Best OEM sound system for 850 sedan?

[rubyvette]

Infinity Reference Series speakers are shallow enough to fit unnoticed under the factory grills in front and rear doors. I may have Polk speakers in the front because I got a good deal on them. I found a great write up on this site on how to install them. The rear deck pair swap was a bit more challenging, but the how-to is here also. The sound with the 815/816 is great to me.

[kcodyjr]

OK, I just went for a ride, and listened real close so I could describe it.

First of all, that front left never quite cuts completely "in" throughout its supposed range, making the soundstage seem a bit off to the right - it's not unpleasant that way actually, but it is inaccurate, and eating frequencies where it shouldn't.

That said, the only speakers that sound true to intent are the dash ones, comparing to what's in the 96 wagon. Their specs suck, but there you have it. This suggests the failure is in the output stage of the 815's built-in amp.

I can definitely confirm the unwanted bass curve. Kick drums are nearly indistinguishable from a whack on the bass strings; it's all punch and no tone. Baritone singers sounded distinctly muddy toward the bottom of their range. It was as though the curve fell off way too high and someone tried to install one of those self-contained 8" bazookas. By laying it on the back seat.

I'm glad I didn't hear any Elvis come on, that would have been heartbreaking to hear twisted like that. Classical was hopeless; a trumpet plus oboe sounded suspiciously like a French horn, and nothing is supposed to sound like a French horn. The only two tunes that sounded vaguely like they should have, were "Paradise City" and "You Ain't Seen Nothin Yet". Go figure.

In short, the system is incapable of subtlety. This so-called Premium Sound System, if it is indeed intact and correct, is IMO the main reason the car rates "near" luxury status.

Or, this dash unit really is meant for a wagon; I suspect this curve would sound a lot better without a rear deck, and I may try it once the weather breaks. This theory is supported by the absence of a factory amp combined with the Premium label on the head unit.

1st move should be a visual inspection of all 8 speakers, then. I don't think any magnets have fallen off, but maybe something else is going on. At the very least I can get an inventory of all the part numbers installed in the car.

Unless one or more speakers show up defective, 2nd move should be the acquisition and installation of a factory amp, any factory amp, with the current head unit, and then reevaluate.

3rd move would be to swap in another head unit. The 710 has no amp jack and I have no reason to expect it to perform any better in a sedan than in a wagon. Rubyvette, once I get that fact-finding done, I may offer to bring a 6-pack in exchange for some swap-in testing, with the possibility of buying a unit. I only want another 815 if it solves both the left-front and major imbalance issues, but I do want to make sure it's worth your while if it doesn't.

4th move, whether or not the 3rd bears fruit, is to compare the mounting spaces of the 850 versus the S70. Double bonus would be to actually test-fit a Dynaudio set, but somehow I doubt I'll find any of those in a boneyard.

Good thing the weather sucks, or I'd be fixing the wagon and not a radio.


- Kevin

[rubyvette]

Kevin,

Beer most definately works for me! I've got at least one 815 and 816 with codes that we can try. You're also invited to audition my new speakers in my 850. It's not a concert hall, just a real nice 16 year old car. I've got a Hafler DH-500 and Snell E's at home for real tunes. You've got my email address if you need it.

Mark

[IVIUSTANG]

I disconnected my front door speakers, and installed polk 6.5" speakers in the rear. So that leaves me with 2 front tweeters, two rear 6.5" two ways and two 8" three way speakers in the back. It sounds great, the Polks definitely put the treble to shame on the old Volvo speakers. Overall I like the setup depending a lot on the song, but generally it is symphonic

I also have the SC-816 head unit, wish it played MP3 though or even any CD-RW for that matter!

- Jesse

[matthew1]

Jesse, my 816 does play CD-R AIFF tracks. Don't know about CD-RW, might be the discs. Try some CD-R discs.

kcody, sometimes I read posts that say one thing loud and clear, and to me, your posts above scream I need a nice aftermarket setup! The factory premium sound is good for rock music, but for other stuff I'm not surprised it's less than satisfactory. Also, feel free to make a poll when you create a topic next time. A/B/C type questions lend themselves perfectly to polls.

Let me know if you want me to go back and add a poll on this topic... I think I have the post edit time set too low for you to go back and edit that.

[Ozark Lee]

I'm with Matt,

For some reason there is a huge bump around 100Hz in the stock audio systems. I guess if you listen to rap music that is great but I am an electrical engineer that just happened into the broadcast industry and much of what I deal with is audio processing.

I have been trying to buy an SC-901 for over a year now just so that I can set the EQ curve back to flat.

My son had some crappy aftermarket radio in his car and I bought him a new Alpine head unit and, when joined with the Infinity reference series speakers all around, it sounds phenomenal.

The bad news was the crappy "pocket" that eats up the other half of the double din hole. I can't recall the brand name but it is pure junk and it keeps falling out. I think it was a Metra brand. I have however had decent luck with the Scosche brand products on other cars.

...Lee

[BEJinFbk]

After market?
Double DIN FTW !

[IVIUSTANG]

Jesse, my 816 does play CD-R AIFF tracks. Don't know about CD-RW, might be the discs. Try some CD-R discs.

CD-R work fine, but CD-RW certainly do not work in the SC-816.

- Jesse

[kcodyjr]

In almost any other car I would go aftermarket. Here's a guy who, for my living room computer, put more than twice the dough into the sound card as the graphics card, and run analog from the PC to the head unit to take advantage of higher quality DAC's.

That 96 GLT stick I used to have, got a JVC with built-in HD. CD and radio were indistinguishable, and I felt no need to upgrade the factory speakers. I ordered it through Crutchfield for around $250 total if memory serves, and the pocket they sent was actually solid and well anchored. This was a couple years ago though, just when HD radio was catching on. Even after a month I still had to look at it to be sure I was putting my finger on the correct button.

This car, though, I just don't feel right putting some glitzy blinking monstrosity into the dash. If there was a double DIN unit that really did look like it belonged there, then I probably would, but even the most understated I've found still scream "aftermarket shinygasm!"

So that's really two factors pushing me away from aftermarket. The other is that a car, any car, is a crappy environment for audio. The differences in THD between decent and top-end equipment are below the noise floor of a 3500 pound steel box hurtling down the road, even one as quiet as an 850 GLT, and drive-in movies are long since out of style.

Granted an aftermarket unit would solve all the technical flaws and then some, and easily outperform all but the rarest custom-integrated OEM systems. The higher spec performance isn't necessary. If I didn't care about preserving originality I'd opt for it anyway in the name of convenience, but this time, I do care.

Matthew, maybe a poll would be fun, but to address my situation it should be clear that we're talking about an untinkered and unmolested example of a somewhat interesting year. If we were talking about a 96 HPT with a swapped in manual, a row of gauges coming up the A pillar, and $5000 of IPD parts in it, or something on its third set of fenders, then my opinion would be different as well.

So, if someone can point out a truly visually well fitting aftermarket unit, then I'll gladly read up about it, but no promises my aesthetic taste agrees. Short of that I'd favor fit and finish over top-end quality, and concentrate on ironing out these obvious flaws.

It's been reported here http://jimrothe.com/volvo/volvo-dynaudio.html that the 901 can be made to not screw it up so badly, and even that author hypothesizes that the head unit swap made more difference than the speaker upgrade. His comment about default equalization on the lesser units makes sense, and by swapping in other 815/816 units I'm hoping to locate one that was default-tuned for a sedan.

Matthew, it crosses my mind just now wrapping up the post, you're absolutely right - I need a nice aftermarket setup - it's just that, this time around, I feel that nice needs to include looking like it belongs there. If I can't find that, which I had assumed out the gate I can't, then I'll settle for 2nd best audio performance. Just not the 4th or 5th best that it's pumping out presently.


Thanks,
- Kevin

[BEJinFbk]

There are some DD touch screens that look quite good in that dash...Very clean.
Nothing but screen and a little framing trim. And usually deep with features.
Even a few more conventional, control laden choices, if you like that style.

But I have to admit, I really do enjoy my 901. Even with the stock speakers.
The controls are large, backlit, intuitive and easy to operate sight unseen.
Another nice feature that goes well with the OEM cosmetics? No One Will Steal It!

At this point, it is worth mentioning that a big part of the experience is the Dolby Surround.
And the Center channel speaker is a HUGE part of that. I really do enjoy the staging.
But, that makes your aspirations towards going that route much more of a challenge....
The 850 dash would be a serious pain to modify for a center channel.

A decent A/M DD with a nice DSP feature may be the easiest upgrade
for something with an enjoyable soundfield.

One more idea. Anyone you know have an SC-901 with a center?
Grab some good material on CD and Have a Listen!
May get you free of the "Deceiding Room".

Best of luck!