I have a pioneer DEH 6700 or 6800, with the OEL display, mp3, 50wx4, all the goodies... Much improvement over stock, Then I put rockford fosgate 6x9s in the rear deck, cut rockford fosgate 6.5 powers into the front doors and put kenwood tweeters in the dash to replace the stockers.. Put a pair of cheap rockford subs (10'') in the back with an older power acoustic amp, and my stereo rocks out. It works really well for the music I listen too, but I think I am going to replace the 2 10s with elemental designs subs.

I have a Coustic RX-782 Tape player head unit. Stock 6X9's with DHD 6 1/2's in the doors (well as soon as I cut adapters) My stereo is low budget It was entirely free. We went and pulled the head unit out of a car at a junk yard and the speakers were free.

Still have the stock unit. It's up in an attic along with all the other parts of my car. All I need from it is measurements so I can make an adapter. Prolly will put an M-80 in it when I'm done....

Well, just picked up a Panasonic CQ-C1100U today from a pawn shop. Not top of the line, but it's a step up from the Coustic. Yes, it does work, and works great. Going to be purchasing some other stuff there soon from the same pawn shop. Lots of good car audio shit there.

yea pawn shops are good with audio equipment. I bought a Kenwood receiver and 5.1 surround sound for my room for $65 about a year ago, still works like new. Whoever pawned it must have been real desperate well, either that or its stolen.

Well when druggies need their fix and they are out of cash they pull their stereo's and pawn them. Then we buy them for half the price of new. It's a win-win situation.

Yes, this is what I have done with my Intrigue.
Saw no need in replacing the double DIN Bose stereo, with CD, Cassette, and 12 CD Changer. I bought a PAC OEM-1, which simply plugs inbetween the stock radio harness and the radio, giving you two pairs of RCA preouts and a remote wire for turning the amps on.

Today, I actually just relocated it, was getting some noise from the other electronics in the car. Just played around with it until the noise went away. Sounds GREAT now!

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Brando

How much did that Panasonic CQ-C1100U cost you?

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Brando

Like $30-40 I think. Like $85 retail, so not too bad. There was a Kenwood I woulda bought but the fucker kept skipping every second or so playing a CD. I'm sure it isn't the best head unit out there, but its better then my AM/FM!

I still have the original delco am/fm tape player in my '92 delta. The receiver died a few years ago which doesn't matter much as I use an mp3 player with a tape-adapter, but think I'm about ready to slap something new in.

I'd like something simple with radio and an audio-in jack for external audio devices but I don't know the first step towards selecting a replacement. I don't know if there are any generally important or obvious things that I need to consider (speaker limitations, connectors, quirks, compatibility, watts, etc?) with my Olds.

Is there a decent guide for this kind of thing or should I just chat with someone at a stereo shop?

No matter what aftermarket headunit you decide to go with, you are going to need a GM installation kit, a GM wiring harness, and an antenna adapter. Since you mentioned that you listen to an mp3 player, I suggest the Dual XDMR7700. It is the only deck that I have come across that comes with an mp3 jack included with the deck. Otherwise you are going to have to get a mp3 adapter.
Stereo shops usually stock higher end products. I suggest you go to your local Best Buy or Circuit City, and talk to someone in the car audio section. They will know what to tell you as far as wattages and such. Let them know what you need, and don't let them try to talk you into something else. You could also try Wal-Mart. There is noone trained specifically in car stereos to answer detailed questions, so you'd have to read the product cards to get the information you need.
Hope that helps.

In my experience, they call it dual, cuz you will end up buying it twice. It may come with an adapter, but I would much rather buy a good head unit, and foot the bill for the adapter.

Andrew

They may not be as good a deck as others, but it has what he wants. I dont think he is looking to spend alot of money, just a deck thats a little better than his factory.

Thank you both for your input, I at least have a place to start now. The Dual XDMR7700 seems pretty decent for the price. All I really want is a radio again and a way to use my mp3 player without a tape adapter so this is a possibility. It is a bit gaudy for my taste though but I'm looking more towards function than form in this case.

I assume when you say adapter you are referring to something like this. Something like that might work for me too if I come across something more simple and rugged than the Dual XD....

I'll spend more time familiarizing myself with the ins and outs of car stereo wizardry before making a final choice. Again, you were both a big help, thanks.

And that is why they are sucessful. Nothing wrong with that at all. So long as it does what you need it to, it can say "fubar2000" on it!!

Andrew

What kind of MP3 player is it? Is it an iPod?

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Brando