Confused about changing Factory HU

[Wakadaka]

I just got a 2012 sonic and I am wanting to upgrade the audio. All I have done car audio wise was changing the head unit on my old camry and installing a powered sub, so not a lot of experience, but i intend to install anything myself.

I have read around other threads about people saying that replacing the factory HU will mess up other electronics in the car. I have a base model sonic (it doesn't have the trim on the badges, but it doesn't have bluetooth, usb/aux in dash, any steering wheel controls, auto windows, etc.). I still have year left on the bumper to bumper warranty which obviously won't cover an aftermarket HU, but will replacing the HU void any other parts of the car?

I am open to any other advice to improve audio as well. I will probably add a small sub, but I am clueless as to whether I should change speakers, add an amp, or change the HU, or a combo of the above.

Mostly listen to ska and hip hop, and I want something loud enough to listen to at highway speeds with the windows down.

 

[sonic007]

Changing the headunit is fairly simple giving you have all the correct parts. You need to order the 99-3012g-lc. Then the 40-EU10. All thats left is the radio of your choice.

Audio wise, if your into hip hop, you will definitly need a sub. The factory set up has little to no bass without distortion.

In the end its goig to be up to you. I have the stock headunit, 4 channel alpine amp, front infinity component speakers, coaxial infinity speakers for the rear, 2 kenwood 12 inch subs and an alpine 500 watt amp. I may change the radio here soon if i find a good deal. Working at Best Buy as an installer has its perks.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

right now i run the stock headunit, stock speakers and have a subwoofer intergrated into the stock headunit via a Line-In Converter and powered via an amplifier. Granted with my sonic i have the LT model with all the upgraded stuff so i have the 6 speaker system and i love how my sound system sounds with only adding a subwoofer.

Again, i know with yours you only have the 4 speaker system thus no rear speakers, but in my sonic, the rear speakers are pretty much non existant as there way low as in barely even heard if even heard at all. Its the Front Speakers you hear the most.

I can tell you with my setup, with still using the stock Front speakers i hear the highs and vocals plain as day with the subwoofer running. no issues at all in quality. but, again, i have the upgraded LT headunit. you said you have the base model HU so i dont know how well that one would take the intergration of a Line-In Converter.

With you i would say the best bet would be to replace the stock unit with an aftermarket one. And the issue everyone is refering to is more so towards the Bluetooth, OnStar, and the controls the Stock Headunit controls thru the radio.

I myself have not messed with a base model sonic so i dont know if its similar to the LT Headunit. With mine alot of the cars functions and controls are done so thru the stock headunit. replaceing it, will result in loss of those functions meaning, once you set them and remove the headunit you wont be able to adjust or change those settings again unless you re-install the stock headunit. Most newer cars have these Harness's you have to buy to retain certain sounds and functions. Just do a search on Google and you should find out whether or not the sonic needs one. Then go from there.

As for warrenty, replacing the Radio wont void any warrentys in the car. if a dealership did, they are being real pricks. Hope this information helps you out and best of luck in your quest for better sound.

 

[sonic007]

Does your radio have the aux jack? Ive seen some Sonics come in with a base radio with nothing. I also have the plain Sonic with no power windows or bt or anything. It did come with an upgraded radio with 6 speakers though.

 

[Wakadaka]

it does have an aux port. i have seen the HU you are talking about, but mine looks like the nicer models HU, just not the same functionality.

I probably should have also mentioned I'm on a pretty small budget. I can make exceptions, but I am hoping to keep it under 400 or so. If that metra dash kit is going to be needed then I think that pretty much means I will keep the stock HU just because of price.

I'm pretty sure I have rear speakers, haven't ridden in the backseat or checked, but I'm pretty sure I do because I was messing with the fader.

I might do what you did fallenangel. I am not extremely happy with the sound quality of the speakers, especially the volume. Don't know if they will be able to keep up with a sub, but i could always replace them later if need be.

should i go with powered subs or seperate amp/ sub?

 

[sonic007]

Powered subs are more space efficient and usually cost efficient as well. But you wont gain anywhere near the bass levels you would with a full seperate system. Powered systems imo are more "filler" bass producers.

The metra kit can be found for as little as 70 bucks. Comes with the harness. Not too bad from what it used to be.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

I got my entire system ran and installed for under $400 by a professional installer. it was like $370-380 or so to install the Line-In, run the wires and then tune the amp to the subwoofer.

Im running a 12" Polk Audio db Subwoofer in a ported box with a Profile California Amplifier pushing out 370 watts rms and the stock speakers do great with it. I have no issues at all with them. If you set the settings right you can achieve good highs and vocals with a nice strong punch from the subwoofer. I was quite shocked at how well the stock speakers keep up with the subwoofers boom. Heres a picture of my setup and Radio i have.

 

[sonic007]

I hope that 370 came with parts lol. We charge 120 for labor here at Best buy.

 

[Wakadaka]

maybe i just have my idea of a budget set too low, but i paid under 300 for both a new head unit and a sound ordnance powered sub for my old car.

could you explain how the LOC works? will i still be able to use my rear speakers? is the subwoofer going to be using the same EQ of the speaker lines then? i am not completely sure how you can control a sub that is run through a LOC.

also how well would a 5 channel amp work to power the speakers and the sub?

thanks for answering so many questions everybody.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

I hope that 370 came with parts lol. We charge 120 for labor here at Best buy.

Yes that was with parts, the labor wasnt much at all it was all the parts that racked it up and you wont get no install at a best buy here for that amount!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

maybe i just have my idea of a budget set too low, but i paid under 300 for both a new head unit and a sound ordnance powered sub for my old car.

could you explain how the LOC works? will i still be able to use my rear speakers? is the subwoofer going to be using the same EQ of the speaker lines then? i am not completely sure how you can control a sub that is run through a LOC.

also how well would a 5 channel amp work to power the speakers and the sub?

thanks for answering so many questions everybody.

The line in converter Runs off the headunit spliced into (usually the rear speaker wires) to allow for RCA lines to be ran to the Amplifer that will power your new Subwoofer and/or Speakers. Allows you to retain your stock headunit, and all its functions and controls. But Limits how you control the Subwoofer output. Unless you were to wire in a bass control knob inline with the line-in converter you would not be able to turn the subwoofer off via the headunit.

The Bass, Treble, and Mid-Range Settings would control all Stock speakers as normal and the new added subwoofer. the higher the bass setting, the stronger the subwoofer will be. lower the setting, the weaker it will be.

On my headunit i have my Bass on -8, Treble +12, and Mid +4. The Stock speakers sound great with the subwoofer and everything blends in great. I keep the bass so low as i dont need it to be blasting when just driving around. I only turn it up when i want to show it off or just sitting still listening to some tunes.

The rear speakers should still work as usual. your Just tapping into the power supply to run the line in converter is all. As for the 5-Channel amp question, if the power ratings were matched right for each use, "X" Watts for subwoofer, and "X" watts for speakers to the RMS rating of the sub and speakers then it should do just fine. I can tell you that if you want to power the speakers it is highly recommended you upgrade the stock speakers to aftermarket ones as the stock speakers are not meant to be powered by an amp.

Hope this helps you out...

 

[sonic007]

Well said. As for the line output converter, all it does is convert high level speaker signal to low level rca signal. You can turn the sub on and off by fading your speakers to the front if you tapped into the rears.

The 5 channel works as he said. One single amp provides 4 independent channels for each speaker, than 1 subchannel. I can tell you that 5 channel amps usually are not cheap. Theres none under 300 here at bby. I can say install on those are much easier with an after market radio. If not, you would need a premium loc for the 4 channels on top of the one for the sub.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

Well said. As for the line output converter, all it does is convert high level speaker signal to low level rca signal. You can turn the sub on and off by fading your speakers to the front if you tapped into the rears.

The 5 channel works as he said. One single amp provides 4 independent channels for each speaker, than 1 subchannel. I can tell you that 5 channel amps usually are not cheap. Theres none under 300 here at bby. I can say install on those are much easier with an after market radio. If not, you would need a premium loc for the 4 channels on top of the one for the sub.

Thanks for touching up on that for me. i knew i missed something there. and never gave that a thought with fading. gonna have to try it out and report back what i find on my setup. im pretty sure they did the install thru the rear speakers on mine.

I knew when they had it wired up as i was sitting there waiting and then all you heard was BOOOM and lots of vibrations thru the store lol. My system hits hard for being powered thru the Stock headunit. I love my setup.

 

[Wakadaka]

thanks for all the help.

i was thinking a 5 channel amp might help the sound quality and volume of the stock speakers some, but if i would need aftermarket speakers than that is pretty much out.

how much bass do you get with the eq turned down to -8? i assume it takes most of the bass out of the front speakers, but does the sub really fill it in with the eq that low? i think that i would be happy with the stock speakers if they were just pushing the mids and highs.

as of now i'm thinking LOC, mono amp, and one 10 or maybe an 8. i don't want to deal with building or buying a seperate enclosure unless there is some really good reason to do so. i was looking at some of the flat sub boxes, but don't have my heart set on it. i want something small enough that i can still fit a bike inside the car.

any recommendations?

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

Just to ask, do you have the sedan or hatch? either way, if your looking to add bass but save space an 8" Subwoofer would be ideal and still pack a punch with the right one. Some 8" subwoofers can output some serious bass that some larger ones cant. Again, that depends on what brand and how much you spend on one. But back to the subject at hand...

Theres plenty of bass out of my subwoofer at that level. The Stock speakers dont need to hit the bass lines as thats what the subwoofer is for. With the controls set like i have them i get plenty of bass kicking with clear highs and mids from the stock speakers. Yeah, they could be better, but thats with any system and involves upgrading to aftermarket. but i think for stock speakers these things do exceptionally well.

Here is a video i shot recently of my system. of course the cameras mic takes a full hit of bass so the highs cant be heard in the video but you can see that there is plenty of bass with it turned down like i have it...

12" Polk Audio Sub - 2012 Chevy Sonic Sedan - YouTube

-------------------------------------------

here is a video below of just the highs with the subwoofer disconnected i made a while back too with the same settings. Good crisp highs for a stock system...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l87hz_slX28

 

[Wakadaka]

i have the hatchback.

been reading about options all day and i am kinda leaning towards the infinity basslink.
Amazon.com: Infinity Basslink 200-Watt, Dual 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer System (Black): Electronics

i dont think i would even need a line out converter or a remote turn on.

still not really sure if i want to go with a powered sub or not. I had an 8 in powered sub in my camry, and was satisfied with it, but i think that i would prefer just a bit more this time around

 

[River_Rat]

I also considered the bass link. In the end I went with one of these in my hatch:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007AQ2W2Q.
I'm quite pleased with the result. The enclosure conforms nicely to the slope of the rear seat and fits perfectly under the tray. It is also very easy to unplug it and move it around for laying the seats down. I also keep the equalizer turned to -8 or -10 for bass and it works very well, allowing the stock speakers to play mids and highs at higher volume levels with minimal distortion. The sub has more than enough oomph and I keep the sub itself turned down to around half volume. Again, no loc or remote is required (which is the case for most of the powered subs that I've seen). Really, I think it would be hard to go wrong with many of the choices that are out there.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

i have the hatchback.

been reading about options all day and i am kinda leaning towards the infinity basslink.
Amazon.com: Infinity Basslink 200-Watt, Dual 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer System (Black): Electronics

i dont think i would even need a line out converter or a remote turn on.

still not really sure if i want to go with a powered sub or not. I had an 8 in powered sub in my camry, and was satisfied with it, but i think that i would prefer just a bit more this time around

Looked that link over and you found a really nice setup that will give you the kick your looking for without taking up alot of space too. and from reading the reviews it sounds like it plays exceptionally well and lasts a good while before it gives out. One guy claimed to 7 years of use. not bad for a powered sub system. If you have the hatch and think you can afford this unit then it would be a good choice for you. And the multi hookup functions makes it that much more appealing. Best of luck to you! hope you find the system that suits you and makes you happy!

 

[Wakadaka]

I also considered the bass link. In the end I went with one of these in my hatch:
Rockford Fosgate P300-10 Punch Powered Loaded 10-Inch Subwoofer Enclosure:Amazon:Car Electronics.
I'm quite pleased with the result. The enclosure conforms nicely to the slope of the rear seat and fits perfectly under the tray. It is also very easy to unplug it and move it around for laying the seats down. I also keep the equalizer turned to -8 or -10 for bass and it works very well, allowing the stock speakers to play mids and highs at higher volume levels with minimal distortion. The sub has more than enough oomph and I keep the sub itself turned down to around half volume. Again, no loc or remote is required (which is the case for most of the powered subs that I've seen). Really, I think it would be hard to go wrong with many of the choices that are out there.

what made you choose that one over the basslink? they both seem to be good quality, so at this point i am thinking that i am going to take some measurements in my car to see which would take up less usable (to me) space.

thanks again everybody for all the help.

 

[River_Rat]

what made you choose that one over the basslink? they both seem to be good quality, so at this point i am thinking that i am going to take some measurements in my car to see which would take up less usable (to me) space.

thanks again everybody for all the help.

In large part, it was the high rate of failure documented in reviews. In my opinion, the basslink does not appear to be a very robust design. I wanted something that would take a beating. The RF-P300 is built like a tank. Finally, I think the basslink should really be bolted down, whereas I I strap mine in with a bungee and I'm constantly moving it around.

That said, the basslink will take up significantly less space.

 

[Wakadaka]

so an update and questions. sorry if it gets lengthy just want to give all needed info.

i ended up purchasing the rockford fosgate p300-10. bought a Boss wiring kit from amazon as well with 8 guage power wire/ ground.

power and ground were installed fine and its getting power, but it won't play music. i cut one side of the RCA attachment and hooked speaker wire to it, and hooked the other end of the speaker wire to the green and green/black wires in the kick panel using vampire clips. i had intended to use the hi-level input as the remote.

when i touch the remote wire to the power/remote input the light comes on, but no volume. i think i messed up the wiring from the speakers, but i'm not positive. i don't have a multi-meter to check.

when cutting an rca cable to hook to speaker wire, do both left and right have to be plugged in or can it play sound from only one channel? what about to trigger the remote turn on?

let me know if you need any more information.