tuner4life Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 This project is on my radar for this coming summer, but I am trying to gather as much info as I can before I actually tear into it. I will preface this whole thread by saying that I have done stereo installs before, not professionally, but I can usually get stuff hooked up and working just fine. So I do know the basics. On my 1998 C70 coupe, It has the "top of the line" factory system with a billion speakers, center channel speaker, tape player, in dash CD changer, etc.. Only problem is that none of it really works. Only the tape player and a couple of speakers. The point is that it is time for an upgrade. It is going to get a double DIN touchscreen (not sure which one yet, but I have found a few I like). The only issue is that from everything I can find, the speakers are all factory amped. So in order to use an aftermarket head unit, (and because my factory amps are junk) I would need to run new speaker wires to all new speakers therefore bypassing all of the factory stuff. This makes sense to me so far. Now, I was looking at the doors, it looks like there is a place for 2 speakers in each door, but as far as I can tell, there is only 1 speaker in each door. It looks easy enough to add a second speaker in each door, and then would I just have to run them in series with the other door speakers? What about the 2 speakers in the dash? Should I run all 3 of them in series? (I'll add that any speaker being used will be replaced with Infinity). And what about the center speaker on the dash? No head unit I can find has the capability to power that speaker by itself. Some people have mentioned running the positive from one side and the negative from the other side to that speaker, but that doesn't seem right somehow, and If I did that I would have 3.5 speakers somehow running off of the front channel of the head unit and that also doesn't seem like a good idea.. I thought I had a handle on how do go about this, but the more I think about it the more confused I am getting. How would you guys set it up? What would you build it like? Ghost shadow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow95 Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Your factory amp is Alpine. Might be old but hardly junk. Your speakers are Dynaudio. Again old yes but junk no. Maybe you would do better to track down the issues. I have a perfectly working 901 system in my 98 C70 and while I want a double din with navigation, I cant justify tearing out this incredible sounding system.Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(n)A-GAME Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 +1 to that G. Are you running an SC-900 or 901? Upgrade to the 901 with a working CD Changer for the defeatable equalizer curves for $150 and rethink spending hundreds on reinventing the sound stage. Add in a Blitz iPod adapter for $50 and you can have a system on par with anything in a modern car. The C70 speaker setup has 11 speakers: 2 dash tweeters, 4 door speakers (2 midrange, 2 mid-bass), 2 large bass woofers in the parcel shelf, the center channel, and then 2 more in the rear side panels. If the speakers are actually not working that's a different issue, but the Dynaudio setup is second to none. I still think the 10 year old Dynaudio setup I had in my S70 kicked the snot out of the Audyssey "Premium" setup Volvo put in my T6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn-E Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 I need to see pictures of your door panel - there should be two speakers on the door like this: This is the full set of what comes in the 11 speaker package: By my read, it sounds like whomever owned the car before you butchered the speakers, pulled them from the door, and/or just allowed the system to deteriorate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzer555 Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Your factory amp is Alpine. Might be old but hardly junk. Your speakers are Dynaudio. Again old yes but junk no. Maybe you would do better to track down the issues. I have a perfectly working 901 system in my 98 C70 and while I want a double din with navigation, I cant justify tearing out this incredible sounding system.Gary Agreed. LOVE the C70 dynaudio/alpine system! Totally worth fixing To the OP: I've seen Erie Vovo and others selling complete sets of C70 speakers on eBay for cheap (much less money than an aftermarket stereo). I bought an 8" dynaudio door speaker for $20 shipped cause I thought mine might be failing (turned out it was so much bass it rattled the door ha!). If you need/want an SC901 head unit I have one out of my R parts car, CD player worked when I tested it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEJinFBK Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 FWIW, not ALL of these C's shipped with the Dynaudio package. Don't let the center channel fool ya. Still - Wicked nice for OEM! +1 on the 901 and input adapter. Have a look in the back to see which Alpine V-12 amp varient is back there - They had 2. If you haven't got a 4 ch amp in back, have a look under the passenger seat for the 4 x 50w. See what the speakers look like. If you can get a look at the back, you'll know what you've got. You may find something that'll help here: http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30204 I vote Assess and Restore. Hopefully with Dynaudio... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow95 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 What are the variants to the V12 amp? Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiksilver Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Easy way to check what speakers you have, pop the trunk stick your head in and look up. If they're dynaudio, there should be a sticker on the base of the woofers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 I have a spare amp if that's the issue. The big trunk-mounted one. Used to run it in my old S70. Sounds beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEJinFBK Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 What are the variants to the V12 amp? Gary The big Daddy 4 x 100w fer sure and a 4 x 80w, IIRC. I've got all that on another deck. Using an iPhone right now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow95 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 I have a 98 with the dyneaudio. I havent looked at my amp yet. I guess I need to huh? If I have the 80x4, is the 100x4 plug and play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted December 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Ok, well this changes the plans a bit, lol.. I had no idea it was such a good system. Thanks for the information! I am positive that the head unit is bad, plus the CD player is broken, so I will at least need that. I will try to get some pictures of the door panels, they do have the 2 speaker grills like posted above, but I think I remember there only being 1 speaker in each door when I had it apart. I'll have to check that tonight and get a better look at everything else. Couple of questions though if I keep the original system: -I have been converting all my vehicles to use a USB stick for music storage which goes right into the faceplate of most aftermarket stereos. That way me (or my wife) can hop into whichever vehicle we want to and pop our respective usb stick into the radio and listen to our own music (our tastes differ a lot). My question is, what would be the best way to add a USB port to this system so it can play music off of a usb stick? -What would I have to do if I wanted to add a sub woofer to this factory system? Are there RCA ports somewhere on it? What would I have to add? Would it even make an improvement? I'm sorry if I am sounding like a noob. Currently trying to get some pics of the doors, head unit, and amp uploaded in a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted December 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Ok, Here is the head unit, the door panels, and the rear deck speakers. I'm at work and had my wife take/upload them, she says she can't find the amp back there, so it must be under the seat? Looks like it does have the 901 system (It says 901 on the radio anyways..) Here's what I've got: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn-E Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 You have to pull the carpet cover of the driver's side panel in the wall of the trunk in order to get access to the amp if the 4x100 is installed. So your wife wouldn't find it just by looking in the trunk. It's buried behind the "black box" in the wall - which is where the rear 6 CD changer would normally be installed if it was there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuner4life Posted December 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Ok, I think I'm getting over her head on this, lol.. I'll check it out tonight when I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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