Retrosound and/or new radio

[TxGlenn]

I'm researching options for stereo replacement and most of the threads I found had information about stereos that were no longer available. I think I like the looks of the Retrosound units, but found some discussion (again, older threads) about how unreliable and short-lived they are. Has their quality improved? Or is there a discussion somewhere I missed that talks about what head units you guys are putting in your cars? I guess any discussion like this will eventually turn obsolete as companies discontinue items and such.

And on a related note, does anyone know the brand of speaker DMCH sells for the front?

[Justin51982]

I'm researching options for stereo replacement and most of the threads I found had information about stereos that were no longer available. I think I like the looks of the Retrosound units, but found some discussion (again, older threads) about how unreliable and short-lived they are. Has their quality improved? Or is there a discussion somewhere I missed that talks about what head units you guys are putting in your cars? I guess any discussion like this will eventually turn obsolete as companies discontinue items and such.

And on a related note, does anyone know the brand of speaker DMCH sells for the front?

I have 2 Retrosound radio's....One in my DeLorean and the other in my Trabant. I love them and thing the look and function of the radio's are great.

Just my opinion.

[sdg3205]

DMCH used to sell NOS Craigs as well as the JVC Bongiovi. Now I'm not so sure. I have used the now extinct Infinity Kappa 3.5's up front as well as JBL 3.5's.

I have a completely refurbished Craig head unit if you're interested in staying original. It has an aux input for mp3 devices too.

[DMCMW Dave]

I have 2 Retrosound radio's....One in my DeLorean and the other in my Trabant. I love them and thing the look and function of the radio's are great.
Just my opinion.

That's nice to hear. They look good but I'd seen some not-so-good reviews, but not from anyone I knew. They are a bit pricy and I've kind of avoided testing them. It would be nice to conserve the original dash cut-out.

[mluder]

Lots of options for car audio... Here's more than you asked for.

Some people like the Kenwood KRC-3006. It's a two knob radio so it fits the factory frame without having to cut anything. It has a cassette deck and offers a 5 disc CD changer module. Both the head unit and CD changer show up on E-Bay from time to time. I don't have one but I've seen people recommend them here.

Of course if you want a modern head unit, the DMC franchises offer a replacement panel for the stock one that will allow for that and you can save your original one for future use or sell it of course.

Not sure what DMC sells for their replacement speakers now. In terms of aftermarket I've found some Boston speakers fit. Also, Infiniti Kappa line has fronts and rears that will work but they're discontinued. The issue is the rear speakers - they are an odd size that don't reproduce bass very well due to their shape and dimensions. The Infiniti Kappa was a round speaker (don't recall the size) which is better for bass. However, the configuration is said to be poor with the speakers firing sideways like they do. I guess you can't have everything unless you're willing to mod your parcel shelf area.

Finally annother favorite is to put a sub in the cubby behind the seat. I believe DMC CA has these ready to go.

For my part - I'm running a stock head unit with non functioning cassette, and the Infiniti speakers all around in their original locations. Is it underpowered and underwhelming - yep but I don't mind. Your milleage may vary.

Cheers
Steven

[DMCMW Dave]

For my part - I'm running a stock head unit with non functioning cassette, and the Infiniti speakers all around in their original locations. Is it underpowered and underwhelming - yep but I don't mind. Your milleage may vary.


Me too. Factory Craig, but I long ago hard-wired the display and glued the tape door shut. That way the display works. Some generic 3.5 inch speakers, and 4x10s in the back. Probably the Kickers that used to be common. Nothing special but I don't really drive the car to blow my ears out. The ergonomics of most modern radios drives me crazy.

I can tell the age of an owner by how much they put into the stereo.

[Justin51982]

The Retrosound can be easily made to fit due to adjustable shafts.

In the DeLorean, I went with the one that has bluetooth and cell phone interface....Figured I was in there and since more and more places are making hands free the law I would just go all out...It also comes with 2 USB hook ups and 2 Aux inputs.

For speakers I am running Memphis all around. They make the stock sizes so the fit right in. I have always been a fan of Memphis, they make good sounds and quality. I'm also going to be hooking up a Memphis 1000D amp, Memphis sub and Memphis EQ.

In the Trabant, I am running the basic Retrosound, just Aux inputs and radio...I normally just plug my iphone into it...The car is 2 stroke and no a/c so there was no point in shelling out the extra cash to have something like bluetooth, between the noise of a 2-stroke motor and windows down, what's the point.

I have an old school Rockford Fosgate Punch amp with an 8in sub in the trunk and RF speakers all around.

Retrosound is a little more expensive (or a lot depending on options) but I'm happy with it.

[David T]

The Retrosound can be easily made to fit due to adjustable shafts.

In the DeLorean, I went with the one that has bluetooth and cell phone interface....Figured I was in there and since more and more places are making hands free the law I would just go all out...It also comes with 2 USB hook ups and 2 Aux inputs.

For speakers I am running Memphis all around. They make the stock sizes so the fit right in. I have always been a fan of Memphis, they make good sounds and quality. I'm also going to be hooking up a Memphis 1000D amp, Memphis sub and Memphis EQ.

In the Trabant, I am running the basic Retrosound, just Aux inputs and radio...I normally just plug my iphone into it...The car is 2 stroke and no a/c so there was no point in shelling out the extra cash to have something like bluetooth, between the noise of a 2-stroke motor and windows down, what's the point.

I have an old school Rockford Fosgate Punch amp with an 8in sub in the trunk and RF speakers all around.

Retrosound is a little more expensive (or a lot depending on options) but I'm happy with it.

To get started, all 4 speakers should be replaced. They were not all that great and 30 years didn't improve them. The original radios were woefully inadequate with only 20 watts per channel and the tuner won't get stations unless they are high powered and nearby. There are so many choices and things you can add now, the catch is you need to go DIN. DMCH sells a DIN adapter but you have to chop up your dash. Take a look over at crutchfield.com for ideas and prices. It is all about your budget, you can go crazy or you can go conservative. There are even places you can send your old unit and they can gut it and fill it with modern electronics and features.

[AriDMC]

I'm researching options for stereo replacement and most of the threads I found had information about stereos that were no longer available. I think I like the looks of the Retrosound units, but found some discussion (again, older threads) about how unreliable and short-lived they are. Has their quality improved? Or is there a discussion somewhere I missed that talks about what head units you guys are putting in your cars? I guess any discussion like this will eventually turn obsolete as companies discontinue items and such.

And on a related note, does anyone know the brand of speaker DMCH sells for the front?

I would have to check, but at one point I had like 4 or 5 NOS Craig radios if anyone is interested. I'll check tomorrow, DMCH is selling them for $610. I'd be willing to part with one or two of them for $595 including shipping to the US: )

[TxGlenn]

I have 2 Retrosound radio's....One in my DeLorean and the other in my Trabant. I love them and thing the look and function of the radio's are great.

Just my opinion.

Justin - Would you mind posting a pic of your installed radio in your D?

[Justin51982]

Justin - Would you mind posting a pic of your installed radio in your D?

I don't mind at all...I'll go out and do it in shortly.....My car is in a little disarray right now but you'll get a good idea :)

[mluder]

I can tell the age of an owner by how much they put into the stereo.

Hey! Not sure how to take that...
:thumbup2:

Cheers
Steven

[sdg3205]

The original radios were woefully inadequate with only 20 watts per channel....

If I may interject here...

This comes up fairly often. The original Craig and ASI will drive 4 speakers to the threshold of pain just fine, and sound great in the process. Having less power does mean the point of distortion is lower if you take overall amplitude into consideration, but for most owners (dare I say 90%?) we don't drive around even close to that volume most of the time.

I'm an audio engineer and producer by trade. I know what my ears can tell me. I don't care what the math says, I care about what I hear.

If you supplement a good, functional OEM deck with great speakers, a mono amp to drive an 8" sub, you're in audio flavour country. It's such a tiny space, more than 5 speakers is simply overkill. This of course is just my opinion. If anyone is ever in my next of the woods, they are more than welcome to sit in my car and have the factory ASI make their ears bleed while they marvel at how good it sounds.

In fact, perhaps I'll get my loudness meter out and get an SPL reading at and just before the point of distortion.

[DMC5180]

.

In the Trabant, I am running the basic Retrosound, just Aux inputs and radio...I normally just plug my iphone into it...The car is 2 stroke and no a/c so there was no point in shelling out the extra cash to have something like bluetooth, between the noise of a 2-stroke motor and windows down, what's the point.

I have an old school Rockford Fosgate Punch amp with an 8in sub in the trunk and RF speakers all around.

Retrosound is a little more expensive (or a lot depending on options) but I'm happy with it.

Are you in the U.S.A. Or Europe?

[David T]

If I may interject here...

This comes up fairly often. The original Craig and ASI will drive 4 speakers to the threshold of pain just fine, and sound great in the process. Having less power does mean the point of distortion is lower if you take overall amplitude into consideration, but for most owners (dare I say 90%?) we don't drive around even close to that volume most of the time.

I'm an audio engineer and producer by trade. I know what my ears can tell me. I don't care what the math says, I care about what I hear.

If you supplement a good, functional OEM deck with great speakers, a mono amp to drive an 8" sub, you're in audio flavour country. It's such a tiny space, more than 5 speakers is simply overkill. This of course is just my opinion. If anyone is ever in my next of the woods, they are more than welcome to sit in my car and have the factory ASI make their ears bleed while they marvel at how good it sounds.

In fact, perhaps I'll get my loudness meter out and get an SPL reading at and just before the point of distortion.

For the most part I agree BUT. When you get the heavy bass hits you don't need a lot of volume to get distortion. Also, unless you replace the speakers it really doesn't matter what you do. The main reason IMHO to replace the ASI or Craig is to get some (or all) of the modern functionality. It also depends on just how much you are going to be driving the Delorean and what you want the infotainment to do, and of course, your budget.

[TxGlenn]

It also depends on just how much you are going to be driving the Delorean and what you want the infotainment to do.


This.

In my case, after having XM in my daily driver, I've come to despise regular radio and the endless talking/laughing at stupid jokes, etc that comes with it, not to mention the commercials. If I had a way to make cassettes, I'd probably just stick with the Craig. Bluetoothing my Ipod though is a very nice option to have.

[Notifier]

I installed a Retrosound Model One radio in my DeLorean. I like the look of it - but very disappointed in the sound quality. Best I describe is that it sounds "flat". The speaker wiring was replaced and installed new Infinity Kappa speakers when I replaced the head unit. Now looking for other options for the head unit and really don't want to cut or replace the existing bracket. The radio in my base model work truck sounds a lot better!

[sdg3205]

Ran some (hardly scientific, but kinda scientific) tests this evening.

ASI with infinity kappas, pioneer mono amp and an infinity 8" sub. iPod hard wired into asi.

Approx 103 dB as a maximum volume without audible distortion. Beyond this point was purely distortion and no noticeable or measurable increase in amplitude.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/25/7b62b352edca0d50e23d7d91b82b05df.jpg

That's loud. Consider that 115 dB is up close and personal at a live rock show. Hearing damage occurs at sustained levels between 85 and 90 dB. Granted it's a logarithmic scale, so the spl between two values on one end of the spectrum is vastly different than the other. Still, that's loud.

[dmruschell]

Lots of options for car audio... Here's more than you asked for.

Some people like the Kenwood KRC-3006. It's a two knob radio so it fits the factory frame without having to cut anything. It has a cassette deck and offers a 5 disc CD changer module. Both the head unit and CD changer show up on E-Bay from time to time. I don't have one but I've seen people recommend them here.

Of course if you want a modern head unit, the DMC franchises offer a replacement panel for the stock one that will allow for that and you can save your original one for future use or sell it of course.

Not sure what DMC sells for their replacement speakers now. In terms of aftermarket I've found some Boston speakers fit. Also, Infiniti Kappa line has fronts and rears that will work but they're discontinued. The issue is the rear speakers - they are an odd size that don't reproduce bass very well due to their shape and dimensions. The Infiniti Kappa was a round speaker (don't recall the size) which is better for bass. However, the configuration is said to be poor with the speakers firing sideways like they do. I guess you can't have everything unless you're willing to mod your parcel shelf area.

Finally annother favorite is to put a sub in the cubby behind the seat. I believe DMC CA has these ready to go.

For my part - I'm running a stock head unit with non functioning cassette, and the Infiniti speakers all around in their original locations. Is it underpowered and underwhelming - yep but I don't mind. Your milleage may vary.

Cheers
Steven

The KRC-3006 is the best dual shaft/knob head unit available. I have one in my 61 Vette, I had one in my 79 Vette (I decided I wanted Bluetooth since it's a daily driver), and installed one in a friend's DeLorean. The unit sounds fantastic. When using 150Hz bass blockers (which should be running on theist smaller speakers, especially if they're not in a sealed mount), it will drive 4 speakers as loud as you can handle without distortion. It also has RCA outputs for the rear speakers that can be used for a sub, etc.

A few things I'd like to clarify, though. The KRC-3006 can handle up to a 10 disc changer. The CD changer port can also be used as an aux adapter (for iPods, etc) using an adapter. The ability to have an aux input makes the unit very useful, and because the input is hard wired, it sounds perfect.

Custom Autosound bought the tooling and design of the 3006 and made an exact clone of it for a few years. So, those may pop up if you search for the Kenwood unit on eBay.

[Jedidentist]

This.

In my case, after having XM in my daily driver, I've come to despise regular radio and the endless talking/laughing at stupid jokes, etc that comes with it, not to mention the commercials. If I had a way to make cassettes, I'd probably just stick with the Craig. Bluetoothing my Ipod though is a very nice option to have.

There's a Bluetooth cassette adapter that works ok. I used it for a week, but only long enough to tide me over until I started ripping everything apart. Currently, my garage looks line my car vomited it's guts everywhere. Hopefully I'll have it all installed in a week!

[TxGlenn]

There's a Bluetooth cassette adapter that works ok. I used it for a week, but only long enough to tide me over until I started ripping everything apart. Currently, my garage looks line my car vomited it's guts everywhere. Hopefully I'll have it all installed in a week!

Nice! Just what I needed...thanks!

[Justin51982]

Justin - Would you mind posting a pic of your installed radio in your D?

Sorry for the delay Glenn....

Here it is:

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