im really not satisfied with the fit's sound system. I have very very limited knowledge to car audio just wondering what would you guys recommend doing first? I'm sort of working with a pretty tight budget here. My main goal is to achieve more bass but more clear treble is welcomed too.

i wouldn't really be doing all 3 at once. Going to just do 1 step at a time see if im satisifed with one of the 3 first before I jump onto the next. I'm not going to change out the headunit because thats just way too much money right now and I like the way the stock setup looks. (i have no need for a GPS / DVD player so a double DIN setup is useless to me.

speakers im hoping to spend no more than $200 for a pair. Subs => $200-$300? Amps also $200-$300 somewhere along those price ranges. What do you guys recommend for each category?

 

Here is what I would do and have done:

1. Swap the head unit first. Simply swapping it out for a higher wattage/channel amp'ed head unit, with built in EQ controls will make the stock speakers a LOT more livable. Right now I have a nice single DIN JVC CD head with IPod interface until a spring for the Eclipse double DIN, touchscreen, Navi, DVD unit later on. Seriously, even though you say you don't want or need to swap the head out, it will make a world of difference. And prices aren't that bad at all for a high quality JVC head. I got mine for less than $100 dude!

2. Swap the door speakers with components. I installed a set of Kicker SS 6.5" components speakers. The front pair are separate and in the stock mounting locations low and high in the door. In the back doors, I installed both in the lower location, because the Kicker comps have the ability to mount the tweeter into the middle of the midrange. The the crossovers got mounted on velcro inside the botton part of the door, behind the mid.

3. Then go for the sub/sub amp. This will make the biggest (in my opinion) difference in sound quality over the OEM setup. I personally prefer a nice pair of RE Audio subs in a sealed enclosure since the Fit is a hatchback that allows all of the energy to get from the cargo area to my ears. The reason for that setup instead of say a single 15" or 12" in a ported box is because you tend to get a much "tighter" controlled punch from 10s without being too boomy. And dual tens can push a ton more air than any single 12" or 15". You can also bridge a pair of DVC REs on down to a really nice .5 or 1 ohm load depending on the quality of the amp. I reccomend US Amps myself. RE Audio subs and US Amps are the same company, and their mid-range to higher priced stuff is an awesome bang for the buck value. Lotsa air moving for a realistic price!

4. Finally go with a 4 channel amp to power the door speakers, if you feel like you need to. For now, I am still using the HU, to power the comps. It has a good RMS of 50w/channel, and the SSs have a good high sensitivity rating. I can get way more volume out of the HU pushing the comps, then I would ever need when rocking out. (since I am not competing with this system at all, not need to have huge amps on anything but the sub).

 

good suggestion to do it in steps, HU first for sure, but you're HU puts out 18-20 RMS, 50 watts peak... never heard of a headunit putting out more than that

but i would do headunit, then speakers/speaker amp, then sub/sub amp.

 

yeah i pretty much agree with both these guys
HEADUNIT FIRST
you will notice a great change
if you change out speakers and not headunit, there isnt much of a difference, ....with a new headunit, it has more power and offer different EQ settings.
next you can go with speakers or subwoofer, depending if you want more bass or not. if you want more bass go sub first. if you want beter sq, go with speaker first. best to just go ahead and do the 4 channel amp as when you do the speakers.