If you are willing to grasp what is truly in the system and want to address your concerns then I can help. There are a few questions to answer and rather than argue over what is "good sounding" which can be measured, I will help you achieve the "sound" you are after.

First - The head unit used in the Crossfire is on par with some of the best units out in the market, sure there are more advanced units with more functions, but in the world of car audio the days of expensive DACs and better transports are a thing of the past. In most OEM cases we find the same parts being used internally as the aftermarket, and that is just in response to a declining market in aftermarket head units. So the only reason to look to change out a head unit is for more functionality. For example, do you want a screen, maybe ipod control, or cd changer?

Second - The system in the crossfire employs some very advanced drivers, DSP, and amplification. You can use this to your advantage or ditch it and try to build things up from scratch. Again rather than argue over what is "good sounding" which can be measured, I will help you achieve the "sound" you are after. So answer this, when you listen to the stock system at mid volume with bass and treble set to 0, what was it in your opinion that needed improvement, or better said what in your opinion was missing?

Third - There have been a few devices mentioned in the thread that will "help you interface" with the factory amp and run other amplifiers. Depending on the amps you choose you may not need that if what you think is missing is volume. Each of the products mentioned do some things well and many things poorly, not to mention they are painfully time intensive to set up properly. There are others on the way to market that will offer far more and easier to set up, measurement devices, and offer control for items such as an iPOD.

Fourth - If it is bass you are after then the question you need to address is both "at what frequency range" and "how much". Seeing that most consumers believe that adjusting the bass on the radio gives more low end, it is easy to see why most peoples perception is truly flawed. Typical bass controls are really mid Q single band EQs centered around 100hz. So understanding that, "low bass" is much further down the scale. Boosting that bass control might make the latest rap cd thunder, but it does very little to the low end, which is not a bad thing since most rap artists focus that synth line around 70hz. Make no mistake low bass takes good drivers, lots of power, and proper understanding of the relationship between the enclosure, driver, and amplifier. Just ask an average installer what the impedance curve is for the combination he sold you and good chance you will get a blank stare or some arbitrary number. Ask him at what frequency that prefab box he has on the floor rolls off and now your really having fun. The reality is the dealer in the aftermarket on average does mot know. All they know is the buyer for the store says this woofer will work in a sealed, ported, or bandpass box and handle x amount of power, and because many of the woofers sold today are mid Q designs there is such a wide margin of error allowed for boxes that in some cases the installer can be off as much as 30% and not have a significant negative effect on the perceived sound quality. So as you answer #2 be ready to identify how much space you are willing to give up? How many woofers you think it will take to achieve it? Do you want it to b low bass or something across a wider spectrum? And how much money you are willing to part with to get what you want because it may require larger amplifiers which lend themselves to upgrading charging systems.

Fifth - This is the hardest question to answer because it normally requires someone to show you a really good system and spend some time listening. Is accurate sound what you are after? That means the car has a flat response curve at the listening position and you are hearing the material as the artist intended for you to hear it, just as it was produced in the recording studio. Some people say yes and then find themselves back to the old habits of tweaking the system. Again good sound is measurable and it takes a great deal of time in some cases to make a car truly sound good.

However, sometimes all it takes to deliver some perceived improvement is a small change. Such examples are on this forum where one person adds a cap to a speaker and gently rolls off the mid range driver in the door and without knowing the interaction with the driver and amplifier induces a "hole" in the sound. All it takes is a few people to see that condition as an improvement and bingo people jump off that cliff one after another making the claim that this fix was all they needed.


I can only tell you that in 20 years of designing systems rarely do I have anyone that listens to a car and says "that sounds bad" they always seem to be interested in how the sound comes from a place on the dash where there are no speakers. Or better yet when the 3k they spent with a dealer does not equate to a system properly designed, they want to throw it away or return those goods and because they bought a certain brand it will be better. That is not to say that one brand is better, its true there are really good brands, and they make some really good equipment, but building this stuff is always about compromise, and that is where a good installer with experience can make the difference between a 3k system that performs as if one spent 10k or one that could have been bested by the cheapest products sold at the local auto parts store.