Switching Radios...

I just aquired a 98 S70 and am thinking about getting a better radio instead
of the factory/ cassett radio... I'd like to put in a good Radio with CD
player...
My question is:
Is there anything that I need to know about the OEM radio with it's stupid
security code, before I start unhooking it to put the new one in? It will
not be a Volvo radio...

Thanks,
Bo...

 

You only need the code if you put the old one back... and you can get it
from the dealer with the VIN number from your car... They'll do it for free,
unless they're a not so good dealer.

Buy the appropriate wiring harness adaptor kit from the stereo shop, and the
mounting bezel so it looks nice and clean.

But remember - there really aren't too many radios on the market that will
look good in a Volvo (tell me if you find one, I'm looking), all the new
headunits seem very flashy and rather ugly... nothing with class,
sophistication, and quality all wrapped up into one nice package... Tho
Alpine's aren't bad in this repect- at least they glow green and are a good
brand... Too bad the buttons are small and its metal finish... I haven't
seen a double-DIN radio at a stereo shop yet... Would be nice if there were
more around.

I'd love to change out the radio in the 960 to a CD player, same goes with
takeing out the radio/indash CD in my VW Golf to put a proper system in,
with amplifiers and all... but both cars have Double DIN radios, and both
cars have nice looking interiors I don't want to ruin.

 

Hi, what does Double DIN mean with regards to these radios? Thanks Brad

 

Why not go to your dealer and upgrade to any number of cd/head units
that fit? You can pay the difference between your model and any other
and exchange or even buy reconditioned units with warranty at reduced
prices. Quite often you can even get deals on old design units when new
styles are brought out.

 

There is a standard radio size (most aftermarket radios are this size)
called "DIN". A double DIN radio would be the same size as 2 DIN radios
stacked together. See any of the aftermarket radio manufacturers
websites.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

Normal sized radio single DIN, those big ones that are twice as high, double
DIN.

 

Hi, Thanks for the interpretation of Double DIN. Do the letters D, I, and N
have any interpretable meaning themselves? Brad

 

uhh, because the factory head units suck

 

I think it stands for something like
Deutsche
Industrie
Norm
as I think it was originally a german spec which has propagated around the
industry...

 

I believe DIN stands for "Deutsches Institut fur Normung" (put an
umlaut over that "fur"), which I presume is the German government
standards body - the equivalent there of ANSI in the US.

There are lots of DIN standards floating around. Those round plugs
and jacks that IBM-compatible computers used to use for keyboard and
mouse connectors, before everything went to that USB crap, are one
type of DIN connector, for example.

 

Here's a possibility, and one that I'm considering myself -

Blaupunkt make a single DIN sized, six-disc, in-dash CD changer, which can
be controlled from most of their head units. You can stack the two together
in a double-DIN aperture...

John

 

the dealer with the VIN number from your car... They'll do it for free,

For the ultimate in "class" take a look under Products/Car Audio at the link
to the McIntosh web site. They are pricy, but to those that know, there
ain't nothing like a McIntosh.

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/

Gus

 

I can't find a dealer around here... Thats the problem, or else i'd have one
or at least i'd be saving up some pennies for one.

Apparantly there is limited selection of home audio dealers, and no car
audio dealers in all of Canada.

If I ever head over to Europe I might have to pick up a car stereo over
there ;-).

 

Now that's some slick stuff, it'd look right at home in a Rolls Royce,
certainly beats all the stupidly flashy rice rocket stereo crap out there.