Sc-901 Upgrade Questions

[jschaefer7406]

Hello everyone,

Had a few chances to purchase a 901 for the S70 and had some questions from those who have them. I currently have the stock 816, no external amp. I do (at the very least) want to add an amp to the 816. I have considered upgrading to the 901 and the Dolby though. Some have said that the sound is actually better with the 816. Thoughts? I have also heard that the CD mechanism isn't very reliable with the 901. Another thing, will this sound good without a center channel (if I fade the center level to minimum in Pro-Logic)? Anyone with the SC-901 feel free to chime in...

Thanks,

Joe

[(n)A-GAME]

Hello everyone,

Had a few chances to purchase a 901 for the S70 and had some questions from those who have them. I currently have the stock 816, no external amp. I do (at the very least) want to add an amp to the 816. I have considered upgrading to the 901 and the Dolby though. Some have said that the sound is actually better with the 816. Thoughts? I have also heard that the CD mechanism isn't very reliable with the 901. Another thing, will this sound good without a center channel (if I fade the center level to minimum in Pro-Logic)? Anyone with the SC-901 feel free to chime in...

Thanks,

Joe

I've got an SC-900 and amp waiting to be installed also. If you're set on OEM and like the look (like I am), SC-901 is the way to go. The CD changer mechanism does lock up frequently, but who listens to CDs anymore? And yes, you will need an external amp to run it.

That said everyone on here will tell you to go aftermarket if you care about sound quality.

[mkc70]

Adding a 901 is up to you. My opinion on the 901's performance is that it is a good head unit. It integrates well with the interior, easy to use controls, sounds good. It is NOT a good cd player, a new cd player for under 100$ will out perform it. The cd mechanism can get jammed at times, but mine has only done this twice for several years. This is easily remedied with two procedures. Either disconnecting power, or using the manual release on the bottom of the cd tray if it is stuck in the out position. If you can't hear the center speaker then why have it. The audio can play in 3ch, dolby, and normal stereo mode, but only if you use a center speaker and the Dolby processor. Just leave the processing off and listen to it in normal stereo mode.

[tweekgt4]

Bought my 99R with a SC-901 in September of this year.

It was a good unit for about 3 days using a tape adapter for my iPod and a couple burned CDs in the 3-disc changer.

Burned some new CDs and I would get skipping if you change the track or the CD doesn't play from the beginning. Then the tape adapter would not stay inserted. It kept spitting it out. I tried the one real tape I have left and that would also get ejected.

So, no tape adapter for my iPod, CDs won't read, and radio sucks... I installed a multimedia headunit I had sitting around from one of the cars I sold. I'm never going back to the SC-901 or pay money for it if I didn't already have one. I was going to send the SC-901 back to Alpine to get it refurbed for $150 but what's the point? I doubt it will read burned CDs any better.

If you don't have a headunit lying around, decent and new Alpine headunits from Crutchfield can be bought for about $129-$199 shipped that comes with a wiring harness and pocket kit.

When I had the SC-901, I tried out the Dolby and center channel sound stage selects, while cool I thought it wasn't neccessary and it's not like you're going to be watching a movie in the car, needing the center for voice audio. Just fade the sound a little to the front with whatever headunit you'll be using. Given that new headunits have the same power output or more, you won't need an amp using the stock speakers.

My headunit now has a center output and separate volume control so I'm tempted to wire up the stock amp to the center speaker and see how that sounds since I can play DVDs in the car.

[Big Will]

All Volvo radios from that generation can play burned CDs. They are however very picky about them. Many of us used to try to find a brand of CD-R that worked - sometimes it was Sony, sometimes Maxell, whatever.

Eventually, after trying this on a number of different Volvo HUs from the 816 to the 901, I found that they have no problem playing CD-Rs as long as they are the type that self-finalize. In other words, they have to be 1 time-burn CDs. Most CD-Rs can have data added to them even after the first burn (you can't change what's already on there like a CD-RW, you can just add to it). If you find CD-Rs that finalize after the 1st burn, then your 901 will have no trouble playing your burned CDs.

It is a good unit - has a lot less problems with the CD changer than the 900 and it is a huge improvement in sound over the 816 (partly thanks to the external amplification).

[jschaefer7406]

It is a good unit - has a lot less problems with the CD changer than the 900 and it is a huge improvement in sound over the 816 (partly thanks to the external amplification).

Hello all,

Thanks for the replies. As another said, I would like to keep the stock Volvo look, so I will likely not go aftermarket. Money-wise though, I do have to agree that it's a much better deal to just go to Crutchfield. I do use the in dash player in my 816 frequently, despite having a 10 disc Kenwood in the trunk. Does resetting the unit usually remedy the CD faults? What was the final verdict on the center speaker? I'm keen on using the surround effect in the car, but I do agree that a center is mostly useless for music. If I fade the center control completely to zero, will it be similar to the older Pro-Logic home units with the "Phantom" mode? Sorry for all of the questions, but thanks for the help.

Joe

[Big Will]

The center channel on the 901 will be useless for you since your car does not have a center speaker situated in the center of the dash panel unless you went out and purchased the dash panel, speaker, speaker grill, mounting hardware, and most importantly, the Dolby Surround Processor. It was on option on 98-00 V70Rs which came with SC-900 and 901 units depending on the year. The sound in those cars is spectacular. C70s also had great sound system options. You can add the center channel to your S70, but it's quite expensive even if you find used parts.

For your S70, the 901 will simply provide a higher quality, much cleaner (I really do think there's a huge difference even with stock speakers) sound. In addition, the 901 has a defeatable EQ which other Volvo headunits do not have. This means that you can go in and tune the sound system in your car on 6 different frequencies for both the front and the rear, 12 total. Pretty advanced for a headunit that is approaching 10 years old now. You can usually find 901s for $250-$325 used in good condition or get a refurbished one from Volvo for a similar price.

Hope that helps.

Again, a lot of the CD changer problems found in the SC-900 were corrected in the 901.

[jschaefer7406]

The center channel on the 901 will be useless for you since your car does not have a center speaker situated in the center of the dash panel unless you went out and purchased the dash panel, speaker, speaker grill, mounting hardware, and most importantly, the Dolby Surround Processor. It was on option on 98-00 V70Rs which came with SC-900 and 901 units depending on the year. The sound in those cars is spectacular. C70s also had great sound system options. You can add the center channel to your S70, but it's quite expensive even if you find used parts.

For your S70, the 901 will simply provide a higher quality, much cleaner (I really do think there's a huge difference even with stock speakers) sound. In addition, the 901 has a defeatable EQ which other Volvo headunits do not have. This means that you can go in and tune the sound system in your car on 6 different frequencies for both the front and the rear, 12 total. Pretty advanced for a headunit that is approaching 10 years old now. You can usually find 901s for $250-$325 used in good condition or get a refurbished one from Volvo for a similar price.

Hope that helps.

Again, a lot of the CD changer problems found in the SC-900 were corrected in the 901.

Hello again,

Thanks for all of your help. Sorry for all of the dumb questions . I do have a line on the complete setup though, including the Dolby processor. Only thing missing is the center speaker. That's why I was curious if there was a lot of sense using the Pro-Logic but keeping the center at the minimum level. I think it should sound fine on music, just hoping to hear from some who have added the complete setup minus the center channel. You've been a lot of help. Thanks!

Joe

[Big Will]

My wagon has an 850R amp (4x 50 watt just like the proper S/V70 one) situated where the Dolby Processor would go instead of under the passenger seat where the S/V70 would have been located, an SC-901 and I do not have the Dolby and Center speaker. I upgraded the rear door speakers to Volvo 40 watt speakers which were an option that almost no one knew about and that added a bit more bass response. The sound was night and day compared to the 816 unit and also better than the basic Pioneer unit I had in for about a year and got sick of (tiny buttons).

If you have a line on an entire Pro-Logic setup then go for it. You'll find the Center speaker eventually and the proper dash cover - they turn up here and there.

Best wishes.

--Will