MIDNIGHT RIDER
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This is an up-date on my lengthy question-filled thread of some time ago.
Here is the original thread :
http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?58739-gt-gt-gt-RADIO-STEREO-lt-lt-lt
Thank you, one and all, for your patience and helpful information throughout this thread.
At first, I sort of figured I would go whole-hog with an amp and all the extras.
But, like several suggested, my world was so much better after just swapping in my four new speakers that I decided an up-graded head-unit would probably be as far as I needed to go.
My new door speakers (not in the factory holes, but relocated into new holes elsewhere in the doors) :
PIONEER 6-1/2" 3-ways TS-A1674R
My new surface-mount rear/sleeper speakers :
PIONEER TS-X200
Just adding these new speakers improved my listening enjoyment 3749% over what I had been used to.
Even my un-impressible wife says that I should have replaced the speakers years before; that is more of an endorsement than underwriters laboratories.
Then, I got the wife a brand-new PIONEER DEH-X6500BT head-unit and installed it in her 1991 Dodge/Cummins; so far just connected to whatever four speakers that were in the truck when we bought it, maybe original factory and maybe not.
That thing ROCKS; I mean, I didn't know what decent stereo was before this.
Besides sounding better than anything I ever heard before, it does more tricks than we will ever figure out how to make it do.
And then the big grin came when she paired her phone to it and received a call through the stereo - - - - AWESOME !!!
In less time than it takes me to type this, I had a second one on the way and it now resides in my truck.
I thought the one in her truck sounded good; but, mine, coupled to the four PIONEER speakers, is TOTALLY AWESOME !!!!!
My previous stereo, even with the new PIONEER speakers just needed quite a bit more "punch" to be heard above the roar of the engine, especially considering I am deaf as a post.
This new PIONEER unit is louder at 1/5 it's capability than my previous unit was with the volume maxxed out.
And, it is clear as a bell; no matter how high I go with the volume, there is no buzz, just clear music.
The wife paired my antique Motorola Trac-Phone with the stereo (she's way smarter than me); and, I programmed my entire "phone book" of contacts, all two of them, to the pre-set station buttons.
I press the phone picture, press either station button 1 or 2, then press the big round knob, and presto, my call is made.
This will be really convenient sometime in the next few years when I actually have reason to call someone; maybe I will just call someone to see how well all this works.
One bit of wisdom I will impart :
I have always hard-wired both of the power wires to any of my radios to always-HOT, such that no key is necessary to listen to the radio.
However, these modern wonder stereos cannot be truly turned OFF whenever the "ign" wire is HOT; even when supposedly OFF, the face remains lit up like down-town Louisville and the clock remains lit.
So, to get around this, I mounted a SPST toggle-switch hanging downward through that flat plastic over-hang just above the radio.
I routed the RED "ign"wire through this toggle-switch, before splicing it to the always-HOT YELLOW wire.
Actually, I wish I had of done this years ago; it is way easier to flip that big toggle, than it is to work a smallish ON/OFF switch on the radio.
When I want the stereo truly OFF, I flip my toggle-switch OFF; when I want it ON, I flip the toggle ON.
I can listen to the stereo even if the switch-keys went down with the Titanic.
One big advantage that my old Walmart-special stereo had that I retained and used when installing my new PIONEER was two separate pig-tail connectors, NOT factory wiring adapters, but good old no-nonsense male/female multi-pin plugs; one handles all the power and GROUND wires, the other handles all of the speaker wires.
I have one question; the manual makes much mention of listening to music stored on flash-drives and USB devices; how do I go about obtaining such that is loaded with my kind of music ??
I am well pleased with my new stereo.
Thanks for reading.
Here is the original thread :
http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?58739-gt-gt-gt-RADIO-STEREO-lt-lt-lt
Thank you, one and all, for your patience and helpful information throughout this thread.
At first, I sort of figured I would go whole-hog with an amp and all the extras.
But, like several suggested, my world was so much better after just swapping in my four new speakers that I decided an up-graded head-unit would probably be as far as I needed to go.
My new door speakers (not in the factory holes, but relocated into new holes elsewhere in the doors) :
PIONEER 6-1/2" 3-ways TS-A1674R
My new surface-mount rear/sleeper speakers :
PIONEER TS-X200
Just adding these new speakers improved my listening enjoyment 3749% over what I had been used to.
Even my un-impressible wife says that I should have replaced the speakers years before; that is more of an endorsement than underwriters laboratories.
Then, I got the wife a brand-new PIONEER DEH-X6500BT head-unit and installed it in her 1991 Dodge/Cummins; so far just connected to whatever four speakers that were in the truck when we bought it, maybe original factory and maybe not.
That thing ROCKS; I mean, I didn't know what decent stereo was before this.
Besides sounding better than anything I ever heard before, it does more tricks than we will ever figure out how to make it do.
And then the big grin came when she paired her phone to it and received a call through the stereo - - - - AWESOME !!!
In less time than it takes me to type this, I had a second one on the way and it now resides in my truck.
I thought the one in her truck sounded good; but, mine, coupled to the four PIONEER speakers, is TOTALLY AWESOME !!!!!
My previous stereo, even with the new PIONEER speakers just needed quite a bit more "punch" to be heard above the roar of the engine, especially considering I am deaf as a post.
This new PIONEER unit is louder at 1/5 it's capability than my previous unit was with the volume maxxed out.
And, it is clear as a bell; no matter how high I go with the volume, there is no buzz, just clear music.
The wife paired my antique Motorola Trac-Phone with the stereo (she's way smarter than me); and, I programmed my entire "phone book" of contacts, all two of them, to the pre-set station buttons.
I press the phone picture, press either station button 1 or 2, then press the big round knob, and presto, my call is made.
This will be really convenient sometime in the next few years when I actually have reason to call someone; maybe I will just call someone to see how well all this works.
One bit of wisdom I will impart :
I have always hard-wired both of the power wires to any of my radios to always-HOT, such that no key is necessary to listen to the radio.
However, these modern wonder stereos cannot be truly turned OFF whenever the "ign" wire is HOT; even when supposedly OFF, the face remains lit up like down-town Louisville and the clock remains lit.
So, to get around this, I mounted a SPST toggle-switch hanging downward through that flat plastic over-hang just above the radio.
I routed the RED "ign"wire through this toggle-switch, before splicing it to the always-HOT YELLOW wire.
Actually, I wish I had of done this years ago; it is way easier to flip that big toggle, than it is to work a smallish ON/OFF switch on the radio.
When I want the stereo truly OFF, I flip my toggle-switch OFF; when I want it ON, I flip the toggle ON.
I can listen to the stereo even if the switch-keys went down with the Titanic.
One big advantage that my old Walmart-special stereo had that I retained and used when installing my new PIONEER was two separate pig-tail connectors, NOT factory wiring adapters, but good old no-nonsense male/female multi-pin plugs; one handles all the power and GROUND wires, the other handles all of the speaker wires.
I have one question; the manual makes much mention of listening to music stored on flash-drives and USB devices; how do I go about obtaining such that is loaded with my kind of music ??
I am well pleased with my new stereo.
Thanks for reading.
Ask the WIFE
