Greetings all,

First post here. Got a 96 - 960 in very good condition. Looking to replace the stock speakers and head unit. Very early in process so I got a few questions hopefully you can help me with.

I listen to all kinds of music but I am partial to electronic and dance. Though there is nothing wrong with the stock equipment, it just isnt doing it for me.

Description and questions:

Replace head unit with Double-din unit:
I've heard this cannot be done but I say phooey to that. I'll custom mount if necessay. Just would not look right with a single-din and mount kit.

Replace all stock speaker(s):
Two questions here.
1. I've read the door speakers are 6 1/2". Can anyone confirm? They do not look that big and I haven't measured them yet.

2. Have read dash speakers are 3 1/2". Again, can anyone confirm?

3. Thinking of replacing the 6" x 9"'s with two 10" subwoofers. Or should I replace the 6" x 9"'s and put a sub(s) in trunk. Opinions welcome.

Install Amp(s):
No questions here.

Below are components I'm looking at.
Rear Speakers
Door Speakers
Dash Speakers - Powered by Headunit internal Amp.
Amp for Speakers
Sub(s)
Amp for Sub(s)
Headunit 1 or Headunit 2

welcome to the forum. congrats on the 960, great car. now on to your questions. about the size of your speakers, am not sure about the size, but i think you are about correct about the size. have you tried cutchfield.com. the double din debacle is crap. a double din fits. just make sure that the chasis is correct for your model head unit. about the speakers though, volvos size is a little wonky, meaning that direct replacements, stock, will fit. aftermarket, they will be about that much bigger. the mounting holes will be different, not by much, but you will have to fiddle with the aftermarket units to make them fit in their respective places. if you aren't hauling anything, i would mount subwoofer in trunk. if possible, you can get those subs that mount in the space with the spare tire. don't know if you want that, but an option. probably already knew that, but hey, just a thought for you. good luck. post some before and after pics if poss.

i can confirm for a 740 and a 940 that the front doors are 13cm and so are the rear doors. The parcel shelf speakers in my 940 are the good old 6x9's but will require a small wooden template to be made to mount them satisfactly (right word?) - replacing the 6x9's aswell with 10inch subs will be hard as under that parcel shelf is a steel plate which provides rigidity to the body work.

But a careful note on the front door speakers, you WILL need to purchase an adapter plate from a good car audio supplier, for example caraudiodirect.com. This will enable you to add aftermarket speakers to your front door cards because the mountings are a funny shape as TheGreekMason correctly states.

Regarding the double din unit, you can replace replace it, i am not 100% sure that it is a double din, as the one in my 940 is a 1.5 din (very awkward) but if you have a scout on flebay you will definitely be able to buy a face cover plate that allows you to mount a single din unit into that nicely and have it look good. Also be aware of the wiring harness, it wont be the DIN standard as used on all aftermarket head units so you will also have to buy an adapter for this, which is about £14 on the website i mentioned.

the dash speakers are just tweeters (high frequency reproduction only) these are very awkward to replace and i havent bothered to be honest.

subs in the boot is the best option, as there is plenty of space, the best bet for you here would be to build a custom box, as i have done on mine which slides in with its back to the back seats under the parcel shelf, so you can still get to the spare tyre - really awkward getting to it otherwise, especially in rain. believe me i found out the hard way!!!

i see you have chosen infinity reference, these are excellent for mid range and high frequency quality. The subs arent bad but i think you will find the 10 inch units will lack the low bottom end woof and rumble that is on that sort of music. I listen to a lot of electronic, dance trance trip hop music, and i have 2 alpine swr 1222D subs (12 inch dual 2ohm voice coil) in my custom box, i i can say happily, they WILL andh HAVE blown out my rear window with the gain on the amps barely touching half!!! but the quality and amount of bass is perfect!

If you want any more detailed help on this please PM me as i can no doubt help!!! i will also update my install pics on my profile garage so you can take a look :)

Matt

question for syko, if you have your subs behind the seats, doesn't that make it awkward when and if you lower your rear seats? wouldn't it be better if he made a box to hang from the parcel shelf and have it then sealed? i've been thinking about doing that to mine, just haven't seen it ever done and to be honest, just been too damn lazy to ask the local car audio guy.

well from his description about parcel shelf ... i derived that he has a saloon. from my knowledge the rearr seats dont move in a saloon except for the centre bit.

the parcel shelf is only a thin bit of metal hanging a box for subs on it woundt be good as it would rattle like hell. sub box you want a minimum of 12mm mdf, possibly 15. it would probably bend the metal shelf aswell. i did have an idea when i first got the car to put 4 ten inch subs in the boot under the parcel shelf, it would fit with a custom box, but the subs i wanted were too costly, so i got a job and bought 2 even better 12inch subs haha

mine i have made out of 18mm, it weighs a ton, takes two people to lift it in and out of the car with the subs in, but i could stand on it when it was on end and jump and it was fine. you also have to consider the fact of the pressures that a sealed sub box creates from within the box, the sub cone will be trying to suck the inner walls in and then push them back out again which puts incredible strain on the joins.

Matt

ps - oh and stay away from kenwood head units. i had one and didnt realise how poor the quality was until i upgraded to a pioneer. imho

well mine is a saloon, if you mean a 4 door sedan. don't remember my british equivalents, my auntie in black pool would be so upset with me :) anyway, both of my rear seats drop, so that was why i was thinking of hanging mine. oh well, back to the drawing board. thanks bro.

yeah sedan/saloon same thing. mine dont drop down which is annoying. even if you did build boxes under it, and you dropped the seats down, the space would be about the same practibility as the box setup i mentioned

Thanks for the responce guys.

I like the idea of the custom mount of the sub on that shelf in trunk. Only problem I see there is the placement of the amp(s). Was gonna use that shelf area for that. The one amp I just ordered is pretty big (6 channel amp). Still unsure what I'm gonna do with the whole trunk area yet. I agree though, access to the spare tire is a must.

I'm not really crazy about that Kenwood unit myself but other than JVC they nobody is offering a double-din unit with front USB and Aux ports.

does it have to be double din?

you can get better units for that price in single din and buy the adapter like i have for my 740 to convert it. you could go for a fold out screen jobby too.

if you dont mind me asking what 6 channel amp you have bought? i know your in the states, but i keep an ear on the ground for good and not so good products if ya know what i mean ;)

regarding placement of the amp ... if the seats dont fold down, use some self tapping screws to attach a carpeted piece of MDF to the back of the seats then attach the amp to that.

Matt

hey syko, i just saw an old hot rod here that had the subs installed into the rear seats with the amps attached to a backing plate off the subs. that way, the whole unit could be removed as one. your thoughts? wouldn't work on mine since the rears on mine drop down, but on one that doesn't drop, it could be a space saving measure.

Afternoon Gentlemen,

I'm pretty set on the double-din. I've seen a lot of double-to-single converts and never seen one that didn't look like an obvious convert. I though about one of those NAV displays but don't want to spend that much. Besides I'm a dude. I DON"T GET LOST. lol

The amp I got is a AUDIOBAHN A6601T.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_71_Aud...hn+A6601T.html#

I've read both good and bad regarding their equipment. I figure its good enough for my needs considering there are not too many companies that make 6 channels. I also got it for $150.00 (factory refurib) :thumbsup:

I think I've changed nearly all the equipment (still Infinity - lower models) since original post. What I want, and what I'm willing to pay for are not "jiving".

Greek,

Don't know how ya feel about linking to other car sites but this is the hottest 960 I've seen:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2238768

do you know who the owner is? that is one really well done conversion. very nice. i like the 240, also. nice lower kit. does he have any mods to the engine? nice one. so, where's the pics of yours, bro? all of us are waiting. did you check out crutchfield.com on their different double dins for you?

good choice on the audiobahn. good quality sound, precise, and of course the stunning looks, coupled with the audiobahn subs you definitely have a winner!

I wouldnt runt he subs off of it though. i would use that for your door speakers and parcelshelf speakers. Oh and these isnt anything wrong with the low end infinity speakers.

for subs i would use one of these:

Audiobahn A8000V

or

Audiobahn 16000V

both viable options judging from your price range from that 6 channel amp. I think you will find them pretty good coupled with any sub to be honest.

recommendation for setting your amp gain levels. When you get your head unit installed and all your cables run:

1. With the amp off, find out what the MAX volvume on the headunit is (mine for example is 50) then work out roughly what 3/4 of it is (for example mine is 33/34).

This will be your maximum listening level on the HEAD UNIT before distortion.

2. Now put on your most favourite track and slowly turn the gain up on the amplifier till it gets too loud for YOU, (this should be well below 3/4 of the total maximum gain on the AMPLIFIER.

DO NOT take the amp over 3/4, as the efficiency of the amps means that it will not produce any more volume, only heat - therefore wasting energy and reducing the lifetime of the amp.

3. Turn the head unit volume down until you reach a comfortable listening level for YOUR personal taste. (mine, i find is around 20-25). remember that number as this is what your volume will be at most of the time your in the car i reckon! :)

4. Setting up your subs - this is personal taste also. Once again put on your favourite track at your general listening level determined in point 3. with the subs connected up, turn up the gain slowly until you find a comfortable balanced sound between the sub-bass and the rest of the system. If your tastes is to have it a little louder then do so, remember its your sound system.

5. Once thats done take your car for a test drive around town listening to music at different levels and different speeds. to get the balance of road noise traffic noise etc. then fine tune the GAIN levels on the amps accordingly.

I would like to point out that: (sorry to shout)

TOO HIGH LISTENING LEVELS CAN PERMANENTLY DAMAGE YOUR HEARING AND OTHERS WHO ARE IN THE CAR WITH YOU.

Also please show respect to your neighbours and others who are in the car who might not appreciate loud levels.

Final important notice: In the UK it can be considered an offence to drive with your music too loud as you cannot hear other cars, especially emergency vehicles.

[
greek:

that is a pretty good idea, but in the past when mounting amps on the back, sides and tops of sub boxes, is quite often the huge magnetic field surround the magnet on the subs can create noise within the amps internal power supply and give an awful 'alternator' type whine which will feed back into the cars power system and into the head unit.

It's because of the way the power systems are made within the amps, i could go into more details but its simpler to leave it as is.

May i also suggest that if you are going to put subs in your saloon/sedan, that you buy some 'dynamat' or 'brown bread'. The claims they have are actually true would you believe it.
]

worth noting:

I had big problems with rattling of my car (2x2000w subs in the boot ahem) stuck a few layers of that on (ok it weighs a ton now) but its stopped the rattling AND your bass doesnt travel 3 miles ahead of you when driving through houses and towns etc...

Not a good time of year to post pics of my ride.

Its pollen season here in Atlanta, GA. Not sure if you ever heard about it but its quite unbelievable. Pollen covers everything! The pollen-count gets to around 4-5k. I think anything over like 150 is considered bad.

No sense washing your car during this time as it will be covered again within an hour. Heck, I don't even roll my windows down this time of year.

Thanks for the info on the gain lvl's SykO. Exactly what I need to know. Think I'm gonna stop by an audio shop over the weekend to see what they recommend regarding sub box construction and what we have been discussing here (recessed on trunk mini-shelf).

cool. I have a few pics of the box i made through construction then you are welcome to have them. just pm me with your email and i will send them over for you.

be aware though, it will be mox expensive for them to custom make the box than yourself. they will charge consultation and will want the car for a day or two to get dimensions and test fitting etc...

Matt

Howdy guys,

Found the perfect sub box to fit up against the back seat in the boot (err. trunk - dam UK slang).

Speaker Box

This thing is going to fit like a glove per the measurements I took yesterday. The internal cubic feet is a bit small (.65 cf per speaker) but picked up a bag of Poly-fill to help out with that. Infinity also recommends using very small sealed enclosures for the subs I ordered.

Got everything ordered now (I think anyway). Was able to find a sweet universal double-din mounting kit. Going to let someone else do the actual installation. I don't have the time / tools / know-how.

Will definitely be doing some before and after pics for ya guys.

sweet. That was probably my problem with finding a box, i had 2 12 inch subs and the dual 12 boxes were huge and wouldnt fit. I am not too sure wether i will put subs in my 940 as i am stripping it out heh heh

will try and get pics of mine posted for you!

Matt

Added some pics to the garage of my ride. Includes rear speaker box fitting.

http://www.volvo-forums.com/1996-Volvo-960...item-cid656.htm

nicely done ... that looks ridiculously small in the boot there ... my one is huge - about 1.1cuFt volume after sub displacement which is roughly the recommended for a 12inch sub (of course with internal dimensions and including space taken up by bracing)

sounding good????

just out of curiosity ... how have you secured that in? accelerate too fast (my fault) and it flies back into the front of the boot ..?

Matt