Mine sounded better with just the new speakers, but it really sounded nice when I installed the new head unit.

 

if thats true, i guess i wont change stuff over
i doubt ill be changin head unit soon.. if ever..
and i might amp door speakers at the most

 

Depends on your ears. Some might say it makes no dif, others say it will. I personally say it does. Look at your factory speakers......paper woofer and no real tweeter to speak of. Look at any, no mater how cheap, aftermarket speaker...... no paper and atleast some type of tweeter. That has to make a difference on the positive side.

 

I agree Stick, my car came with the pioneer premium package. It was OK, the problem is ... I had a little sound in my old car, so it sounded better than the HHR. You start upgrading, and there is no end to it! You will like any upgrade at first...then you have to improve this..then that..Etc, etc. It is hard to stop LOL! Todd (Uma)

 

oh i know. EVERY car ive had besides the HHR has had a system..
its hard to JUST change the speakers or head unit, then u want a sub, then more subs n more amps, n extra batterys, n larger alternators.. ect ect.. lol
but ive never spent much on a system. normally just a decent h/u , amp n sub..

 

My car came with the premium system, also. It sounded OK, but I was used to better so I had to improve things. My first upgrade was 4 new door speakers, which really helped a lot.

I was just reading some reviews on new cars and noticed how they brag about having 13 speakers. Reminded me of 35 years ago when I had my Datsun 280 Z. Technology was not what it is today, but Jensen had just come out with their separates (2 6x9 subs, 2 mids, and 2 tweeters). I installed them, then had my other door speakers for a total of 8 speakers. All them speakers did was provide lots of sound but not much imaging. Too many speakers, IMHO, muddy up everything. If you are trying to reproduce perfect sound, I think of the setup you see at concerts. You dont want too many speakers producing different frequencies all over the place. Sometimes less is better.

In my HHR, I have a pretty simple system which sounds pretty great. Everybody that hears it is impressed, and you get enough thump to shake the car. I have a Pioneer head, 2 Polk separated for the front (woofer in door, tweeter in pillar), 2 full range Polk in the back door, and 1 ten inch Infinitty Kappa in a custom built sealed enclosure. One amp for the speakers, one for the sub, and the crossovers for the front speakers. I have full sound, good image, and the entire system is pretty invisible from the outside. I like to hear good separation, and I have found that too many speakers destroy that.

 

Generally you'll always get a better sound IF you choose your speakers wisely.You can drop 5 bills and have it sound bad because you didn't match the system together.Sometimes you can go cheap and actually have a goood sound,,but thats because it matches.Though it will never sound as good as it could.Its good the HHR alread has a good speaker placement(though I'd rather see the front woofers in the kick panel)so just swapping speakers usually will get a good result.Just read thru all the posts..alotof those here just swapped speakers and love it.The hardcores wil always go beyond that(its a disease!!)I spent oodles on my truck to get it right..this time I'll let others experiment for me..(he-he)then I'll make my move.Since the Misses was paying attention,I'll start with the Infinities via Santa!The woof part is still up in the air.........

 

Well said. Always do your research and buy what you think sounds good, and remember, it always sounds different in your car then in the store! I'll say it again, BUY WHAT YOU THINK SOUNDS GOOD, just cause I like the sound of RF and so and so likes the sound of polk or infinity doesn't make them a expert. I like what I had, I'll probably buy them again, but it is my opinion not rule. Remember your local store to, the guy I go to, def. not BBor CC, knows what speakers fit what vehicle. I have walked in there three times with three different vehicle and he knew all three without looking or thinking about it. Only one he didn't was the HHR cause he hadn't touched one yet, but I bet he knows now

 

Stick-very true. That is one reason to buy from a store with a liberal refund/return policy. Crutchfield is GREAT on that, even sending prepaid return UPS labels. I tried several subs until I got one that met my approval.

And also remember that tuning the system is also very important. Several times I tried components that at first sounded like crap until I tweaked the settings. Even now, if my head unit has so many different variables that it takes me a while to get it sounding good after the battery is disconnected.

 

yeah i agree, buy what YOU want not what your TOLD to get
50$ or 500$ , get what you are feeling is best for the situation..
ANd never think what you hear n the store will sound the same n a closed car.