Great way to get music in an old car without butchering if it works good. Anyone use this exact one? How is it? Be specific. THX
don't know anything about that set up but a friend of mine put one in has mustang i restored, didn't last that long. maybe 8 mos. bought another and in less than a year it went south too. so as far as i'm concerned with the dealings i've been associated with i wouldn't put one on a radio flyer wagon. total junk you want my opinion.
You'd be better off to spend 100 bucks on Amazon and buy a Cambridge sound Ootz portable speaker. I had a similar set up to what your showing.. Like the portability of the Cambridge speaker...holds a charge for 10 hours and plenty loud for cruising in my drop top.. Has Bluetooth...best 100 bucks I ever spent
I have had the Custom Auto Sound in my 40 for several years. It is not the one you show, but it has been just fine.
just my .02 , wasted my money on a complete setup from them yrs ago and the sound sucked . sounded worse then the am radio in my parent's wagon when i was a kid. check out retrosound for better sounding audio
Custom Autosound doesn't have a good reputation... Try Retrosound. No CD players available (it's a now-dead technology) but they offer Bluetooth, USB, and smart phone connectivity. They have several 'vintage' style faceplates available and various knob options, as well as 'custom fit' setups for popular cars. If you have limited space behind your dash, they have the option of separating the face/controls and the main electronics.
Easiest way for tunes in your ride is an IPOD and a Blue Tooth wireless portable speaker. No wires, no butchering. Thousands of tunes of your choice. I use a $100 JBL speaker which has a great sound quality. Go to a big box store and check out the quality of Blue Tooth wireless speakers. This set up is totally portable. It can be used in your car, garage, house, beach, anywhere.
.. No CD players available (it's a now-dead technology) but they offer Bluetooth, USB, and smart phone connectivity. Agree 100% but its kind of funny saynig dead technology on a Trad. Hot Rod site. Hell everything on here is a dead technology.
I see bluetooth spkrs on ebay for $14. How can that possibly sound good in an older, noisier car? How does the $100 JBL spkr factor in w/the bluetooth thing? Why only 1 spkr? What's a big box store? Ah, so many questions
Ithought I looked at the retrosound website. Their listing doesnt even start until 1940 and they have nothing for 40. They have nothing for 1950. I would like to find something better than AutoCustomSound but retrosound doesnt look good for traditional hotrods
Groucho those bucket looking speakers are actually pretty small. They are designed for motorcycles and boats. My 100 option is even better than the jbl...I compared the 2 and the oontz was louder and sound clearer...mind you...you won't be blowing bass rap with any of these...but for some good music I love mine...and I roll in a Sunliner with smittys and straight pipes and a old f100 with no carpeting and straigh pipes with very small mufflers...I like my cars to sound like speed boats..
I'm still at a loss with some of the incomplete responses here. Is there an amp to drive these wireless speakers? Is it built in? What are you using for the head unit? Pictures? The wireless spkrs go from $14 past $100, so which ONE are you guys liking?? With all the smart phones out there I'd thought there'd be pictures to go with all the alternate suggestions(?)
Also, if any of these things are what I'm hearing blare on motorcycles please tell me so I can steer clear. Every one I've heard so far sounds like ass
For the wireless systems you need a MP3, ipod or smart phone that is bluetooth compatible as the music source. The music source then transfers the music to the speaker device via the bluetooth technology. Yes the speaker units are a self contained unit as far as the amp is concerned. Can't comment on the motorcycle thing but nothing is going to sound good as it blasts past you blaring out into the open.
If the wireless has a built in amp, where's it's power source? How can I tell if my MP3's bluetooth compatable? THX
Groucho... if you want quality sound, you are going to have to use a component system (head unit or auxiliary source with an amp of some sort) with full size wired speakers, if you want decent sound you can use a self powered portable speaker (like a JBL, Bose, Beats which you can get at best buy or the like) which you can bluetooth off of your phone or other portable music player, OR you can use a small audio cable and plug into it if so equipped. but the richenss of sound will be less. plus you gotta figger a way to keep the speaker charged (you can keep it charged at home, or plugged into an auxiliary 12v power port with a USB adapter, some run un alkaline batteries) and where to put it..
As Altered stated they are usually rechargeable battery operated. For the bluetooh the easiest would probably be to see if you can find a online maual and look it up other than that it would be in one of the settings on your player as it is a function that can be turned on and off.
The major difference between Custom Autosound and Retrosound (besides the quality of their gear) is the Retrosound head units can be configured to fit a wider range. While the Custom Autosound head unit has some 'adjustment' in the width of the unit shafts, you're stuck with the basic design/layout. The Retrosound unit can be broken apart into four separate parts; the faceplate/display, the main electronics/amplifier, and the two shaft assemblies. These are connected by plug-in cables (with optional longer cables available) that allow mounting the various parts almost anywhere. No depth behind the dash? Mount just the faceplate, move the amp to where you have room. Need both of the control knobs on one side or above/below the display? No problem. Retrosound doesn't offer as many 'factory' faceplate trims as Custom Autosound, but some creativity can get around that. There's also these guys; http://www.radiosforoldcars.com/newradio0F.htm. They offer true custom fit radios for select cars, with full factory appearance, but they're not cheap; $600 and up.... There's still some vehicles that nobody offers a new radio for; 40-48 Fords, 50-51 Mercs, I'm sure there's others. There are several companies that will install new electronics into your vintage radio, but again, it's not cheap... and you have to furnish the radio. As far as sound quality, you'll pretty much get what you pay for. Small cheap speakers will generally sound, well, small and cheap. Personally, I would never buy any speaker I haven't heard.
Try this: http://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/retrosound_radio.html I have Retrosound in my '55 Chev 3100 & '70 Chevelle convertible - looks factory & they have great Tech help , low prices & free shipping. I'll order another for my '56 Chev 3100 soon.
Groucho, the JBL Flip2 speaker goes for $100 and the sound is great. I wouldn't expect the same quality from a $14 speaker. What I meant by a big box store is a Best Buy or something similar. The IPOD has its own power source as does the JBL speaker. You can also use a Blue Tooth cell phone as a music source. You'd be amazed by the sound quality of the JBL Flip 2 speaker. Check it out.
If my MP3's not bluetooth can I plug it into that speaker on the seat of my 57 truck and expect it to sound good? I think I read somewhere it doesn't sound as good as wireless (makes no sense), and how long's the spkr batt's charge last at higher volumes? THX
Use an aux cord....and yes those bullet speakers sound just Ike want you hear on a motorcycle....my 100 oontz speaker is loud enough my kids tell me to turn it down cause they are embarrassed by my music choices
Groucho what car do you plan on putting tunes into? I like good clean high quality audio in the right car. Universal head units are really inexpensive. In a wagon I sold last year I kept the original radio in the hole, put a Kenwood head unit tucked back as far as possible under the dash. It was blue tooth and iphone compatible so I could stream my music or Pandora (I didnt use the CD player and it had a nice remote). I put a Kenwood 5 channel 1200W amp under the seat, four Rockford Fosgate component speakers and a 12 inch sub. The 1200W 5 channel amp was pretty small. You could opt to use a 3 channel amp, and a powered component subwoofer to save space as well. The system above was great in a 62 Wagon which is a large space to fill with sound. I yanked an early Secret Audio out of the car when I got it. I had heard of people disatisfied with there product, I think mine was poor installation (pinched wires)
What's in the SRMS Box?Wireless LCD RF remote - RF reciever/transmitter - LCD holder - LCD charger (cig. lighter adapter) - iPod docking cable (7') - USB port on 12" lead from the back of black box - tuner/amp (black box) - 4 channel line out - subwoofer line out - Aux in (RCA) - CD input (for 6 disc changer or CD1 single disc player) This is the Custom Auto Sound setup I have. It is excellent. I have a friend using the similar setup that has the little round controller and he is very pleased with his. I did have an earlier CAS sytem [15 years ago] that was not very good quality. This one is. I would buy another. I have an antenna for am/fm, an antenna for Sirius XM, and a thumbdrive with all my favorites on it. I know that this is not current tech, but neither am I. It provides me with great entertainment on cross country drives in my 40.
i got a JBL portable speaker for $100 on sale at best buy. it gets plenty loud and sounds pretty good unless you really like a lot of low end richness. i usually have it on my bench or cart at the shop and i can hear it out on the street at half volume. the speaker is said to go 12 hours on a full charge. i connect mine with an analog audio cable. to get the max out of it, i can connect the speaker to my car's 12v socket with a standard charging adapter and then use my phone's USB cable to keep the phone charged as i'm using them. you can spend like $300 bucks for a big one by Beats or Bose and i think JBL might make one too. they have one that looks like a small marshall amp. the bigger they get, the louder they get and the more bass response you get. i'm quite happy with my JBL.
The Oontz XL - Cambridge SoundWorks Most Powerful Portable, Wireless, Bluetooth Speaker 100 bucks on Amazon....nothing to hook up...charge it, you phone, I pod, run it Bluetooth, or with an aux cord...simple, easy solution
57 GMC truck......but any old car from this point forward that I'm not planning to keep long enough to install something permanent if I find something I like
Just finished putting together sound system in my '41 PU project. Found lots of room under seat riser and saved glovebox space for more traditional storage (junk). Mounted Kenwood head unit with remote for radio, Ipod, Iphone, or Pandora listening, a couple of Rockford Fosgate speakers in kick panels, a small 2 channel, 200W amp. Whip antenna hidden in cab corner. Very pleased with sound quality. All for about $200.
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