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Old 01-16-2016, 05:52 PM   #1
Steve Theodore
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Member#: 3737
Join Date: Jan 2001
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: North Bend, WA, USA
Vehicle:
2007 WRX STi
Crystal Gray Metallic

Default 2007 STi stereo upgrade help?

Full disclaimer...I know nearly nothing about car audio, and don't have a big interest in it in the grand scheme of things. I leave nearly all of my cars alone in that regard, but this car needs improvement badly.

My question is simply could someone point me at a reasonably simple to understand basic upgrade guide for my car? The stock stereo is crap beyond any measure, but my only real metric for success is being able to hear music while driving down the road at 80 mph or so, which this car doesn't do well.

My thought is simply to do an upgraded (modern) head unit with iPod/iPhone integration and upgrade the stock speakers...so recommendations limited to that are welcome.

Thanks all!
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Old 01-16-2016, 06:52 PM   #2
emm219
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Member#: 251057
Join Date: Jul 2010
Chapter/Region: SWIC
Location: AZ
Vehicle:
2013 STI Limited
DGM

Default

I had an '06 WRX--basically same stock stereo configuration. I was very pleased in just doing the same you are asking about.

Sony CD Player
Alpine components in front
Polk Audio coaxials in rear

If you want some additional low end punch after hearing what that does, the kicker 8" hideaway sub under the front seat can be added, and that's about where I'd leave it. You could certainly do much more, but that would be a huge improvement without a huge cost.
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Old 01-16-2016, 09:53 PM   #3
Steve Theodore
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Join Date: Jan 2001
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Location: North Bend, WA, USA
Vehicle:
2007 WRX STi
Crystal Gray Metallic

Default

Thanks emm219. Did you go with a double din sized CD player to fill the entire factory void, or go some other way?

I'm going to browse around this sub-forum a fair amount, but know that most people will go a lot further than I need/want to. I also see most discussion centered around newer Subarus, which obviously have very different starting points.
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Old 01-16-2016, 10:12 PM   #4
emm219
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DGM

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You're welcome. Single din and had the storage bin/pocket beneath it. I think you'll be pretty pleased with just the new head unit and swapping out the speakers. The rears are more to fill out the sound, so don't feel like you need to go all out. A nice pair of coaxials are just fine--I used Polk dx series in my '06. I had Polk components and coaxials in my 2012 wrx with the stock head unit and an alpine power pack amp to drive them-because I wanted to retain factory Bluetooth and steering wheel controls--also added the kicker hideaway. It sounded great--I dyno matted the doors and trunk in my 2012 too. Since it sounds like you plan to run the speakers without an external amp, find some components that don't need a huge amount of power to drive them. I run all alpine in my 2013 STI--previous owner installed and I run infinity Kappa 6.5 components and jbl gto coaxials in my truck-with an external amp, and they both sound awesome too. Just stick with a quality brand and research them a bit. Best of luck
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Old 01-17-2016, 12:14 PM   #5
Steve Theodore
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Crystal Gray Metallic

Default

That's fantastic, thanks again bud. This is just enough information for me to meet my needs...yet more than I knew before starting this thread.

I appreciate it.
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Old 01-17-2016, 02:07 PM   #6
mitch808
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Nothing you buy will overcome the fact that a japanese econobox chassis, will be uber loud and ripe with road noise and vibrations....

That year or GD body is pretty bad. If you dont treat the car properly with the right sound damping, no amount of electronics will help
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Old 01-17-2016, 07:49 PM   #7
Steve Theodore
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2007 WRX STi
Crystal Gray Metallic

Default

I'm not expecting or willing to pay for world class audio, but thank you for helping to set expectations properly mitch808.
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Old 11-19-2021, 12:35 PM   #8
tjs98gt
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2003 Cobra

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Bringing this thread back from the dead. I recently purchased a 2007 STI which has a JVC KW-V430BT receiver in it. I have had JVC headunits in the past without issue. The car had stock speakers throughout so I upgraded them with some Kicker CS speakers all around. The stereo has more volume now but if you crank it up it gets distorted before even getting very loud yet. The headunit only produces 50 watts per channel which is well below the MAX and RMS ratings of the speaker so I am not sure why the sound quality is as bad as it.

I do have an Alpine PDX5 amp that I ran in an Evo X I used to own. Its been sitting in the garage for years but I am wondering if installing that is what I need to do at which point I can put my spare subwoofer in at the same time but I want to make sure there isn't a known shortcoming in the wiring or anything in these vehicles that I can remedy first. Any ideas?
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Old 11-19-2021, 07:27 PM   #9
Dave D.
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Dom 1.5xtr JJ tuned

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I wonder if you underestimated the stock speakers. I have a Pioneer unit in my 2006 (almost as old as the car) and it puts out 40-50 watts per channel -- it really cleaned up and boosted the sound compared to the stock head unit. You new speakers may be more "efficient," but may not handle the load as well. Just a shot in the dark, here.
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Old 11-20-2021, 12:54 AM   #10
tjs98gt
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This headunit was in the car when I bought it and I am kind of leaning towards that being the culprit as the sound is close to the same as it was with stock speakers. I had these same speakers in an Infiniti I recently sold and they sounded great
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Old 11-30-2021, 12:17 PM   #11
StanleyD
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2016 WRX Limited
Blue

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Sound dampening in the doors would help a ton along with the RCA pre outs to a aftermarket amp.
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Old 01-09-2022, 03:48 PM   #12
bmamuzich15
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Crutchfield.com makes plug and play harnesses if you purchase from them that makes life super easy
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