The '92 245 sound system is being replaced - failure of the tape player was the final motivator. Most likely will be replaced with a current Kenwood offering, and I don't anticipate problems with that part of the project. Speakers are where the crunch comes!

Having researched the Board back... way back... it seems a sure bet that the 5-inch OEM speakers in the front doors can be replaced with 5-1/4. I've been shopping on line and yesterday went out to listen, and I'm glad I did. I had briefly considered (as a fallback position relative to ease of installation and smallest dent in the credit card) some 4" Kenwood 1068s, but these were the worst-sounding speakers in the store. My ears fell in love with Boston Acoustic RX57s, so these are what I *really* need to get. What I need to know from those Bricksters who quite literally have "been there and done that" is what exactly do I need to do to mount the BA's in the front door? Coarse measurements suggest that if I can shift the speaker location forward about 1/4 inch I can use the BA grille; the Volvo 'hex' grille really looks too small for this speaker.

The other consideration is speakers for the rear doors. Someone (Greg Wong?)had mounted 6-1/2 inch speakers in the rear door, and I confess I haven't pulled the door panel yet to investigate, so I'm looking for some guidance as to where on the door such a beast might fit.

For now at least I'm trying to limit the whole project to $500, split about 45/55 between source (CD player) and speakers. A separate amp may come later if necessary and affordable. Some Brickster made the comment that nearly ANY aftermarket sound system (barring Kraco & Sparkomatic!) will be a major improvement over the OEM setup, so I'm looking forward to that. I do not anticipate adding speakers aft of the rear seat, i.e., no subwoofers anytime soon (maybe in the wife's 855, a much quieter platform to begin with). Comments and helpful suggestions are welcomed!

Unless you want it to be showy, I would really try to keep the stock grills, and put some black acousically transparent material between the grill and the speaker. With such great visibility of the speakers, being so high on the doors, to look "not stock" is to invite theift. The more you keep your car looking original, the less likley theifs are to pay attantion as they walk past it in the walmart parking lot while window shopping for free stereo gear. My 240 has about 1500 worth of stereo in it, and it is all very well hidden. Also, if your head unit is in the upper dash, move it to the lower. Its harder to see down there, and once again, especially with the face removed, may go un-noticed by theifs. Hiding bigger speakers on the rear deck is a little more difficult, but can be accomplished by getting material similar to the cloth on the rear deck, streaching it over the deck, to cover the holes, and bottom mounting the speakers.


Whatever you do, good luck and enjoy your new sound.

P.S. one dvc audiobahn sub pulling 400 watts rms from a us amp, a Blaupukt san jose mp3 playing head unit, and infinity kappa mids. Sup?

I've just fitted 5" pioneers to the front doors. These are about an inch bigger than the standard Volvo speakers. No metal work was required. I discarded the Volvo grilles and enlarged the mounting cutout in the door card slightly at the bottom and they went in without too much bother (and sound damn fine compared to the old items).

Regards,

big Rich.
--
'86 245, B230A. 161k. Old 200s never die, they just live on in other cars.

here is another view for you.

I have had very good luck with Pioneer. Their decks are very well put together in my opinion. I have a 4 year old Premier deck (1 year prior to MOSFET powered Pioneer decks) and it drives my 4" Alpine front speakers and 6x9" Pioneers really well. Good bass from those 6x9s.

The Pioneer deck would work even better for you since you dont want amps and the higher MOSFET power would benefit the Boston Acoustics speakers rather well.

A buddy of mine has mounted 6x9s in the rear doors of his 245. They are in the lower front portion of the door. Personally I would probably buy some decent 6x9s and put them in some kind of a box that points forward between the seat/seatbelt upper attachment. At least this was the initial plan with the 84.5 245Ti I used to drive.

If you have any major chains around there, they usually have good deals on decks. We got a Pioneer 6300 for $230 October of last year.

Total cost of my Stereo:
Pioneer Premier DEH-36 (4 years old): $170 (Car Toys $40 off, Pioneer $30 rebate)
Alpine 4" off ebay: $25 with shipping
Pioneer 6x9s: $80

it could probably benefit from a sub, but all that energy would be trapped in my trunk.

take care
hope this helps

Luke
82 242Ti 166k miles
84.5 245Ti 300k miles retired... due to condition :(

My experience has been with a '87 245, and I'm not sure what changes they made in-between. I suspect one change is the size of the front speaker - I put in some Boston Acoustics CX-4's, and was able to retain the stock grille. (i.e. changed the factory 4" for BA 4" speakers.) In the back, I custom made some panels, and put speakers in that triangular piece behind the rear doors, which was the location that the original stock 4" rear speakers had been installed in. I don't recall if they were 5.25" or 6" speakers that I fit back there; I'm pretty sure they were Kenwood. If I had to do it again, I would still use the same location, but the speakers I bought extended out a little too far, and got scraped/scratched every time the back seat was folded up or down.

The net result was significantly better than the four 4" volvo speakers, although not nearly as good as I would have done if there had been a really great location for some bigger speakers for more low end.

Roger

If you want to take advantage of the quality of Boston Acoustics you need an amp and a subwoofer. My friend has BAs and they as nice as they sound, the overally affect is lousy. He only gets mid and high range. Those drivers are not meant for bass output. When I went to Tweeter to listen to speakers, they trick you. They keep the amp and sub on in the room so the quality sounds great. You must ask for them to turn off the extras. Then you'll understand how it will sound in the Volvo.
--
'86 245 DL Volvo Blue/ Blue Vinyl M46

Actually, I *was* at Tweeter yesterday, and the sales guy (about half my age) to his credit did exactly what you suggest, without prompting from me. Hence I heard the RX57's (and others) driven only by the 22 +/- watt output of the Kenwood CD player he selected (comparable to what I'm getting). No amps, no subs.

I was satisfied (actually delighted) by what I heard. I appreciate your strong vote cast for the subwoofers, but life is full of compromises and living without subwoofers in the 245 is one I can accept. (If I didn't have 2 kids in private school I might feel differently... it's like buying 2 new cars every year.) Recognize that a decent sound source and way better speakers already will give sound quality an order of magnitude better than what I've been listening to for quite some time!

Hi Smitty,

I put a Pioneer cd player in my 240 DL, replaced the front speakers with a set of Rockford Fosgates that fit into the stock cut-outs. I was also able to use the original grilles. Then I went a little crazy and mounted a pair of Blaupunkt 6x9s in the rear deck. I had to cut some metal, but it's worth it. The result? - that baby cranks. I'm going to design and build custom door panels for the front doors to accomodate a pair of 6x9's in the next six months or so. I bought all my gear from www.crutchfield and am very happy with the results. Good Luck

Jim
88 240DL, original engine and over 393,000 (miles, not kilometers!)

Jim, what size RF's did you put in the front doors?