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CHEAP audio upgrade - long post
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Posted by Ray T (more from Ray T) on Mon, 17 Dec 2001 15:03:18 Share Post by Email
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When the stock Clarion AM/FM/Cassette in my 1993 9000 CS died recently I began checking out replacement options. I found a handful of used Clarions, matching my stock unit, for $100.00 and up. These were from private individuals. To my surprise, when I rounded up the 'usual suspects' in the form of SAAB junkyards (Trollhatten, etc.) they came back with 'dealer item' to my parts queries.

Instead of investing a hundred bucks into a ten-year-old radio for my old car, I put together an inexpensive but nice-sounding upgrade/replacement for my system. My 9000, by the way, has 170K on the clock, so I wasn't looking to drop big bucks into sound. I have owned audiophile auto sound in past cars so I know what a Nakamichi deck/Denon DCA 3250 amp/subwoofer system sounds like relative to what I describe here. But if I wanted to go that route in my Christmas-tree/sheetrock/dog-to-the-groomer hauling now I have three little kids SAAB, I would have done so years ago. Not that I don't love the thing: I bought it new and put every one of those 170 on it and enjoyed the ride and continue to.

OK, so my stereo install. First off I added a cheap front-end that avoids me having to pay for options I don't want. I chose the Blaupunkt RPD552 AM/FM/CD player (210 watts - 52.5 per channel x 4 channels- RCA outs for amplifier). The radio reception on this unit simply blows away what I used to get out of my stock Clarion. And that annoying electrical whine I used to get when using the radio - a problem I note a bunch of SAABnet types have been trying to defeat with various workarounds - it is simply GONE GOODBYE. The CD player has the same sampling data as a few of the units up the Blaupunkt line and did not skip once since I installed it - even when I hammer across the washboards on the rickety bridge over the Brewster (NY) North railroad yard. The RPD552 is available at http://www.Costco.com for $119.99 ($6.00+ S & H) or at Costco stores for $129.99. You can't use a CD changer and you don't get a remote. Great reception with their 'ORC V' tuner and a solid CD player unit is what you get.

The world seems to think the '93 9000 needs 6 3/4" round speakers as a replacement for the rear units. Crutchfield has an adapter bracket for sale for this purpose. Nowhere did I find anyone mentioning that a stock 6 x 9 coaxial/triaxial speaker would drop right in as a replacement. However, it did: My 1993 9000 CS had 6 x 9 read woofers with a separate tweeter. Leave the old tweeters in place.

The replacements I chose are the Optimus 6 x 9 Three Way Car Speakers (120 watts RMS - 3-way design - 6" x 9" cone woofer and 2 3/4" midrange and 1/2” tweeter). Part #12-1769. These babies have a large 20 oz. magnet and are on sale for $39.99 a pair - available online at http://www.radioshack.com and in Radio Shack stores.

With such an inexpensive front end and speakers I sprung for a new amp to use for the rear speakers. The Blaupunkt unit has RCA outs for an amp for the rears and uses the built-in 52.5 amp for the front speakers. I stayed on the cheap and chose the Optimus 55x2 Trunk Mount High Power Stereo Amplifier (Part #12-2014 - available at Radio Shack stores - not sure if this unit is also at http://www.Radioshack.com). I bought it on sale for $49.99 and it includes all hardware except a set of 6-foot RCA jacks, which I bought for $5.99. You may want to add a set of solderless connectors, available for $1.69, to make a good connection to the speakers (instead of soldering speaker wires onto speaker connections or just splicing and taping).

So my total came to $119.99 + $39.99 + $49.99 + $5.99 = $215.96. In addition, the sound blows away my stock system and includes a CD player when I only had a cassette.

The install was easy, especially if you've put in a car stereo before. First off, having the Haynes 9000 (English edition) manual was a big help as it provided the wiring diagram (page WD-11). Once the stock Clarion radio is removed, unplug all the wires. The wiring diagram will provide all the clues you'll need to get it right the first time but note the Haynes diagram ignores the existence of the amp under the passenger seat (the wire color code _from_ that amp is correct - they just show it as if it connects to the back of the radio). Once you remove the old radio (and the amp screwed to the back of it - used for front speakers only) from the scene, you'll be left with the plugs that previously went into the back of the thing. Here's how they break down (look for the number ID of each wire on the plug):

LEFT SIDE OF PLUG (numbered 1-8)
Wire #3 (red) - right front speaker
Wire #4 (blue) - right front speaker
Wire #1 (green) - left front speaker
Wire #2 (brown) - left front speaker

RIGHT SIDE OF PLUG (1,4,5,6,8)
Wire #4 (red) - ignition switch (to red for Blaupunkt)
Wire #5 (black) - ground
Wire #1 (red) - constant positive (to yellow for Blaupunkt)

Remainder of wiring:
RCA jacks - from Blaupunkt to Optimus amp
Blue wire on Blaupunkt to on/off switch on Optimus

Remove the stock amp under the passenger seat and screw the existing speaker wires into the matching jacks on the Optimus amp. If you slightly bend the sheet metal stock amp bracket (after removing the stock amp), you can use it to clamp down the new amp. No drilling is required. You will have to remove the passenger seat - use a T45 sized Torx to remove them.

To get the rear speakers in, peel back the fabric around the shock-towers and use a 10mm socket to get the nuts off that secure the rear speakers from the bottom. The only trick is the one nut to the inside of the cabin, toward the outside of the quarter panel. You don't need to remove this. Just get a 10mm box-end in there and loosen it - the speaker mounting bracket slides off this one so just loosen it (after removing the other 5 nuts) and slide the speaker out.

At this point it's just splice, tape, put it back together, slip in a CD and enjoy your two-hundred-bucks audio upgrade that beats the heck out of the stock unit it replaces _and_ allows you to bring those CDs out of the house to enjoy in your car.

Ray T


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