good sound system

hey yall. i have a 1997 chevy tahoe 4dr 4x4 LT. i want to get a really nice speaker system but i want to keep the factory head unit. i dont know the first thing about speakers or wiring or anything. i heard that pioneer and infinities are good brands. i want brand new speakers all the way around the truck. so what is the best brand and where to buy?

I have several pairs of Hertz components and love them to death...

Pioneer and infinty reference would be a good upgrade over stock.

I made my living in car audio for 20+ years. Sound is personal preference. Buy what sounds good to you. Try to listen to speakers you are interested in in someone elses vehicle, not on a sound board.
Honestly, new speakers will make your system sound marginally better, (going from 10 year old speakers to new ones), But it is really the head unit that will offer the most improvement. Changing the head unit will increase you frequency response by roughly 20%, not to mention giving you double, or in some cases, triple the power output.
When you do look for speakers, don't automatically by the top of the line, most expensive ones of any given brand. The higher end speakers are designed to work with outboard amplifiers, and are not as efficent as the models further down the line.

Bottom line: Anything will be an improvement over OEM.

I second Boreshead's call here. I opted to dump the Bose that came stock because it just wasnt cuttin it for me. I installed Infinity Reference 6.5" all around, and they are great sounding, and they we're easy on on the wallet. Crutchfield had them on sale when I bought them. If I remember correctly one pair was 150 and the next pair was 99. some kind of special, I cant remember now.

But yeah new head unit is easy to install with the correct harness, and will make the most difference of all.

good luck.

I personally like kicker, all the other guys are right with the aftermarket H.U idea. If u get a new HU it will sound so much better. if your looking for a place besides crutchfield go to 'onlinecarstereo.com'.....alot of stuff is at a really good price and i bought almost all my stuff from there

alpine type-x all the way around.... both of my vehicles are loaded with these, and I love them to death.....

treepete did you go with the 6022i's ??

yeah, exactly 6022i and then the shallows I think for one of the sets. 6022is?

I ended up going with MB Quart components up front and 3-ways in the rear doors and of course kenwoods up top. Im running a PG 5-way amp to run the door speakers and a L7 12''...I HIGHLY recommend amping your speakers. Even a higher end head unit cannot power 6 speakers adequatley.

hell yea me to, are you running a four channel to them?

well honestly if you buy a very nice door speakers they will sound like ass on a factory radio. It dont matter how nice of speakers you buy the factory head unit is crap. If you bought a decent after market cd player like alpine of pioneer it would make sound soo much better. Or u could run a small 4 channel amplifier with the factory radio

DONT RUN A 4-CHANNEL OFF THE FACTORY RADIO!
then all your doin is runnin a hi/lo off of the factory HU and just amping the crappy sound quality. if anything get a new head unit. it would make the sound quality alot better. then if you still want louder, add a 4 channel.

if you don't get a new head unit.... try something like JL Audio's cleansweep... I have heard 2 of those in action with stock head unit, and aftermarket amps/speakers.... one of them sounded better than my 100% aftermarket setup!