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Stereo head units - a discussion


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I installed a Kenwood media player (No CD). The unit is quite small and light, I think only about 3" deep. I used a 1985 grey weave radio bezel, and painted the edges silver to match the factory 1984 bezels. I mainly listen to Podcasts via Bluetooth, but I have been doing a little bit of Spotify lately as well. I almost never listen to the actual radio. My truck was a factory radio delete, so there was nothing...not speakers, no antenna, no wiring, just nothing.

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I have stock AM/FM radio and some Amazon speakers. It had Kenwood speakers that were very crinkly and didn't work. I thought about trying something newer but really wanted to keep the original look. I have enough nostalgia for that era that I wanted to keep it with a double knob radio and the OEM worked. I learned to drive in a 78 Granada with same radio and 4 speakers. So basically the same. Kinda my homage to that era. It's not very loud, not very awesome. But it works and takes me back to my youth, so I'm keeping it til it quits working.

No point having a lot of quality in there since the normal truck noises cancel out any "quality" sounds. We have a local AM/FM/internet station that plays "gold" from 50/60/70/80s. Perfect for my radio and riding around in the county.

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Scott -

That really looks classy!

And the phone setup (good comment) is very handy if one is driving. Get caught in an accident while the phone is activated and it's "heads you loose, tails you loose", so having your wife on the phone is a good way to go.

(plus, women use the phones more than guys do. But don't quote me on that!)

Very nice looking setup!

Thanks all. There are steps/photos in the Camano thread (sig) if interested in how I went about it.

It was a tough decision between the factory 2 knob and this since it's hard to beat the factory look.

The nice thing is that no matter what one goes with, nothing is permanent.

The truck came with an Alpine 7803S (being an 86 with the Burlwood single din) and that fit well with the 80's look.

Tons of choices (new and used) out there depending upon the looks and feature set one wants.

 

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I have stock AM/FM radio and some Amazon speakers. It had Kenwood speakers that were very crinkly and didn't work. I thought about trying something newer but really wanted to keep the original look. I have enough nostalgia for that era that I wanted to keep it with a double knob radio and the OEM worked. I learned to drive in a 78 Granada with same radio and 4 speakers. So basically the same. Kinda my homage to that era. It's not very loud, not very awesome. But it works and takes me back to my youth, so I'm keeping it til it quits working.

No point having a lot of quality in there since the normal truck noises cancel out any "quality" sounds. We have a local AM/FM/internet station that plays "gold" from 50/60/70/80s. Perfect for my radio and riding around in the county.

Corey, I believe I have the exact same stereo that you have. I didn't want a CD player, Bluetooth was more important. It is as you said, superlight and does not take up a lot of room behind the dash. So far, very pleased with it.

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Corey, I believe I have the exact same stereo that you have. I didn't want a CD player, Bluetooth was more important. It is as you said, superlight and does not take up a lot of room behind the dash. So far, very pleased with it.

I really want my interior to be as stock as possible, but I also like a good audio system. Bluetooth would be nice to answer calls and play podcasts etc. I have a nice OE radio/cassette unit - I'm thinking of putting that back in with a bluetooth amp under the seat (hopefully with USB charging too) so basically tinny sound for the radio/cassette, and better audio quality via the bluetooth amp.

Does anyone else have this setup, or recommendations whether this works out ok or not?

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I really want my interior to be as stock as possible, but I also like a good audio system. Bluetooth would be nice to answer calls and play podcasts etc. I have a nice OE radio/cassette unit - I'm thinking of putting that back in with a bluetooth amp under the seat (hopefully with USB charging too) so basically tinny sound for the radio/cassette, and better audio quality via the bluetooth amp.

Does anyone else have this setup, or recommendations whether this works out ok or not?

I also wanted something that was as close to factory looking as I could get and found this radio on Ebay for a good price.

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A set of speakers I had sitting around makes up the system.

Its not a great sounding system but as someone said the noise the truck makes its good enough.

I dont care it does not have all that fancy stuff the new radios have if I did I would be driving a newer truck.

The only complaint I have with it is the stations tend to drift and I need to "dial it" back in from time to time. I think it needs a good cleaning from other signs I have with the radio.

The tape deck dose play but the sound is really low so you need to crank it up and even then if driving its hard to hear. Being the truck dose not have room for a lot of tapes I dont carry but a few in the truck so not a big deal.

I do have other newer 2 knob radios, 2 are NIB, I could install but I dont think they would look factory and why I did not go with any of them.

Dave ----

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I also wanted something that was as close to factory looking as I could get and found this radio on Ebay for a good price.

A set of speakers I had sitting around makes up the system.

Its not a great sounding system but as someone said the noise the truck makes its good enough.

I dont care it does not have all that fancy stuff the new radios have if I did I would be driving a newer truck.

The only complaint I have with it is the stations tend to drift and I need to "dial it" back in from time to time. I think it needs a good cleaning from other signs I have with the radio.

The tape deck dose play but the sound is really low so you need to crank it up and even then if driving its hard to hear. Being the truck dose not have room for a lot of tapes I dont carry but a few in the truck so not a big deal.

I do have other newer 2 knob radios, 2 are NIB, I could install but I dont think they would look factory and why I did not go with any of them.

Dave ----

I remember that radio as well, my grandparents had an Crown Vic LTD with a similar one.

You wouldn't believe my kids faces (14 and 12) when I explained how to save presents on these radios via the "pull out push in" buttons. You would have thought we used stone tablets (compared to now, that's not far off though!) :nabble_laughing-25-x-25_orig:

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I remember that radio as well, my grandparents had an Crown Vic LTD with a similar one.

You wouldn't believe my kids faces (14 and 12) when I explained how to save presents on these radios via the "pull out push in" buttons. You would have thought we used stone tablets (compared to now, that's not far off though!) :nabble_laughing-25-x-25_orig:

Well i have autosound us 230 and it looks and sounds great in my truck

 

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This unit has potential if you’re looking for a modern large screen in a 1x din. The screen can sit proud of the bezel, you can adjust the tilt, then retract for a clean non-bezel-destroying look.

Pioneer DVD Receivers: AVH-3500NEX

I wonder how much tilt it would need since the bezel juts out at the top and if it'd still be easily visible.

And one that tilts down (if exists) would block the hvac.

I like that idea though for getting a full screen with a single din.

 

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