System Configuration Recommendations

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=28340
Printed Date: August 17, 2025 at 1:11 PM

Topic: System Configuration Recommendations

Posted By: PEtegMI
Subject: System Configuration Recommendations
Date Posted: March 14, 2004 at 8:15 AM

Hello all. First post for me, so glad I found this site.

I'm doing my very first self install so please keep that in mind when making recommendations.

The main component I want in my car (a 1994 Lincoln Towncar) is the SSI Neo 35 Car MP3 unit. It comes with everything I need to hook it up, so I shouldn't need any cables, wires, harness, etc. My main dilemma is that this unit has no amp, so it must either be run to a HU or to an amp (there is software volume control on the unit, so that should be fine, right?). I'd like a really clean looking install and the unit comes with a DIN (the thingy that makes it flush-mount in the dash?) so that would be my first choice. Going that route I would obviously have to get an amp as there would be no head unit.

In that case, I would lose my radio. :V: That is more of a personal choice and I guess I just don't know if I can live without my sports talk (to hell with popular radio music, who needs it) but if anyone has a suggestion to allow me to keep it that would be great. If I have to I can velcro-mount the wired remote for the unit, but only as a last resort.

I don't believe I can use my factory HU as I don't think it has line-in on the back. So either I need a recommendation on an HU (keeping in mind that only the radio matters to me) with a line-in (cheap!) and decent power, or I need someone to tell me that I should just go with the amp route and forego the radio.

I'm doing this all in stages (dictated by my finances) with the init coming first, followed by <?> your recommendations: speakers, amp, etc.

One final thing: easy removal and re-installation, re-using as many of the parts as possible, is also important, as I don't think I'll have this car for too incredibly long.

Sorry so long, but as it is my first time I want to cover all the bases. Please let your experience gush on to me.

Thanks,
-Pete

P.S. If there are any details I left out please ask me to fill in the gaps.

Replies:

Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 14, 2004 at 10:15 AM

If your Town Car has the Premium Audio system with CD changer controls, the PIE FRDF-AUX input adapter should work. It will give you an RCA line-level input to your factory radio. If not, you should consider replacing the head unit with one that has an AUX input.

Posted By: sonicsound
Date Posted: March 14, 2004 at 10:25 AM

Or if you don't want to get a new head unit, you could get an iRock FM Modulator. You would need an adaptor though.... a female 1/8" plug to a left and a right female RCA plug. The iRock you can find at any Circuit City car audio install bay (AKA the Roadshop) and the adapter you can find at a Radio Shack. Hope that helps as a second alternative...

-------------
Sonic

Pioneer AVH-P4000DVD
Zapco 360.4
Zapco 500.1
Zapco SP-4SL Processor
Two JL 10 W3v3d2
Alumapro 15 Farad Cap

Posted By: sonicsound
Date Posted: March 14, 2004 at 10:26 AM

Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: March 14, 2004 at 11:51 AM

The pie adaptor would sound alot better then the irock fm modulator (or any fm modulator).

Posted By: PEtegMI
Date Posted: March 14, 2004 at 2:52 PM

customsuburb wrote:

The pie adaptor would sound alot better then the irock fm modulator (or any fm modulator).

Okay, that's two good suggestions, but I forgot to mention:
a) I DON'T have the premium audio, just the basic AM/FM/Cass/4 speakers
b) I had heard the FM modulators really don't do justice sound-quality-wise

Also, the reason I gave the newbie warning is so that I don't get responses with terms like "PIE FRDF-AUX" in them. posted_image Although I figured out what it means, as SSI offers some of them for sale along with the player.

Dyohn, any suggestions for an HU that would be decent quality for a low price with AUX ins? (Keeping in mind, again, only FM matters to me)

Thanks for the suggestions so far, but I'm still looking for guidance.

Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 14, 2004 at 4:26 PM

Yea, the PIE adapter won't work, unfortuantely. A HU with decent quality and low price, eh? Two things that don't always go together, unfortunately. I guess it depends on what you mean by low price. If you mean $100 or less, then I don't have any suggestions that would qualify as decent. Plus aux inputs tend to start with mid-priced and higher end units. But, here are a few for your consideration:

Some at the lower end like the Alpine CDM-9803 or Blaupunkt BVP-660 or Sacramento run about $120 and have aux inputs. These are nice entry-level heads with CD players and decent tuners.

The next steps up are in the $150 to 200 range like the Alpine 9805 or 9823, Clarion DXZ445, Blaupunkt Phoenix and others...

If you decide to go for the new head, be sure to get the proper wiring harness adapter and dash kit for your car. Metra 70-1770 wiring harness and 99-5510 turbo kit should do the trick.

Posted By: PEtegMI
Date Posted: March 15, 2004 at 2:20 AM

DYohn] wrote:

p>Some at the lower end like the Alpine CDM-9803 or Blaupunkt BVP-660 or Sacramento run about $120 and have aux inputs. These are nice entry-level heads with CD players and decent tuners.

Excellent, I think I may have found my unit. Blaupunkt Sacremento CD33 at Midwest Electronics for only $104.95 shipped. Just to confirm, could you please look over those links and tell me what "type" of AUX input it has? Is it going to be RCA plugs or am I going to need some form of adapter to connect the MP3 player to the HU? Also, the fact that this unit has pre-amp outs means that I can easily upgrade to an amp later on, correct?

Now, my only problem will be getting a nice clean look with BOTH the HU and the wired remote for the MP3 player installed. (That, and the fact that I've never done anything like this on my own before!) Too bad there isn't space reserved in my dash for a CD player or something. Are you all sure that it isn't worth investigating the FM adapter option? Is the sound quality noticably different? Will it be even more noticably different once I upgrade my other components?

Thanks for all the advice! I'll be back once I get the unit(s) I'm sure, with either wiring questions, or seeking more recommendations on speakers, subs and amps.

Posted By: PEtegMI
Date Posted: March 15, 2004 at 2:23 AM

Woah, FYI, I just found another store that has the CD33 for only $79.99 + shipping!

Posted By: PEtegMI
Date Posted: March 15, 2004 at 2:58 AM

Okay, sorry to keep posting and posting, but here's best deal I've found yet. Can someone tell me if this will be everything I need? Specifically, the harness and wiring kit. This looks like a SUH-WEET deal, from everything Dyohn told me... they give you all the accessories you need for FREE (including a remote)! Everything is from SoundDomain.com. Once again I have a '94 Lincoln Towncar WITHOUT the premium audio system (AM/FM/Cass, no amp, 4 speakers). Oh, and one last thing... do I really need the specialty tool to remove my factory unit or can I just stick some househould tool in the holes to pry it out?

Product Code

Product

Qty

Price

Total

BLARC823

Blaupunkt RC-823 Remote Head Unit Accessory

$25.95

$0.00

This item is normally shipped from us within 24 hours.*

BLASACRAMCD33

Blaupunkt V-Line Sacramento CD Player

$129.95

This item is normally shipped from us within 24 hours.*

SCOFD02B

Scosche FD02 Car Stereo Wiring Harness

$6.95

$0.00

This item is normally shipped from us within 24 hours.*

SOUIECHUK

SoundDomain.com Connector Kit Head Unit Accessory

$4.95

$0.00

This item is normally shipped from us within 24 hours.*

Additional scavings for this order

-$30.00

Subtotal

$99.95

State Tax

$0.00

Shipping Cost - FedEx Home Delivery (2-5 business days)

$10.95

Total amount charged to your credit card

$110.90

Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 15, 2004 at 8:31 AM

That's a pretty good deal. I looked up the Sacramento and you will need an AUX input cable. This converts the CD changer input to a standard RCA aux input. It's Blaupunkt part number BLA 07607897093. Ask your retailer to include it in the deal. It costs about $10.

Posted By: PEtegMI
Date Posted: March 15, 2004 at 2:31 PM

DYohn] wrote:

hat's a pretty good deal. I looked up the Sacramento and you will need an AUX input cable. This converts the CD changer input to a standard RCA aux input. It's Blaupunkt part number BLA 07607897093. Ask your retailer to include it in the deal. It costs about $10.

Yeah, shoot. I actually did some more poking around after you posted and found you the manual for the head unit. Turns out the adapter is only one of two that you need. You need a cable that is normally used to plug from the back of the HU to the Blaupunkt CD changer AND then you need the part above as well. The ONLY place I could find that carries them both is Crutchfield.com and it is 19.99 for the CD changer cord and 12.99 for the CDC to RCA adapter and 5.99 for shipping, but it still works out to a better deal if I buy the deck and harness, etc at SoundDomain and then later, when I order the MP3 player (after a couple more paydays), I can get the AUX stuff from Crutchfield.

I'll still only spend about $155 total for everything I need and hopefully get a pretty decent system out of it! Well, off to my local retailers to see if they have any of this stuff and take a listen to it (and maybe decide on some speakers (GREEEEAAAT, more choices to make posted_image ).

Thanks for your input! It would have taken months to grow the cajones to make this decision on my own. If this HU turns out to work well for this applicaiotn I will share my findings with everyone on the SSI forums that is in the same boat that I am.

BTW, I compared the other Blaupunkt you recommended, the HPV-660 (I believe it was?), and the only difference between the two was 2.5W per channel and that the 660 can't read CD-R's, but they were the same price so I went for the Sacramento.

Posted By: PEtegMI
Date Posted: March 16, 2004 at 7:32 AM

I've come up with another option that may work out better, and once again, beg for your input.

How about mounting the wired remote in the DIn-mounting kit the MP3 player comes with and using the $150 to buy a 4-channel 200W amp or so? That way I can pipe the mp3 player in to the amp directly and use it's built-in volume control.

Thoughts? Recommendations?

Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: March 16, 2004 at 8:21 AM

I forget... which MP3 player are you getting?

If you use a completely seperate amp you'll also need completely seperate speakers, or use a speaker selector switch to go back and forth between your radio and your MP3. Not exactly an elegant solution, but it could be done.

Posted By: PEtegMI
Date Posted: March 16, 2004 at 8:27 AM

I would remove the Factory radio all together, replacing it with the DIN-mounting kit that accompanies the MP3 player, and mounting it in-dash. Then wire the amp directly to the factory speakers (for now). It would make for good overall sound quality too, I think. Because, the amp and source (which, to answer your question, is the SSI Neo 35 Car MP3 player) would be right next to each other in the trunk. Short, high quality wires means less/no signal loss, right?

You've intriged me, though, with the thought of keeping my radio with an A/B switch of some sort. Don't they make an adapter for changing the speaker wires on the back of a HU to RCAs for people that don't have pre-outs? Couldn't I use that in conjuction with an A/B switch between the two units and the amp to keep both and drive the same set of speakers?

Posted By: PEtegMI
Date Posted: March 16, 2004 at 11:03 PM

bump

Posted By: PEtegMI
Date Posted: March 17, 2004 at 7:34 PM

DYohn, since this thread has turned into a "chat" just between you and me, and I see how active you are, I thought I'd post again to ask you to read the post two up from this one in reponse to your last one. Please, when you have the time, comment on my two solutions and offer your opinons on each. If anyone else is reading this please feel free to catch up on offer your expertise as well. I'd be much obliged.

Thanks again.