SC815 sounding better than SC816!?

Post by **SonicAdventure** » 20 Jul 2021, 12:15

I pulled an SC815 from a scrap yard a few weeks ago and installed it into my base model 96 850.

When I got the 850, it only had the tape deck, no CD, not sure what model that one was. I had put an SC816 in there in the interim. For whatever reason (placebo effect?) this new SC815 seems to sound better than the SC816 on both tape and cassette playback. Could this possibly be due to a speaker difference in a base 850 that would cause overdrive with the 5-10 extra watts per channel the SC816 puts out? The SC816 is actually out of my old base model '98 V70, if that would make a difference.

I was beginning to guess that maybe cars that came OEM with 816s had better/stronger/different speakers than cars shipped with 815s.

Post by **scot850** » 20 Jul 2021, 19:36

It is probably just a better unit! It is like everyone says the SC-901 is a better unit than the SC-900. To me the older SC-900 has a much better sound than the SC-901. I had an SC-815 in one of my 850's and it was a great sounding unit. The sound was more 'full'.

Neil.

Post by **SonicAdventure** » 23 Jul 2021, 09:43

scot850 wrote: ↑20 Jul 2021, 19:36 It is probably just a better unit! It is like everyone says the SC-901 is a better unit than the SC-900. To me the older SC-900 has a much better sound than the SC-901. I had an SC-815 in one of my 850's and it was a great sounding unit. The sound was more 'full'.

Neil.

Seems like a lot of people much prefer an 816 to an 815, so I'm not sure why I am experiencing what I experiencing.

Not sure about the 900-901, is that the in-dash changer unit?

I seem to have a dead rear passenger door speaker, so I'm currently looking at replacing or at least inspecting it to see if its just loose wires. Sound does come out of it but its very quiet. I may have to search the archives to see what speaker alternatives exist for these cars. Its not a top priority, but something to consider.

Post by **scot850** » 23 Jul 2021, 14:27

Try swapping the speaker to the other side and see if it is still bad first. Broken wires in the door pillar or at the door are not un-common. Swapping will at least confirm if the speaker is bad.

If I recall the SC816 wasn't a bad unit (probably still have one in a box somewhere!!), The older SC-815 unit had something written on the front like Premium Sound System. It definitely had a lot of base.

The SC-900/901 are have the 3 x CD cassette unit built in but also have an external amp.

Having said all that all of the units are good units. I have a JBL system in the Toyota 4Runner. It is supposed to be a premium sound system with external amp in the Limited version. Can't say I was much impressed. Swapped the head unit for a Sony with back-up camera and Bluetooth with steering wheel button compatibility. It is a decent unit but not compared to the Volvo ones in the P80's.

Neil.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 23 Jul 2021, 15:29

IIRC, ( and that’s a big if...), the 850’s shipped
with 5-1/4” speakers and the x70’s got 6-1/2”s.
As far as the SC815/816’s, the only difference
is the faceplate color.

Like Neil said, the 901’s need an external amp
for the four corners, and a few other extras for
the optional Dolby package, but they really do
provide great sound.

BTW - All of the SC’s were OEM’d by Alpine for Volvo.