80s in-car stereo. Limited by speaker choice- options?
Discussion
Tricky one to know what to do here.
I have a 80s AC Delco which was made to run 8 or 10 ohm speakers. I had it restored a few years back- I want to keep my car (Camaro) stock. It has aux functionality (added when I had it restored). As I understand it, running the 4 x 4 ohm modern speakers I have (6x4 and 6x9) could force the amp to work hard and overheat.
This is what I think my options are, could someone pls help me that knows this stuff?
1/ Run a modest amp- will this then take the strain off the head unit?
2/ Buy 8 ohm speakers (10 ohm seem really limited). Would I need 4 x 8 ohm or would I get away with 2 x 4 and 2 x 8 ohm?
3/ Run some resistors to make the 4 ohm speakers more like 8
4/ Buy a modern hidden amp and just stream via bluetooth.
Ideally I'd love to make the stock head unit work- it cost a fair bit and I can use the electric aerial and play tapes.
Any help, really gladly appreciated. Thanks
I have a 80s AC Delco which was made to run 8 or 10 ohm speakers. I had it restored a few years back- I want to keep my car (Camaro) stock. It has aux functionality (added when I had it restored). As I understand it, running the 4 x 4 ohm modern speakers I have (6x4 and 6x9) could force the amp to work hard and overheat.
This is what I think my options are, could someone pls help me that knows this stuff?
1/ Run a modest amp- will this then take the strain off the head unit?
2/ Buy 8 ohm speakers (10 ohm seem really limited). Would I need 4 x 8 ohm or would I get away with 2 x 4 and 2 x 8 ohm?
3/ Run some resistors to make the 4 ohm speakers more like 8
4/ Buy a modern hidden amp and just stream via bluetooth.
Ideally I'd love to make the stock head unit work- it cost a fair bit and I can use the electric aerial and play tapes.
Any help, really gladly appreciated. Thanks
Buy a modern 4 channel amplifier and plug in a bluetooth dongle in to the RCA inputs of the amp and then buy 4 ohm speakers to suit.
Will sound infinitely better than the dated 80s stuff in there.
The headunit you have will likely be less than 4x10wrms and aftermarket speakers will sound terrible due to the lower sensitivity of the original paper cone items which were designed for low output amplifiers.
There is an OK 4 channel amp I have seen recently, which would get the job done for £50.
Will sound infinitely better than the dated 80s stuff in there.
The headunit you have will likely be less than 4x10wrms and aftermarket speakers will sound terrible due to the lower sensitivity of the original paper cone items which were designed for low output amplifiers.
There is an OK 4 channel amp I have seen recently, which would get the job done for £50.
MattsCar said:
Buy a modern 4 channel amplifier and plug in a bluetooth dongle in to the RCA inputs of the amp and then buy 4 ohm speakers to suit.
Will sound infinitely better than the dated 80s stuff in there.
The headunit you have will likely be less than 4x10wrms and aftermarket speakers will sound terrible due to the lower sensitivity of the original paper cone items which were designed for low output amplifiers.
There is an OK 4 channel amp I have seen recently, which would get the job done for £50.
Thanks Matt- so use my head unit and plug into the amp somehow or run it as a totally separate system?Will sound infinitely better than the dated 80s stuff in there.
The headunit you have will likely be less than 4x10wrms and aftermarket speakers will sound terrible due to the lower sensitivity of the original paper cone items which were designed for low output amplifiers.
There is an OK 4 channel amp I have seen recently, which would get the job done for £50.
Alex Z said:
Wire the 4ohm speakers in series and you’ll have 8.
You’ll probably get better sound quality with an external amp if the head unit has line out.
And lose the ability to fade and only have the power of 2 channels of an internal amplifier from the 80s, so 5wrms or less per speaker.You’ll probably get better sound quality with an external amp if the head unit has line out.
Was thinking of this https://www.classiccarstereo.co.uk/shop/classic-ca...
TopTrump said:
Thanks Matt- so use my head unit and plug into the amp somehow or run it as a totally separate system?
A totally separate system, that you could hide somewhere in the boot.That way the dash would look period and correct.
Obviously you'd be limited to just Bluetooth as a source of music.
TopTrump said:
Was thinking of this https://www.classiccarstereo.co.uk/shop/classic-ca...
The power ratings of that are a lie unfortunately. Claims 4x60wrms, but has a 5 amp power rating, so you are looking at 4x10w RMS in reality.One other option if you wanted to use the original radio, is to tap in to the feeds of the rear speakers in to a high low converter and in to an amp.
The good thing about the high low converter is that it has a remote turn on which will sense when the music is playing and turn the amp on.
This...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274040565988?epid=24032...
In to this...
Edited by MattsCar on Sunday 14th May 21:06
MattsCar said:
The power ratings of that are a lie unfortunately. Claims 4x60wrms, but has a 5 amp power rating, so you are looking at 4x10w RMS in reality.
One other option if you wanted to use the original radio, is to tap in to the feeds of the rear speakers in to a high low converter and in to an amp.
Love to know more about this?One other option if you wanted to use the original radio, is to tap in to the feeds of the rear speakers in to a high low converter and in to an amp.
I have edited my previous post to show what a high low converter is. It is a Vibe one, it will be "adequate" however you could spend more on something from audiocontrol which would be better. Nothing wrong with the Vibe one, it will get the job done.
In terms of amplifiers, how crazy do you want to go? Something with 4x50wrms would be more than adequate, you can pick up something half decent for £50-100 these days.
In terms of amplifiers, how crazy do you want to go? Something with 4x50wrms would be more than adequate, you can pick up something half decent for £50-100 these days.
Have a look here for what I would call an "ok" amp. It is more than powerful enough for what I assume you will need. The 1500w is a bit of a lie, but from the fuses it is at least 50wrms per channel.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134142484526?hash=item1...
You can of course spend A LOT more, but for what you want to do, it is probably diminishing returns on any more money spent.
Combine that with £100 all in, worth of speakers and you'll be amazed at the increase in volume and better sound for less than £200.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134142484526?hash=item1...
You can of course spend A LOT more, but for what you want to do, it is probably diminishing returns on any more money spent.
Combine that with £100 all in, worth of speakers and you'll be amazed at the increase in volume and better sound for less than £200.
MattsCar said:
Vibe powerbox would work fine and would turn on not a problem. All these hi-lo converters require an absolute minimum of signal from the speaker wire to turn on.
Thanks for clarifying that, I wasn't sure if it would work with such a low input.So OP there's your answer, the Vibe amp is tiny and can be hidden behind the dash, instant 50w per channel, just find some speakers in the size you require with an equivalent power rating and away you go.
Thanks so much chaps- some brilliant advice and much appreciated.
I like the look of the Vibe Powerbox 65.4m. It's compact and can piggyback from the head unit (which is probably way more complex than it sounds!)
Would I need the Vibe Audio CCLOC in addition then? Looks like no but thought I would check.
Last question- will the Powerbox run a small sub if I later go that route?
Guys thanks. If you ever see me at C&M in a red IROC convertible, come and say hi, I'll buy you a beer. Or coffee
I like the look of the Vibe Powerbox 65.4m. It's compact and can piggyback from the head unit (which is probably way more complex than it sounds!)
Would I need the Vibe Audio CCLOC in addition then? Looks like no but thought I would check.
Last question- will the Powerbox run a small sub if I later go that route?
Guys thanks. If you ever see me at C&M in a red IROC convertible, come and say hi, I'll buy you a beer. Or coffee
I would go for the CCLOC into a separate amp option as it adds easy options to upgrade in the future such as adding a sub etc and theoretically requires least modification to the existing headunit
As Matt said use the signal to the rear speakers into the CCLOC which then adds RCA outputs to go into an amp. You can then go as big or small with the the amp and speakers as you want.
As Matt said use the signal to the rear speakers into the CCLOC which then adds RCA outputs to go into an amp. You can then go as big or small with the the amp and speakers as you want.
Mwn11 said:
I would go for the CCLOC into a separate amp option as it adds easy options to upgrade in the future such as adding a sub etc and theoretically requires least modification to the existing headunit
As Matt said use the signal to the rear speakers into the CCLOC which then adds RCA outputs to go into an amp. You can then go as big or small with the the amp and speakers as you want.
God I love this place sometimes. A diagram too? Just amazing, thanks to one and all!!!As Matt said use the signal to the rear speakers into the CCLOC which then adds RCA outputs to go into an amp. You can then go as big or small with the the amp and speakers as you want.
Gassing Station | In-Car Electronics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff