Are there GOOD looking replacement stereo's on the market?

It most likely does have a separate amp which could be bypassed. If you want something plain looking (and I couldn't agree with you more, most of the new stuff is beyond fugly) look for something cheap, a couple years ago I got a basic Blaupunkt CD player at Costco, it's black, clean and fairly plain looking, and it works great, best of all it was only $100.

I don't think that there's any elegant looking stereos on the market either. For ergonomics, you sure can't beat the Volvo radios. And there's not too many out there that also do tapes and CDs in the dash. You can find SC-816 in black from a later 960 or 850, or the more common gray used in the x70s. For example:

Those radios that don't have external amplifier have an internal one so it is much easier to suss out the speaker wiring.

Cheers, Peter.

: > Hello Everyone : >

: > Well, the 11 year stereo in our 1993 960 has just about had it. It still has : > AM functionality, but the volume knob is crackling a lot when you adjust the : > volume, the FM has been dead over a year, and the tape deck stopped working : > silently for 6 months.... And it has no CD player to top it off. : >

: > I have my parents thinking aftermarket stereo, but they, like me have come : > to the conclusion that there are absolutely NO distinguished, elegant : > looking car stereo's on the market. : >

: > Maybe we are going to the wrong places... we don't want to pay thru the nose : > either. All we need is CD, nice to have tape, and AM/FM. : >

: > Does the 960 have its own amplifier? : : I don't think that there's any elegant looking stereos on the market : either. For ergonomics, you sure can't beat the Volvo radios. And : there's not too many out there that also do tapes and CDs in the dash. : You can find SC-816 in black from a later 960 or 850, or the more common : gray used in the x70s. For example: :

I'm not worried about the wiring... I'm an industrial electrician (or at least in training to be one) and i've always been great at electrics/electronics.

I'd prefer it if the car had it's own amp, as the current stereo sounds quite nice, this is always an amp related thing, as it is what you pay for... Anyone can build a tuner/CD player.

Would a radio from an 850/900 series late models/older S/V70s work in my old

That's not nessesarily true, even the very best amplifier is garbage in - garbage out. There's lots of opportunities for noise and distortion in the tuner, CD player electronics, and preamp.

As far as I know they'll just slide into your older 960, but I've never done it first hand. When I was thinking of changing the radio in the S70, I didn't find one that I liked enough to make the switch, so I have no recommendations.

The SC-816 does have an internal amp, so an external one is not necessary. The SC-901 does not have an internal amp so an external one is necessary.

Not to mention lousy radio reception in difficult areas!!

| That's not nessesarily true, even the very best amplifier is garbage in - | garbage out. There's lots of opportunities for noise and distortion in the | tuner, CD player electronics, and preamp. | |

You don't have either radio I've mentioned. Both have AM/FM/cassette and 6 pack CD changer controls. The SC-816 has a single CD in dash, the SC-901 has a cartridge that will allow 3 CDs to be inserted at once in dash. To see pictures, go to ebay, search on "volvo radio" (no quotes) and you'll see pictures.