[jdmckay]

Just received a new, decent but not too fancy CD/FM player from Crutchfield. I'm not an audiophile, just want to have decent tunes from mostly my own burned CD(s). I know very little about car stereos, so...

couple questions:

Are the c900 front (dash/grill) speakers the same across years? Mine ('86) are Clarion (on right in photo), the other I picked out of yard some time ago and don't recall what yr. They look similar, but (???)...

The labelling is different... mine had paper (long gone), the other stamped info (you can see part # on later). Are these the same? Other than worn or broken, is one as good as the other?

Also some time ago, I pilfered a pair of these from a 9000 (again, before I started recordingl yr. of donor cars):

I got 'em 'cause they had "more stuff": eg. base & woofer (... I think. like I said, I don't know much about these) and they were cheap @ UPULL yard here ($2.50). I'm wondering if...

1. these are appreciably better than rear shelf speakers in c900?
2. will a standard CD player power these w/out some kind of pre-amp or (???)?

And lastly, anyone know if other cars (say '86 on up) have much better speakers (if front, that will fit in c900 dash) I may be able to pilfer? I'm fashioning a new rear shelf & can mount most anything on it.

Thanks.

 

[aznsaab]

Not sure if the front speakers are the same brand and build wise. What I can tell you is that the front dash speakers are 4 inch. That means go to any department store or car audio store and ask for 4 inch speakers and they should fit. The rear speakers you have pictured look like nice mid range cones with tweeters. Anything is better then the stock 4*10's If I was in your position (which I am) I would use 6*9's in the rear. Those can be found in most GM cars. If you are feeling really ambitious try to find a car in the yard with an upgraded factory stereo. I believe GM used to market their's as Monsoon and Ford's as the Mach Stereo system. Also speakers with any recognizable brand name are good as well. For instance some newer cars come with speakers from Infinity, Clarion, and Bose. Your new CD player assuming it is not an OEM stereo will most likely blow those stock speakers. In my experience, stock speakers are cheaply made and use a higher resistance then aftermarket components. Be careful with the volume. Try here for metric tons of information as well. www.the12volt.com

 

[jdmckay]

Thanks for the link AZN... I'll look it over.

I have a notion that some speakers like those 9000(s) in photo (eg: tweeter & base) require more power than a std CD player will deliver w/out some kind of external amp. I'll poke around until I find out.

One of my buddies just emailed, said MAXIMAS of recent vintage have very good BOSE speakers. Hmmm...

I'm going to yard today, would like to do best I can w/speakers and get that thing in today.

 

[confusion]

The cd player will push the big speakers in the pics. no problem.

 

[jdmckay]

The cd player will push the big speakers in the pics. no problem.

Thanks. One of those 9000 speakers I had was blown, pulled another yesterday.

Also, I found a '93 900t which had, on 1st glance, same Clarion rear speakers as all the others. However (I nearly missed it) there was a tweeter embedded in that thing.

Also, there indeed were MAXIMA(s) that had BOSE front and back. I took a hard look @ the rear: found a couple of 'em on '93 models. They had an entire assembly mounted in a plastic mounting device. There was one large circular speaker (8 in. ?) w/2 wires going to another container in the device, but not a speaker... I don't know what it is (I didn't have my camera yesterday, no photos).

The wire leads coming out of this 2nd box went directly in wiring harness. Problem was, there were 4 leads coming out of this box, not 2. I was tempted to grab 'em... several people have told me they were very good. But I don't have knowledge to know what those extra 2 leads were for.

Anyone know?... any idea what possible extra electronics may
be needed to drive these things? The same MAXIMA(s) had (I think) 6 in BOSE speakers in the doors up front.

Figuring out these setups just another thing to put on my 2-do list.

 

[dasander]

Every vehicle I have owned with Clarion stereos has had issues, both oem (saab & Subaru) stereos and aftermarket. Therefore, I do not have a high opinion of Clarion.

I got speakers for my 900 from Crutchfield, and have been quite impressed with them. The car came with Saab (Clarion) speakers. I had a good CD tuner from Crutchfield in the 900, it sounded great but looked out of place in the dash. I have since replaced it with a Subaru (yes Subaru) tuner and deck with a component CD player where the equilizer used to be. Now I have AM,FM, tape, CD and a weather band radio, and it looks factory (except for the "subaru" script. The radio was made by Panasonic. Living in northern Vermont the weather band radio is quite convienent.
Prety much any standard DIN stereo will fit in a 900, and you can get wiring harness information on line to cross over another OEM to saab. I made the harness to fit the Subaru Radio in, and it plugs into the Saab harness.

 

[jdmckay]

Thanks for your comments dsander.

Every vehicle I have owned with Clarion stereos has had issues, both oem (saab & Subaru) stereos and aftermarket. Therefore, I do not have a high opinion of Clarion.

what kind of issues? (just curious... as I said, I know little about car audio). FWIW, based on non-critical aquired experiences from 20+ yrs past, I generally had opinion of Clarion as a hi-end brand.

I will say, however, looking around before buying this JVC I find nearly every brand I thought of as a "name" has been swallowed up by holding companies, bought & sold (xxx) times, or otherwise unrecognizable from the original. And a lot of people told me to stay away from SONY (another name I trusted), saying their stuff has gone downhill.

I bought what I bought based of user comments on the product. We bought a $79 DUAL mp3 CD/FM in my girlfriend's '95 Celica about a yr ago, based just on user feedback, and quite honestly it works/sound quite good. I know a few folks who've spent far more & had the cd tray/player break in less time than that.

(...) I have since replaced it with a Subaru (yes Subaru) tuner and deck with a component CD player where the equilizer used to be. Now I have AM,FM, tape, CD and a weather band radio, and it looks factory (except for the "subaru" script. The radio was made by Panasonic. Living in northern Vermont the weather band radio is quite convienent.
Prety much any standard DIN stereo will fit in a 900, and you can get wiring harness information on line to cross over another OEM to saab. I made the harness to fit the Subaru Radio in, and it plugs into the Saab harness.

Just curious...

do you recall yr/model of donor SUBARU?
can you snap a picture of the SAAB installation w/SUBARU?
what did you do w/hole in dash... are there clean fitting covers available somewhere to cover that gaping hole?

I'm about done working on this thing for the winter, but whole thing's coming apart next spring for a real good paint job. I'm giving thought to modifying some interior "stuff", among which is location of cd.

It'd be nice to see what others have done.

Thanks.

 

[ShadowWorks]

Clarion is actually the biggest manufacturer of car audio in the world, they did that by selling ultra cheap shiet to auto makers directly.

You can buy any 3 inch or 4 inch midwoofer in the front dash

 

[dasander]

I tried to keep my '87 turbo all origional for years, I have a shelf of Clarion stereos and equilizers, all dead. I picked the local salvage yards and then E-bay for Saab Stereos. After the last one quit, I gave up. I will say the 88 and on Saab clarions seem to hold up better. I have had them ask for the code, then lock up, one just whistles when on, others just quit. I have had knobs come off, tape doors break, displays go blank, etc. I often wonder why saab went to great effort to make these theft proof. Who would steal them?
The factory clarion went on my '88 subaru turbo, and the aftermarket (expensive) clarion went on my VW convertable.
As for the Subaru Stereo, it came from a late '90s Outback. It is a two component system. The tuner and tape is in the top slot in the dash, and the CD player is in the din slot in the center console where the equilizer used to be. I want to ad a sub under the passengers seat (gee... that's where subaru put theirs) I will post pictures tomorrow. I feel it looks factory, I guess I will let the pictures tell the story and let you decide.

 

[jdmckay]

Thanks Dasander.

 

[mmustillo]

Question

Hey,

In My 900 I have 4 inch speakers in the front dash.

I was wondering, do you think that I could fit 6 Inch speakers there?
Or is it worth it buying new 4 inch speakers and replacing the stock ones?

Thanks,
Mati

 

[aznsaab]

I would personally use 4 inch or smaller. (I plan on making an adapter to fit 3.5 inch speakers) The only reason I say that is because IMO 6 inch speakers would not provide very good high frequency response. They are great for midrange but you really need to have a smaller speaker upfront if you are going for sound quality. Of course if you like the urban bass music and just want to rattle your dash apart, by all means go with the 6 inchers

 

[mmustillo]

I would personally use 4 inch or smaller. (I plan on making an adapter to fit 3.5 inch speakers) The only reason I say that is because IMO 6 inch speakers would not provide very good high frequency response. They are great for midrange but you really need to have a smaller speaker upfront if you are going for sound quality. Of course if you like the urban bass music and just want to rattle your dash apart, by all means go with the 6 inchers

Thanks, And is there a big difference between the one from the saab in the 900 or these :
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ALPINE-SPS-1...ryZ14938QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

I want to buy them.

What do you think?

 

[aznsaab]

I am always weary of buying electronics from Ebay but I also know plenty of people who do it. As long as you are sure that they fit, any speaker is better than stock. You will notice the difference istantly. Alpine is a well respected brand as well. Try here for more informtaion www.the12volt.com

 

[aerobar900]

Thanks, And is there a big difference between the one from the saab in the 900 or these :
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ALPINE-SPS-10C2-4-2-WAY-CAR-SPEAKERS-NEW-PAIR-4-INCH_W0QQitemZ250191367010QQihZ015QQcategoryZ14938QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

I want to buy them.

What do you think?

Do a search on speakers and you'll find quite a few threads on options available.
I don't know if you are planning on getting the speakers you have listed above from that actual store but I would advise against it. They are located in New York and the postage cost is almost as much as the speakers.
Google 4" car speakers on Google australia, it will provide you with some options.

 

[mmustillo]

Is it good?

Thanks for the info.

Do you think its good to order speakers and stuff on Ebay??
Or is it better just from a normal shop or a online website shop.

Thanks.

 

[fetchitfido]

Should be fine to order stuff from eBay. Just don't believe what they post for specs or reviews...remember they're in the business of selling so if something has a major pitfall they won't mention it. Just google the part number, takes 10 minutes to research it max.
I just picked up a pair of Pioneer 4x10's. 35w nom, 120w max. 4ohm. Should be better then stock (dunno what stock ratings are, might be on bottom of speaker...haven't checked) and they were only ~$35 with shipping.

 

[mmustillo]

Nice!

Should be fine to order stuff from eBay. Just don't believe what they post for specs or reviews...remember they're in the business of selling so if something has a major pitfall they won't mention it. Just google the part number, takes 10 minutes to research it max.
I just picked up a pair of Pioneer 4x10's. 35w nom, 120w max. 4ohm. Should be better then stock (dunno what stock ratings are, might be on bottom of speaker...haven't checked) and they were only ~$35 with shipping.

Hey,

Where did you order them from?
I need to get some also and a radio!
Also I have been wondering what would happen If I diconnect my back speakers and conect my 2 Subwoofers insted of the back speakers. Will it work?

Thanks!

 

[aznsaab]

No it will not work. a stock or aftermarket radio (head unit is the proper term) will not provide even close to enough power to make the subwoofers go. You need an amplifier for that. If you have an amplifier you could possible use the rear speaker wires as input signals for the amplifier. This is an alternative to using and adding RCA cables to your audio system. it's a popular option for people who do not want to install extra wiring or power cables. They simply by a subwoofer with a built in amplifer and splice into the rear speaker wires for the sound input. While I'm not a fan of the neon lights, it looks like you take pride in your work. Good job. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people with excellant stereos but they poorly installed all the components. when people do that it really detracts from everything and can sometimes pose a large safety factor. As I am sure you already no, but not many here do, Hatchbacks are the best for sound systems. I'm not sure why but the acoustics they offer are the best of any body style.

 

[fetchitfido]

If you put hearing aids in you might hear something by directly connecting sub's to the head unit...maybe. Average sub wants 100-300watts of power and average h/u gives 18-25watts....huge difference. Probably burn something out.

I ordered the 4x10's off of eBay. $20 buy it now with $15 shipping. Now to get components for the front...