Fox Body Stereo Deck Options

"dwight" wrote in news:4756d0a3$0$26087$ snipped-for-privacy@free.teranews.com:

My LX had the same stereo setup - Premium Sound (amp under the passenger seat) with AM/FM/Cassette and six speakers. Years ago I took care of that mess with a Sony CD w/7-band EQ, a set of 5x7 Polks for the rear, and a set of Polk 6-1/2 components for the front. The sound quality went from piss-poor to outstanding in less than a day.

Here's what you need to get: Head unit:

(get the iPod adapter also)Rear speakers: speakers: The JVC head unit has HD radio (FM sounds like a CD, AM sounds like FM), a 7-band EQ, SRS, and an optional iPod adapter. It's also got plenty of on-board power. I've got one in my Dakota, and it is simply outstanding.

The speakers are current versions of what I put in the LX years ago. After comparing the Polks to Infinitys (I have a pair of each in the truck), I have to say the Polks run rings around the Infinitys.

Crutchfield will give you a free head unit adapter, and the speakers (except for the tweeters in the dash) will bolt right in. You'll have to fabricate some kind of mounting brackets if you want to put the tweeters under the dash grills, or you can just mount them right on top. I went for the under-dash mount, as it looked completely stock.

If the convertible doesn't have the Premium Sound (i.e., the stock head unit speaker leads run right to the speakers), you can plug the JVC right into the factory harness (Crutchfield supplies the free harness adapter) and use the car's speaker wiring. If you have the Premium Sound, you'll have to run your own speaker wires from the JVC to the 4 speakers, but it's not that difficult.

Best of luck - I guarantee the above system will knock your socks off for minimal investment. BTW, if you want to get away even cheaper, just get the head unit and do the speakers another time. Sound improvement will still be substantial.

Head unit. Not stereo. Not deck. Head unit. I have to try harder to keep up. That JVC model looks great. The 20watt rating is good enough for you? I've been looking at Alpines. I had a ...head unit... in my '84 LX, along with a great little 7band EQ tucked up under the glovebox, and it was fantastic. It also had Boston Acoustics sprinkled about. Of couse, that was ages ago, but Alpine's got a number of iPod-ready models that look compatible.

I'll take your word on the Polks. I could probably pop in the rear and door speakers myself, but those little dash speakers look like a bitch. Would the whole dash have to come out? Maybe I should save that for the inevitable heater core replacement... :)

Princess is first. She's still driving her mom's old 1999 Mystique, with one remaining working speaker. This is where all of this comes from. For Christmas, she's getting a new ...head unit... (iPod-ready, of course) and four new speakers. I was going to let the Geek Squad at BestBuy handle that installation. If they did a good job, I was going to let them have CFrog.

BestBuy doesn't seem to offer Polks (Infinities, yes). As I write this, I'm thinking of buying an Alpine along with a foursome of Polks and installing those components myself. If I leave the dash speakers alone and pop the Alpine into the harness, how bad can it be?

Alpines all seem to be HD-ready (which requires a separate HD tuner), while your JVC has HD built in. Are you able to use it, and, if so, is it all that superior? (I only know of one station here broadcasting in HD and it's - naturally - the all-news station.)

dwight

Hey Joe, I bought that same JVC head unit, maybe off your recommendation from an earlier post, I'm not sure.

It's true what you say about this unit and Crutchfield, except it only took about 30 minutes to install. (Ranger supercab)

"dwight" wrote in news:3JWdnc44n5l1wsranZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

20watts RMS/channel is about all you'll get from any stereo (or head unit), and it's plenty. With all 4 speakers, 80watts RMS is decent.

The Alpines are very nice, but they're a bit on the expensive side. Depending on your listening needs, you may not need to go that high.

Try comparison shopping on Crutchfield.com - you can plug in your car and compare different head units' features and prices. If nothing else, it gives you a good idea of what you get for your money.

If you put the tweeters under the dash grills, all you have to remove are the grills themselves. I fabricated mounting brackets for the tweeters out of Erector set parts that were held in by the screws that held the original speakers in place. The grills themselves just snap in and out.

It's not that hard to do the installation yourself, because Crutchfield provides all the mounting brackets and wiring adapters. They even tell you what tools you'll need for the job. If you can catch one of their sales, you can come away with a decent bargain.

I've never had anything installed from BB, but who knows who'll be messing with your car?

Exactly. The head unit's no problem, as that just pops right in. The worst you'll have with speakers is removing the door panels and messing with the power window/lock switches. Not bad at all.

Eclipse, Alpine, Kenwood, and now Sony all have HD-ready front ends, but the HD box ranges from $150 to $400 extra (over and above the cost of the head unit itself). The JVC's got it built in, and now Dual has a couple units with built-in HD, but they're a bit on the cheap side. I didn't want to mess with an external box (and the extra expense), so the JVC was my obvious choice for HD. For $140 and no sales tax, you can't go wrong. The JVC will sound every bit as good as a $250 Alpine.

Receiving HD is a bit more tenuous than analog, but the sound quality is unbelievable. Here (South Florida), almost all the stations are HD, and the terrain is relatively flat, so reception is not a problem. More than half the stations are also broadcasting multichannel, so you get two stations (sometimes three) where you only had one on analog. And all the HD2/HD3 stations are commercial-free. For instance, the local jazz station broadcasts classical on their HD2, and the local new rock station broadcasts classic rock on their HD2. All without commercials in CD-quality sound.

Here's where you can find out who's broadcasting HD in your area:

GILL wrote in news:3tOdnWdENPmp-cranZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Yeah, and now Crutchfield's got it for $140 w/rebate; my neighbor got one for $150 last year. But even at full price it's a deal.