jamesinc
I am thinking of re-doing the audio setup in the 850. I'll probably opt for either a nice touchscreen 2DIN or a 1DIN + 1DIN equaliser. My main question is speaker configuration. I'd really like to keep everything tucked away behind the original speaker grilles, so I'm wondering what works best. @CamZH I imagine you might know a thing or two about this...
I know there's 8 speakers - 4 in the doors, 2 on the dash, and 2 in the D-pillars. I'll also add in my old 12" sub which is 400W.
CamZH
The door speakers are 5"
the speakers on the dash are tweeters.
The rear doors are 6" (i think)
My 850 was a sedan, so no D pillar.
With my 850 i replaced the front doors and tweeters with a set of Soundstream splits.
I never bothered to replace the factory cross over and there was no issues.
I didn't change the rear door speakers.
I used the new head unit to set high pass filters on everything (except the sub) which did wonders to clean up the sound at higher SPL's
I did make an interface lead to use the factory amp, which is down behind the factory head unit.
If i can make any suggestions, buy adapter leads for everything !
Do not cut anything !
Then when you sell your 850 you can leave the original stereo in a box in the garage and remember it 6 months after you sold it...
Ex850R
Fronts are in series and rears parallel , if i remember correctly , i have the wiring diagram , will post it. L.
Ex850R
Thas not quite it but may help , cant remember where i got from , probably Mathews volvo Site.
Actually that scanned cxrappily i will delete picture!!
jamesinc
So is the factory amp worth keeping?
jamesinc
Okay so I've been doing a bit more research, and staging the build seems sensible. Step one is to replace the door speakers. They distort with the cutting-edge 21st century basslines I frequently listen to, so a good set of 5 1/4" drivers would be a big improvement.
Any recommendations? I usually use Sony or Pioneer drivers as they're cheap.
CamZH
For my needs the factory amp was great.
You might find that nothing in 5" will cope well with lots of bass. (this is why you get a sub)
But a good set of drivers will not be cheap.
The factory units are probably as good if not better than cheapies.
My upgrade path was:
Head Unit - > Sub - > Front Speakers
Ex850R
Factory ones made by Dynaudio for Volvo but dried old cones and suspension means a bit of bass kills em quick. The front doors can go with splits the tweets replacing the usually dried out tweets in the dash ends, just pry up the cover and its a capture push it clip thing you take the centre out to release to get it out. Modify the area a bit to mount the new one. Wire correctly at the HU end as they are in series so maybe use the one set of wires off one set of pseakers into the crossover and go from there? OR bothe to show correct resistance to the amp???
nickm
James, I'd check the foam or just replace the front door drivers with the best you can get that fit.
None of the drivers in the car will give you subs like a proper powered sub. The drivers and power are just not enough. So if you want those low frequencies a sub is the only real option you will clip smaller drivers.
jamesinc
Yeah I have a fair idea how to balance the system.
So starting with a head unit sounds like the more sensible option. I'm looking for either a 2DIN with DAB+ (digital radio) or a 1DIN + a 1DIN equaliser panel.
CamZH
i dont think you'll need an external equaliser, most decent head units have parametric eq's in them so the amount of tweaking is almost limitless.
When i bought the radio for my S60 i couldnt find anything that I liked that also had DAB, and all off the double DIN stuff either looked like a late 90's mini hifi or is touch screen and expensive, (or cheap and nasty looking)
I went for a 1 DIN and a pocket.
Trying to find places to demo and play with stereos is hard.
Best I found was Ryda in Lewisham, but ended up buying my head from JB Hifi as they actually had the Alpine unit i was after. I'm still not convinced it was the best purchase.
jamesinc
Pocket is a good idea. Somewhere to put the phone!
jamesinc
@CamZH where did you source your DIN adapter bracket? The only one I can find is
this one
CamZH
you can buy 'universal' ones like that from any car audio place, or super cheap auto.
my 850 looked like this up front :
paul0075
If you get a nice DIN gauge panel, you could have a nice set of triple gauges under or above the stereo. I have one make for a Mark 3 Golf and it looks a treat. I ordered it from a company in QLD: carformance.com.au. Greg there is really helpful even though he specialises in VW bits.
