It's time to tear out the old and put in the new - hoping to get some suggestions or advice from members that have replaced stock stereo & speaker setups like mine. I want to upgrade the HeadUnit, the stock speakers, all power & speaker wiring, and possibly add a multi disc CD changer. Some pics of my stock setup are included below.

Truck is a 96 K2500 Silverado Ext Cab w/Power windows & locks. Front doors have separate upper tweeter and a lower mid/full range speaker and of course those fine sounding 4x6's in the rear pillars.

My thinking was to try & fit the new tweeters into the stock location utilizing the old grills and replace the lowers with 5 1/4" or 6 1/2" units while trying also to keep the stock grills. As to the rear pillars, is there a 4x6 worth buying or can a 6x9 be modded into that location - I don't really care if I have to do some cutting or install a grill cover on the interior surface if 6x9's would fit as I think the sound would be far superior to a 4x6. I have used Infinity speakers in some other vehicles I've owned and was pleased with the sound but am fully open to your suggestions for other brand. I know I'll have to try & listen to all to see if I like the sound as everyone hears sound a little differently.

As to power for the new speakers, at the ripe age of 45, I think I'm past the separate amplifier stage and could live with the Head unit powering the speakers if it was capable - which brings me to the next question - which HU to choose?

One thing I can say is I prefer a rotary volume control and a control interface that is easy enough to see & use that it doesn't require you to pull over or turn on a overhead light every time you use it. I know that you get used to new stuff but some companies just make products that are more intuitive than others.

Last but not least, where to buy all the new goodies - I've bought from Crutchfield a couple of times in the distant past but know they must have major online competition - Best Buy, Circuit City, and The Good Guys are all in my local area so I can look & listen there.

I hooked up an external amp to my 99 Silverado with the stock head unit and added a subwoofer. The improvement was very noticable. If I were you I would add an external amp and see if that satisfies otherwise change speakers and perhaps the headunit....in case you want something to freshen up your dash.

I put every cd I buy on my computer and then make mp3 cds with 15 albums or so on them. I have a pioneer mp3 playing deck, the DEH 7400.. Couple years old. The new one is the 7600. Actually may be a newer one than that now. Anyway it is great because you can put everything from one band on one cd and not have to change it very often. Or throw a bunch of different things together and have lots of music without changing cds. That deck isn't terrible expensive, you can find them for around $250 more or less depending where you look. It powers the stock speakers way better than the stock radio. We put a 7600 in my brother's 98 and he got some pioneer door speakers too and it sounds really good. He also had the stock cd player like you have underneath, we just removed it and bought the cubbyhole that fits there for 10 bucks at the dealer. Just pops in. Also you asked where to buy: Crutchfield wanted 330+shipping for that 7600, dude at radio shack sold it to us for 275. He showed me his price list thing, suggested retail was 380 and his price was 240 so I figured that wasn't too bad a deal. Was when the models each first came out. Now though they have been out a while and are quite a bit cheaper. Saw one on sale for around 240...