I picked up an SC-901 head unit at the pick and pull Saturday and was wondering if the Dolby Pro Logic Surround Sound uses a separate amp or does the center speaker plug directly into the radio? Thanks.

the stock no frills speakers are okay in your car if you get an aftermarket deck to drive them. I prefer Alpine but that is just me, its clean power without the silly "look at me I am an aftermarket stereo" lights that you find in the likes from JVC and Sony. Add a powered sub to the trunk driven off the deck pre-outs and you got a nice setup. Hi-pass the speakers at 100 Hz off the deck (alpine) and get one of those Infinity bass link setups and you will likely be much happier. Your problem will be if you send too much power to the stock no frills speakers, especially ones that have likely seen years of use and have tired surrounds.......the main reason I suggest the above. The premium audio packages from Volvo found in the 850s had Dynaudio speakers I believe.... which are damn good, its really too bad the newer Volvos dont offer Dynaudio (probably a Geely Holdings idea).

good deck from crutchfield with the Volvo wire kit and pocket for the dual din space - $199 with no tax or shipping - most have ipod interfaces as standard feature.

Basslink and 8 gauge power kit - maybe 250 or so....easy to install yourself.

I know you have a V70 but a few years back I dropped a modest but clean setup in a 98 S70. It sounded SOOOOOOOO Good I still miss it. The back decks of S70's have coaxial 8 inch drivers which do benefit from clean power and well.....yeah the car was well balanced and cranked.

Steve

The SC815/SC816 or similar radios have a built in amplifier (4 x 25W) that runs the LF.RF.LR.RR speakers.

The SC901 has no internal amplifier for the regular LF/RF/LR/RR speakers. It requires a separate amp which can either be mounted either behind the radio (in front of the heater core) or under the passenger seat (depending on the model of the amp). The SC901 DOES have an internal 25W amplifier for the center speaker.

The center channel speaker plugs directly into the SC901 head unit. There's a green connector on the back of the radio. I'm not sure that the center speaker will be functional unless you have the additional Dolby decoder added to the SC901 unit. I've never tried it personally.


You'll like this link if you haven't seen it already ...

http://macg.net/moto/doc/sc901-manual/index.html


My personal setup is the SC901, Dolby decoder, 4 x 50W amp behind the radio and the 6CD glove box changer. I do not have the center speaker setup, but the Dolby decoder does add some effects to the sound even without the center speaker. I'm very happy with the setup.


I do have a 4 x 40W amplifier available that I had attached to my SC816 radio. It will work fine with the SC901. Let me know if you have an interest in that.

Thanks for the help. So far I'm struggling with getting the anti-theft code. I've made two trips to the dealer with the 901 in hand but they can't get me the correct code. I'm going back to the bone yard to get the VIN, the amp, and the decoder.

I hadn't planned on installing an amp. I'm surprised that all of my connections plug right into the 901, if it requires an amp. It seems they would use different connections. Is the decoder installed behind the radio too?

I'm sure I'll have more questions after my trip to the yard. Thanks again.

Hopefully the VIN will help you with the code!

You will absolutely need an amp. You're right that the connectors match, but there will be no sound without the amp. I guess they had to stuff so much into the SC901 radio that something had to be left out.

What is this SC901 coming out of?

The C70's generally had the amp in the left side of the trunk. Making those amps work in a S70 or V70 is possible but requires some rewiring.

If the SC901 is from an S70 or V70 - the amp should be under the passenger seat and the Dolby decoder is behind the dash. Make sure you get the wiring harness for the amp since they are no longer available from Volvo.

The 850 series and T5 70 series cars with something other than the SC901 originally would have the amp behind the radio.

The Dolby decoder was always installed behind the radio.

Regardless of what is behind the radio, get that mounting bracket too! Another part that is no longer available from Volvo.

More light reading ...

http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30204


My setup features an amp from a 850R so it mounts behind the radio. I have the Dolby decoder shoehorned into the area to the left of the glove box liner. There are no issues doing this if you can't find the proper underseat amp.

Thanks again for all your help. The 901 was sitting in the front seat of a C70 at the pick n pull. I knew it could be a good addition to my V70 but didn't know to get the amp and decoder. I'll go back and see what I can find.

I'm not sure I'm up to all the rewiring and retrofitting necessary to completing the job. How hard is it to pull the harnesses? Do I have to dissemble the whole car to get them out?

How much trouble is it to just add an amp to my 816?

The decoder comes with its own non-detachable wiring harness. To get it out you will need to remove the knee bolsters from the dash and the plastic panels that are behind the carpet that runs up the center hump to get access to the bolts on either side that attach the decoder bracket to the center hump.

I've never removed an amplifier from a C70. I personally think its easier to source a used amp from a S70/V70/850 series (preferably the under seat model) which would be plug and play ... rather than messing with the wiring changes needed to make a C70 amp work.

Its a pretty easy task to add an amp to the SC816. The under seat one is little easier to install, but the one behind the radio would be no more than an hour or so to install.

I got the correct anti-theft code (the parts guy must be dyslexic, as he transposed a couple of numbers) and unlocked the SC-901, but I have no way to test it to see if it works.

I went back to the C70 at the pick and pull and tried to remove the wiring harness but didn't have the right tools. As you know, the C70 4x100 amp is in the trunk and huge. I guess I'd rather have an amp that will fit under the seat or behind the HU. There are a couple out of T5Rs w/cables on ebay for $85.

I have a 4 x 40W amp complete with harness and bracket that fits behind the head unit from a 1996 850 Platinum edition. It's just like the 4 x 50W unit that you're seeing on eBay, just 10W less per channel. I picked it up when I bought my SC901 setup, but I had purchased another amp previously. Thus, it sits in the basement.

I can send pictures if you're interested. I'm looking for $80 shipped. Let me know.