Still kinda confused.....
Thread Starter
Supreme Member
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,033
Likes: 2
From: North Canton, Ohio
Car: 1982 Firebird
Engine: sbc 307
Transmission: 200
Still kinda confused.....
OK guys, I've searched for this and I'm still a bit confused, (I'm kinda new at the stereo thing). Can I add an amp and cd changer while keeping my stock delco radio head unit? Thanks guys! 
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 528
Likes: 0
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Yes and Yes...
You can either get an amp that supports high-level inputs or buy a low-level adapter that will take your high level speaker outputs and convert them to RCA low-level.
As far as the changer, you can do it but you would have to use an RF Modulated changer. Most manufacturers make them. Basically you will get a box that plugs inline with your antenna input and provides you with a seperate control pad attached via cable that controls the cd changer. You will tune your radio to 88.7 usually and the cd will play through like a radio station.
Keep in mind, you will not get 100% cd quality this way, however you will get better than most radio stations as it would be like the station broadcasting right from in your car with no interfearance to degrade the signal. Most people do not ever notice the sound quality difference and are just happy to have their cd's to listen to
Hope that helps.
------------------
Carl
CarAudio Resources
You can either get an amp that supports high-level inputs or buy a low-level adapter that will take your high level speaker outputs and convert them to RCA low-level.
As far as the changer, you can do it but you would have to use an RF Modulated changer. Most manufacturers make them. Basically you will get a box that plugs inline with your antenna input and provides you with a seperate control pad attached via cable that controls the cd changer. You will tune your radio to 88.7 usually and the cd will play through like a radio station.
Keep in mind, you will not get 100% cd quality this way, however you will get better than most radio stations as it would be like the station broadcasting right from in your car with no interfearance to degrade the signal. Most people do not ever notice the sound quality difference and are just happy to have their cd's to listen to
Hope that helps.
------------------
Carl
CarAudio Resources
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 528
Likes: 0
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Because most people are satisfied with a stock head unit and there really is no need to upgrade in many cases.
Factory units are more ergonomic and cosmetically superior in most cases. When is the last time you had to look down to search through rows of buttons to do one small function with a factory Delco radio...
You can easilly make a stock head unit sound respectable with the right equipment. Find yourself a SoundGate or Monster LOC (Line Output Converter)...stay away from the PIE and Metra converters. With one of these in place, all you are doing is supplying signal to the amp...now if you have 20-20,000hz frequency response being sent to an amp, it doesn't care if it's from a delco or a $1k Nak deck. The largest difference will be from other pieces in the chain...i.e. DAC's and output stages.
The only problem is, if you don't adjust a LOC correctly, you can start to pick up problems with clipping from the factory head unit...which can be a problem with any source anyway if not setup right.
As far as "more watts"...go read the Amplifier Basics tech article on my site. You will see that a "40x4" head unit is maybe only putting out 10 clean watts at the most. This is why companies such as Eclipse actually went to rating their decks at real life power (11 watts, 15 watts) rather than follow the lead of stamping 160watts on the face of their decks.
Anyway, I've gotten way off topic here, so I'm out...
------------------
Carl
CarAudio Resources
Factory units are more ergonomic and cosmetically superior in most cases. When is the last time you had to look down to search through rows of buttons to do one small function with a factory Delco radio...
You can easilly make a stock head unit sound respectable with the right equipment. Find yourself a SoundGate or Monster LOC (Line Output Converter)...stay away from the PIE and Metra converters. With one of these in place, all you are doing is supplying signal to the amp...now if you have 20-20,000hz frequency response being sent to an amp, it doesn't care if it's from a delco or a $1k Nak deck. The largest difference will be from other pieces in the chain...i.e. DAC's and output stages.
The only problem is, if you don't adjust a LOC correctly, you can start to pick up problems with clipping from the factory head unit...which can be a problem with any source anyway if not setup right.
As far as "more watts"...go read the Amplifier Basics tech article on my site. You will see that a "40x4" head unit is maybe only putting out 10 clean watts at the most. This is why companies such as Eclipse actually went to rating their decks at real life power (11 watts, 15 watts) rather than follow the lead of stamping 160watts on the face of their decks.
Anyway, I've gotten way off topic here, so I'm out...
------------------
Carl
CarAudio Resources
Thread Starter
Supreme Member
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,033
Likes: 2
From: North Canton, Ohio
Car: 1982 Firebird
Engine: sbc 307
Transmission: 200
Thanks guys, the reason I want to stick with the stock head unit is because no theif will break in to steal it and it looks good. I have thought about one of those head units where the face rotates or blacks out when the ignition is off, but for the price of one of those, I can get a CD changer. I dunno what to do.
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