i have a 1997 bonneville sse with the bose system and no onstar. i extremely dislike the lack of controls and sound that come with the factory HU so i am looking for a new one.

i want to spend no more than $200 shipped with dash kit and harness.

thoughts?

this radio
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...+KDC-X693.html

this harness
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...2B+-+GM02.html

this dashkit
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...+-+GM1589.html

do i really need this?
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...1B+-+MDA1.html

Nice headunit. I have a kenwood myself with the usb port right in the front and man I gotta tell ya, I dont have a cd in my car anymore. I have everything on a couple of flash drives that are 2 gigs a piece and its the cats frikin meow....lol. got the same remote too. Great units man, I say go for it.You will like it.

You can spend $3000 and replace your HU, but your not going to get the $3k out of that new stereo unless you also upgrade the speakers. Those factory paper cone speakers are worthless after 12 years.

Get new speakers to go with it.

That looks like a universal GM dash kit. I had one like it, worked pretty good.

Yes, you need that antenna connector if you wish to listen to FM radio.

Try Crutchfield, I quoted them last month on my 2000 Blazer with a new HU, dash kit, speakers, wiring mounts an all for about 250.

i dont have the money to do speakers right now. i have my entire stereo all thought up. speakers, amps, HU.

im saving up for all MB Quart component speakers and amps. considering itll all set me back about a 1k minus the HU. im gonna slowly purchase and install said items.

the factory bose cd player doesn't work anyway i just get an E20 error. im looking for something that'll allow me some expandability.

Looks good to me. I've had a few Kenwoods and I like them. And its hard to remember carrying a bunch of CD'* in the car when you've got a few flash drives full of music. Hard to beat I must say.

question. what benefits do i get from amping my speakers? as i said above i have plans on buying components all around and amping them.

i MIGHT just buy my front components as they are most dominant in the sound stage. i can install them w/o an amp. correct?

5.25" for the fronts and some 6.5" components for the rear? i don't mind having to do a little "modifying" in order for them to fit.

In general, amping your speakers will make them sound better the higher you turn up the volume. The amp in the head unit starts to distort and your music gets muddy when turned up. An amp has a lot more power on tap, so you get cleaner music at higher volumes. In short, it will sound better.

Also, if you plan on running components and not coaxials, you will want an amp. Components have passive crossovers that send lows to the woofer and highs to the tweeter as you probably know. The components inside the crossover act as another load on the amp. This means not all of the power you get from the amp goes to the speakers- some is used up by the crossover. This is kinda like a lightbulb. A certain amount of power is being given off as heat; it all doesn't go to just giving off light.

so... essentially i shouldnt waste my time and money buying components until i can afford an amp and all the other goodies to go with them.

I have a question, when it comes to speaker ohms, do they have to match the amplifier also?

the amp on the HU? or the amp for the components?