replacing stock radio

[Jesse97GTS]

I would like to upgrade my stock stereo system with a newer model Alpine, however I've noticed that when I drive faster the radio volume goes up. I like that feature. If I put in a new Alpine will it do the same thing or is that a feature specific to the head unit?

 

[Ulysses]

Hey Jesse.

That is the Volume control feature. Most newer stereos have it. Make sure that the new stereo you look at has that feature.

Ulysses

 

[Bad_Byte]

Wow, mine works just the opposite.

When I turn the radio up I drive faster.

When I turn the radio down I drive slower.

When I turn the radio off...... I'm usually on the track.

 

[Dave's Big Brakes]

That's right Art, you should ALWAYS outrun the volumn
If you hear the radio, your not driving the car

SYA on the 12th
Yo Prez

 

[Jesse97GTS]

hahaha, I see your point Art, I guess I'll be looking for that feature on my new radio thanks

 

[Iceman]

The new Alpine head unit does NOT have that feature. I did replace the it with a new Alpine 9815 I think and that feature was gone.

It seems to only work on Factory stereos.

P.S.: The plugs are not compatible at all. Also the stock unit does not have an amplifier, it uses the one in the trunk. Since the new unit had an amp, I had to pull new wires to the back and then connect them to the stock wires.

 

[ruckdr]

Iceman,
I'm confused; the original radio in my '96 RT, had RCA line outs to the rear amps. I replaced with a Panasonic CQ-C1300U CD/MP3/WMA AM/FM head unit. It has line out, RCA output plugs, so only had to plug them in. You are correct, that the power plug....., is not compatible.
I love the WMA (Windows compressed) format; have burned several with many hours on each (8 - 14 hours).
Later,

 

[Iceman]

I was trying to get rid of the original amplifier also. And you are right WMA is awesome, the Alpine head units also have that.

And after installing all that I realized that I would rather listen to the engine and only use my radio as a clock.

 

[ruckdr]

Ahhhhhh,
Yes, the engine in a RT/10 (top Off) competes, no preempts, the radio. Still listen though.
Later,

 

[Jesse97GTS]

Hmmm, maybe I should keep it then, there is nothing wrong with it, except I want to upgrade..I just added a power antena booster and get better reception from regular radio stations now.

 

[GTSnake]

The aftermarket radios will not have the volume control like the stock radios. They purposely do that.

If you want better sound and you have to have the volume feature then the only thing you can do is replace the amp. You will obviously need to run your own wires cause the aftermarket amp won't have the DIN connectors.

 

[Ulysses]

There are aftermarket stereos that have automatic volume control. You can easily search and find them. This is just one example:
Blaupunkt LosAngelesMP74

 

[GTS Bruce]

Radio?What radio? GTS Bruce

 

[cayenne]

Iceman,
I'm confused; the original radio in my '96 RT, had RCA line outs to the rear amps. I replaced with a Panasonic CQ-C1300U CD/MP3/WMA AM/FM head unit. It has line out, RCA output plugs, so only had to plug them in. You are correct, that the power plug....., is not compatible.
I love the WMA (Windows compressed) format; have burned several with many hours on each (8 - 14 hours).
Later,

You should look into Ogg Vorbis as a compression standards. It blows away mp3 and wma...and it open source. You won't have to worry about some day not being able to play your own music. WMA is MS windows proprietary, and they are already introducing DRM (digital rights management). Sure, you can turn it off now, but, if they get in bed with the RIAA, well, there's every good chance you won't be able to turn it off after that next 'update'.

For lossless compression, look into FLAC...some portable players support this now (I think some iRiver and Rio products support this and can be integerated into the auto system).

www.vorbis.com

http://flac.sourceforge.net/

Just some computer geek stuff...but, if you want quality for portable, car and especially home...which won't ever be controlled by the entertainment industry...worth looking into...

cayenne

 

[ruckdr]

cayenne,
Sounds interesting; I went to vorbis.com and listened to several comparisons (not including the ogg format yet). Downloaded Winamp 5, in order to listen to ogg files later. I didn't see where current in car MP3/WMA players would play the ogg compressed format?
Later,

 

[cayenne]

cayenne,
Sounds interesting; I went to vorbis.com and listened to several comparisons (not including the ogg format yet). Downloaded Winamp 5, in order to listen to ogg files later. I didn't see where current in car MP3/WMA players would play the ogg compressed format?
Later,

Hmm..I thought I'd seen a car player that would, but, will have to look that up. One thing I'm looking at...is a media player like the iRiver, that can hold 30-40G music, and getting one of the FM transmitters so it will play through the head unit in the car. This way, can easily take and remove my music with me.

In reality, the car is probably the absolute worst listening environment there is...so, a lessor music format such as mp2 or wma is probably fine. For the home (Decware tube amp and Klipschorn speakers) I go for flac because it is lossless. I just want to avoid wma for the DRM possibilities I see with it...and prefer an open source format so that it will stay open.

Good point on the ogg vorbis head unit question, I'll have to look further into this...but, the portable unit with fm transmitter is probably the route I'd go, either that or I'll built a player of my own out of spare computer parts...and install it myself. Set that up with wireless, so I can park at home and remotely add/remove songs from the harddrive...

C