tanstaafl, you actually do often come off as an elitist in these posts (I've seen a couple others with similar comments) but that's a good thing -- you're pointing out the fact that the Empeg is only as good as what it's feeding sound into. Most people understand that and don't need it driven into their heads, though.

See, we're all aware of the benefits of good equipment, but a lot of us are just doing it on an upgrade path similar to this:

1. Head unit
2. Empeg
3. Speakers, sub, amp(s)

It's a little easier to spend the money on the Empeg first and have acceptable and actually pretty good quality, and then later (after the credit card is taken care of) go out and drop a few hundred bones on the sound system itself. Not everyone has the cash to drop in one fell swoop, and I wasn't 100% I'd be satisfied with my Empeg, therefore, I didn't want to invest that much at once. Now that I'm completely addicted, you can bet your ass I'm going to upgrade with an amp, speakers, and a moderate subwoofer.

So, having my Empeg paid off now, I agree that it's good to beef up the factory system, at least a little. But let everyone get their Empeg first. Once the drug gets into their veins, they'll be mortgaging their homes for a trip to the car audio shop.

BTW, in my opinion, it's always good to have a good head unit in the car if you've got the extra DIN. For when friends have a CD, or for when you want to listen to the radio (and don't have the Empeg tuner, which none of us Mk II owners do.) And there's always Flea-Bay for unwanted head units.

-Tony
MkII #554