Good afternoon everyone,

I have a 1986 IROC that is all original and has less than 40,000 miles. My son is now driving it some to school and, of course, he'd like to update the stereo. We are wanting to upgrade the stereo in the next few months and he wants something he can hook his phone up to and I want something that doesn't make the car's interior look pieced together. I have spent a lot of time searching the forum for ideas and also the net looking for stereos. It seems the industry has given up trying to update the 1.5 DIN stereos. I can find used stereos which would be an upgrade and would fit into the opening Ok but they don't have phone or USB connectivity. I'm hoping I have overlooked something but so far I haven't found what i was hoping to find.

The only thing that has come close to what I'm looking for is a stereo by 'Retrosound'. Has anyone had experience with this stereo? It doesn't look like much but it is a little pricey, in my opinion, at $360. But, it does seem to match our criteria. It shouldn't look out of place and it is both bluetooth and USB ready.

I'm curious if anyone has pictures of this stereo installed in their camaro or T/A's?

Also, if anyone does have experience what speakers are you using? Did you use an amp and where did you mount it?

Again, my goal is to upgrade the sound system and the sound but to keep the camaro looking as stock as possible.

Thanks in advance for the help and/or advice!!

Greg

 

Why not keep the oem radio and put an aux input in to play his I-phone or MP3 player and get an adapter for the cigarette lighter socket to charge his phone?

 

Thanks for the response.

How would i do that and leave the radio? Would i need to add an amp and just by-pass the radio completely?

At the moment he is using a cassette player adapter and it works Ok but it doesn't sound very good and, of course, it doesn't charge without hooking up the charger. It is better than nothing but we'd still like to upgrade as long as it doesn't chop up the car.

Greg

 

No, no chopping up the interior or an additional amp needed. The aux input is cut into the 8 conductor ribbon inside your radio. It breaks the connection between the radio and cassette and inputs what is coming from the aux connection. It's really very easily done. There is an article here on TGO to do it. The aux connector will be on a cable to be concealed in the ashtray along with the cigarette lighter usb adapter. If you can't find the directions here, PM me with your regular email address and I will explain how to do it. Or I charge $30 for doing it for you.

 

That sounds promising, i'll do a search. Thanks a lot for the advice!!

Greg

 

Here's the link for the aux input;
http://eurosportvr.com/misc/ipod%20input/index.htm

 

 

I've installed a few Retro sound and similar radios and they are all IMO, junk, especially for the price.

Honestly, your best way is to buy one of the name brand head units, and installed using the available adapters. There are head units on the market in the $100 to $150 range that have the phone, USB and Bluetooth connectivity you are looking for, have more power than the original stereo, that will help improve the sound, even with stock speakers (I won't get into the whys here, but it is an improvement in sound, not just increased output).

If you're not happy with the sound now using the cassette adapter you still won't be happy using an RF based aux input. The hardwired aux input will be a slight, probably in-audible improvement in sound, because you're still using all of the same electronics to process the signals and amplify them.

FWIW, I've been installing Car Audio for over 20 years, and have used many products and have found that people are happier with a name brand head unit that may not exactly match the interior looks, but has the features and sound that they want.

 

I'd suggest a Humount plate and single DIN Pioneer or Kenwood deck.

Budget friendly and MUCH better sound quality with all the gizmos (ipod compatible, bluetooth, usb) you need.

The Humount plate won't make it look like a "hack" job.

 

where do I find that?!

 

I too have been looking at retrosound but reviews and price are terrible. I love the look of that Humount plate and would go that route myself. Where do they sell them?

cheers

 

Here's the link, I had it in my Favorites because I've thought about doing the same once I get the car running again.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/car-...-mp3-jack.html

 

Best way to go. Don't ruin the stock look.

 

Here

http://maptechenterprises.com/storef...e951b0f816ee62

My Pioneer installed

 

I would buy a newer unit, Pioneer as noted, and keep your OEM one and put it back in if you decide to sell it in the future... why pay for an aftermarket radio that looks the part but sounds like crap?

 

You can buy an aux. box that is totally separate from the radio (i.e. don't have to hack up the radio to install it). It's simply a box that has 2 inputs, one for the antennae and one for an aux. cable. A single antennae style cable goes from the box to your stock radio and a switch is mounted under the dash somewhere that allows you to swap between inputs. Simplest approach in my oppinion.

 

Something like this: