Cd Changer

Hi, Check ebay, they have several listed. Good luck, Brad

Reply to
Mystical
Loading thread data ...

Looking for a CD changer for a 1996 960..

Reply to
Harvey Dichter

Any CD Changer with an fm modulator will work with any radio that has fm reception. Dont waste your money on "Volvo" CD Changers.

Reply to
Brian Shuttz

Why on earth would you want an FM based CD changer? Apart from convenience, in that you don't have to run wires if needed (I believe all 960's were pre-wired for CD changers), buy a new headunit if needed, or the extra cost of a real Volvo part (there are usually compatible ones that are hard wired for lower prices)... FM radio does not have nearly the same capabilities for sound transmission that a properly wired CD player would deliver. When you listen to a good, strong FM statio you hear something that sounds not bad... almost like a 128kbit MP3, stereo sound, close to a full range... but there is just no depth to the sound.... Then you pop in a CD and the sound system really comes alive. If you heard a song on the radio then played the same song from CD you would understand what i'm talking about - so wouldn't you want your CD changer to play back like a CD changer, and not an FM radio with six or so, of your own "stations"... Plus then you'd have a remote control to operate this thing, instead of the buttons on your headunit

FM based audio products should only be used with "portable" type of audio when played in a car, things with reduced quality anyways - Mini Disk, MP3, and those types... These mediums have compressed music, and much of the data that would be on a CD isn't actually there on these devices - They trim out the areas you don't really hear as well to save space... Which lowers sound quality quite a bit... so when you pipe it over FM you don't really lose too much. Considering BMW is the only one with an iPod connector (so far) in the car for MP3 style music, and minidisk players are not all that common for car audio system, an FM transmitter makes sense in these cases, as you get rid of the nasty cords that come with tape adapters (tho you will get higher sound quality thru this type of adapter). But when a car is pre-wired for a CD changer, you are not doing yourself a favour by cheaping out for a few bucks to get lesser technology... You'd get better sound quality with a tape adapter kit and a portable CD player.

Failing that, goto a wrecker and get a Volvo slot load 1-CD headunit for under $100 and change disks yourself.... Or go aftermarket with a new headunit... Then get a changer for it if you want...

BTW I'm a guy who really loves to hear audio at full quality, I recognize that there are people out there who don't really notice/care that it isn't full quality - that saving a few bucks is actually more important than to hear their music (which you pay good money for to get in CD format) played back as the recording studio intended.

Reply to
Rob Guenther

I agree with ya. But I'm used to the majority of the CD Changer related posts that are looking for a cheap alternative to the factory Changers. Without an upgrade to the factory garbage that Volvo calls speakers, you wont notice a difference in fm modulated changers, which by the way almost always come with remotes. P.S. If you are a true audiophile who likes to listen to music as it was intended to be heard, you wouldnt have rear speakers in your car....

Reply to
Brian Shuttz

I'm not a true audiophile... Don't care about how many speakers there are, as long as the music sounds damn good. I love audio technology though... Just not a true purist.

The Volvo's i've been in have had some decent factory sound systems, which model came with bad speakers from the factory?

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Well, between my wife and I, we have two '96 850s. Hers has the SC-816 and was factory pre-wired for the changer, so we added the OEM changer. Mine has the SC-811, with no factory pre-wiring, so we added a Pioneer FM-modulated changer, which we already owned from my previous car ('87 240).

The difference is unmistabkable. Not only is the dynamic range of the directly-wired changer better, the FM modulated version suffers from distortion and crackling. If you have the factory wiring, there's no question, the cost is roughly the same for either, the sound is far superior for the OEM version, and the installation a whole lot simpler.

As for the speakers, sound quality is irrelevant as long as the magnets keep falling off. Both of the speakers on the rear deck of my 850 sedan suffered from failed magnets and Volvo wanted $180 EACH to replace them. I picked up a pair from a salvage yard and BOTH of those had failed magnets too. I didn't want to have to drill my rear deck, so I took the Volvo speaker housing around to the local electronics places and was disappointed (but not surprised) to find that they're an oddball size, just a little too narrow to fit 6x9's. Here's what I did: I made adapters out of the old speakers (the ones with the failed magnets). I used my tin snips to cut out the middle part of the speaker, metal, cone and all, leaving a rectangular flange with an elliptical hole in the middle. I drilled some holes in my new "adapter plates" and bolted them to a new pair of Infinity 5x7s (about $80). Now I have a nice pair of Inifinty speakers on Volvo mounting flanges that fit perfectly into the rear deck housings. Once conceiving the plan, it only took about an hour for the whole job and didn't require any modifications to the car or the housings.

Reply to
Robert Lutwak

Or you could have just glued the magnets back on with epoxy.

Reply to
Mike F

And you'd sit in the back in the middle and have all the doors open. 'Audiophile' is an utterly meaningless concept when you are sat in one corner of a small steel box with all the background noise of engine, tyres, traffic etc.

I keep the 'pure' stuff for at home and let the ProLogic corrupt me when I'm on the road. The V70 has a better system than any other car I've heard.

Reply to
Tim Hobbs

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.