I know it has been beat to death, and i have researched the board, but there is a lot of info to figure what works with what.

I have a shaker 500, i would prefer to keep the head unit. I would like a good set of speakers, and a sub. Would a stand alone amp be better than a powered sub? Am i wasting my time with the stock h/u? I still need my trunk for hockey gear and stuff. I've always done my own installs, but only basic stuff, no crossovers or anything. Thanks in advance.

 

There are many good 6x8's for the doors and rear deck. If you are going to keep the stock head unit, which is fine, pick one of the mor effiecient sets - Infinity, Boston Acoustics, Pioneer. A lot of people including me have the Infinity's. Unless you really want to get into it, leave the 8" door subs, as the only way to change them is with a seperate amp. I would add a Scosche box and 12" sub with a single channel amp. Take a look at my post in the Shaker 500 v. 100 Thread - it has a full description and some photos; it is more complicated than you probably want, bit it maximizes trunk space and sounds awsome. I would pick an amp that has line level inputs so you can tap into the rear speakers for a feed and with some amps (MTX) you do not need a remote turn on wire if you use the line level inputs.

 

another option for better sound quality is to change out the 6x8's for 6.5" speakers/components - much better sounding in my opinion. I am working on customizing the "a" pillars to accomodate my Zapco tweeters for that "stage" sound and laying on the sound deadener in the doors to dampen all the vibrations. just my opinion on it...

 

The A-pillars are simple. Vifa tweets angled slightly towards the center of the windshield. Soft domes wouldn't work as well in the reflected configuration.