audio Processor, but that's optional stuff - $150 for it all Some other items you'll need that I already have from my tool collection: An electric Jigsaw, or Table Router to cut the door speaker templates A good drill with plenty of bits, I recommend a good battery drill with plenty of torque, but electric works too 1 Canister of Clear Silicone Industrial Stength Velcro Your trusty Bentley Service Manual (big help for wiring diagrams) All forms of tools, metric sets: torx bits, hex bits and sockets, wratchets, phillips screwdrivers, a butane pocket sized soldering iron with fine tip, rosin core solder, flux, wire caps, wire ties, a couple six packs of beer ;), All in all from start to finish on everything, at least 3 days of good solid work. I tackled each section as a project and called it a day... a little bit at a time. All in all let's see... Major stuff listed above - $2728.95 + tools and supplies you'll need (let's estimate for some decent tools assuming you have none) - $250 + labor (i did it myself, but figure in some guy's rate of $35 / hr) - 8 hours per 3 days - 24 hours - $840 So worst case scenario - $3818.95 :) CA-CHING! B) Hell no!! With the top down, you'll never get a good sound, so why bother? I like my Pioneer unit I installed, and I might find some affordable aftermarket speakers eventually. But I will not send that kinda coin on it. No how-no way! :) Actually, On the contrary... I beefed it this way for the pure reason of better top-down sound. I get premium sound with the top down, driving on the interstate. The trebles and mid-range are crystal clear. The only thing it could use an improvement on during top-down highway driving (so as to counteract the wind noise) would be the additional "behind the seat" custom fit subwoofers, which I've already pre-wired the vehicle for. Enter in the NEW MB Quart 10" RSH 254. It's a shallow mount 10" subwoofer that I've already found can be custom fit behind both the driver and passenger side of the vehicle for optimum compartment space and sound quality. In my opinion, the setup was completely worth it, looks stock, and performs optimally. Please post Pics when you have the subs installed!