Alright, so I'm new to this entirely. I've never installed an audio system, but I am currently looking to upgrade.

I drive a '13 Honda Civic LX, and as you've guessed, stock everything.

I don't bump rap, or play ridiculous heavy metal. I just want something that sounds nice and clean, with maybe a little more power.

What exactly should I be looking at? Should I even bother upgrading speakers, or just buy an amp/sub, etc?

I'll be doing my own installation, with the help of a friend. I simply have zero stereo knowledge.

Budget is not really an issue, but keep it within reason. I'm not going to drop $3,000 for something that probably won't sound a WHOLE lot different to me, especially when it won't justify itself in resale value, but I'm more than willing to drop several hundred for something that sounds nice.

My wife and I mostly listen to the radio or mp3's from our phones via the bluetooth, if that makes any difference.

Thanks for the help!

I don't have much knowledge for this, but what I've personally noticed

replacing the stock speakers(Doors and rear) with aftermarket ones, will make your music sound so much better, a sub and an amp isn't needed for good sound and decent bass if you get some good rear speakers

how I know, My amp burnt out a long time ago, and i'm too cheap to replace it, so my Fusions give me enough bass to be satisfied and my kenwoods for the doors give me a nice sound, I don't know if those are good brands, but ANYTHING is better than stock speakers most of the time

Amp/sub is more for being loud and vibrating passengers imo

Well, I have no interest in being overly loud or vibrating anything at all.
I usually fade most of my sound to the back, because I don't care for it blaring in my ears from the front door panels. I prefer it just kind of mellowing in the background, but I don't want the quality to be degraded to the point where I can't stand listening to it.

So, it looks like leaving out amp/sub and upgrading the speakers is the way to go?

new speakers and a better head unit would be a start. honestly something like a head unit with an 8 band equalizer would probably be the only way to go if you really want to be picky with your overall sound.

are you wanting just a standard head unit or would you prefer a dvd/touchscreen head unit?

My wife likes the look of the stock in the car at the moment. I'm definitely not opposed to talking her into the upgrade for dvd/touchscreen if it has the ability to retract, though.

She definitely wouldn't want a touchscreen mounted directly in view, unless it had the ability to also display her navi info from her phone. Something compact with a pop-out screen is definitely worth a look for me, though.

EDIT: I can go take a picture of it, if it'll make a difference at all.

This post was edited by Cambridge on Mar 6 2013 04:45pm

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_32827_Pioneer-AVH-P6300BT.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_43366_Rockford-Fosgate-Power-T165.html 2 sets of these
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_22573_Kenwood-KAC-8405.html
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KCA-K8
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=TCA12C-100
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KARSS4.4M

are you wanting a subwoofer?

or would you prefer to do dedicated midbass drivers in the rear slots?

I'll be checking out all of those links.
Also, what are the benefits of either, and what are these?

EDIT: Also, it's funny that you posted that Pioneer head-unit because I was actually looking at the exact some one on the Best Buy website for $20 more.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pioneer+-+50W+x+4+MOSFET+Apple%AE+iPod%AE-/Satellite+Radio-Ready+DVD+Deck/2822275.p?id=1218354583635&skuId=2822275#tab=overview

This post was edited by Cambridge on Mar 6 2013 05:19pm

each type of speaker is responsible for certain audio frequencies.

standard 2 way door speakers are a midbass(also called midrange) with a tweeter this covers most of the audio range. subwoofers are usually set to play between 20-80hz and since you said you don't listen to rap/hiphop a subwoofer is fairly useless.

a dedicated midbass(or midrange) will cover the frequencies just above 80hz to around 5000hz. this range covers higher bass notes and some treble notes just before the tweeter takes over. these are good because coaxial speakers like i linked are fairly weak in the middle range because that tweeter mount takes up a lot of their surface area and because coaxial speakers are built to handle low power generally.

for example you could use these in the rear instead of the speakers i linked earlier http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_43386_Rockford-Fosgate-PPS4-6.html this is the price for 1 not a set like the earlier speakers.

So, I could use the set you posted in #6 in the front door panels and two of these in the back to get better quality, all around? That definitely sounds like the better option to me.

Also, the Pioneer head-unit listed says that steering wheel control is optional and there's another piece you can purchase for the unit that accomplishes this. Would this be necessary for me since my Civic already has steering wheel controls? Or will what's in my car already be compatible with this head unit?
The same goes for the back-up camera (which we already have mounted from factory, and it displays on the in-dash above the steering wheel), and optional navigation. Would the back-up camera that comes stock be compatible with this head unit since it has optional support for a back-up camera, or do I have to buy the accessory listed for that as well?

I guess what I'm wondering is if I should purchase all of that stuff up-front with the unit, if I can possibly wait to upgrade it at a later date, or if any of those accessories are even necessary given that my car already has most of those capabilities.

EDIT: Thanks for all the help, by the way.

This post was edited by Cambridge on Mar 6 2013 05:40pm

ya it is a better option overall. you'll need to cut the rears off at 5000hz on the amplifier and start them at 85hz.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_18027_PAC-SWI-PSv1-New-Version-of-SWI-PS.html is necessary to keep factory steering wheel controls.
i'm not really sure on the back up camera since i'm not familiar with how its integrated in your vehicle. you might do some research into this and see how others integrated it into aftermarket head units.
gps nav in your factory head unit will leave with the head unit itself. however you can use an iphone gps app to replace it when the phone is hooked to the head unit.

you can buy the accessories anytime down the road. just go back to that head unit page and choose from the accessories page if you decide you want to expand.