Bad Stereo In A Wonderful Car!

[vondy21]

Just got a 98 SC 300. Love it! Great car!

But the Premium stereo sucks and not sure what to do.

I dont want to change the head unit, not sure if I even can?

I do want to change the speakers... no problem.

But can I add an aftermarket amp? Is there a RCA problem to get around?

Also my CD-R's will hardly play in the changer.

Anyone have any luck with this or do I need to get the Nakamichi to get a good one?

Please if anyone has done any of this and has any idea... let me know.

My stereo is very important and I hate to be stuck with a crappy one in a wonderful car.

Thanks!!!!!!

David :D

[AWJ]

I don't see anything wrong with the sound system but maybe you got a dud. There is a link in the faq to the SC sound system. You can change the head unit. You can add an aftermarket amp. There is an RCA issue depending on what you want to do. You can use an aftermarket amp to run an aftermarket sub in the stock location with the stock head - or otherwise - but there are obstacles. I'm not up on exactly what they are. I don't have any problems with cd-r's. Maybe the player needs a cleaning. I don't think it is related to nak or pioneer systems. Wish I could give more but sounds are not my big game. I've only played around a little with stuff people already hooked up. Never actually dove in and did an install. I'm good at pulling speakers and heads and stuff :o . Maybe someone else here has some input or you can hit up the audio/video/electronics forum for some more input.

[vondy21]

The sound is just dull... you turn it up and it gets distorted. The cd's cut in and out. I wonder if the changer is screwed? I'm good at stereo work... but just not sure what to do about the RCA problems. Being that the stock amp does not use RCA as aftermarket does.

Thanks for your help.

[AWJ]

I see. I really didn't help too much. Others have found that a CD player cleaner kit does help with the skipping though. As far as distortion, you'll need to swap hardware.

Check out that link in the faq though:

SC stereo hack - courtesy of microbyte

[sc394]

I installed two two Pioneer twelves 450w each. An off brand amp my buddy gave me that runs 500w. The stereo shop had to remove the Free air subwoofer in the back deck to create a point of entry for the sound. It also required a standard hi-to-low converter. It hits hard but I liked my factory stero a little better.