What to do with my sound system... Need help

likely both, but you would get a lightly better gain out of a new stereo, personally i would buy the cd player ( i assume cd at least) and a set of cheap speakers to fit in the factory holes. then upgrade to better speakers later on it needed. its pretty hard to get a decent sound out of a truck, so the cheapies might be enough as it is.

Done right you can get amazing sound out of a truck... Good subs, a set of decent component speakers... My buddy has a single cab Ram and the sound in that thing kicks ass! upgrade the deck first, decide what your needs are, I'd reccomend something Mp3 compatible, with ports in the faceplate for plugging in external music devices (Ipod, etc) unless of course you want to run and hide wires for a rear mount deck. The Deck in the end depends on the kind of money you want to spend. Make sure it's got Jacks for the amp to the sub as well. then do the speakers... Component's first, then sub and amp... might as well have decent sound before filling it out. if you haven't got the cash to do it right away... go to the wreckers and find some speakers that will fit there. Assuming your local wrecker has a pick your own parts policy, look for something with a basic stock radio in it. I don't know what the radio in a '94 looks like... but if it has a notable AM/FM switch, try for a truck with the switch in the AM position... it may or may not make the difference, but it would likely mean the stereo wasn't cranked playing Gino beats all night long, and the speakers should still be good. use these until you have money for good stuff. And it never hurts to check everything in the yard for stuff the wrecker may have missed... We found an amp in a car once... so you may happen across some decent speakers, you never know!

I found that if you replace the stereo first the sound quaity jumps and then speaker improve from there. Oh by the way I use to work for a car audio shop

can you even run rca cables and remote wire into the radio you have now? i dont think so if its stock. but if you just looking to run the speakers off the factory wires they wont sound as good unless you have the cd reciever because they all have an ampliefier in them. I would get the cd player first personally. How much are you goings to spend?/ i recomend Alpine,Kenwood or pioneer being the last choice though. Then i would upgraded the components and possibly at the same time get a shallow mount sub for under the back set depending on if its extended cab or not? Id go with either Boston Acoustics or Polk Audio for the speakers and for the sub JL Audio, Kicker, Rockford Fosgate,MTX in that order. What is the layout of your truck? A lot of trucks will sound better with the upgraded system then a car will. Then is the question on how into car audio are you and how much are you willing to shell out in the end? what power are you looking to get for a sub if you are actually looking for one?

The layout is extended cab. The back isn't very big, and getting subs under the bench in the back could be a pain. And i was thinking that matching brands for speakers and reciever will get the most out of the whole system, is that a good idea? I don't want to spend too much, if i was upgrading over time i can spend more, but at the moment i have a $140 unit, with $100 speakers, and right now thats enough to spend. If though, i got a $200 reciever, and after a while got some good speakers ($100+) i'be be good with that. What i'm looking for in the system is quality over loudness. Loud blaring music isn't my thing, but i listen to a lot of techno, so quality with some nice bass is most important.

I've always been told it's a good idea to keep similar brands together... That said, I have a JVC deck, Kaption speakers, a Rockford Fosgate Amp, and a Soundstream sub. sounds just fine to me. I might add another amp from who knows where for the component fronts when one happens along... lol

that price range is tough to find some quality stuff hmm... well you see with the sub your gonna have to sacrifice either cash or seat space in back. http://www.crutchfield.com/p_13613TW53/JL-Audio-TW5-Thin-Line-13TW5-3.html?showAll=Y&search=JL+Audio+VENDORID136&searchdisplay=JL+Audio&tp=111 The thin line speakers like these^^^^ are a lot of money so your best bet would be to get maybe a 10'' rockford or possibly even sony as much as i hate sony for subs anyway. make a box for cheap if you can this will save you a lot of money probably just a 2' x 2' would be good enough. as for matching the brand reciever with the speakers it doenst really matter and usually the company only makes one or the other very well e.i. Alpine you listen to techno so you probably want a decent sub with decent speakers. the reciever doesnt really matter to much it just controls the components. doesnt add anything special to the equation just the more expensive ones give you more equalizer options.

I hate to disagree with just a lil bit on that (mostly about the head unit) but I do agree with ya mostly....first, JL Audio makes some decent priced and good quality subs. Also, the Head Unit is more important than you think, the sound quality difference may not be heard by someone thats not as "tonal retentive" as myself, BUT there is a difference. For example: Clarion's, Sony's or Pioneer's entry level lines have lotsa pretty lights and cool buttons but doesn't mean it processes sound same as say an Eclipse...(ok so I'm a lil biased on both these thoughts of mine cause my baby has JL Audio Subs, Eclipse Speakers and Eclipse Head Unit...) Just my 2 cents worth...

don not buy eclipse!!! they were bought out a few years back and now their decks have face plates that can be switched with a jvc and every function works correctly. they are overpriced by about $200-$300 now. alpine decks are the best. if you want to do this then save the money and do it once and do it right. no sense in spending a few hundred dollars to spend another few hundred dollars later down the road when you could ave jsut saved for a bit and done it perfect the first time. check out jl audio subs...they make stealth boxes which take up no space in vehicles although i dont know if they have an application for your truck. good luck