Sound System

Some thieves will steal whatever they want from your car, no matter what kind of alarm system you have. They'll do it in broad daylight, or 15 feet from your bedroom window. The best way to keep the stereo from being stolen is to not advertise its presence. Turn it off or really low, a half mile from where you're about to park. When you're installing it, don't sit in your driveway "testing" it at max volume. You might be surprised to find out that you have a neighbor who likes to borrow things while you're sleeping.

As far as the subwoofer, don't bother. You can't make good quality bass in such a small space. You can make fat, disgusting, imbalanced annoying bass, but it'll never be right. If you want to know why, ask about it in this newsgroup: alt.guitar.bass Lots of bass players there - you'll get some good explanations. One reason, not related to the technology at all, is that when you're driving down the road making so much bass that it sounds like your bumpers are gonna fall off, everyone (and I do mean everyone) thinks your stupid. They're right. Considering that 1/2 the people in the world are women, it can be a great benefit to not appear stupid, if women are of any interest to you.

Instead of the subwoofer, put the money into a nice, clean amplifier to run your door speakers. No matter what kind of power Sony says the radio already has, it's never going to sound like a good amp. An amp will help the speakers sound tighter, they'll move more air (for bass), and if you buy a large enough amp, you'll never push it past its limits. That means it'll be unlikely to distort, and your speakers will be safer.

Doug Kanter wrote: One reason, not related to the technology at all, is that when you're driving down the road making so much bass that it sounds like your bumpers are gonna fall off, everyone (and I do mean everyone) thinks your stupid. They're right.

I'll second that. Tom