98 S70 T5 Audio setup? Topic is solved

[Random4thGuy]

Hello y'all, I recently bought my 98 s70 and didn't know how good the audio would sound stock, I love it, but I want to go all out on audio while still keeping that 1998 look. I have heard that people will swap their head unit for a later model of it, so I'm curious if that's worth it? Originally I was just going to put in aftermarket speakers and 2 amps (one for subs and one for speakers), but is it worthwhile to upgrade that head unit too? Pros? Cons? Will I need to buy anything else with it to make the upgrade?

Currently I have a custom built box holding 4 10's that I'm going to install soon, as well as an HO alternator, and those aftermarket speakers.

I'm a little curious too if anyone knows of any aesthetically pleasing way to get Google maps into the car. Anyways, what do y'all think?

[5underpressure]

No advice, just an offer to purchase your head unit should you wish to swap it out.

Although I should make sure it’s getting power first.

[V50M66]

What’s your end goal here, just better overall sound, insane bass, CarPlay but otherwise stock?

You’ll be hard pressed to get better sound quality than the factory late P80 Dynaudio setup without dropping some serious coin (many thousands, at the minimum).

[Random4thGuy]

What’s your end goal here, just better overall sound, insane bass, CarPlay but otherwise stock?

Hey! The main end goal is A: To get a bit better overall sound, and B: To add in some heavy hitting bass!

I think the sound system already sounds amazing I love it, I just want to bring out the high end a little more and keep it from mixing with the lows if that makes sense. I am replacing the alternator with an HO alt today. I have two aftermarket amps, one for bass, and one for speakers/tweeters. I have the 4 10' subs in a box I built earlier this year. I also have 4 extra tweeters, 2 mids, and 2 lows that I had for another sound system but it never ended up being used.

I was thinking of also buying the LCi 2 from AudioControl. Not sure if I'd need anything else? Sorry for all the yap

[V50M66]

Hey! The main end goal is A: To get a bit better overall sound, and B: To add in some heavy hitting bass!

I think the sound system already sounds amazing I love it, I just want to bring out the high end a little more and keep it from mixing with the lows if that makes sense. I am replacing the alternator with an HO alt today. I have two aftermarket amps, one for bass, and one for speakers/tweeters. I have the 4 10' subs in a box I built earlier this year. I also have 4 extra tweeters, 2 mids, and 2 lows that I had for another sound system but it never ended up being used.

I was thinking of also buying the LCi 2 from AudioControl. Not sure if I'd need anything else? Sorry for all the yap

Helped a buddy of mine drop 2 Kicker 8” subs and an amp into the rear parcel shelf on his S70 on an otherwise completely stock setup, and it sounded pretty respectable. I’d start with the subs, as that’s where this system is most lacking. Amazing what the stock door speakers sound like when not trying to play heavy low frequencies along with mids.

A high output alternator isn’t necessary or even a good idea unless you’re pushing some insane power and also run your own dedicated wiring, etc. Not worth it.

You don’t need to add an amp to the factory radio - the factory internal amp is more than capable of powering some solid hardware. Tap the rear deck 8” speakers and run them to a LOC, then do what you please with an amp/sub setup in the trunk.

Again, this is where the later premium sound setup shines, as it also has a dedicated amp under the passenger seat and proper wiring harness.


tl;dr don’t overthink it, the stock setup is far better and more capable than what you’re probably used to. Add a sub setup on an otherwise stock system, enjoy, then re-evaluate if you still want more in different areas.

[scot850]

As mentioned above, the standard system is pretty good. I appreciate what sound everyone wants is different. It is like expecting everyone to like the same brand of tires.

The standard single CD head units were mostly made by Alpine if I recall correctly. All units with the exception of the SC-900/901 units (with the built in 3 CD changer) have good built in amps. The 9XX units have no internal amp. However, you can add the under seat amplifier to any P80. It just connects into the standard wiring connectors you normally plug into the rear of your standard head unit. I think all units can have the amp added to them. I have a feeling some really early units with no CD may not be able to add an amp to. Look on the rear of the head unit and there should be a around input labelled AMP. The under seat amps had 40W/channel. One of the issues with the speakers is the rear door speakers and high level speaker in the wagons in the C pillar are different ohm requirements to the front door and the dash speakers. The front speakers are individually fed. The rear ones are in series. I can't recall the sedan parcel shelf speakers and what they are rated at.

There was also an amp mounted behind the head unit in early P80's like 850's. I've never seen one to know what they were rated at.

If you get the under seat amp, make sure you also pull the harness for it as well as it has been NLA for 10+ years. Amp is still available new last I checked.

The 98-04 C70 had a different higher output amp and speakers. I think the am was 100W/channel, but it is not an easy swap requiring a lot of wiring. If you want to try this route, make sure you take the wiring connectors as they are fairly unique. Some C70's also had a sub in behind the rear seat. That was an option and it also had a special feed to it. This thread may help a bit:

viewtopic.php?t=101784&hilit=speaker+wiring+diagram

Good Luck!

Neil.