Hi,

I have a '97 Cavalier coupe (don't laugh, it's paid for and I've decided
to keep it a while) I'd like to upgrade the stock speakers to something
that sound a little (ok more like a lot) better.

I replaced the head unit with a fairly cheap Blaupunkt CD receiver about
a year ago, and although it plays CDs, the stock speakers just have
horrible frequency response, and the front pair of 4x6's seem to have
an upper bass resonance which is only made worse with the deck's
loudness control. With some music, the system sounds tolerable, and
there are other occasions where the speakers sound like a cheap ghetto
blaster with dying batteries. Note there is nothing wrong with any of
the components, it's just that some recordings are better at concealing
or brining out the flaws in the system.

I am looking for flat frequency response, and absence of distortion from
my new speakers - I don't care if they have amazing bass response, but
they cannot have any annoying resonance or excessive distortion. In
other words, they cannot sound anything like the junk that's in there
now. I'd like to stick with the stock speaker sizes and locations,
mainly because I want this to be a quick project, and not an ongoing
one.

In order of importance, here are my desired upgrades

-Front speakers (4x6)
-Rear speakers (6x9)
-New Head unit (if needed)

My budget for the speakers is flexible. I am not looking to spend a lot
of money, but I will spend what it takes, say up to around $500 CDN or
so, to get something which can at least approach hi-fi sound quality. If
a $500 upgrade will not do much, I'll look at spending more, but I know
that $500 can buy a set of home speakers which would meet my needs so
far as sound quality is concerned, so I'll use it as a starting point
for the car.

Anyone done this with a Cavalier or Sunfire before? Any recommendations
on how I should proceed?

Thanks
Max