i changed mine to a pioneer 9400 series (current top line model) from circuit city, 50w x 4 channels, pulls in radio signals very strongly and comes with a steering wheel remote. hooked up to a 6 disc changer. you may try and go for an alpine with a cassette player and a changer hook up so you have both cassette and cd changer. they have wiring harness adapters for the volvo

I wasn't very happy with my factory unit. I had the unit without CD and wanted that. So I replaced the factory stereo in my car with an aftermarket one and kept the factory speakers. After the installation of the aftermarket stereo, I found that the sound was worst than the factory stereo unit. No bass at all. I thought what ...? Then I realized that the factory stereo was tuned to the factory speakers (and or vice versa). I ended up changing all my speakers and adding an amplifier to boot.

Moral of the story: changing one link in the chain changes the strength of the whole chain. In other words, if you change to aftermarket radio, be prepared to put a lot more money into changing the whole system. If I had to do it again, I would have just added an Alpine Changer to my factory. So in your case, I would go for the factory refurbished and Alpine unless you are willing to drop $1500 for an overhaul. My $.02 for what it's worth.

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98 V70 AWD, IPD ECU, 'R' Emblem, K&N, Volvo Strut Bar, Dunlop SP5000, IPD Sport Spring