Aftermarket radio sound

[HeadacheGuy]

When I bought the 65 it has one of the classic auto sound radios in it. Previous owner installed the dual cone speakers front and rear. It's not the high dollar radio, it just has auxillary input. This thing ain't the best sound in the world. I like the radio but unsure of it's ability to put out better sound with better speakers. Question is: How good of sound can one of these put out? I am also looking for ideas on speakers too. The metal part of the doors were already carved out but I am not to keen on cutting my door panels but will if I can get some nice looking (low profile) ones that will give me better quality sound as I will never get rid of the car. Is there a way to hide some under the dash pointing at the carpet or does that defeat the purpose? Are there any replacement speakers that will fit in the existing dash and rear cowl grate that are better than the tinny pieces of crap I have? I am not looking for perfection by any means but a little bass would be good and I figure one of you has a good combination. I don't want to get speakers if the radio itself wont produce. It has jacks for a pre amp but once again ..no experience with it and would like some input.

[Terry64HT]

There are a couple of very knowledgeable guys out there, and hopefully one will chime in. My 64 had a stock AM radio when I bought it and that got tiring pretty quickly, talk radio isn't what classic cars are about. I bought a Custom Autosound Secret Audio with dual cone speakers for front and rear. I reworked the ash tray in the console to take the control unit and it looked really neat. Trouble was, the buttons were too small to use easily, you couldn't read the little display and the radio itself was a piece of crap. I think the company stayed in business because they were the only ones making aftermarket radios that looked half like they fit the cars.
I toyed with the idea of getting my original AM radio rebuilt with a new board so it would look original but have all the latest features. The problem was that, as I understood it, you would have no idea what was going on since you would still have the original AM dial. No idea which FM station or MP3 track you were listening to.
The dual cone speakers were muddy at best, and all I can say about them was that they fit the openings.
A couple of years ago, I got fed up and bought a Retrosound Zuma and dual voice coil speakers. I couldn't be happier. It fit in the dash, and with the overlay that imitates the station frequencies, it looks almost original. I think the sound is great, and the USB input (now located in the console compartment) lets me play all the oldies I want. The only trouble is the frequency overlay on the display makes it difficult to read the information, station or song title, so a rebuild of my original radio may not have been so bad after all.
I understand that Custom Autosound has improved their product, but have no experience to share. All I can say is that a company that sold such crap for big dollars is lucky to still be in business.
The short of it is, go for dual voice coil (there are several suppliers) in the original locations, and, while the sound won't be equal to a new, high-end car, it is not bad at all. Besides, we all drive with the windows down any chance we get.
As far as adding small speakers below the dash and pointed down, I think you'll find that there is no room, especially on the passenger side. I have power seats, and putting anything under there isn't an option either.
Sorry for the long post, but there was a lot to say.
Terry
64HT

[HeadacheGuy]

Thanks Terry. I know I am going to have to replace the speakers anyway so I guess I will start there. Just not sure which supplier to use. I also might experiment with some old JBL computer speakers I have great sound and hook them up long enough to determine if this Custom Auto Sound radio I have can produce anything good.

[65BLUBIRD]

I got my radio rebuilt by a guy in Florida about 3 years back. Same faceplate and buttons but now I have FM and can connect an Ipod to it. He has speakers that fit in the dash and in the back. He is on this forum also. GaryTayman.com

[HeadacheGuy]

thanks, I will check him out Rear speaker went south on me so speakers are the first priority

[HeadacheGuy]

Pulled my rear speaker and had a look. It has 2 3.5 inch pieces of crap paper speakers in a 2 hole (correct would be 4 hole) receptacle so I'm not suprised with the lack of sound. I'm comparing speakers and seen good reviews on Polk audio db351's. Thought I might try them and make my own insert to hold them unless you think the ones that actually have the right insert have decent speakers in them. Sucks to not be able to hear before I buy. I did try an enclosed house speaker I had laying around to experiment and I think the radio itself will produce acceptable sound. I just want a little bass and I know 3.5 inch has it's limitations in that department.

[HeadacheGuy]

Guess I should add that I am unfamiliar with the dual voice coil as far as how it is wired for stereo. They look like 2 individual tweeters with an oval woofer which has a better bass potential than 2 individuals but I am not sure how that works. Any more input would be great. Sorry for my novice approach to audio but I haven't played with aftermarket sound in years and it has greatly changed and these birds are about as limited as you can get for speaker placement as you have so noted.

[Terry64HT]

I'm not a real audio guy, but can share what I learned when I was doing my radio installation.The dual voice coil speakers have 2 tweeters, one for each channel and a single woofer that is as big as the opening with 2 coils on the voice coil form. Each channel has a connector, one on each side of the speaker, that drives one of the individual tweeters and one of the coils on the woofer. This produces a unique mid/high range for each channel and a common bass wave through the single woofer. Since bass is non-directional it sounds fine.
If you aren't careful with the polarity when you hook it up, there is a chance you will damage the woofer since the coils will try to pull the voice coil form in opposite directions.
They aren't the greatest quality but about the best that will fit in the existing space.
Hope this helps
Terry
64HT

[HeadacheGuy]

I have a pair of the Polk 351's coming. If they aren't what I hope I will try the dual voice on the front. I will let you know how the experiment goes.

[HeadacheGuy]

Well I have the Polks in place. All I will admit to is that they work but not my very best of ideas. It took a little creativity with some foam and duct tape to get low end sound but it was a little disappointing. On the plus side the mid and high project nice and I can can hear them pretty clear with the top down but I was an idiot to think I was gonna get any bass outa them. I also see the limitation of my custom sound audio radio. It may require a small amp to get the sound a little more clear. (There is distortion at mildly higher volumes which I believe the speakers are not the problem) Don't get me wrong. It was a huge improvement over what I had but I think I may try a dual voice coil for the front for comparison. . It does look like the choices are liimited on these unless you think there is another size that will fit in there. If at first we don't suceed........

[HeadacheGuy]

I often wonder why I ask for advice and then don't follow it. Continuing saga of this project is that ai added a small Alpine amp which didn't do much to clean up the sound and added 2 4" speakers (Pioneer) in the door which fit with mild modification. I cut the plastic behind the door but not the carpet so you can't see them. they are slightly muffled but they produce sound. That's all I am going to call it. As per Terry's advise I have 2 dual v speakers coming from Crutchfied. I am a little unsure if these are the best quality or if they just had them for a good price (35 apiece) so I will let you know how it goes. I heard a similar pair in a 59 Fairlane with it's top down and thought they were acceptable. Don't ask me why I tried to re-invent the wheel here, There really is NO other place to put speakers on this car as others have posted in the past.

[HeadacheGuy]

installed those retro 4 x 10 speakers from crutchfield. They are pretty awesome compared to what I had. What I didn't realilize was that they don't fit the rear cavity but for now I stuffed it in there. If you have any mounting advise I'm game. I wished I had started with these instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. Only unrelated problem I had was my window washer switch disintegrated (I had previously glued it the last time I was in the panel) and I don't think I can fix it this time. I looked awhile back and have never found a listing for a new one so if anyone has an idea as usual it will be appreciated. Thanks again Terry for the advise as it is nice to have decent sound for a change.

[HeadacheGuy]

Scratch the washer switch request....just found a NOS on Ebay! The internet is a great place.....

[Terry64HT]

Glad that things are working out. As you said in an earlier post, you'll never get great sound in these cars, they just weren't designed for it.
You must have been very creative to get a 4 x 10 into the rear speaker space. It's designed for a 5 x7 I think. That size is available and I think mine just bolted in. With your description of the improved sound, maybe someone on this forum will buy your essentially new 4 x 10 and you can order the other size.
I'm glad I could be of help.
Now it's out to the garage to replace the shift lever.
Terry
64HT

[Gary Tayman]

Since I was mentioned in this thread, I suppose I should comment.

First, a couple of quick comments on the radios themselves. If a radio was converted 4 or more years ago, that's fine, but it is no comparison to what's available now. I worked with a design engineer in Detroit, and introduced the Aurora FMR Stereo Receiver. Prototype #1 was a vast improvement over the former types, and I haven't looked back. Since my purpose here is not really to advertise, I'll finish the comment by saying you can find me on the web if interested.

Classic Auto Sound -- I assume you're referring to Custom Autosound. I picked up their line because I liked the speakers, but their stereos used to be mediocre at best. They have vastly improved over the past few years and today they're a good option if you're on a budget, or looking for the digital display with bells and whistles.

Retro Sound came about as a result of Custom Autosound's vendor. When the USA-630 was introduced, they tried several in the lab and found them to not be reliable. They rejected it, and had them made by someone else. The first vendor jumped the gun and had some 5,000 of them built. To unload them, they began calling dealers saying they could offer USA-630's for less. Yes, they called me. Big lawsuit, these guys could sell the stereos but the logos had to come off. Someone bought them and became Retrosound. Of course those 630-clones are long gone, and I cannot speaker for the quality of their current products.

The "Dual cone speaker" is ambiguous. There is a Dual Speaker and a Dual Voice Coil speaker. The Dual is two small speakers mounted together. The Dual Voice Coil is a fill size speaker with two voice coils. Most have two tweeters. The DVC is the better choice because it's a full size speaker. If you have one of these in front and another in back, connect both left channels to the front and both rights to the back -- you'll have full power and full stereo effect.

There are other options. The Undercover speakers fit under the seats. They sound really nice, but won't fit if you have power seats. Another product is interesting -- the "System." It is a powered system with two satellite speakers and a subwoofer. The idea is nice, and long overdue. However the satellite speakers look like small A/C vents, and mount under the dash. I asked at the time, why do this? Why not have them fit in the original locations? Mike (at Custom Autosound) said they're working on it. Meanwhile he retired. Oh well. HOWEVER, I have one here and one day I'll install it. I have power seats, and I think these satelites will fit underneath. Haven't had the time to install it but if I like it, i'll promote it.

Hope this gives you ideas.