i want to upgrade the lousy stock radio in my truck?

Based on the above information, I could put brand new speakers and a new radio in your truck for about 500 dollars. In order: start with the speakers, they reproduce whatever sound is given to them so don't go too cheap here. you could have a $1000 deck and amp and 20.00 speakers will still sound like 20.00 speakers. expect to spend about 100 to 150 minimum on your speakers. Brand isn't really important, but go with a well known brand name such as pioneer, kenwood, alpine, etc. ( your truck has 6.5" speakers front and rear).

you can use any radio with any set of speakers as long as you don't put more than four speakers on a system. Don't confuse yourself with spec's they are only general guidelines. if you must look at specs, look for the RMS values and not peak power.

The radio should have all the featues you want (HD, IPOD, etc) brand names should be used, (see above) again any brand works with any speakers.

An amp shouldn't be needed, but you will get cleaner sound from an amp setup, you will however add about 600 to the cost of your system, (install, wires, amp, etc)

My personal recommendation would be: Kenwood KDC-HD942U radio, Metra part #'s 99-6700 and 70-1817 as installation parts (required)

Pioneer TS-G1642R 6.5" coaxial speakers front and rear

Metra part # 72-6514 as install parts (2 required)

a qualified installer!!!! the quality of your system is only as good as the person putting it in. they should only charge 120-150 to put everthing in( I could do it in less than 2 hours) hope this helps.

The first thing you wanna get when upgrading your stereo is a new deck (radio). They are not terribly expensive, you can find a good one for between $100 to $200, depending on what features you want. If you are considering HD radio, then look for a deck that is HD radio compatible, it should say. Also, if you have an mp3 player (ipod, zune) or anything like that that you want to play through your stereo, then look for a deck with an auxiliary input. Basically, there is not much difference between many decks (unless you want a flip-up screen or you planning on adding subs/amps to your setup, but it doesnt sound like you are) so it comes down to personal preference. Word of advice, stick to name brands. A lot of the cheap stuff in car audio is REALLY CHEAP, as in complete sh*t. Alpine and Pioneer make the best decks. Last thing you gotta do is make sure the deck fits in your car. If you go to best buy or crutchfield.com, they let you input your car make, model, and year and from that they will tell you if a particular radio fits your car. Hope this helps

Try starting off with this website...

http://www.crutchfield.com/

Enter in your specific vehicle information, and they'll show you the speakers the fit, radio that fits, and any accesories you need to go with it (many vehicles need a bracket to fit the new radio in the dash).

It sounds like you just need a new head unit and speakers. I usually recommend an amplifier, but depending just how loud you want to go with it, you may or may not need one. I don't think I'd add an subwoofer for you... it does do a lot of good ASIDE from "being able to be heard blocks away", but I think it sounds like you would rather not sacrifice the limited space in your truck cab.

You can do A LOT for under $1000... for that kind of budget, I could nearly get you into competition quality setups, actually. A new radio should cost you somewhere around $200, maybe a little more or less, depending how fancy you want to go with it. Things to look for when buying a radio....

-Does it have Ipod control (if you dont have an Ipod now, do you think might sometime before this radio dies?)

-Check how many Pre-amp outputs it has. 2 outputs is pretty standard. 3 is great if you can find it, it allows you more control over the amps later.... but 2 is fine. Even if your not adding an amplifier now, you may decide to later... it'll be nice if you don't have to swap radios again to do so.

-Try to find a radio with at least 45 or 50 watts per channel. Many have less, and if you're not using an amp, your really going to need some wattage to be able to hear anything over highway wind noise.

As for speakers, I'd really recommend hearing them before buying. Try to go to a local shop, and listen to as many as you can. Even if you end up buying online, at least you know what you're getting before they arrive. More expensive doesn't always mean better sounding, and cheaper doesn't always mean you got a better deal. But for the most part, if you can find a reasonable price on speakers from brands like JL, Eclipse, Infinity, Alpine.... you probably won't ever regret the purchase. Expect to pay around $100 to $150 for a good pair.

Amplifiers.... As I mentioned, you may not want to add an amp, but it could be easily in your budget, and would do a lot for your overall sound quality. The watts you get from a head unit are pushed through a tiny amplifier chip, mashed up tight behind the CD player and who-knows-what-else. A dedicated amplifer uses higher quality parts, and produces much fuller sound, even at the same "rated" power levels. 50 to 75 watts from an amplifier should be plenty of power, unless your taking your truck to competitions. Having that clean power on tap isn't just for waking the neighbors.... Your amp is able to stay crystal clear at higher volumes, because it's not being pushed beyond it's limits. So when you crank the volume knob because the windows are down on the highway, you'll actually be able hear MUSIC, not just loud noises.

Lastly, subwoofers.... if you do decide to add a sub, the biggest benefit you'll notice is again with sound quality. A basic 10" sub, with maybe 150-200 watts RMS should do great for you, anything more and your just showing off. But by having the sub there to handle the low frequencies, you can filter the bass away from your other speakers. Bass is the biggest cause of distortion on mid-range speakers, and by filtering it, they'll be able to go louder, and stay even cleaner. Make sure your head unit has crossovers built in, so your able to filter these frequencies. Although, if you have your front speakers on an amp, the amp should have its own crossover, so the head unit won't need to do it after all.

marvelous determination. I also have a 06 sentra with an entire stereo improve. you will get a bypass i've got self assurance to run an amp and subs to the inventory stereo. wont sound just about as good yet gets the activity performed. truthfully i might improve the stereo too. in simple terms like the audio gadget you are able to constantly return it back to inventory on the tip of the hire and save the stereo besides. including an amp will require you to hook it as much as the battery even nonetheless and the subs are common besides.