Decent sound system with just a head unit and 2x 40mm speakers - possible?

Wondering if I should try to get a decent sound system in my 'rolla or just leave the tape deck & radio in there...if I were to get a new head unit I'd want something that supports bluetooth audio and uses SD cards or a desktop SSD (no hard drives for sure due to bad roads, and CDs are old school now). It doesn't need to be loud, just good quality. Possible?

What size speakers? Surely you're not talking 1.5 odd inches?

Sorry I meant 4-inch, dunno why I said 40mm that would be like headphones haha.

4" isn't going to give you a lot of low frequencies, that is going to be an issue. Any half-decent modern headunit is going to be an improvement over your stock one, though.

In my 1990 Prizm/rolla I run an older Sony head unit with CD changer hooked to 4" front and 4x6 rear infinity Reference speakers. It sounds pretty good, no bass to speak of but it's better than stock by a long shot. I had to modify the factory front speaker mounting boxes to make the new speakers fit but they do fit.

Most new HUs won't support SD cards, but esily handle USB thumb drives. Since htey tend to be more durable, that's a good thing. Still cheap too. A good set of 4" speakers like the Infinity reference noted above will go a long way to improving your sound quality. Either get a dech that has a high pass filter on the speaker level outputs, or at least add some bass blockers to make the speakers last longer (so that they aren't trying to reproduce lower frequencies), and sound better.

Well, I guess it depends on what you consider decent, but you can get reasonable sound. I have a pair of these in the Celica:

http://www.focal.com/en/car-audio-sound/haut-parleurs/kits-coaxiaux/100-ca1.php

They do make some bass and they do everything else really well. Paired with a decent head unit that makes a little power, they'd do a decent job.

My '93 Toyolla had the factory sound system when I got it. I just replaced the head unit with a decent JVC unit and was very surprised at the difference it made, though you can't turn bass boost on without a lot of distortion.

Alright I'll have to see if there's room for that tweeter in the middle and choose a head unit.

Edit: Maybe this one?

http://www.amazon.com/CDE-HD137BT-Alpine-In-Dash-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B0076LTKTS/

I want something black or dark gray, not too flashy and it's a plus if it has a knob. All the riceboys I know make fun of my old tape deck with a big knob

in my miata i did some infinity speakers, and this little amp...

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_136XD2002/JL-Audio-XD200-2.html?tp=35757

i love it.

You won't get to hear the lowest bass with 4" speakers, but if you put them in an eclosure or put XTC foam baffles or something behind them if you install them in the doors you may be able to keep some low end response. Why 4" speakers, is that your stock size? If you can fit 6.5's you can get decent bass out of those without having to use a larger speaker somewhere.
For the stereo, based on your wishes, if you want to save some money I'd check out a receiver like this: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=267-5002 I've not used that particular receiver but I have used dual ones in the past and found them to be really nice for the low price. I have one in my F150 right now (it was a nice cheap shaft receiver that still had rca out and 3.5 in). I know its not going to rattle the block, but in the past I've set up systems for people that just wanted a minimal system with good bass, and used a 4 channel receiver with 2 5.25" speakers up front, and a single high efficiency (lightweight cone, lower excursion, smaller magnet, small voice coil, etc) 8" sub in a ported box. Use a dual voice coil 4 ohm sub and wire the rear channels to each of the sub's voice coils. Using this, you can use the fader to adjust your balance between the main stereo speakers and the bass.

And if you want to autox, you just toss the sub out, and you still have functioning stereo speakers.

You can use any sub but I've found these ones to meet all the above requirements: http://www.amazon.com/Bazooka-BT8024DVC-Series-8-Inch-Passive/dp/B0007WQ7KI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_2/185-5707887-2513012

If you are more the DIY type you can build a small box for a cheap sub like this: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=290-357 and it will fill in all the low frequencies you'll miss with those 4" speakers.

Keep in mind with all car stereo equipment, classified ads and craigslist will net you substantial savings and for subwoofers, newer and/or more expensive isn't always better. for this project, a high excursion, high power handling, small box subwoofer won't perform optimally...

belteshazzar wrote: in my miata i did some infinity speakers, and this little amp... http://www.crutchfield.com/p_136XD2002/JL-Audio-XD200-2.html?tp=35757 i love it.

smaller, cheaper, and twice as much power: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575PBR3004/Rockford-Fosgate-PBR300X4.html?tp=35782 they also have a mono amp in a matching chassis size.

I love the new PBR amps, they make installation a snap, they fit just about anywhere and they don't run as hot as their tiny chassis would have you believe. they run pretty cool actually, which expands mounting options even more. And they are really power efficient.

if youre interested in a sub and live anywhere near the Dc metro area, I have an old JL audio microsub laying around with 2 8" 8 ohm drivers in it, I also have 4 ohm drivers I could swap into it to work better off the rear channels of a headunit for you. really nice subs, I was hoarding some old made in the USA gear for a while but lately sold most of it off and just have these JL audio 8's left.

Yeah the stock size is 4". I'd only want the two speakers in the front but I'll see if there could be a way to mod bigger speakers in. Maybe just a bracket that goes over the stock opening and can adapt to something bigger.

That Dual unit could work, I don't really need the CD player.

And I don't live anywhere near the DC metro area

the bigger cone you can go with upfront, the happier you will be with the result, especially if you don't want to drop a sub box in. Honestly a 4" speaker has such little bass you literally won't be able to hear the bass on a lot of songs. and if you turn the bass up using bass boost, youre likely going to damage the speaker.

Yeah I think I used to have bass on these speakers but now it's gone tinny...and I've probably got less than 4 hours of use on this sound system in total since I bought the car.