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Confused on new cheap stereos and speakers
Topic Started: Jun 1 2015, 03:44 AM (1,874 Views)
rmcelwee
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Ok, it has been around 30 years since I pulled a stock head unit and speakers and replaced them with aftermarket stuff. Since that time, the internet has come around as well as Walmart. I used to buy all my stuff from local stereo shops but I'm guessing that wouldn't be the correct way to do it now. As I look online, I am seeing head units for $30 and speaker pairs for $20. At first I figured they must be complete junk but now I am wondering just how much I really need to spend to get an adequate sound system for my new '99.

I'm not really sure what my question is at this point. I want a stereo with a volume knob (no push buttons for me) that will utilize a USB flash drive (that might include every stereo made at this time) and four new speakers (6.5" I am guessing). Do I just go to Walmart and pick something up or do I get something online? Does anyone have a suggestion with links for an inexpensive system and speakers? I am just looking for an adequate system. I listen to talk radio and 80's music at a low volume. My days for showing off by playing loud music are long gone.
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t3ragtop
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker

no walmart trash for me. :ermm:

i'm sold on crutchfield.com for my stereo systems. they provide all the wiring harness adapters for free and give you detailed removal and installation instructions for free.

go to their web site and enter your car data. they will give you lists of head units and speakers that will fit your car. :deal
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Mythstae
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Links in thread in my signature...
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punkozuna
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Try to figure out which features are important to you. My cheapo sounds OK and performs about how I expected but I can't dim the stereo lights - annoying to have the nuclear blue glow in the car during my commute in the dark months. It also won't let me show the clock as the default display - also annoying during a commute cause I like to see how time I have before I have to be at work.

Two small things that make a pretty big difference for me. I didn't realize how important those features were (to me) until I didn't have them.
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evmetro


Lotsa merit to punkazuma's post. Features are worth looking at for the deck, and you get what you pay for. Dimming can be pretty critical, and also the source of your music if you are not just an am/fm kinda person. Lots of people like USB on the front, others only use bluetooth. For sound quality, look at the specs printed on the box for higher numbers on signal to noise ratio and lower numbers for total harmonic distortion. When you look at those two specs, you will quickly see that you get what you pay for. If the term "watts" is important to you, there are many marketing tricks to miss lead you here, but in general, you can get closer to the truth if you look for watts @4 ohms, RMS. Max watts is meaningless, and is only there to appeal to a man's ego, so stay focused on RMS @4ohms. (Not @2ohms, 1 ohm, or 1/2 ohm)
Edited by evmetro, Jun 2 2015, 09:21 AM.
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Mythstae
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Another thing to consider... You say you want inexpensive.
But your inexpensive and my inexpensive are probably not the same thing.
Can you give us a ballpark dollar amount you're looking to spend?
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Car Nut
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Walmart for buying sumthin cheap. Crutchfield for quality & support. I was in their corporate store in Charlottesville VA last month. :drool up & down every aisle. They also have killer home systems.
Edited by Car Nut, Jun 2 2015, 06:21 PM.
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dotwithshoes
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Car Nut
Jun 2 2015, 12:19 PM
Walmart for buying sumthin cheap. Crutchfield for quality & support. I was in their corporate store in Charlottesville VA last month. :drool up & down every isle. They also have killer home systems.
I agree. Crutchfield is the way to go for quality product, and quality service. Super fast shipping as well.
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t3ragtop
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker

the last head unit i bought from crutchfield had every feature i wanted - hd radio, selectable display color, clock, digital signal processing, 6 rear mounted rca outputs, front and rear mounted usb, front mounted aux input, 4 channel 52 watt total power amplification. and wicked blue tooth hands free cellular features.

under $200 with free shipping. :deal

they sent all the wiring adapters and detailed instructions on removing the factory mercedes radio and installing the new head unit. they even supplied the oem radio removal tools.

when i had a problem with the connection to the car's bose system amp which caused a "thump" in the speakers at turn on and when selecting functions, i called the tech line and the guy on the phone told me how to fix it. he sent me $60 worth of filters for free which arrived the next day and fixed my issue.

you do not get that level of service at walmart. :P
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rmcelwee
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Mythstae
Jun 2 2015, 09:21 AM
Another thing to consider... You say you want inexpensive.
But your inexpensive and my inexpensive are probably not the same thing.
Can you give us a ballpark dollar amount you're looking to spend?
That's the thing. I never knew I could get a head unit and 4 speakers for $100. If I could get something that sounded "ok" for that much I would be happy.
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sixtharmy


When I got "Big Blue" he had a 1980's era Blaupunct (love saying that word) and stock 4" under dash speakers. Pretty quickly, I replaced the speakers with 2 newish looking Kenwood 4" coaxials I found in a wreck at the u-pull-it ($10). As the years rolled by the old Blaupunct got quieter and less able to discriminate channels (don't we all). Finally, about a year or two ago I decided to retire the Blaupunct. I have great respect for audiophiles, but like you I mainly listen to news/talk, and a bit of music so great volume and reproductive fidelity aren't real important to me. If I can hear and understand it over the (remember it's a Metro) road noise, then I'm happy. I opted for cheap, read through the reviews of cheap head units on Amazon, and ordered a Pyle PLR34M. Now, this is not the old Blaupunct (love saying that word) that weighed 15lbs, was stuffed with components, and was built to rule the world. The Pyle (saying it just ain't the same) weighs maybe a pound, and the just about empty box is only there to fulfill the required standard form factor. I doubt that this unit will last 30 years, but it's been running now for over a year. It puts out more sound (enough for the metro) and finds more channels than the tired old Blaupunct. It handles USB sticks, SD cards, and Aux. line-in. Once I found a wiring diagram on here, installation took me maybe a half an hour a pair of dykes and some shrink wrap (kinky). You can't turn down the back lighting, but I don't find it annoyingly bright. Choosing mp3 tracks is awkward, and non intuitive. It doesn't display the time when the radio is on. However, for my uses this $40 (about $60 for a new head unit and speakers on Amazon) combination fits the bill. It's inexpensive, and (thus far) reliably gives acceptable performance, sort of like the Metro. I'm not saying that you should buy this exact same combination, but for your purposes something like it may suffice. In the past I've also dealt with Crutchfield. They're only about an hour's drive from my house. As others here have said they sell good to outstanding equipment, their prices are reasonable, and their service and support are outstanding. A comparable (but probably better) low end set up would run about $100 from Crutchfield. There's some risk going low-low end like I did. There's no way you can go wrong with Crutchfield. As always take my opinions with a grain of salt YMMV.
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rmcelwee
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EDIT - I found this page which I believe is the correct 1999 Chevy Metro Radio Wiring Diagram:
http://www.modifiedlife.com/1999-geo-metro-car-radio-wiring-diagram/

I used it to connect to my Scosche IM01B adapter. I will give a complete report on my new stereo install very soon. Thanks for the help guys!
Edited by rmcelwee, Jun 28 2015, 07:58 AM.
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mt999999
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Self-Declared "Genious"

punkozuna
Jun 2 2015, 07:56 AM
Try to figure out which features are important to you. My cheapo sounds OK and performs about how I expected but I can't dim the stereo lights - annoying to have the nuclear blue glow in the car during my commute in the dark months. It also won't let me show the clock as the default display - also annoying during a commute cause I like to see how time I have before I have to be at work.

Two small things that make a pretty big difference for me. I didn't realize how important those features were (to me) until I didn't have them.
When I bought my Metro, someone had a mid-range aftermarket Kenwood CD player in it. The 4 inch speakers were replaced as well. The radio was a "single" size, as opposed to the stock double sized Delco radio. I didn't like how the radio wasn't dimmable, nor did I enjoy the fact that you had to hit a lot of buttons to see the time. It had lots of tiny buttons and on-screen menus to change bass, treble, and other settings. It took me 10 minutes just to figure out how to switch between AM/FM! I decided to buy a cheap stock AM/FM Delco, '93-'97, just the same that came stock in the car (complete with the "Geo" logo). I love it! It is dimmable (when I get my new rheostat dimmer for the gauges), and it shows the time. Plus, there is no "empty hole" where below the single CD player. I usually only listen to AM anyway, with the occasional FM station. The extra trouble with all the tiny buttons wasn't worth the CD player, at least to me. I plan on doing a modification to the radio that I found on the forum where you drill out a hole and wire in a jack to plug in a portable CD player or MP3 player. The link is in my project post (signature link below). It isn't too hard, and it only takes less than $10 worth of parts from Radio Shack. I don't know what use one would have with a USB cable... LOL.
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Metromightymouse
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Powdercoat Wizard

If you still have a Radio Shack...
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Mythstae
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rmcelwee
Jun 28 2015, 06:05 AM
EDIT - I found this page which I believe is the correct 1999 Chevy Metro Radio Wiring Diagram:
http://www.modifiedlife.com/1999-geo-metro-car-radio-wiring-diagram/

I used it to connect to my Scosche IM01B adapter. I will give a complete report on my new stereo install very soon. Thanks for the help guys!
...if you needed a wiring diagram, you should have just said. I have a thread for that.
FSM Stereo Wiring Diagrams; Multiple years

Not to mention, if you're using adapters, you don't NEED the wiring diagram.
Aftermarket color codes are (generally) standardized.
Connect yellow to yellow, black to black, etc.
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