Radio advice

Boosted90

Registered User
So I’m starting to plan my car out and when it comes to radios I’m stuck. My car has the jbl package with cassette and cd. I’d like to keep it original. I saw on YouTube some one had an aux cord ran into their radio harness. I’d like that. Also, I watched reviews on cheap 6” woofers. Found one dirt cheap that is max 600w. Would the factory 80w amp do anything? I don’t really wanna get another deck, amp, sub and box.

Any input is greatly appreciated!!!
 
So I’m starting to plan my car out and when it comes to radios I’m stuck. My car has the jbl package with cassette and cd. I’d like to keep it original. I saw on YouTube some one had an aux cord ran into their radio harness. I’d like that. Also, I watched reviews on cheap 6” woofers. Found one dirt cheap that is max 600w. Would the factory 80w amp do anything? I don’t really wanna get another deck, amp, sub and box.

Any input is greatly appreciated!!!

"Factory 80W amp".

He.

Hehe.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!


Dude, that's only 80W in the wet dreams of fanbois.

But yes, that 600W woofer should at least make sound.

Grab the 4ohm variant if you do.

There's better speakers than that one I'm sure, though.

As to the AUX input - yep, there's ways to do that. What I'd consider is a FM pass through myself if I were staying original AND had the CD deck.

(Most of the AUX conversions used the CD in.)

RwP
 
"Factory 80W amp".

He.

Hehe.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!


Dude, that's only 80W in the wet dreams of fanbois.

But yes, that 600W woofer should at least make sound.

Grab the 4ohm variant if you do.

There's better speakers than that one I'm sure, though.

As to the AUX input - yep, there's ways to do that. What I'd consider is a FM pass through myself if I were staying original AND had the CD deck.

(Most of the AUX conversions used the CD in.)

RwP
I don’t use cds at all. Lol if I was to put in an aftermarket CD player, would the harness still connect the factory amp and sub? I’m not trying to beat windows but I’d definitely like some thump
 
You can add a bit of thump with just a good set of 4-way speakers doors/rear panels if your stock system is ok otherwise, and you want to keep it all.

If you try to replace the subwoofer in the stock sub box, be sure to compare measurements. Not sure there is a good source for that size sub, tho.

The OE system in my '90 anny wasn't working when I got the car in 2008, so... ended up removing the stock sub amp and woofer/box, then buying a scosche harness that replaces those so the main speaker circuit is bridged back there. Replaced the head unit with a Jensen 7" flip LCD (GPS, hand's free calling, DVD, 5.1 surround, USB/SD, etc. etc.) and replaced the CD player with an Alpine center speaker.

Added a fosgate sub amp that drives a pair of 10" boxed subs and the Alpine center, then replaced all four mains w/4-ways, then added a pair of tweeters that mount to the covers inside the mirrors on the doors. Topped it off w/an 8 farad cap w/volt & amp meters.

Info you might find handy here: http://www.35thatr.org/Radio/RadioRelatedPages.htm
 
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You can add a bit of thump with just a good set of 4-way speakers doors/rear panels if your stock system is ok otherwise, and you want to keep it all.

If you try to replace the subwoofer in the stock sub box, be sure to compare measurements. Not sure there is a good source for that size sub, tho.

The OE system in my '90 anny wasn't working when I got the car in 2008, so... ended up removing the stock sub amp and woofer/box, then buying a scosche harness that replaces those so the main speaker circuit is bridged back there. Replaced the head unit with a Jensen 7" flip LCD (GPS, hand's free calling, DVD, 5.1 surround, USB/SD, etc. etc.) and replaced the CD player with an Alpine center speaker.

Added a fosgate sub amp that drives a pair of 10" boxed subs and the Alpine center, then replaced all four mains w/4-ways, then added a pair of tweeters that mount to the covers inside the mirrors on the doors. Topped it off w/an 8 farad cap w/volt & amp meters.

Info you might find handy here: http://www.35thatr.org/Radio/RadioRelatedPages.htm


The woofer I’m gonna try is a Pyle Power 4ohm 600w. It’s 6” and $15. I don’t expect greatness but as a weekend car I don’t want to sink too much into the stereo. If I can get an aux input harness for it that’d be the best. A guy on YouTube said they got their kit off our site but idk who he got it from.. it’s plug and play harness. No cutting or splicing.
 
I don’t use cds at all. Lol if I was to put in an aftermarket CD player, would the harness still connect the factory amp and sub? I’m not trying to beat windows but I’d definitely like some thump

Yes, with the proper adapters (Metra makes both speaker-in and line-in adapters) at the head unit.

The CD player is a separate harness.

(They also sell an adapter to bypass the factory amp if you decide to.)

OTOH, if you bypass the factory amp, I'd run new speaker wiring so you could get beefier wiring for better performance.

RwP
 
The woofer I’m gonna try is a Pyle Power 4ohm 600w.

Sorry if I missed it - did you sanity check to make sure the circuit/amp is ok back there? I'd do that before I got too far into replacing the sub itself.
 
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What was state of the art then is not so now. You can replace the head unit and speakers with quality aftermarket units to have not only what you want but so much more for very realistic prices. I have had many SC's and have replaced the factory with aftermarket in every one , the sound quality is so much better not to mention Bluetooth, Spotify, Pandora, Nav and usually for less than $400.00. Nostalgia is nice but sound is what you seem to want and you can get the harness so nothing has to be cut then reinstall the original later is you want to sell the car.
 
Sorry if I missed it - did you sanity check to make sure the circuit/amp is ok back there? I'd do that before I got too far into replacing the sub itself.

How do I check the circuit? Just make sure I’ve got power going back there to the amp?
 
There are -two- amps - check power to, and output from, both while you're at it.

From the link above, see: http://www.35thatr.org/Radio/JBLAmpPinouts.htm

A 4 ohm speaker can be temporarily substituted for the sub woofer to test if the woofer itself is wasted.

So I’m about to scrap this whole thing. Go with a new head unit. Run a 6” sub in that factory box. Add a new amp. But, what do I need to do to still use the amp that’s on the speakers? Will the new wire harness to the headunit still power the factory speaker amp?
 
No idea if that can be accomplished.

I yanked both rear factory amps and used a Scosche adapter to put the factory speaker harness back online.

I used a Metra adapter in the dash to connect the Jensen head unit to the factory speaker wiring up there. Also used Metra adapters at the four main aftermarket speakers.

I'll tell you right now that there is not a lot of room behind the head unit in the dash. My Jensen has over 40 wires coming out the back and I had to cut some of the pocket away just to make things fit and it was still tight. Runnng wires from there down/out to the rear was another challenge. Retained the factory power antenna up/down switch.
 
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What was state of the art then is not so now. You can replace the head unit and speakers with quality aftermarket units to have not only what you want but so much more for very realistic prices. I have had many SC's and have replaced the factory with aftermarket in every one , the sound quality is so much better not to mention Bluetooth, Spotify, Pandora, Nav and usually for less than $400.00. Nostalgia is nice but sound is what you seem to want and you can get the harness so nothing has to be cut then reinstall the original later is you want to sell the car.

True....I recently upgraded the head unit again to a Kenwood digital media receiver with Bluetooth, HD radio, MP3 player, hands free phone and USB for porting music and/or charging phone. Also replaced the 4 factory speakers with Kicker 225w Coaxial speakers. Bought everything at Best Buy and they installed it in a few hours. Oh yeah, the factory amp and sub-woofer were also bypassed.

Way better than the old JBL stuff.

David
 
Way better than the old JBL stuff.

In addition to the other features I noted above, I like having the single DIN look w/the optional 7" pop-out articulated display.. Looks standard when off.

attachment.php


My Jensen also supports 3 cameras, external USB hard drives and has dual zones, where the backseat can enjoy different content from the front, not that it's ever been used. It even works w/Siri. I use GPS the most, I think.

I've heard the factory JBL unit had the ability to automatically (?) shape the audio over a certain speed to counter wind/road noise. The SC's audio system was yet-another-ahead-of-it's time features, for sure, but today's equipment is in another league.
 
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In addition to the other features I noted above, I like having the single DIN look w/the optional 7" pop-out articulated display.. Looks standard when off.

attachment.php


My Jensen also supports 3 cameras, external USB hard drives and has dual zones, where the backseat can enjoy different content from the front, not that it's ever been used. It even works w/Siri. I use GPS the most, I think.

I've heard the factory JBL unit had the ability to automatically (?) shape the audio over a certain speed to counter wind/road noise. The SC's audio system was yet-another-ahead-of-it's time features, for sure, but today's equipment is in another league.

Very nice set-up.

David
 
As noted above, the scosche adapter for the amps in the rear is: https://www.amazon.com/SCOSCHE-FD07B-1989-94-Premium-location/dp/B000OQ8AAM

Additionally...
Keep the receipts in case something differs in your actual install.
 
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As noted above, the scosche adapter for the amps in the rear is: https://www.amazon.com/SCOSCHE-FD07B-1989-94-Premium-location/dp/B000OQ8AAM

Additionally...
Keep the receipts in case something differs in your actual install.

Thanks a million!
 
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