Awl--
I've posted about removing the stereo from my 1990 Mazda 929S, and some may think, Why Bother?
The reason is this: For nigh-on 20 years or more, radio reception at various apts/homes has just sucked, for me and neighbors. Even on top floors of 12 story apt buildings. And this is NYC area!! But car radios *always* seem to have great reception, even in my basement garage.
I found out, from radio/ham ngs that indeed, the tuning circuitry in car radios is *significantly different* than in your home stereo! Some were able to say why, circuitry-wise, but that went over my head. But I thought that was very interesting, and it raises the Q: Why don't home stereos incorporate this circuitry?
So anyway, I figger in my senescence, I might as well get some radio reception in my shop w/ the Panasonic 1263 I'm removing. Yeah, I'll have to keep a 12 V battery on a trickle charger... :) And while I'm at it, climb that 100 foot tree outside, and run up an antenna... :) :)
Also, a good car stereo likely has much better fidelity than even a very expensive home stereo. The smaller the volume you have to deal with acoustically, the easier it is to do it accurately. Which means that headphones are even better than car stereos, fidelity-wise. Think about that, next time you drop 10 grand on a pair of speakers, that a $40 pair of Sennheiser headphones are superior. :)
Lastly, I am curious as to car stereos ito of collectibility/classic-ness. In home stereo, you have iconic stuff, like old Revox reel-to-reels, Macintosh amps, AR-3a speakers, KLH radios, Crown DC-300 power amps, Marantz tuners w/ the built in oscilloscope, etc. Any *really* good audio stuff from cars (thinking oem), that you would take out if you were junking the car or had an accident?
Or is car stereo stuff more a fungible commodity?