(STEREO) Modernizing the Sound System
 

Got a Pioneer DEH-235 stereo CD last night to replace my OEM rack stereo cassette in the POS Racer. Sitting in my office planning the transformation and have the following questions.

Can I eliminate all the OEM wiring and Amp’s? I’m planning on replacing all four OEM speakers, and the new radio; no plans for amps, or subs. Figure I’ll rewire the car for the newish radio; is that a logical plan of attack?

From what I’ve found on the net, it looks like the front kick panels hold a 4” round speaker, but have found a few sizes listed for the rear 5-1/4 to 6-1/2. What size is/was the rear speakers, would like to not have to cut on the car.

To do this transformation, looks like you would need an install kit to get the stereo to fit in the dash, where’s a good place to get one?

In advance I greatly appreciate your suggestions!

I have done everything you want to do. Running new speaker leads is easy. I ran the leads for the rear speakers down the rocker panel. My fronts are 4" and the rear are 5 1/4", but some companies make 6 1/2" that fit. Click Crutchfield to figure out which ones will fit. They will explain everything. I have never bought anything from them, but there info is great.
If you have a power antenna, you will need a relay to get your antenna to operate correctly. I got mine from Best Buy, they made mine for free!!!! I've heard ppl having to pay $25 for these. The dash kit has to be custom made. I took a kit for a 2nd gen from Best Buy and fabricated it to fit. I had to break off two screw mounting things on the kit and melt them in the right place. You'll see what I mean. It's not hard, but it takes time.
I recommend buying a seperate component set; woofer, tweets, and crossovers, up front and coaxial in the rear. My speaker of choice is Boston Acoustics, and my head unit is Alpine.

My 2c. Any q's PM me.

Good Luck and let us know how it sounds. :bigthumb:

I wanna know where Max7 got his kickpanel pods from.

http://max7.rx-7.org/Max7-StereoSystem.jpg

Would the universal Q-Logic ones work?

hehe, ok, here is the info.
They came from a 90'ish Jetta, I seen them on eBay and got them for $40, cheaper than the generic ones they sell (at the time, not sure what they cost now)
I figuered I could mod them to get them to fit (worked many years in a Car Stereo shop)
and actualy very little was needed, I clipped the part the runs up along the door, and the one that runs horizontal along the door. and thats about it. 3 screws and some self-forming baffles behind the 6.5" coax and they work great, I lost the dead pedal, but I've never really used one.
The sounds it truly amazing for a first gen.

For new wiring, its always best to run the deck main power directly from the battery (thru a fuse) pulling power from the cars fuse block can sometimes lead to unwanted noise.
also choose a good (not the most convienet) ground
running new speaker wires is a good idea to, Mazda didn't always use the best wire for stereos.

I've used Crutchfields kit, its not bad, but does require modification to work right.
Scosche makes a universal kit for 84-92 Mazdas that works well but still is not perfect, you should be able to have a local shop order you one.

also if you are "handy" with a jig saw, you can make a spacer for the front 4" opening to fit a 5.25" via a 1/2" spacer made from MDF. It still clears the plumping under the dash on the passanger side.

Back when I had my first gen I made custom door panels w/ pods for speakers... I tested several cases w/ a VERY nice system and putting speakers in the kick was at such a loss compared to the door panels. I'm not sure how comfortable you would be w/ building your own door panels but I have seen a pic of a 1st gen w/ some door panels that have "milo" embosed (I think thats what it was) on them and they have speaker pods in them. I am diterminded to find those or rebuild a set for my new reX, but I will NOT be putting them in the kick panel. As for the rear... I'll probally come up w/ somthing custom for that also depending on where I choose to put the subs. Music is my life and I donno if I could live w/out a good system in ANY vehicle I owned. It dosn't have to be a 5k system but at least somthing I can feel when it's loud and is clear. If you are determinded to put 4's in the kick... just make sure you have a good quality speaker and clean power going to it. Don't stimp on the cabeling either... that can make a HUGE difference between a good and crapy system. Interferance is everywhere and will make good quality systems sound like crap.

Thats just my .02

Good luck... and if I find that pic of those door panels I'll post it.

I’m just pumped to be able to get this out of the car it works but just barely. Is their enough room to put some gauges above or below the radio, also would like to ditch the clock for a gauge!

I really appreciate all the advice!

these the doors? AJC13b's car

I put my A/F gauge where the stock clock goes, almost looks factory :)

I never cared much for door mounted speakers, sound wise its ok, but closing the door has to take its toll on speaker over time. and its subject to weather conditions if not built right, a bit more work. but can be done nicely. but then my leg is in the way, hehe

yup.... thats them... I see now that it says mlo (I think hehe) do you know where AJC13b got those? If protected right it would be sweet... but I fear (being 6'5 in a small car already) that I will not be able to fit w/ them in the car....

anyone have any more info on those?!

Do any of you buys have pictures of your head unit installed with the dash kits? All of the kits that I have seen look pretty dang bad...they all seem to be cheap, BLACK plastic that does nothing to compliment the orignal silver surround. I know mazdatrix has a 1/2 DIN pocket but you still got one whole DIN to contend with then.

Assuming you solve that issue, you still have the grim fact that all of the available head units out there just plain suck. A lot of the manufacturers are now making some that feature gray/silver faces that would match, but most of these feature that awful volkswagen-chic blue and red display, or green, all of which don't match the existing amber.

I've been waiting for years for a manufacturer to make a double-din cassette/cd player head unit, silver face, with amber illumination and no damn dolphins or a 236 band dancing EQ. Eventually, soon, I will comprimise, as that day will never come.

So post some install pics if you got something I can comprimise on.

Right on-

I once again apologize for my lack of knowledge on the subject, but what’s a DIN?

If I understand brownmound correctly there is a 2-1/2 DIN opening in my ’84.

Was looking at my free radio last night, where would one locate a pioneer wiring diagram?

I don't know what the letters DIN stand for, but I think it's the general size for an aftermarket radio.


I'd check pioneer's website for the wiring diagram.

Its a double DIN opening, the size of 2 radios. Most EQ's are 1/2 DIN.

All CD players have the same wiring setup.

Red= switched 12V
Yellow= constant 12V (memory)
Black= ground
Blue= remote turn on (amp)
Blue/white= power antenna (sometimes these are reversed, or there is no power antenna)

Then there is the speaker leads (I always forget which is which).

They are Green, Green/Black, Purple, Purple/black, White, While/black, Gray, Gray/Black.

I always get the speaker leads confused, and have to just figure them out while I'm putting the radio in. You'd think I'd remember them by now :(

You're on the right track, POS. I just put a Blaupunkt into my 83, and learned a few things along the way.
Yes, go ahead and rip out all the factory amps and speaker wires. It's easy to run new wires to the rear speakers by taking out the cargo boxes. From there, run the new wires up through the holes in the frame and behind the plastic panels in the back, the ones that cover the speakers and shock towers.
Now, if you're sure you want a CD head unit, you 1. will need an installation kit, and the best you can get still looks lame and plastic, and 2. it will include a pocket big enough to hold a couple packs of smokes or CDs.
Or, you can do what I did in my Rodeo. Instead of putting in the pocket, put in a head unit with a cassette player AND a separate Sony CDX-1000 CD player where the pocket would go. The CDX1000 is hard to find, but for $125 its an RF CD player that plugs into any FM stereo through the antenna. Mine works great.
If you want one, look here:http://www.mrelectronicsautosound.com/

I used the installation kit available at Best Buy; It's made for a whole bunch of different Mazdas, and you have to cut off little plastic tabs to make it fit, but it holds the Rex's Blaupunkt securely and does't look that crappy. I looked long and hard for a quality silver-face CD unit with red lighting, to match the interior, but got nowhere.

For what it's worth, I'm not a huge stereo freak, and I didn't want something that would rattle house windows when I drove by. I ended up getting a Pioneer amp (they're very good, despite the name) and installing it behind the seat, with good quality Blaupunkt speakers (couldn't afford Bostons like I wanted) and a 6-inch Bazooka subwoofer tube for in the hatch. The amp and Bazooka were less than $200, and they really make it sound nice without being overpowering.

here's some advice: when removing the old toaster size stereo don't get pissed off, here's what i have to live with cause i got pissed off :rolleyes:

Ouch that sucks, :( but you did answer my next question on if there was room to mount the stereo low. Still would like to figure out how to put some gauges in the “open” area. Figure I’ll take a couple measurements after dinner!

I really appreciate everyone’s help!

Does anyone have the dimensions of what a "DIN" is? I've never really done any measurements in there but it sure looks bigger than a double-DIN to me, so I have always assumed that it was 2.5 DIN, but I very well could be wrong.

I waiver every day between getting a double-DIN cassette/cd (they're all toys though), a cassette AND cd single DINS, or just a single silver faced DIN and then get a kit or custom make something look decent in there. Hell, maybe I'll put a TV in there and mount the head unit somewhere else. Now that would be swass.

look at the colors man
 

kenwood makes a new deck with like 30 display colors its pretty pimp

DIN is 7 x 2 inch, and I'm fairly sure the RX-7 is only a double din, not 2.5. The stereo is one of my winter projects. I try and do mechanical/exterior work to the car in the summer. No idea what I'm going to put in tho.

hey
 

Hey if you don't smoke you can do this to your P.O.S racer, take the ashtrey out and stick a couple of gauges in there like this pic, thats the closest thing i could find...laters

best yet
 

Say Johnny that pic with the gauges in the ash tray is so far the best aftermarket install I have seen in a first gen....any more of that guys install? I'm trying to figure out what he used to fill all that space.

I just measured and the space is 5x7", making it a 2.5 DIN...WTF was mazda thinking?

Alrgiht alright.

brownmound
 

Man, we must be on the same wavelength today!

First, I just measured the stereo system myself today, lol.

The Tape deck is DIN sized tho, and I kinda like the stock radio and equalizer. I was thinking about trying to replace JUST the tape deck with a CD player/MP3 player.

AND, I had a couple thoughts about the ashtray myself today, lmao!
I was thinking of adding a couple power sockets in there to start.
My first idea was that I could add 2 standard cig-lighter type sockets.
Then I had a flash of inspiration. I was gonna get an AC inverter and plug it into the socket, so I could plug my notebook PC into that. Then I realized I could cut the clutter by HARDWIRING the AC inverter into the car and put a standard 120V AC socket in. Then I'd have 1 cig-lighter socket and 1 normal 2 prong (or even 3 prong) AC socket in there!

'Course that's only about HALF the ashtray. I'm planning a complete custom dash guage cluster to replace the stock one, so adding guages anywhere else would be a tad redundant. I think I could cram the WOLF3D control unit in there if I get one. If not... Then I'm not sure.

I'm still open to suggestions.

-Spencer

right on
 

If there is a way to use the stock tape deck and wire it up so that you could plug it into the AUX of one of the aftermarket stereos, then that would be the way to go, maybe. this would give you casette and cd, and fill 2 DIN spaces...the 1/2 DIN could be filled with the Mazdatrix pocket or an EQ, etc.

The power plugs sound like a good idea, but I don't think I really have anything I need to power.

Nakamichi makes a pretty damn swass head unit the CD-700 (pictured below), with an aluminum faceplate that would match the gray quite nicely. Only the plate is not removable, which is like "whaaaaaaat?" It's the high end model, so it's probably desiged for Beamers and Benzs.

If you find anything about the wiring of the tape deck (ie it's output connections into the tuner) I sure would appreciate it. I've read that the output of the tuner/eq/tape is a line level output to the amps. I don't know if the tape has/needs a pre-amp to be fed into a head unit.

If anyone has any insight, let me know. it's nice to see some good discussion of the infamous 1st gen stereo upgrade dilemma.

Alright alright alright-

whaaaaat??
 

that nak cd-700 head unti has a suggest retail price of $1500. That eliminates that option....nak makes other affordable units, not as good a quality, but they do have the amber display. Only they have a black face...not a good match to a silver tape deck.

Right on.

I don't really listen to tapes a lot anymore (heck, I'm not even sure where my home tape deck is anymore), so I don't mind yanking the stock tape deck in favour of a CD plaer. Thing is, I kinda like the stock reciever and EQ. It'd be great to kind a nice silver DIN sized CD player (with no tuner). So far, all I've found is this Alpine, and this Kenwood.

The Alpine is the right colour, but too flashy to match. The Kenwood is less flashy, but black.

My only other option would be a complete replacement of all the components. Then I'd get a nice DIN headunit, a new 1/2 DIN EQ, and then probably this center speaker.

If I manage to keep the stock system I add that center speaker in the ashtray area. Then I'd have to move my sockets tho...
:doh:

So many, many mods... So little money!

Ok here is what I plan to do to fill the 2 DIN space

I bought a spare stereo panel cover, and plan to remove the dial control part and clock area, the part with the 3 holes, these are the perfect size for 2 1/16" gauges. then mold it into another panel, thus I will have space for 4 gauges and a single DIN for the CD Player, nice eh?
Sand, glue, bondo, and some fresh paint (not sure which color)

That ain't bad but right now I have no aftermarket gauges and don't plan to get any in the near future...too many other things to waste money on.

I'm somewhat of the audo purest variety, so I'm trying to get the simplest stereo out there....so far Nak is the way to go on that front. Leave the 256 band EQ and dolphins for the teens. I don't need my head unit to say "hello" to me.

I'm just going to bite the bullet and get a black Nak head unit with Amber display. To fill the 1/2 DIN I'll probably get that Mazdatrix 1/2 DIN pocket. Now for the other DIN, I have no idea. The center channel speaker is an interesting idea.

Right on.

Where did those leather?,...2 tone seats come from?... i want some!!

Found it!

I found a CD player that will compliment the stock Tuner and EQ nicely. The Sony CDX-1000RF. If only it was silver... *sigh*

Still, it has a nice clean, simple look to it.

Man, I suggested the Sony CDX-1000RF about 25 posts ago! Doesn't anyone read these things?

not quite for the mound
 

That Sony is almost there, but:

1) the illumination is green, unless you can switch it to amber
2) it's an RF model, so it works through the radio station. good for those who want to keep the existing tuner/eq...but personally for the sound of an fm modulated cd player is a bit too lo-fi for me. why take cd's and broadcast them at FM quality sound?

So, still hunting....

Right on.

:doh:!!

Well, I'm a tool!
bylinepjw, actualy read you post lol!
I just couldn't find the unit at the website you posted, so I gave up and forgot the model number! lmao!!!

God I'm an idiot!

brownmound
1)Actually it's got an RF AND pre-amp outputs, so I should be able to figure a way to wire it in. There's no way I'd buy an RF only, 'cause I like my sound. I have a tape adapter for my discman in my GF's Intrepid now. The stock system in that car is actually pretty good, but you just can't get real CD quality sound from a tape deck.

Anyway, back to the CDX-1000RF, Yeah, it's kind of a charcol grey with green, but hey, if someone can find somthing similar in silver with red, feel free to post.

nak
 

Here is a picture of the Nak 45....see, no eq, no dolphins, no 12 color dot matrix display....very clean 6 preamp outs, nice and simple...the display is shown in green but is available in amber.

It doesn't have a silver/gray face however, but we all have to make sacrafices.

let me know what you guys think of it

Right on.

what wrong with my setup? :)

http://www.bcrx7.com/images/large/024.jpg

http://www.1300cc.com/howto/how1/subbox/box08.jpg

It looks like a banana blew up in your car. Yellow has too much contrast in there. Why yellow?

http://www.contrabandent.com/pez1/cwm/cwm/cwm27.gif I'm at school and just fell outta my chair, hitting the dude at the computer next to me. That there is high performance yellow. I have a hat that same color. It makes me go faster.

Abeomid: To each his own, but I woulda preferred the same kind of blue that's on the outside of your car in there instead of the yellow.

What is the name of that blue anyway? I wanted to see if a paintshop could match the bottom of the blue CD-R's.

The blue on the outside is beautiful...why didn't you use that on the interior along with something like a little lighter blue or a black?

i think i'll do that as soon as i find a center console, cause the yellow gets too dirty fast

Dude, I didn't mean to come off like a dick. I reread my post and it sounded kinda shitty. I do LOVE the paint on the outside, but the yellow is too much.

the yellow looks good if you see it close, when i drove down to San Francisco, i had a lot of people asking me down there where I did that and they wanted to do it to their car
:)

p.s. don't worry about your post, i've had people that love domestic cars tell me that my interior looks like shit, i guess i just want it to be different, but i get it blue as soon as i find a center console, anybody has a extra one kicking around ;)

the yellow car
 

Rice is normally white, not yellow.

The interior looks like you did a good job with it, but it's a bit to flashy for me. Most of us here seem to be trying to keep a stock appearance.

I'm not raggin' on your car, the exterior looks better than mine.

Right on.

abeomid: how do you like the CD player low like that? does ejecting a CD get in the way of the shift lever at all? I had a friend with a Fiero and it had the CD player real low and you had to put the thing in drive to get a CD out, I'd be kinda annoyed if I had to be in 2,4 or R to eject a cd ;)

btw, the blue is freaking gorgeous, how much did that paint job cost you? I'm insanely jealous ;)

--matt

Mine is mounted down low like that, and it doesn't hit my shifter. But my shifter is also really short, so I'm thinking that it would hit a stock one.

my new jvc cd is mounted about 1 1/2 inches above the ashtrey, i ordered a mounting plate thing that bolts in where the stock toaster was, it looks way better than it did before, and it was 20 bucks, its aluminum and i ordered it from the navy exchange, it dosen't get in the way of anything, but then i do have a b&m short shifter :D damn i need a digi cam....

Ditto man.. I just thought what he said was hillarious.

Now make with the name of that blue already. :p I like it a lot... :D

first off, i have a MD (MiniDisc), so i don't have any problems with that and I'd think a cd-deck should be fine too.

secondly, the paint job was done 4years ago when the car came up here from california.

thirdly, i'll get the paint number and name, it has some wierd name i don't even remember.
but i will post it up as soons as i get it.

brownmound
 

It's not bad, but I like my stock tuner, so I'm looking for CD only.

Plus I find the little row of small buttons on the bottom on the unit a PITA to use. Then again, that's just me and my fat fingers. I know people who have no problem with setups like that.

abeomid
It looks good. I don't think I'd ever want anything that bright for myself, but it's cool. Ditto your box. I bet it sounds awsome, but I tend to use my trunk a lot so...
I like the car colour a lot tho! I'm going to get mine done in green, but that's still over a year away *sigh*

For Anyone Who Cares
You can get the Sony CDX-1000RF at Crutchfield.com

the question is, are we sure the tape deck is single DIN sized? I'd love to add a cd player in, but I don't want to lose the stock tuner/eq...

speckamp
 

About 99% sure. I measured a couple nights ago and I came up with the following measurements
Format: w x h (DIN size)
Overall dimentions: 7 x 5 (2 1/2 DIN)
Tuner: 7 x 1.5 (3/4 DIN)
Cassette Deck: 7 x 2 (1 DIN)
Equalizer: 7 x 1.5 (3/4 DIN)

Granted I was a little sleepy when I did the measuring, but I like to think I'm not completely useless.

Anyways, by my calculations the Sony CDX-1000RF is 7 x 1.96 so it should fit just about perfectly WITHOUT the black Plastic bezel around the outside. :)

[b]Does anyone know how the stock deck and tuner are wired together?[b] The Sony has pre-amp outs, so I'm just trying to plan my wiring.

Thanx,
-Spencer

we can hope.

of course I can just shut the hell up and build my i-opener mp3 machine I've got in the works.

speaking of, anyone got a glove compartment door they don't want anymore? I don't want to destroy mine in case I dont' like the i-op in the car so I want one to canablaize to mount the silly thing.

pm/e-mail me if you have one (i know someone out there gutted their 1st gen!)