Hi there,

I wonder if some of you could offer me some advice, and/or point me in
the direction of some useful URLs? I'm planning to upgrade my factory
stereo system to something that will "sound damn good" TM, but I'm
pretty ignorant when it comes to car (or 'home' for that matter) audio.

I'm pretty certain that I'll buy the Alpine 9815 Head Unit. I think most
of you will agree that it's a good deal? The product spec reads:
Preamp Outputs: 3 pair
Peak Output: 60 Watts
RMS Power Output: 27 Watts

It also mentions that it has it's own internal amp, but I've been told
to get an amplifier anyway as the difference in performance will be very
noticeable.

By budget is around $1000, which I'm hoping is more than enough. I don't
want a system that will wake the neighbourhood up - just something
that's crisp, clean, bassy! As well as the Alpine 9815, I'd like to buy
an amplifier, a subwoofer, and at least one new set of speakers. Do I
need to replace both sets? Should I?

Okay, so here are my questions:

1) What am I looking for in an amplifier? What kind am I looking for?
Any recommendations?

2) If I replace both sets of speakers, should they all be the same, or
are there advantages to different sets at the front/rear?

3) What am I looking for in a subwoofer? I'm not bothered whether it
sits in the trunk, or on the floor of the back seat. It can look ugly as
sin for all I care.

I'd read the manual if there was one.

Thanks very much in advance for any replies.

- Best regards,
Lee

PS: What would a typical install price for a complete system in the
SouthWest be? A ballpark figure is good enough...