Audio - do it yourself or pro?

[Steve]

When it comes to something like stereo placement, I'm not certain that I want to do it myself. Why not hire a pro to do it for essentially like $50??? -- or even free if I spend enough $$ at a big-box store.

Has anyone put an aftermarket system in? Did you do it yourself or have a pro do it?

[patriot78]

i have an aftermarket system

panasonic head unit w/ a mdx 8" sub fits nice behind my middle seat..

i had a friend help me out and it came out great

[ChevyLover]

Just depends on what you want to do. You CAN do it yourself, but it's not very much more $$ if you go to a big-box place like Fry's or whatever. They can do it cheap and it's done by a Pro.

[poolguy20]

Installed a Clarion Pro-Audio head unit with an aux hookup for my mp3 player (iriver H10 20gb) and Sirius satellite radio. It seemed intimidating when I opened the box (from Crutchfield) but my buddy and I had everything installed in 2 hours. If you feel comfortable changing your oil and making a minimal amount of splices, I would say go for it. Crutchfield included step by step instructions for dummies. Everything works great, stereo sounds much better, and now I have Stern available for the commute into work.

[Aeropagus]

I've done it before, but never in a vehicle that I care about. I've seen some funny looking do-it-yourself jobs, but so good ones too.

[poolguy20]

I shopped around: ebay, direct from factory website, bestbuy/circiut city type, and crutchfield. Crutchfield wasn't the cheapest, but you can't beat the value you get with thier free shipping, included face plates, all wiring for accesories, adaptors and instructions for dummies. They are always available 24-7. If you don't mind spending a couple extra bucks, and are mechanically inclined almost all will be happy with the(ir) install job.

[Steve]

I installed a CD player in my wife's old Pontiac Sunfire that I bought off eBay. I've put in a coule of other high-end OEM units that I have bought...don't require a lot of time or effort. I've found that most speakers that come with a system are pretty good and can handle the best systems that GM will put out.

[VortecMaxGuy]

I've put a few stereos in various cars over the years. I've found that the newer vehicles are so much easier because they make pre-wired kits for just about anything. I just put in a Pioneer DEH-7700 in my 06 crew cab. I did have to purchase a door-ding module & a steering wheel interface, but it wasn't too difficult to install. While I was at it I installed two 10" sub's & a MTX amp at the same time. I probably took about three hours for the install. I'm sure I saved at least $200-300 bucks this way.

[Kansas]

discount car stereo dot com has better prices do it yourself can void your warranty

[05chevyguy]

I have to 12 inch jl audio W3v.3's (subs) in my truck along with alpine mids an highs in all the stock door and piller panels in my regular cab. i installed it all my self i even took most of my interior out and dynamated most of it. ive found that it helps tremendiously. but if you somewhat know what you are doing then its not to hard at all.

[AK_Silvarado]

i have been thinking about putting a new deck and subs in my pickup as soon as i have the cash i plan on doing it myself. i have put many sterios in many cars and they really arnt that bad especally if you can find the correct wiring harness for it then its almost a simple plug and play just make sure you read the directions and you should be fine. I ripped out the sterio out of my 2005 focus and had my new Sony deck and sub box and amp with RCAs in in 2.5 hours. the truck i think might take a little longer but not much.

[Monolith]

I put the stereo in almost every vehicle I have ever owned. The 05 Silverado Crew I have had to be one of the most difficult (next to my ex-wifes Eclipse) because of that silly door chime box (not to mention it cost me an extra $75). You have to bypass the original box with a different one to make it work and the aftermarket ones are insane loud because of where they have to be placed. It's in, it works great, but if you can get a Frye's or Best Buy to install then I say go for it.

By the way, thanks to whoever started this forum I needed a new place to talk about trucks.

Jon

[Cableguy]

Your 05 Silverado might have that silly chime thru the front speaker thing so make sure you get the proper harness. Other than that go for it. Save a buck or 2. I would.

[mowerboy1000]

i have always put in my own stero. Sub and all. I just put in a new stero in my buddy's STI adn had to fab speraker housings to get everything to fit. Yeah it took a long time but I think that I did as good of a job as what would have been done to hire someone. It all seems fairly easy to me to do all of that

[plips_2002]

I have always done stereo installs myself. It's really pretty easy if you get the right stuff. You can go to a big box store like Wal-Mart and buy an instalation kit and a wiring harness. The harness make connecting to the stock radio harness a breeze. The wires are USUALLY universal as far as the colors go, and a instalation kit made specifically for your year will fit the stereo in pretty easy. On the wiring harness, always check the wiring diagram of the stereo to know for sure whih color wires do what, once you have wired the harness to the wires of the new stereo, the harness will plug right into the stock harness that unplugs from the stock radio. Feel free to ask me if you need any help. Good luck.

[TahoeFever]

I've done hundreds of installs friends cars (victims) lol ranging from cellphone car kits to head units and i must agree by reading the other posts it's all about understanding the install task at hand read the wiring diagrams and make sure you have the correct harness's and tools to complete the job at hand.

myself i still run stock since i have the Bose system ,built in 6 cd player added an Ipod interface , bluetooth install kit though the radio , sirius install kit instead of Xm. so I have all the goodies of an aftermarket product without loosing my oem radio :)

current project : installing welen strobes

[95CTburb19]

I do it myself that way if anyone screws up, its me and i didnt pay extra for it. Ive put new head units in my sierra and my suburban and new speakers in the sierra.

[Toymyster]

I always do all of mine because I know I do a much more thorough job than most of the "professionals"!! I get very picky with my installs (just shy of OCD)!! It's not complicated, just takes a bit of time!! But if you don't want to do it, just have a pro do it!!

[MD4x4 Fireman]

i did mine and it was my first time. just take your time and read the install instructions

[Duranged Mike]

I've done all of my own install work. (radios, amps, speakers, alarms, etc.) I Don't know if it really counts or not, but I was a professional installer for Circuit City! 4 1/2 years! Not there anymore as I've moved on to owning my own biz, but all in all, take your time, read instructions, Things will be fine.

On a side note...I agree with who was talking about Crutchfield, yes, I bit pricey, but you do get everything you need for the install! Plus free shipping to boot!

[Rumpamuro]

Everyones talking about saving a buck or two.. like i wouldnt take install for free if they gave it too me, simply because, Ill have the satisfaction of when its done, it works and looks good but most importantly.. i did it!

[vaportrail]

I'm new to this site - (which has some neat stuff). I'm looking to hook up a '05 panasonic oem dvd player in a '01 tahoe lt w/ sunroof. I can over come the mechanicals of mounting easy, however, based on prior experience of smoking a BCM I'd like to get it wired right! I have the dvd player outputs figured out ok- but need to know where to connect the the vehicle! i do have rear seat audio in the console. I don't have rear overhead a/c controls- they are mounted between the visors. Any help would be greatly appreciated ( especially by my boys!)

[blackzzz01]

I want to get a ipod aux hookup for 05 Tahoe but just don't feel comfortable doing it. For one I'm nervous about taking off the dash cowling as usually whenever I've done something like this in the past it's never gone back right and am afraid the darn thing will rattle. I've taken off door panels and they've never gone back right because of the clips. I wonder how much a pro such as Car Tunes would charge for the install if I brought in the unit?

[vncj96]

I now do everything myself, Then if there is a problem i know where to narrow it down to and I dont have to drive to some custom shop that did. i will never go back to Best Buy thats for sure, but If i have to have any finerglassing done I do have a great shop I go to. I would say if you want someone else pay the little extra for a custom shop not Best Buy or some chain type store, they do everything as cheap as possible, no top wirning and forget about soldered connections

[Project1]

i went to circuit city when i bought my head unit and if the unit was over 100bucks they did it for free so i didnt put that in but i usually do and my speakers and my subs and their boxes not cuz i want to save money i just like having a project to do! its fun to me..

[GOTSAND4ME2]

I did all the work to my truck my self:

New 7" DVD deck, twin subs below the back seat, full set of componet speakers in the front and back doors and two amps on the back wall.

I prefer to do it this way because that way you know whats in your truck and how it works