I just bought a '96 850 wagon, and I'm not too pleased with the SC-815+speakers sound quality, compared to my wife's '99 V70 with the SC-816+speakers.

If I upgrade from the SC-815 to the SC-816, will my wagon sound like my wife's?
What about the speakers -- anyone know what the differences are in speakers between our two wagons?

Thanks,
Kevin

Does anyone know the pinouts for the sc816? So that I may attach an external amp? Also, is their some internal crossover in the sc816? or external? Also, is there an external amp?

Thanks,

Lawren

ur 850..
sc815...4x20 watts unless u have an r wagon
the following are pairs..
dash tweeter 1"
front door component midrange/bass 5-1/4" (altho many aftermarket 5-1/4" don't fit on not all but some cars)
rear door coaxial 5-1/4"
tailgate pillar tweeter 1"
the speakers are kinda odd shaped...
u should also have acs (active sound control), which helps keep sound level properly at different speeds

sc816...4x25 watts
now, i don't know about the actual speaker sizes of the v70, but the sc816 is similar to the sc815...
and the speaker sizes are much larger for the front door. it is a wide 7" so u can fit a very large speaker up front. i think the other positions are similar to the 850.


not much is that different. maybe the old speakers are just worn out...plus i'm sure the v70 is probably a little more quiet than the 850... i don't think the front speaker from the v70 would fit the 850, others maybe... also, the sc816 is probably in a different shade of grey than the sc815, so it wouldn't properly fit the interior color of the 850. if u wish to replace just the speaker, there are many good aftermarket speakers that are reasonable in price... switch out the doors and see if u find any difference... the front door is kinda shallow on some cars, so look for 5-1/4" with shallow magnets (like infinity's reference shallow 5-1/4" speakers) or 4" speakers to fit in the front door under the stock grill. the rear door speaker can be probably replaced with a 5-1/4" and still fit under the stock grill, there are adapters for the 5-1/4" (since it is more like a 6-1/2" opening) that should be able to help u fit it under the stock grill...just be sure to protect the back side of the magnet cause some water may come thru into the panel (which is why if u take a look at the rear door speaker there is a plastic shield over the top side of the speaker)..


good luck... that's just a simple plug n play... if u wish to have a more extensive upgrade, that's another story...

...the sc816 is probably in a different shade of grey than the sc815...

I have an SC816 that I purchased for my 850 that was in the black color instead of the off-grey color used in the 70-series. Volvo made the SC816 in black as a replacement/upgrade for the 850 series.

I couldn't tell a difference in sound when I upgraded my SC811 (AM/FM/Cassette) to the CD-player system.

Thanks very much for the info.

Ok, for now I'll keep the SC-815 (my stock head unit) and upgrade the speakers. Weird thing... of my stock Volvo speakers, the dash and one of the door speakers are 8ohm, while the other door speaker is 4ohm. Does anyone know why there's a mix of 4/8ohm speakers on my car? Does that indicate the presence of an external amp (off the head unit) for the 8ohm speakers? I called a local reputable car stereo shop, and they told me I will be pressed to find 8ohm speakers for a car... Can anyone help me out? Thanks. -Kevin

yeah, one of the speaker pairs is 4 ohm while the other 3 pairs are 8 ohm, can't remember if that one is the front door or rear door... there is no external amp for most cars except the t5r and r models.. a quick check behind the headunit should tell u the story. look behind the headunit on the driver's side, there should be a 6-pin female receptor behind with "amp" above it... if u have a cable, there is an external amp somewhere in the car... if not, no external amp.

if u wish for a simple replacement, don't be too worried about the odd ohm numbering...it hasn't affected that many people on other forums..

If you have more speakers than you have channels, there will be pairs of 8-ohm speakers in parallel on channels which are designed to put out 4 ohms. Check the search function at the lower right for, e.g., " 8 ohm speakers". whatever you do, get the wiring diagrams for your car before you start replacing things. There may be places where you need to put in component speakers with a crossover, rather than full-range 4-ohm speakers.
E.g., my S70 had the rear doors and rear deck speakers in 8-ohm pairs; 4 speakers on two channels as it came from the factory. A total of 8 speakers on 6 channels off the head unit. It took some studying the wiring diagrams to decide how I wanted to do the rewire and speaker replacement; wound up with two 4-channel amps.
--
We have met the enemy and they is us. [Pogo] S70 T5 cop car : Rough Rider tires& suspension, Walmart fog lights, eBay speakers, ambiance by Pall Mall, trim by Le Duc d'Tape, 8-channel THD by OEM amps

I listened to the sound system in the 850R prior to buying the S70 T5. The sound was about the same. Neither one had the premium sound system. According to the specs, the 25 wpc is at 10% distortion for the standard stereo with the cass/CD player.

I biggest improvement you can make is speakers then amp. The head unit is pretty good.

I blew one of the rear deck speakers in my S70. Since I didn't like the sound of the system anyway, I'm replacing all the speakers & head unit with a high-end aftermarket system with cd-changer head unit, amps, component speakers & subs. The custom installation will take me about 30 hours to do.