Well after dealing with this last trip on the road without a radio i'm done with this piece of crap.Lets see uall dash install with your after-market radios I tried to keep it stock-looking but that ain't happening .Do anyone make a radio that looks close to a factory radio............Thax

What vehicle?

You have the choice...
There are companies offering modern technic behind a classic, universal frontend, like "Becker" does for European standard sizes.
Also you find companies, converting your old orginal into a modern radio with cd changer, BT freespeak and USB....

Just depending on how much you like to spend....

On a Ramcharger it´s easy, i left the original where it belongs fully functional and placed the new radio unit into the center console...

Do you still have the original ?
Think of placing a new unit somewhere invisible (e.g. under the seat).
Lot´s of new radios have remote controls. So handling is not a problem and you get used to find the cd slot very fast...lol
There are also special "flat" subwoofer units available, they are about 4" hight and fit under the bench.
That´s how i solved it in a 73 Dart with bench.

Regards Muskote

This is going to sound fuddy duddy, but I'm not happy with most modern aftermarket radios.
Look at them compared to OE stuff and you will find the following:
Tiny buttons - tougher to see/work and all the same size/feel. Stock stuff is designed so they feel different and you don't have to look to see what you are doing.
Removable faceplates - Seems like more gismo and stuff to go wrong to me. It also does away with knobs in favor of the small buttons.
multifunction buttons - I don't like having to sort thru menus to select stuff while driving.

displays that are flashy but hard to read at a glance. This goes with the menus.

I have a couple car radios that I need to update. They will probably be replaced with OE radios, either stock or that have been refurbished/updated rather than an aftermarket head unit.
STOCK

AFTERMARKET

why not just get an old factory radio, from a junkyard or off the bag? a late 2000's car wrecked, could give up a nice din and a half radio that will bolt right in, look original, and shouldnt be too hard to wire up.

I also dislike aftermarket radios for the same reason, so I installed a 2003 Mopar radio in my '73 D100.

Never understood the distaste for aftermarket stereo equipment, unless you're just one of those guys who wants their interior to look stock and un-modified (which I DO understand that, especially with the older classics)

with the right install job, an aftermarket radio can almost blend in and look factory in my mind anyway.




and I even have this hiding behind the seat. it's not going to rattle the windows or license plate, you won't hear it thumping from a mile down the road, but it gives me a nice, full, rich, deep sound.



Door speakers are Alpine components hidden behind the factory speaker grills.

I wouldn't hesitate to install a Stock stereo if the quality was up to par. When we got my wife 01 Ram the cd player schipped when hitting the smallest of bumps. This annoys the heck out of me so aftermarket went in. Plus its easier to and amps and subs.

I've got a stock radio in my 99 ram and while it's a nice unit with cd and cassette it gets terrible radio reception compared to any decent aftermarket unit that I've had.

adjust the fade? simple. push the button for fade, turn the knob. it does have a CD slot, the face slides down and out of the way, and you put the CD in. skipping tracks is as easy as hitting one of the buttons.

but, I've embraced the new age. I don't fumble around with CDs, having them clutter up my interior, causing a distraction while driving when you're on a road trip and have heard the same CD 3 times over already. I use an Emm Pee Three player. holds about a bajillion songs, and switching songs/play lists, skipping a track here and there, is a simple feat that's way less distracting than ejecting a CD, finding a case to put it into, find the next CD you want, open it, put it into the head unit, then store away the case so it doesn't get damaged sitting there open on the seat/floor, etc.

you make it sound like aftermarket head units cannot be controlled like stock systems

and who is constantly adjusting fade/balance anyway? Once you set your EQ settings for the sound stage/image that you want, you don't mess with them again...or at least I don't.


but, different strokes! I'm sure there are some guys on here who prefer to have AM only radio stations with mono-channel sound.

That is the same Sony unit I have in my '64 Valiant, and I hate it with a passion. For no reason, it randomly resets the color, the station settings, the display readouts, and whatever else is on the menu. The LCD display is so weak I can't see anything on the screen on a bright day, and every time I turn off the ignition, the radio beeps after a few seconds. Very annoying.

On the positive side, it has good sound and can pick up weak AM stations better than the stock unit. I could care less about amplifiers or powerful speakers, since I don't care to share my listening fare with anyone down the block or four vehicles behind me. The basic unit will crank out far more volume than my ears can handle, and I have no need to impress anyone with how much I spent on a sound system.

The bad outweighs the good on my Sony, and it will be replaced with something friendlier this winter...probably a touch screen with GPS.

i like both ways...
it´s depending on the age of the vehicle, and more important, on the usage of it...

our dailys, a 73 and a 75, both have original, working radios in place, but hidden modern equipment too (nothing cut )..

our 73 D100 with 20k, which is driven only for holiday or short camping trips, will never see a modern radio. Everytime i drive it, i´m still so exited that i never miss radio ...., even on a 400 mile trip... lol

and if so, i still have the choice between am/fm in oldschool audio...

Why not buy a factory radio from ebay?

I Like Different.....







Rickster