American & Proud

Pioneer Stage 3 system has begun.

I ordered up a few Pioneer items that will upgrade my stereo system to a Pioneer "Stage 3" System, that Fits my HHR Panel.

You can go to Pioneers website and select your car by year, model, etc.

Then a page opens up with 4 "stages" of systems you can begin to build on.

Stage 4 would be nice but pricier than I wanted to spend.

I Ordered these the other day.

Pioneer TS-W3002D4 12 In. Champion Series PRO Subwoofer with 3500 Watts(Arrived)



Pioneer TS-D1602R 6.5 Inch Two-Way Speakers with 260 Watts Max Power For the rear doors. (Arrived)


and, Pioneer TS-D1720C 6.75-Inch D-Series 280-Watt Speaker Package For the front doors. (These won't ship for about 2 weeks according to Amazon)


Pioneer GM-D8500M Class-D Mono Amplifier with 1200 Watts Max. Power(Arrived)


Pioneer GM-D9500F Class-FD 4-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier (Ordered)


Should sound pretty good I have listened to most of the Pioneer stuff in store but we all know thats Not the same as hearing it all set up IN your car.

According to Pioneer, all these, With the Pioneer AVH P4200 DVD Head unit are what they call a Stage 3 setup and all should install nicely in my Panel.



The HU has been installed for awhile now, I had all this stuff sitting in my Amazon cart for a long time so with warmer weather on it's way around here it was time to start getting this stuff Ordered.
I bought my Panel in July of 2010 and I have had all this stuff sitting in my Amazon cart since August 10th 2010, finally decided it was time to Rock a little better than the stock GM "pioneer" system, even with the New Pioneer HU installed it just wasn't cutting it for me. This should Help.

I'll be asking Questions once everything gets here. The Pioneer TS-D1720C 6.75-Inch D-Series 280-Watt Speaker Package is waiting to be Shipped and now I see Amazon has them as a 2-5 week wait. Mine still are saying around April 28th delivery. (Fingers Crossed they ship Sooner.)

IndianaJ.J.

Hey A&P, sounds like you'll be able to blow your head off pretty soon with your new sound system. Just curious, where is the 12 " sub woofer going to be mounted? Also, what kind of upgrade if any is needed for the wiring for the higher wattage components?

American & Proud

Hey JJ,
I am working up a Post with several Questions, including Wiring.
Gonna post that once I have all components in hand here.

I have several installs saved from various sites like this one from Truckin'
"2008 Chevy HHR Audio Buildup - Audio Buildup on A Budget."
CLICK HERE> http://www.truckinweb.com/tech/elect...dup/index.html

They built a sub box for the spare tire well area. But they put the Amps under the front seats, Don't think I want mine there.

I have some how to's saved for building up the Pillars for the Tweeters as these from Pioneer are to big to just swap out, but I have to wait on Amazon to ship the front speakers before I can get that started.

Pics I saved from a Vette build, dont look to hard to do, i'll also cover my pillars in Black Leather. (They used Vinyl.)




Not decided yet on if I will attempt the full install or find a shop to work with, I can handle the box building and the custom work just fine but I may want to Hire out the Electrical work, but I will decide after My own questions have been asked and hopefully answered here.

Once I post that post I am working on, you and anyone else who cares will know more, and or learn as I go.

This isn't a Competition type setup like that "wall" being built in an HHR here, just a Decent system, with a clean looking install, Hopefully.

I listen to a wide range of music, from Sinatra, to Rock, to some Country even. Not really into Rap much, but there are a few songs I will listen to now and then.
And yep, I do like to be able to Crank up a tune now and then, but I like it loud and clear, loud and distorted aint my style.

I don't buy car audio very often at all, so this is or will be the best system I have ever done in one of my cars, and my Panel is my Toy Daily Driver, so it will most likely be my Last ever stereo install in one of my cars, so I splurged more than I normally would on it.
I'm just havin a blast here with my little Black Panel is all.

American & Proud

I just bought a used pair of the pillar trim pieces to use for the Custom work to fit the new Pioneer Tweeters in them.

If it fails, I can always reinstall the originals and place the Tweeters in the front doors.

American & Proud

Surpized these are gonna take so long to get from Amazon, hope they ship sooner than expected. April 28th or so. (An even Longer wait now has been placed on them after placing my order for them.)



These were here within 2 days of ordering.



I will order up the Pioneer GM-D9500F Class-FD 4-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier
this week, it"s in stock so that should be here within 2 days of placing my order.

Then it's a waiting game for the front door speakers to ship.

American & Proud

I just now went ahead and placed my order for the Pioneer GM-D9500F Class-FD 4-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier, supposed to be here on Thursday April 21st

So all the Main components are either Here or waiting on shipping.
One step closer.

And the Pioneer UD-G308 12-Inch Subwoofer Grill arrived, not sure if I will use it or not but it was the last one and marked down to $10.00 with my free 2 day shipping, so I nabbed it just in case.

bad03xtreme

Looks good, I am looking to just keep the stock H/U and upgrade the speakers. What do you think is the weakest spot in the stock Pioneer system? I know I definitely need to invest in some dynamat for all the doors.

American & Proud

Thanks, I am hoping it Sounds better than it looks.

The OEM "pioneer" system isn't terrible, and Most users would more than likely be satisfied with it.
After installing the Pioneer AVH-P4200 DVD Head Unit and the head rest monitors, I still wanted more power out of my audio system.

Next would have been New Speakers, and listen and go from there, but thats just tossing pieces together here and there and Prayin you picked or found stuff that sounds decent in the the end.
Kinda like I put all my other car audio together as a kid, decided at almost 50years old now, I wanted a Decent setup with matched components.

I have always been a Pioneer fan since the days of the Super Tuner with cassette and the big round AM/FM Dial you had to tune in by hand.

I found this pic on the web, this was one of my very first Pioneers, I bought it used or traded for weed, I forget, that was about 35 years ago.


I think it's Still in my parents garage unless my dad tossed it out at some point.

Just time I installed a system that I am truely happy with I guess.

Heres a Pioneer Vid about their "Stages" have a look at it.>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrDEDxOduVw

I just found this vid last night on youtube. But using their Fit Guide online I decided to go Stage 3 and Amazon is an Authorized Pioneer Dealer and they have some very good pricing, plus I am an Amazon Prime member so I get free 2 day shipping on Prime eligable items and 3.99 overnight shipping.

I will be using some form of a "dynamat" all over the interior including the backs of the plastic interior panels, doors, floor and at some point the roof most likely.

asanti

Definitely do the rear hatch A&P. In my stereo I have 2 12" Alpine Type R subs facing rearward in a sealed box. I've yet to max out the system mind you (love my hearing too much ) but even at 1/4 volume the hatch has yet to rattle. The most I've gotten is a muted vibration from the plate which also has Dynamat on it to prevent that crappy "tin garbage can" rattle you hear on some cars out there; just an FYI. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing your impressions on the front speakers once they're in. IMO on some songs it seems the lead singer's sitting there with you, I've been impressed to say the least.

Later
Allex

American & Proud

The Pioneer GM-D9500F Class-FD 4-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier just got here, a day early.



Now if Amazon would get my front door speakers Shipped id have all my main Components.
Next will be figuring out what gauge wiring to use. Or Amp Kit I should get?

Asanti, when I said "doors" I was including the hatch as one of
them.

I'm ordering this 72sq ft Kit. (18) Sheets 18" x 32"

http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/S...9862/SFV/30046







And I will be using another product that I have a few rolls of here.

The plates are what Most "kids" totally ignore, and it makes their systems sound like ***** with them reverberating louder than their sub sitting next to their car in traffic.

Thanks and I hope your around to answer a bunch of Questions I am gonna have as this install goes along.