bergmjs Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 So my girlfriend wants to upgrade the sound in my car as a christmas present and I'm debating which route to go. I originally wanted to just pick up an 850R amp and plug it in and be all set, but some of the double DIN head units are pretty cool. The budget is under $150, so the super fancy GPS double dins are out of the question. So I was looking at some aftermarket headunits and they all list their RMS output as 17w x4-22w x4 with peak output at 80w x4. I looked up the specs of my stock SC-811 and it just lists 20w x4, I am assuming this is the RMS output and not peak, is this a correct assumption? So would that also mean the '96 850R amp's 50w x4 is also the RMS and not peak? If those are RMS values, I certainly do not want to downgrade my sound quality by going from 20w x4 to 17w x4. Specifically, I was looking at this one, but I don't know the quality of Boss products. I can't afford a nice Alpine or Kenwood or anything. I think the touchscreen with DVD capability is really cool and the USB and aux port on the front would be used a ton. And as a side note, my girlfriend thinks the stock headunit is ugly . So my other option is to pick up an 850R amp and keep using my tapedeck for my ipod, or use the changer plug to wire it in. So I was wondering what people's opinions were on the two different routes. I did search a bit and all the results were just people arguing back and forth whether or not the stock system sounded better than aftermarket. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdlimy Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 honestly your not going to get the same sound if you are looking to replace the deck and only have 150 bucks. shop around for used oem amps/headunits and see what you can come up with for that money, it will be much better spent than on aftermarket stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 For that budget, see if you can find a used SC901 in good working order, add an 850R amp and you'll have some pretty respectable sound on the cheap. The 901 has a dual zone 5 band EQ (5 separate front and rear adjustments) which is better than many aftermarket options, and the 850R amp will send a nice clean, powerful signal to the speakers. The amps in these cars were originally built by Alpine, and are pretty solid. Good luck, and happy hunting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bergmjs Posted December 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 I heard the SC-901's were a piece of poop, with no internal amping, a craptacular CD changer that's prone to breaking and just overall crap and that the SC-816 was a better option. I'm thinking that for the price I will have to stay with the OEM setups like you both said, guess the cool touchscreen stuff will have to wait until I have a bigger budget :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loseR99 Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I heard the SC-901's were a piece of poop, with no internal amping, a craptacular CD changer that's prone to breaking and just overall crap and that the SC-816 was a better option. I'm thinking that for the price I will have to stay with the OEM setups like you both said, guess the cool touchscreen stuff will have to wait until I have a bigger budget FYI. Car Audio store near me has killer deals right now. Pioneer AVIC U310BT, double DIN with Navi, bluetooth, ipod, etc. $199. I just put one in my girls car, its the stuff, and you can't beat the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(n)A-GAME Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 I heard the SC-901's were a piece of poop, with no internal amping, a craptacular CD changer that's prone to breaking and just overall crap and that the SC-816 was a better option. I'm thinking that for the price I will have to stay with the OEM setups like you both said, guess the cool touchscreen stuff will have to wait until I have a bigger budget Respectfully disagree. I added the complete Volvo Dolby package (third speaker dash, SC-901, Dolby processor, 4x50W amp) to my car 2 years ago, and it's hands down one of the best sounding stock audio systems I've ever heard. On par with the Nakamichi factory setup in my mom's Lexus. Internal amp doesn't matter, the 4x50W amp is more than enough to get a clean and powerful sound, and the preset soundstage for the sedan is fantastic. My 901's CD player broke last year, but I'm listening to an Ipod or Sirius through the tape deck 99% of the time anyways. Once I stop being lazy I'll actually install the Blitz Ipod Adapter I've had for the past 2 years, and when run through the changer input, the sound quality will improve immensely. (I've got an SC-900/amp combo if you're looking... Sticking with OEM also keeps the factory look. That's important for me, since I leave my car parked for days without checking up on it in a garage. Personally I think aftermarket audio systems look terrible, especially in these cars, and nothing screams "break in and take me" like a poorly fitted aftermarket deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bergmjs Posted December 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 I was just going off of what this guy said: http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php/topic/41137-volvo-amp/ I don't dabble in audio stuff too often, I have enough know-how to install what I need, but it's not my area of expertise, so I'm a bit lost in comparing and building systems and stuff. I was thinking I could find an SC-816 pretty easily in the junkyard and pick the amp up later when I get some more fun money. Since I can't get both at once I would be forced to stay with an internally amped HU. I'm going to need a new HU soon anyways, mine is starting to act up. It switches from FM to tape randomly and sometimes changes the side-to-side balance on its own. Also, I completely agree that the aftermarket HU looks terrible, which is why the only way I would get one was if it was full touchscreen. I hate those neon blue single slot things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEJinFBK Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 I was just going off of what this guy said: http://volvospeed.co...1137-volvo-amp/ I don't dabble in audio stuff too often, I have enough know-how to install what I need, but it's not my area of expertise, so I'm a bit lost in comparing and building systems and stuff. I was thinking I could find an SC-816 pretty easily in the junkyard and pick the amp up later when I get some more fun money. Since I can't get both at once I would be forced to stay with an internally amped HU. I'm going to need a new HU soon anyways, mine is starting to act up. It switches from FM to tape randomly and sometimes changes the side-to-side balance on its own. Also, I completely agree that the aftermarket HU looks terrible, which is why the only way I would get one was if it was full touchscreen. I hate those neon blue single slot things. I just read that thread and I'm solidly vouching for the SC-901. He can rant all he wants, but the cranky CD player aside, It Sounds Great! SC-816 is a basic deck at best and is widely known to have a very poor EQ curve. Read up: http://www.jimrothe.com/volvo/volvo-dynaudio.html A 901 may be a little more work to install, but i still say: Totally Worth It! BTW, I'm running a factory refurb 901 that I replaced a 900 with about 4 years back. The 3 disc still works flawlessly, even at -40. Great look, Great sound, Great DECK! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bergmjs Posted December 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 Hmm, well I just noticed i have an SC-815, not an 811 as the sticky would lead me to believe. Well I suppose I'll just try to find an amp for now then if I come by an SC-901 for cheap I might pick that up too. The 901's came with grey and black faceplates, right? Do you know the P/N for the 901 so I can see if any dealers have a refurb laying around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEJinFBK Posted December 19, 2010 Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 Hmm, well I just noticed i have an SC-815, not an 811 as the sticky would lead me to believe. Well I suppose I'll just try to find an amp for now then if I come by an SC-901 for cheap I might pick that up too. The 901's came with grey and black faceplates, right? Do you know the P/N for the 901 so I can see if any dealers have a refurb laying around? I don't have that number handy, but maybe this will help. Just happened across it today: http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?148670-sc901-amp-amp-harness This is all you need to make it go. The deck, the underseat amp and the cable to make it all go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nick malvasi Posted December 19, 2010 Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 I have a question on this subject. Do any of you have aftermarket speakers hooked up to the 901 or similar? I have a T5R and I have the factory amp that everyone loves but the stock tape deck is useless. I have high end alpine speakers I would like to put it and I was going to use my AVIC D3 but I don't really care for the whole not really secured well idea of my h\u... I am just curious to what you guys are doing with the factory stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bergmjs Posted December 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 I don't have that number handy, but maybe this will help. Just happened across it today: http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?148670-sc901-amp-amp-harness This is all you need to make it go. The deck, the underseat amp and the cable to make it all go. Are the mounting holes for the under seat amp present in 850 seats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(n)A-GAME Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 Are the mounting holes for the under seat amp present in 850 seats? No. 850's have the mounting location for the 4x50W amp forward of the heater core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom. Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 dude i got sc901 and amp if you wanna try it out :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bergmjs Posted December 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 dude i got sc901 and amp if you wanna try it out For sale or installed in your v70? Yea I'd love to listen to it in my car to see how it sounds before I invest and everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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