'98 Century Delco radio questions and after market speakers.

[Guest]

I have had my '98 for several days now, but was wondering if any one here knows more about stock Delco radios. I have the AM-FM with cassette and cd player combination with Automatic Tone Control. Does the Delco unit have a 6 ohm rating? Also what is the power output per channel? That's all I can tell you about it now. Has anyone changed out their speakers for after market? I plan on doing so for better sound. I'm not sure if I want to add my own amp or not....depends some on the power output for that unit. Maybe after market speakers will be enough to handle my sound needs. Thanks for any info in those areas. BC'98

[NTX5467]

I believe the speakers in most late model Delco sound systems to be 4 ohm rated. In the '70s time frame, they used 10 ohm speakers when everyone else used 8 or 4 ohm speakers.

As for amplifier output, you will not find any "big numbers" there, but you will find ample power to drive most types of music. If you desire music that is very "bass heavy" at loud volumes, you will probably need a complete new system -- and you will also notice how much the rear view mirror will vibrate (which it will do with the factory system in the car now).

Personally, the Monsoon system that was/is factory available in Buick Regals is one fine system. It has more output amps than the normal radio too, but don't know how about durability of the speakers with "bass heavy" music material. I was under the impression that the Monsoon system was similar to the Infinity systems, but it now appears that the Monsoon system was strictly an amplifer add-on unit of sorts so you might check with your local Delco Radio Service Station (your dealer could tell you where it is in your area) in that regard.

Also, to me at least, the factory systems are fine. Even though the people at the stereo shops will tell you how junky the factory systems are, keep in mind that they are also wanting to sell you a very expensive system themselves so they have a vested interest in calling what you now have "junky" to make you "want to buy" what they have that is allegedly much better. From my observations, for general use you can spend a lot of money and not get something that is significantly better than the factory system (other than in whiz bang cosmetics and other bell/whistle distractions). Your orientations might be different.

Make sure that any aftermarket items they might install are installed to at least GM factory quality specs. These shops might have "expert" installers, but sometimes they are more worried about turning the job than having it come back in a year or so with failed wiring connections (when they aren't there any more) or other problems. Key thing is to do it right to start with, especially if additional amps are added to the vehicle (which also might require an upgraded alternator also).

As for the nuts and bolts of speaker upgrades, the factory speakers don't "bolt in" any more as they usually have a composite housing that slides into place in the door panel structure and is retained with speed nuts or similar. The Concert Sound II speaker system also has door mounted tweeters as part of the package. The rear speakers are something like 6x9s (might still have screws that retain them) and the Intrigues also had a BOSE option for several years with a factory subwoofer (as does the Aurora). But the BOSE system would have to be duplicated in all aspects to work properly.

Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of extra space to put massive speaker arrays in those cars, especially in the rear deck area. The door panels are also contoured to house what they current house so the only real options there would be coax or triax speakers or putting something more midrange and upper end in the place of the current tweeter (if you have the CS II) speakers.

You also need to be cognizant that it doesn't take massive wattages to power the speakers other than the low frequency units. To make lots of bass happen, it takes large excursions of the voice coil and that takes lots of watts to make it happen. In the case of the earlier Chrysler Infinity systems, they quoted something like 120 watts of power, but in that case they had one big amp in the back that powered all of the speakers. The lower frequency speakers were fed the most power and the tweeters were fed much lesser power as they didn't need a lot to work. To get at the advertised power rating, they added the wattages together of all of the speaker output taps to get the "120" (or whatever) figures.

Not being sure of "your needs", I might recommend first starting by seeing if the factory radio/speakers will really do what you want them too. You might be surprised. Then, investigate speaker upgrades that will fit in the same place as the current factory speakers without cutting or hacking things up too much, if at all. Remember too, the more aftermarket stereo stuff you hang there--that is obvious to someone walking by--the more likely someone else will see it and want it without paying for it, alarm system or not. You might well want to show off your sound system upgrades but sometimes it's better to be in the stealth mode with those upgrades and not raise any suspicions.

Just some thoughts . . .

NTX5467

[Guest]

NTX5467. Sounds like you know too much, haha. Seems like the power from the Delco is adequate for most people. I am in my 40's, but I still like to crank it up on ocassion. I don't know if I have the Concert Sound II speaker system. Was that only an option or did some cars come with it as standard? I do have a six speaker system. I am only guessing here, but there are like two small tweeters up high in the doors, maybe 2". Down lower they look like 6.5" speakers or maybe larger. It's hard to tell since they're covered up. Now to me the back speakers look more like 5 x 7's than 6 x 9's. I am not positive, but have used plenty of 6 x 9's in the past.

I have tested out my system pretty much. I played a cd for the first time yesterday and of course it sounded fairly good, but you had to turn the volume up about half way or more. And judging by what I heard, it sounds like the front 6.5" speakers (if that's what they are), can't handle more than moderate bass. I think the first step I may take is to just have after market speakers installed at all 6 locations. Maybe between the front 6.5" and the rear 5 x 7's, I should have better overall performance. Earmark Car Audio is an expensive place to go. They guarantee all wiring for the life of the car with the original owner who had purchased the car. Today or later this week I am going to check into what my options are in terms of speakers and install cost. I may shop around too. There are other car stereo places around here in Dallas anyway. Thanks again for the detailed info you gave me. BC98

[NTX5467]

I suspect that if you have the Concert Sound II speakers (as the Century Custom I rented last weekend did), there will be a small speaker grille on the upper portion of the trim panel plus a "Concert Sound II" nameplate nearby. If you have a factory CD player, I would suspect it would be part of that radio package. Have you checked the owner's manual in that respect?

The Monsoon system that was also in Regals back then is really nice. When listening to KMEO, I would have to turn the bass down a bit more than normal (from max) as there appears to be a lot of residual bass in their broadcasts and also have to do that with the other non-Monsoon systems. But, with a Sinatra concert CD plugged in, I drove around in the country one night with it cranked up past the "front row" volume level as it sounded so nice (and with the bass set at about 3/4 max). There are some Springstein and Bachman-Turner Overdrive CDs that would sound really good "loud" too.

I'm not sure if you can add Monsoon amps to an existing Delco radio not designed for it or if there are particular speakers for that system, but it sure does sound cleaner than the non-Monsoon system at higher volume levels. You might check with AutoCraft Electronics near the Addison Airport for that information as they are the regional Delco service center for radios and other Delco items too. Personally, I like OEM grade installations so if they could swap you into a Monsoon radio/CD/tape unit and matching amps that will plug into your existing wiring, I suspect that would be a good way to do it. What happens at the speaker end is a different situation.

Enjoy!

NTX5467