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Stereo upgrade questions

4K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Shady350 
#1 ·
Just bought a 69 convertible and now I HAVE to do something about the stereo. The original stereo is long gone and having it look stock is not a big concern, although I would like to avoid cutting the dash. I haven't found much on stereo upgrades and even less on speaker locations, i do like the idea of 6X9 in the kick panel.
Anyone have some suggestions or even better some pictures to share?
Thanks Much :)
 
#4 · (Edited)
I have the 1967 version of the radio you are looking at - I doubt I would buy it again. :(

I would give it 5 stars on looks. It always fakes people out at shows, everyone thinks it is an original AM/FM stereo. :yes:

But it sucks beyond that. As a radio it has a very poor tuner. When it does receive a station, sound quality is subpar. I primarily use an MP3 player plugged into it which is nice. However, if an MP3 gets a little quiet, the radio flips back to radio mode. Even with the volume of the MP3 player turned up, there are some songs I just can't play. It does this with all my MP3 players :mad:

Sound quality from its amplifier is subpar - this probably has something to do with its tone settings. It has a simple tone control, but it way overemphasizes bass and treble. You can kill the bass, or the treble but not both. I need to use the equalizer in the MP3 player to kill the bass and treble.

The amplifier itself has a lot of hiss. Being an engineering geek I looked at the output with a scope and it has a ton of junk coming out - looks like the net result of a badly filtered switching supply though at the wattage it is rated for no boosting switcher is required. Probably just a cheap poorly filtered Class D amp.

The front and rear fader cannot be adjusted when listening to external input. For me, I adjust this much more than left/right balance.

The tuner is motorized (actual tuner is digital but a motor controls the dial so you think it is tuning). This gets stuck, jumps around and sometimes only moves halfway. Turning the radio on and off corrects this.

If you are really into looks and can overlook shortcomings you will probably be happy. A better choice would be a non-functional original AM/FM in the dash and a hidden radio in trunk.

Edited: Sorry I misread your post, thought you were intending on buying - left my comments for other interest parties.
 
#3 ·
Check into Retro Sound (http://www.retrosoundusa.com). They make a good radio that looks “old style” with all the new features and also fits your car without any cutting required. I have installed it my car and really like it. Speaker wise, I have a 2 channel dash speaker (full stereo speaker that hooks into both front channels), two 6x9 rears and two 10” subs in the trunk. All powered by two amps. Sounds really good even in my loud car.
 
#5 ·
I'm not too concerned with keeping things looking factory I just want a kick a** stereo. I definitely don't want to make any changes that can't be reversed (cutting door panels for speakers). I like the idea of hiding the front speakers in the kick panel behind the vent. That actually looks like a great place for a pair of 6X9 speakers.
I'm really surprised there aren't more posts about stereo upgrades on this site, or am i just missing them?
 
#6 ·
If you are looking for decent sound - never any good when the top is down anyways no matter what you have installed - invest in a decent stereo single speaker for the front dash and call it a day.

This allows true stereo sound without any modifications.

It is a set of speakers mounted in the standard am dash speaker frame.

As for the radio several decent factory looking with modern guts on-line for about 300 to 500 bucks.
 
#8 ·
If your looking for something that doesn't need to cut up anything, I would suggest the retrosound classic radio. It has the same guts as their higher end units and it has a front port and a rear port for an mp3 or iPod hookup. It has 2 amp ports if you want to get that great sound on top of the regular amp inside the radio.

As far as sound quality from a speaker. A lot of people think bigger is better, as far as the size of the speaker. That's not always true. Meaning, a 6x9 speaker actually isn't as good as a 6 inch round speaker most of the time. Reason is, that sound will comes out cleaner from a round surface better than an oval shape. If you can, put a 6 inch round up front in the kick panel area. I actually used a 5x7 in the kick panel but it's only the plate that is that shape. It actually has a small tweeter and a larger mid speaker in the plate. Both being round.

In my dash which by the way is a 67 camaro, I replaced the old single speaker and put in a pair of 3-1/2 inche speakers next to each other, mounted onto a board. Its funny because I did this a long time ago, and now their is a couple companies out there that sell the same exact setup that I made. I think one actually uses kenwood speakers in the setup.

I did use 6x9s in my rear just because they fit in the space. I don't have any sub woofers because the amps I have going to the rear speakers provide enough of a quality sound for me.

On a side note, I used to have a classic auto sound radio and I was not happy with it as far as the sound quality UNTIL I added the amps. The internal amp did not provide clear highs and it sounded too muffled to me. so if you do get that one, expect to definitely get amps to improve the clarity.

Hope this helps.
 
#9 ·
In my 67 coupe, I pulled out the old AM radio and installed the radio delete bezel. Nice clean look. I have a new modern deck installed in the glove box. I fabricated a small mount for the deck and cut a hole in the back the of the glove box insert to slide the deck into. The deck fits in nice and far enough back so there's still room for other stuff. The deck kind of rests on top of the heater box.

For speakers, I installed 4" speakers in the kick panels just below the vents. This way the vents still work as well. There is just enough room behind the kick panels to fit the speakers (square opening in body panel behind kicks). For the rears, I bought a new package shelf (mesh one with openings for speakers) and mounted 6x9 's below (from the trunk).

Can't beat the sound of a modern deck.
 
#11 ·
Ryan, there are a LOT of Stereo posts here, mostly in Electrical, some in interior. Search those.

As a fellow 69 Vert owner, I feel your pain. Right now I have a AM/FM/IPOD converted Factory radio running into 4x6 Infinity Kappa plate speakers in the Factory kickpanel location (behind factory style grills). I like this because it looks factory installed. These are not 'kicka$$' speakers, but sound pretty darn good. The rest of my plan (this spring I hope!) is for a Kenwood powered sub in the trunk (between the spare tire and folded top) and a set of 6x9 dual Infinity speakers that I will make a custom box and just sit on the rear seat (that will have a plug if I need to remove them). Then I will mount a 4 ch Alpine amp inside the dash. I mocked it all up last year, but did not have the 6x9s. Just got those, so I am ready. I am trying to hide all the stereo components, so I can be judged in the 'factory stock class'.

IMHO, removing the vent in favor of a 6x9 speaker is a poor trade in a vert. During hot days, I use those vents all the time to cool my feet, no A/C of course :) If you have a large heat prducing engine with headers, you need them more.
 
#14 ·
IMHO, removing the vent in favor of a 6x9 speaker is a poor trade in a vert. During hot days, I use those vents all the time to cool my feet, no A/C of course :) If you have a large heat prducing engine with headers, you need them more.
unless I misunderstood, but you don't have to block the vent area to get speakers in the kick panel. They are actually put closer to the door. If you take the panel off, you will see there is actually a big sunken area there in the body of the car, so a nice size speaker can fit there.

If it was the vent area he was referring to blocking with a speaker? I would agree to not do that. Air flow is king on those warmer days and not only that, but if the speaker was put that far forwardin the vent area the sound would be terrible. It would be blocked much more by your leg and the sound would not travel up out of the area well to your ears.

Good luck on your search.

Btw, I did do the modern radio in the glove box too and liked it a lot, but I have a vintage air AC unit in now and couldnt fit the head unit in there anymore. Also, when I did have the radio in the glove box, I left the original radio in the dash and only had it wired to the lights, so at night it glowed but had no other function.
 
#12 ·
Ricks actually have 2 versions of stock looking repros with AM/FM/IPOD

This one for $319 http://www.rickscamaros.com/camaro-radio-am-fm-ipod-stereo-reproduction-1969.html

and this one for $599 http://www.rickscamaros.com/camaro-radio-am-fm-reproduction-1969.html

I was also contemplating selling my original am/fm mono radio for one of these (for my SS).

Scott, looks like you bought one of the $599 version. And it was not good? Anyone try the $319 one?

I do not plan to use the radio part, just the MP3. Maybe I should just plug the IPOD to the amp and be done with it :)
 
#13 ·
Scott, looks like you bought one of the $599 version. And it was not good? Anyone try the $319 one?

I do not plan to use the radio part, just the MP3. Maybe I should just plug the IPOD to the amp and be done with it :)
Yup - Antique Audio Radio, bought the 1967 version, though the internals are probably the same. At maybe half the price I would compromise and say it was OK for the money, but not at $500+. Looks really good though. I didn't try any other modern radios, so maybe my expectations are waaaaay off. But being an EE and loving audio I was extremely dissappointed for the money. I did install a 5 channel amp, and did my own level shifter with filtering targeted to removing the junk from the amp and have good sound now. And of course, being a coupe I gots room for speakers!!!:hurray:

At first, I simply plugged my MP3 player into the amp to get my speakers situated - so your idea of simply doing this can work real well. I could have left it that way. Definitely sounds better than going thru the radio.
 
#15 ·
Tim, the OP was talking about putting a 6x9 in the kickpanels, the only place those big speakers will fit are in the vent holes. A 4x6 2 way plate speaker (that is waht I have) is about the largest you can get in the factory location and have the kickpanel lay flat. Anything larger will require a bump-out or sheet metal cutting.
 
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