Hey I'm a little disgusted with my 72 right at the moment, besides still overheating, the wrong throwout bearing and the trans continues to leak, I finished rigging the stereo and am completely unsatisfied with the sound quality. My car came with a custom autosound brand USA-5 deck installed in the console but with no speakers. So essentially a 6 year old deck with zero miles. To finish it off I ran RCA pre amp outs to a 100 watts RMS Pioneer amp and then added new Alpine R series 2 way 6x9 speakers in individual boxes. I test drove the speakers before buying. Loved them. Great bass for a 6x9 with excellent mids and highs. Good crunchy rock speakers. I figured 50 watts RMS each should get em popping, especially in this tiny interior. Well, it all sounds like complete poop! Horrible. It sounds like AM radio. I've tuned all the adjustments on the amp and deck, did it with the engine off and man I cannot make this sound like anything worth listening too. I've tested it with tapes (ya it has a tape deck), FM radio (which comes in strong on my OE stereo based cars) and MP-3 adapter (through the tape deck). IT ALL SUCKS!
Are these just crap decks or what? Rip it out? E-bay it? Seriously R series Alpines are GOOD speakers. I even tried em with and without batting in the boxes. No bass pop. Just mud. My 2000 Xterra stock sound system sounds way better.

I am disgusted with my C3. Was gonna cruise our local Sonic Burger last night but just didn't feel like sitting in her.


______________
My Christmas present to ME! Bought Sat 11-30-2013. 72, 350 4 spd, Silver with blue interior...Can't you just hear Pablo Cruz playing in the background?

I have the Custom Autosound model 630.  No tape deck, but it has the USB input for a flash drive and an aux (headphone jack) input.  Like you, I've run the RCA outs to a 100w x 2 amplifier, and built a speaker box that sits in the cargo area.  It's mounted high so the Tops still slide underneath.

The radio sounds good, but the quality is just average.  The display is very hard to read, and the USB didn't work until I cut the cord and spliced a new one on.  I wouldn't recommend it to someone considering a modern stereo install, except that it fits the holes perfectly, is very compact, and looks 70's (ish). 

I put new speakers in the dash (yours are in the kick panel, I believe) and am running those straight from the radio and the amplified 6x9's from the rear RCA output.

(My interior light now resides where the wires are coming out of the speaker box.)

Darryl




______________


"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

Good idea on pushing the box up...can you still drop your window tray? I have dash mounted from speakers. New OE replacements....why would anyone spend money on OE replacements? I connected them first, tested and pulled the wires off at the deck, they were that bad. I'm thinking your new 630 is a better radio. I have found many comments on the net about these decks not being about sound quality but rather looks. It does look great...and it is very hard to read when its on. Good thing my engine is loud and lumpy. Gives me something to listen to.

______________
My Christmas present to ME! Bought Sat 11-30-2013. 72, 350 4 spd, Silver with blue interior...Can't you just hear Pablo Cruz playing in the background?

That window tray is looooooooong gone.  I'm sure Bubba ripped that out back in the 70's. 

Dad installed a sound bar from MidAmerica (I think) in his '69.  The speakers are smaller, and don't have near the same punch as the 6x9's that I have.  It works with the window tray.  If I can find a picture, I'll post it.


Edit: I don't have any pictures, and come to think of it, it was probably Eckler's.  Anyway, here is the model he has, shown on Corvette America's site.

http://www.corvettemods.com/68-82-C3-Corvette-Soundbar-System_p_9524.html




|UPDATED|5/17/2014 12:32:20 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


______________


"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner

I've never owned a CAS stereo but have never heard any real positive reviews of them...poor sound quality, noisy, etc.  The best they have to offer is they can fit many older cars and allow some type of updated capability.

I just installed a Retrosound RC900C with what ever was installed in the front speakers and a set of pioneer 6 x 9's in back with there own enclosures(NOW where am I going to put the golf clubs:-) ) When I say just, I mean just plugged in the stereo today. Putting all the lines and speakers is what did it to my back that made me miss the gathering. I just wanted some good news and wanted to see it power up. Well, it did but it doesn't sound that good. The front speakers suck and I haven't adjusted any of the sound levels yet. That being said I'm not expecting to get the same sound out of this car as my SUV or even the first generation Camaros I've done. There just isn't enough cabin space to "balance" the sound. I can tell by the way the speakers sound that the bass is going to be iffy. The whole back of the cabin is going to be vibrating along with the speakers. I'm sure I'll work out the bugs and get it sounding better, it'll just take time and beer!

______________
Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.

I have a Sony that sounded like crap....not enough power to push the rear speakers. I added a Rockford Fosgate Punch PBR300X2 to power the rears. Working great! The rear is filled I with sound finally with fading to the front speakers I can hear. This amp is small. I velco'd it to the wall in the jack area behind the passenger seat. The 5 hour drive to the "Gathering" was musically enriched! Results may vary....but that's my story and I'm sticking to it?

______________

I suppose my initial question was somewhat rhetorical. The deck blows. My speakers and amp had no chance of success. Too bad since it looks really nice...fits the theme of the interior really well. I'll have to measure the opening and see what will fit...if its a standard shape or what....any tips on that?

______________
My Christmas present to ME! Bought Sat 11-30-2013. 72, 350 4 spd, Silver with blue interior...Can't you just hear Pablo Cruz playing in the background?

OK, the radio could suck because, well radios suck. I've had good quality reception and poor. OE radios, more importantly their antennas are designed with the car in mind. Cassette is going to suck because now we are so used to listening to MP3's and listening to an MP3 thru the cassette is still going to sound like you are listening to a cassette. I used to spend way too much on audio equipment. Got the best cassette player/recorder I could afford, would have gone with a reel to reel but I couldn't find one for the car! I was completely blown away with the first CD player I heard. I had to buy it right there and then. Couldn't get it in the states yet, I was in Toronto at the time. Anyway, you'll want to look for a head unit that has an MP3 or aux plug. Does your amp have a direct aux plug? You could test the sound by plugging the MP3 player right into that.

______________
Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.

I could just plug the mp3 into the amps RCA inputs....that is a good idea! I've put a number of decks into pickups etc. Similar small interior challenges. The only time I've had systems fall below expectations were with low end decks. The pioneer amp I'm using was used to power a rockford 10" 8 ohm sub. It had enough poop to thump my truck easily. It should run the 6x9's with ease. I think the CAS deck is the worst I've ever listened too. But, to be thorough I'll do the MP3 direct connect. Thanks for that idea Dave!

______________
My Christmas present to ME! Bought Sat 11-30-2013. 72, 350 4 spd, Silver with blue interior...Can't you just hear Pablo Cruz playing in the background?

 YES! I have a terrible one also. Dealer says it's the way I installed it. I just listen to the Chrome tips on the bumper and if my hearing aids are still in, I don't need any other interference with the wind blowing in the window, or over the windshield into the cabin.

______________

Click on image for full view

Yes, I have one as well and the sound is terrible. It doesnt Matter whether its the radio or if I am using the auxillary in. The volume is horrible and fade makes very little difference. Im glad I have the side pipes to. They sound better anyway!
Rodney


______________

I have the Custom Autosound 6 series deck with pioneer speakers up front and Boston Acoustics 5X7 speakers in back (biggest that would fit in the factory 79 locations). I bought the I phone interface for it. Radio sounds OK but not spectacular. I'm sure thois is due to the antenna (had a LOT of trouble with it!), but if you get a strong station it is tolerable. The Pandora from the I phone sounds great, but not to the level of modern cars. I just figure it sounds WAY better than the 8 track deck and the blown speakers that were on the car. As stated above, the CS unit appears stockish, and that appeals to me. Didn't want a mpodern looking unit. I don't use it as a daily driver, so I'm more than happy wiyh it. I have never really used the cassette deck.

______________
"Down on the Boardwalk...

(Click image to see a larger version}

Has anyone tried the Retro Sound radios?  Their website is down right now.  I think these are different than Custom Auto Sound radios.

______________

   

I just installed the Retrosound RC900C in my car. It is a basic unit and an easy install especially if you have the original harness still in your car. I fooled around with it a little today and the sound through the aux using an mp3 player(phone) sounds pretty good over the exhaust. The front speakers do need to be replaced and I have a set ordered. I will also add an amp at some point because more is better. Their customer service is very good. The knobs wouldn't stay on the control shafts...easy there Joel, I planned on crimping the shafts a little. They said to give it a shot and if that didn't work they would send out new knobs, shafts and prefit them for me free.

______________
Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.

I tried plugging my MP3 directly into my amp using an RCA adapter I use to interface the MP3 to my home stereo. No sound....nothing. Odd. The amp was on...not sure what to make of that one. Plugged the deck leads back in and yep, it worked. Its all analog signals...should have worked.  

______________
My Christmas present to ME! Bought Sat 11-30-2013. 72, 350 4 spd, Silver with blue interior...Can't you just hear Pablo Cruz playing in the background?

Has anybody found a good stereo that sounds good in these older vettes ?

______________
There's nothing better in life then a Vette

I took a Sony with a wired remote and cut the back out of the glovebox to shove it thru and have the remote between the seats.  Trouble now is the remotes are wireless and won't work thru a closed glovebox door.



______________

That's what I was thinking installing it in the rear somewhere maybe I'll see if I can mount it between the seats with a wireless remote  thanks for the suggestion

______________
There's nothing better in life then a Vette

You gonna drive thru that door? 


______________

   

Update on the retro sound stereo I just put in the car. The radio comes in extremely clear even though I don't have an antenna. It is plugged into the antenna cable.

______________
Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.

Hi dads2vette,

|UPDATED|5/1/2016 7:06:01 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

I've had my RetroSound radio for 2 years now. It's a big disappointment. After cruising for awhile the stations start to fade out and the Bluetooth feature doesn't work right. 

______________

GEN III 5.7L "LS6" Engine swap
TKO500 5 spd.

That's disappointing as I was thinking of going that direction.  Maybe I'll just send my factory radio out to be overhauled.

______________

   

I gave up on the stereo idea and went with the Bose soundlink mini bluetooth speaker for $129

______________
There's nothing better in life then a Vette