Audio ??
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 193
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I had the factory "premium-6 speaker-CD-Tape-100 Watt" thingy in my car too. I had a problem with it the first day I got the car. When they were working on it I asked them if the amp was built in the radio or somewhere else in the car. (Had plans for upgrading if it was elsewhere) I was told by my dealership that it was built into the radio.
-----I'm assuming the radio on the Tibs is similar to yours?------- rolleyes.gif
-----I'm assuming the radio on the Tibs is similar to yours?------- rolleyes.gif
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 625
Likes: 0
Aw come on!
Isn't anyone else willing to yank a signal level input from the internals of the stock deck? It's not even that hard to do, and you can probably upgrade the op-amps and DSP chips while you're in there! With a littel bit of creativity, you could even make balanced outputs, using regulators on the amplifier voltage rails.
I know it's a radical idea, but it does make a gorgeous stealth install!
Isn't anyone else willing to yank a signal level input from the internals of the stock deck? It's not even that hard to do, and you can probably upgrade the op-amps and DSP chips while you're in there! With a littel bit of creativity, you could even make balanced outputs, using regulators on the amplifier voltage rails.
I know it's a radical idea, but it does make a gorgeous stealth install!
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Posts: n/a
QUOTE
Originally posted by Dan:
Aw come on!
Isn't anyone else willing to yank a signal level input from the internals of the stock deck? It's not even that hard to do, and you can probably upgrade the op-amps and DSP chips while you're in there! With a littel bit of creativity, you could even make balanced outputs, using regulators on the amplifier voltage rails.
I know it's a radical idea, but it does make a gorgeous stealth install!
Aw come on!
Isn't anyone else willing to yank a signal level input from the internals of the stock deck? It's not even that hard to do, and you can probably upgrade the op-amps and DSP chips while you're in there! With a littel bit of creativity, you could even make balanced outputs, using regulators on the amplifier voltage rails.
I know it's a radical idea, but it does make a gorgeous stealth install!
I tell ya what If you were here, (I'm not that good with electronics (PC Boards and soldering small a$$ parts) I'd have you do it for me. That stealth install sounds really cool. If you got a scematic or instructions on how to do it, if you say its easy then I'll look and maybe give it a try. Just email them to me or PM me with them. Or just post them here f someone else is interested in doing the same thing. Thanks for the Idea.
[ September 13, 2001: Message edited by: hawaiibullrider ]
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 625
Likes: 0
I posted the idea some time ago in this forum.
unfortunately since it's always a bit different with each radio, you do need more than a passing knowledge of electronics in order to be able to do this yourself. I suppose that I should qualify that as "It's easy if you know what you're looking for."
The trick is to identify the actual amplifier section of the radio, and identify where the inputs are. I have a stock Toyota CD player (from a 1994 Paseo) that I've done this to, with a Linkwitz-Riley aligned 3 way crossover built-in, now.
Once you've identified th inputs and ground, you can simply tap into these wires, and connect them to RCA jacks. It is important for the proper opeartion of the radio at that point that you disconnect the inputs from the amplifier circuits.
If you want to be able to use internal power, and you have the know-how, you can use a couple of op-amps as buffer circuits, and direct the output of that to the RCA jacks. you need to use buffer circuits if you want to be able to still use the deck power! eek.gif
If you have a schematic for other signal processors (like for example a 3 way active crossover) you can tap your power from the amplifier power rails, and use voltage regulators to get to a 15-0-15 power supply (there is probably also a 15-0-15 power supply already on-board, but the amplifier power supply is easier to locate. A 7815 and 7915 voltage regulator will work just fine, here.
I tend to use inexpensive TL-07x op-amps for most of my projects, but whre it counts, I'll use burr-brown op-amps which have truely superb frequency and distortion characteristics.
I think that this is doable by electronics hobbyists, who can locate circuits, and have a decent understanding of basic audio circuits. It is important to obtain your signal RIGHT BEFORE the amplifier, and after such controls as balance, fader, volume, etc.
If you are new to electronics, this is something that you can try, provided that you have a deck that you can experiment on, and isn't too big a deal if it doesn't work afterwards. I GUARANTEE that you are voiding any warranty that you have when you do this, so you should have some idea of what's going on when you try it.
Now. That's what's HARD about it. Let me tell you of the benefits! You don't have to buy an afternarket deck. The total cost (provided you do it right the first time) is under $50 (And that was including the Linkwitz-Riley crossover!) and you get a deck that has a full-featured crossover, subwoofer, mid-bass and high level output (I could have gone 4 way, had I chosen to) I also have balanced outputs in that deck, for extremely good noise rejection. The deck still looks factory, and the speakers are completely hidden from the outside. The car looks absolutely stock, inside and out, but has excellent sound, and enough amplifier power to really shake the neighborhood. As long as someone hasn't heard the subwoofers, they have no reason to suspect that the car's audio system is not stock. It holds its own sound quality wise with some of the best aftermarket decks, but is not a theft target.
So is it worthwhile? I think so, in some circumstances. My own sound system uses an aftermarket deck, and not a modified factory one -- That was the decision that I made. I've modified factory radios in 2 Toyotas, a Nissan, a Chrysler, and a Ford Taurus (with the TERRIBLE oval radio) with great success. But I'll warn you, I ruined 2 radios learning just how to do it. Both were (or I wouldn't have tried) expendable.
Line level converters are safer, but it won't sound NEAR as clean as doing it "right."
[ September 13, 2001: Message edited by: Dan ]
unfortunately since it's always a bit different with each radio, you do need more than a passing knowledge of electronics in order to be able to do this yourself. I suppose that I should qualify that as "It's easy if you know what you're looking for."
The trick is to identify the actual amplifier section of the radio, and identify where the inputs are. I have a stock Toyota CD player (from a 1994 Paseo) that I've done this to, with a Linkwitz-Riley aligned 3 way crossover built-in, now.
Once you've identified th inputs and ground, you can simply tap into these wires, and connect them to RCA jacks. It is important for the proper opeartion of the radio at that point that you disconnect the inputs from the amplifier circuits.
If you want to be able to use internal power, and you have the know-how, you can use a couple of op-amps as buffer circuits, and direct the output of that to the RCA jacks. you need to use buffer circuits if you want to be able to still use the deck power! eek.gif
If you have a schematic for other signal processors (like for example a 3 way active crossover) you can tap your power from the amplifier power rails, and use voltage regulators to get to a 15-0-15 power supply (there is probably also a 15-0-15 power supply already on-board, but the amplifier power supply is easier to locate. A 7815 and 7915 voltage regulator will work just fine, here.
I tend to use inexpensive TL-07x op-amps for most of my projects, but whre it counts, I'll use burr-brown op-amps which have truely superb frequency and distortion characteristics.
I think that this is doable by electronics hobbyists, who can locate circuits, and have a decent understanding of basic audio circuits. It is important to obtain your signal RIGHT BEFORE the amplifier, and after such controls as balance, fader, volume, etc.
If you are new to electronics, this is something that you can try, provided that you have a deck that you can experiment on, and isn't too big a deal if it doesn't work afterwards. I GUARANTEE that you are voiding any warranty that you have when you do this, so you should have some idea of what's going on when you try it.
Now. That's what's HARD about it. Let me tell you of the benefits! You don't have to buy an afternarket deck. The total cost (provided you do it right the first time) is under $50 (And that was including the Linkwitz-Riley crossover!) and you get a deck that has a full-featured crossover, subwoofer, mid-bass and high level output (I could have gone 4 way, had I chosen to) I also have balanced outputs in that deck, for extremely good noise rejection. The deck still looks factory, and the speakers are completely hidden from the outside. The car looks absolutely stock, inside and out, but has excellent sound, and enough amplifier power to really shake the neighborhood. As long as someone hasn't heard the subwoofers, they have no reason to suspect that the car's audio system is not stock. It holds its own sound quality wise with some of the best aftermarket decks, but is not a theft target.
So is it worthwhile? I think so, in some circumstances. My own sound system uses an aftermarket deck, and not a modified factory one -- That was the decision that I made. I've modified factory radios in 2 Toyotas, a Nissan, a Chrysler, and a Ford Taurus (with the TERRIBLE oval radio) with great success. But I'll warn you, I ruined 2 radios learning just how to do it. Both were (or I wouldn't have tried) expendable.
Line level converters are safer, but it won't sound NEAR as clean as doing it "right."
[ September 13, 2001: Message edited by: Dan ]
