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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 14 2017, 06:18 AM (317 Views) | |
| Woodie | Apr 14 2017, 06:18 AM Post #1 |
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What's available out there to have a kickin' stereo totally invisible with a nasty old stock radio in the dash? I've got a fairly good subwoofer with a built in amp and four high quality 4" speakers. I know that's not ideal as there will be a big gap in the midrange, but don't really want to add mids. I'm looking for a Bluetooth (and maybe USB port) 50 watt four channel amp with an RCA subwoofer output. Something like that, sub has speaker inputs too, so I could just run that off the rear speaker lines if necessary. I'm looking at this one http://www.outofsightaudio.com/mark-iii.html but I know there must be others out there. Also, who has a stock radio for a '91 Firefly? Yeah, that's not going to be hard to find, right? |
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| t3ragtop | Apr 14 2017, 08:55 AM Post #2 |
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker
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gtluver has a factory radio for sale that would work. ![]() i wanted the same sort of concealed stereo when i was building my red twincam vert. i used a higher end sony head unit with a removable face plate. i can lock that in the trunk and the only visible indication of anything other than a stock radio is that there are tweeters mounted on top of the dash. that dip in the midrange where there's a gap between the 4" speakers and a sub has been a problem for me for years. even the best high excursion 4" speakers i could find were thin at around 120 hz. i added a pair of 6 1/2" mid range speakers in the doors that were made by the same manufacturer as the 4" speakers and had similar voicing. the 10" sub in the trunk, 6 1/2" speakers in the doors, 4" mids in the mk2 dash and rear cowl positions, and 1" titanium tweeters on the dash speaker covers gives me good coverage with a range from about 40 hz to 20k hz. amps give me volume levels suitable for top down highway driving. |
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| 1DCGUY | Apr 14 2017, 09:08 AM Post #3 |
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Don't be a "Richard"
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I just shipped that to it's new owner yesterday. I will have to give my kid crap for not marking it sold!! LOL
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| geogonfa | Apr 14 2017, 09:55 AM Post #4 |
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The only two I have left...both do work...the double din needs the clear plastic window replaced...but digital display works fine...
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| Woodie | Apr 15 2017, 05:30 AM Post #5 |
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Now I'm thinking I might leave the head unit out and use that area for gauges. How much for the single DIN geogonfa? Still no help on the bluetooth amp front, does anyone know anything about this? |
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| geogonfa | Apr 15 2017, 09:49 AM Post #6 |
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Just have to cover shipping for the radio... as far as single din radios, this is what I put in one of my verts and it works/sounds good on the (dare I say) cheap, because the verts are very acceptable to getting pillaged. I don't lock the doors because I rather the thief not cut my top to get in, so if the radio doesn't look appealing they leave it alone...So far anyways... Pyle Single Din 7-inch HD Touchscreen GPS Navigation, DVD Player and Bluetooth Headunit Receiver, AUX/USB/Micro SD Slot, AM/FM Radio, Includes Remote Control. (PLBT71G) and connected it to a jeep amp in which I installed hidden under the passenger seat...good sound at 65 mph with the top down, and thanks to Stiffchezze http://geometroforum.com/topic/5757604/1/ speakers... Dash... Rockford Fosgate R14X2 Prime Full Range Coaxial Speaker - 4" - Set of 2 Rear 1/4 panel... Rockford Fosgate R165X3 Prime 6.5-Inch Full-Range 3-Way Coaxial Speaker (Pair) |
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| t3ragtop | Apr 15 2017, 10:41 AM Post #7 |
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker
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woodie, i don't know of any amp that has bluetooth, that is usually relegated to a head unit. i replaced the old mobile phone and radio head unit in my merc with a nice sony head unit that does hands free cell, bluetooth music from a cell device, sirius satellite controls, usb a input on the front panel, mini stereo aux input on the front panel, usb b input from a rear mounted wired plug, and hd radio. it has front, rear, and subwoofer rca outputs, full digital eq capabilities (for tuning the system,) clock, and selectable color display. the face plate is removable that leaves just a black flat apron visible when it is dismounted. the problem i ran into with mounting gauges into the single din opening is that standard 2 1/16th" gauges are larger than the space and require butchery of the bezel. also, on the mk2 cars the gauges are then mounted pretty low in the dash which requires effort to focus on them. i prefer mounting gauges up on the top of the dash, closer to the normal line of sight. on the plus side of the stereo thing there are some pretty nifty 4 channel amps available that are compact but put out 50 watts x 4. i still prefer a separate sub amplifier, bridged 2 channel or monoblock that will get you into the 200 watt range. the old rule of thumb was about 10 times the power output of the main channels for a sub amp - 4 x 50 watts and a sub with a 500 watt amp. without getting into the esoteric high end equipment where you find separate digital output cd units and tuners tied to pre-amps and then separate amps, it will be hard to find something that can be completely hidden away. also, remember that the initial stages of any stereo system set the standard for the rest of the system. if you start with a distorted signal there is no way to clean up the signal as you amplify. you amplify the distortion along with the music. no amount of money spent on amplifiers can substitute for a good signal from the head unit. my point being that if you start with a bad radio you can't recover. ![]() i have put together systems that used amplification for portable discman gear that were okay but i ran into limitations on those, too. things like poor radio reception from antennae built into the portable gear, etc. when you look at radio head units you can select options like 5v p-p rca output signals that ensure a clean signal transfer to the outboard amps, great radio reception from very sensitive signal selection and sophisticated multi-path rejection filters (especially useful in cities with tall buildings,) and those incredibly useful digital processors. i'm throwing these things out there to try to help you find what you need for your sound system. i've pretty much nailed down what i require. hands free cell phone access and hd radio are at the top of my list with usb mp3 close to the top. i never even use the cd function any more as i can load pretty much my entire collection of music onto a 64 gig flash drive and have access to it any time in my car. the mini stereo aux feature is low on the list because of sonic issues from low fidelity outputs from most devices. blue tooth streaming from i heart radio and pandora sounds much better than the aux input. i'm sure that you'll figure it out.
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| Woodie | Apr 16 2017, 05:16 AM Post #8 |
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Wasn't thinking about the small size and whether gauges would fit or not, thanks for that reminder Richard. I've got my boost/vacuum gauge down in the console below the console, makes it near worthless. Maybe I will get the head unit from geogonfa and have it look factory stock. I have a powered subwoofer that fits in the spare tire well nicely, and that amp I linked to above has a Bluetooth receiver so I can use my phone as a source. The only thing missing is hands free calling. Dunno, still mulling it over, but these kind of ideas and suggestions is exactly why I asked. |
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Yeah, that's not going to be hard to find, right?







7:54 PM Jul 10