So I had some bad rear speakers in my 1999 HX, and after finding out that so many panels needed to be removed to replace the 6x9's I decided to spend some time and replace everything. My theory was that basically any aftermarket component would be an improvement over stock, and so I tested out the local Walmart :-)

All I had done prior to this was replace the stock head unit with an Eclipse unit I won on a bet off a friend a couple yrs ago. As I mentioned above the majority of the components came from Walmart,with just a few exceptions


Eclipse CD-5423 head unit (won off a friend in a bet several yrs ago)
Pioneer 6 1/2" coaxial (Circuit City $49)
Sony Xplod 6x9"coaxial (Wal-Mart $48)
Pioneer TS-W301R 12" sub ($58 Wal-Mart...$20 cheaper than Crutchfield)
Simple sealed enclosure ($60 Circuit City)
Sony XM-554ZR Xplod 4-Channel amp (Wal-Mart $98)[/align][/align]No pics right now, but I'd definitely recommend this or a similar setup to anyone looking for a budget upgrade.[/align]

 

it'll definately be better than stock man

 

My first "sub" experience was when my friend down the street got some of those Pioneer 12" IMPP free-air subs and built a crappy looking pannel to fit in behind hit seats and use the trunk for air space. I remember it jarring me so hard when I sat in the back, it was enough to rip your ears out. He ran it off a small pioneer amp that looked like a fire hazard at best.

I never have been able to get a system to sound that loud!

Pioneer is a pretty decent factory upgrade, my dx has pioneer 6x9's and probably factory front speakers, I have been looking pretty hard at the wal-mart 6 1/2's myself. I am sure it will be plenty loud for ya!

 

save your money and visit hookedontronics.com or a similiar site.

 

The sound improvement was amazing. Well, I'm no audiophile but the difference between what I've got now and what Honda provided me is huge. I won't even go into the difference between this Walmart system and what BMW put in my other car.....

 

I'd be willing to bet what BMW put in my car is better than what you have here. Still, good upgrade for a Civic though.

 

We have several BMW's in the family, none of which came with a better sounding stereo than what is now in the Civic. Although I haven't been in any newer cars so I really can't speak to what they've been doing in the past few yrs.

Me - 1996 Z3
Came with cassette head unit, crappy 5 1/4 kick panel speakers, decent tweeters, and no rear speakers. Listening to the radio with the top up and windows up at 80mph was next to impossible. It is now upgraded with Infinity, Image Dynamics and Phoenix Gold sound equipment, but since it's an open top car it is tough to get good sound in it.

Wife - 1999 323i (E46)
Came with upgraded Harmon Kardon setup which places like 12 speakers throughout the cabin. Worlds better than the Z3's stock system, better than Civic stock system, not quite as good as what is in the Civic now.

Father-in-law 2000 Z3
Upgraded system with mini sub in the storage panel location, probably on par with the 323i if he had a hardtop, but as is it comes in just slightly below the 323i.

Uncle-in-law 2006 330i ZHP
I haven't been in it yet

 

I had a 528e, its system blew, I had to cut holes to put decent speakers in, and the rear deck firewall was too thick to hear subs, so i cut the back deck out to improve sound flow, lol.

 

I was at walmart one day asking about their 1200 watt amp, and the guy there told me not to buy
anything from wal mart if i was gonna blast it in the car.
He said the stuff there was cheap and it wouldn't last long if i was going to blast the system.
I ended up buying another amp somewhere else.
Good luck .

 

I really doubt your sweet cheapo Walmart system sounds better than a Harmon Kardon setup in a BMW...