I have an '08 with the RF system except that I replaced the factory stereo with a built in Car PC. I connected the PC to the sound system using a MITO-02, and since I did that the sound quality is lacking compared with how the stock stereo sounded (IMO the stock RF system was good enough for me but I know a lot of people think it's weak).

I think I read somewhere a long time ago that I could replace the MITO-02 (and also the factory amp) with an aftermarket amp to connect the PC to the factory speakers/sub and it would sound better. I didnt' do it at the time because the PC itself was already above my budget but now I would like to look into this option if it'll give me better audio quality. Particularly I noticed that my my bass levels have dropped and I no longer really hear or feel much from the sub. Currently if I try to turn up the bass levels, it seems all the speakers (not just the sub) attempt to produce more bass and it sounds bad.

I know very little about car audio systems or audio system in general so I would appreciate any help you guys could give me on this subject. I think for right now if an amp would improve sound quality I will start with that and later I might upgrade the sub and/or speakers if I am still not happy.

 

hte MIT-02 sucks is why
make sure you've got it dialed in tho, there are 2 potentiometers on the box, one for midrange, one for bass.

Honestly, your better off just ripping the amp and all the speakers out. You could replace the entire setup for $200 and sound much, much better. Maybe $400 depending on your subwoofer situation.

The problem with the OEM rockford system is that there is no crossover to tap into, and each speaker is only 1Ohm, so the second you bypass that factory amp, you need to replace all the speakers too. Fortunately, you can access every lead for every speaker in the car off the harness under the driver's seat.

An installer would probably charge you ~$3-400 for a whole rewire. I'd give it an 8/10 difficulty if you're not familiar with rewires, and a 6/10 if you are experience installer.

 

I complete agree. the MIT-02 does suck. This is actually my second one...the first caught fire (luckily I was sitting right there when it happened and was able to unplug it). I don't really want to play around with adjusting the potentiometers anymore than I have to, sometimes at certain setting of the pots, no sounds comes through at all, and others make the unit randomly not power up. The settings I have on it now are at least reliable (it starts up every time and doesn't catch fire lol).

$200-$400 is way less than I thought it would cost to replace all those things (I was thinking that would be how much an amp alone would cost). I would just like everything to work well and sound good. I really don't want to replace the sub though, I like the stock fitting/looking case in the trunk. Is it possible to change out the speakers and amp but keep the stock sub?

Also (and this is probably a stupid question) but do I have to rerun wires if I mount an aftermarket sub under the seat? I mean can I just use the factory wiring from the new amp to the new speakers?

 

mine caught on fire while were were tuning!!

you can still use it, you just have to bipass the yellow wire

 

just make that your budget and hit Amazon open box deals bro! As for factory sub, you can reuse it I guess but you'll have to run new speaker wire to it (unless you use the AA battery trick and find the wire). Make sure the amp is 1ohm stable and not too powerful as well.

Use as much factory wiring as you can, especially in the doors.