hinz57

Looking for direction on the stereo thing. Have heard a lot of negative feedback on Custom Auto Sound stuff and quite frankly they look cheap on the web site. I like the look of the Retro Sound radios better but would like to get feedback on quality. Anyone have one of these or know someone with one?

Thanks

Chuck

citcapp

I don't know about Retro Sound by i have a radio from http://www.vintagecarradio.com/ and it looks and works great

My442

I had my original retrofitted to 4 speaker stereo by:

www.retroradio.biz

Great product amd service.

They did my 8 track too.

Olds64

The only above mentioned company I have heard aboutr is Vintage Car Radio. I've heard numerous positive reviews about their products. I plan on installing one in my 71 98 eventually.

daves62

I haven't had it done yet but i know that you can have your original stereo retro fitted with ipod connector and FM stereo.
my friend used this guy www.bobsradio.com

I don't personally no if this guy does the ipod connector

Rdrokit

I can attest hat this guy is GOOD. I have been in his old shop which use to be in Pismo Beach before I moved to Thailand. He total rebuilds your old radio and the only original items left are the face and *****. He knows more about radios than any human should know. Also has a get collection of old radios. Very nice guy.

hinz57

Just so you know vintage sells the custom auto sound equipment. Custom auto sound is the manufacturer and Vintage merely sells their product.

IDAS 69

All original for me.... paid 350 for a refurbished am/fm delco. Guy in Az. Also bought a 8-track for him. Love ORIGINAL.....

dhoff

My son put a retro sound in his 71 chevelle, went in easy has all the i-pod/ mp3 hook-ups. He is happy with it .....I haven't had a chance to test it myself. The only complaint was the chrome ***** looked a little cheesey and the factory ones wouldn't fit.

hinz57

I understand about the cheesy *****. I see retro is now shipping the radios with metal ***** now. Must have had a lot of complaints. I am waffeling between the USA-630 from Custom auto sound and the Retro Sound radio. Both are similarly equipped. I just think the Retro Sound Radio looks better...I would upgrade an original radio but I do not have it.

Oldsguy

I remember reading his site. I work in electronics daily and what he says he does is comprehensive and exactly what older electronics need if they are going to be refurbished. Those old electrolitic caps are everywhere in our old radios and they do crap out with age. I was impressed with his stuff and pigeon holed his website for future use. Oh, one more thing, who do you know that can test tubes and objectively determine if they are usable or need to be replaced, and then knows where to get a replacement?

Rdrokit

Bobs Radio can test tubes as he has many tube radios in his collection but he is not close to you.

droptop442

hey .guy old radios are hard to find but check out this web site original car radio.com old radios with digital capabilites

justinj

I was thinking about leaving the radio as is, and installing an amp under the seat with a mini jack input to connect an iPod or XM Radio etc.

Kind of like in this thread:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...highlight=ipod

hinz57

just checked out originalcarradio.com $650 for the AM/FM/ST. What are you kidding me! I think I will take my chances with the retro sound radio. Since no one has really had much input on these, I will let you know after I put it in this weekend...

hinz57

Okay here is my experience with the retro sound radio. After screwing with configuring the **** shafts to receed back enough so the ***** didn't stick out so far, I attempted to install the radio. The only problem is the chrome bezel they supply (made in china) doesn't exactly fit in the original opening. I purchased a digital micrometer to be sure of the difference. The bezel is 2.16" tall and my opening is 2.10". Another problem is the way it is designed you have no room to play to get the width to fit either. The recessed cups for the ***** on my dash are almost exactly the width of their bezel (fits into opening from behind), so you have no room to adjust. I could get it to fit with a little filing or dremeling of my opening and a little cutting on their bezel, but to hell with that. My dash is nearly new with all the work I've done to it. So I'm sending it back and am starting from square one! I have no original to refurbish, just some old kenwood cassett AM/FM. Besides do they even sell cassetts anymore? Not to mention they sound like crap. Not sure which way to go. It's either Custom Auto Sound or pay through the nose to get an OEM and have it updated.
The two gentlemen I spoke with at Retro were insistant that they have sold hundreds of these for the Cutlass and had no complaints. I simply replied that maybe everyone so far is just living with the problem and altering their radio opening to accommodate your product! When you see the "made in China" label on the back of this plastic chrome bezel you just have to say to yourself, it figures. Well I'm tired of foreign made crap that is being remanufactured for these cars that doesn't fit properly! I have had this issue time and time again during my interior restoration. I don't know if complaining about these issues gets anywhere with these companies, but I surely don't need to buy their products!

Okay I've said my peace. Sorry about the ranting...

Boldsmobile

I had one of the Custom units. Pulled it and replaced with a stock AM radio that i converted to an MP3 player - for cheap.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ion-cheap.html

Lady72nRob71

The Retro Sound looked to be rather nice in a way... I liked the flash drive support in many ways - more convenient than tapes...
A note to all though - as with any of these radios, do not let the deceptive 60Wx4 or 200W or 300W, etc fool ya! Real power output will be no more than 10 usable watts per channel. If you are expecting or desiring some loud tunes, be sure to get a real external amp.

It looks like they know about that issue but consider it "normal"...
I am sure there are no returns after then though...

From their Q&A...
QUESTION: WILL CUTTING THE MODEL ONE'S INFINIMOUNT BRACKETS VOID THE WARRANTY OR HARM THE UNIT??

RETROSOUND ANSWER: No, this is the beauty of the radio's patent pending bracket system, cutting or modifying the radio, not your dash is what this radio is all about! Cutting / drilling the radio's bracket is ok and this allows many owners of foreign (British, German, Japanese, etc) cars to fit our radio into their vehicles. You will not harm your warranty in any way. For questions about modifying the bracket system please feel free to email us at support@retrosoundusa.com or call us at 909-364-1372. Keep in mind, no other radio made today is as flexible as ours and modification to the radio is encouraged to ensure proper fit!


Not sure what i will do for my next radio replacement...

mv213

As some of you may know the "68-72 Cutlass" faceplate that Crutchfield and others have been selling for Retrosound does not actually fit the '70-'72 Cutlass dash--it was a little too tall to fit through the opening.

Retrosound now has a correct faceplate for the '70-'72. You can order the complete setup here: http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/details/id/142

I got one and it does fit. These are apparently pretty new--I don't know when Crutchfield will sell these if ever.

Anyway, for those of you who like the Retrosound feature set and price, you now have an option for the '70-'72.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Retrosound in any way, I just thought their product looked like it would meet my needs (and budget).

Lady72nRob71

So did you buy the radio again and install it? Or did you keep the one you had before?
I still want a new radio and am deciding between this one and the CAS one...

One BIGGGG advantage to the RS unit over the CAS unit is the RS unit's ability to play USB files in random mode! The CAS manual did not show this to be doable, and having 999 songs only playing in order can get way too predictable and boring.
The remote is a plus, too.
Too bad you cannot download the RS owner's manual like you can the CAS one.

hinz57

Well I'm glad that someone else has confirmed what I had already found out about the bezel being too tall for the opening. It's funny how they have since changed this, because when I informed them of this problem, the guy insisted that they have had no one complain. Really! Then why have they since wised up and changed it???
I was also frustrated with the *****. Although they resemble the original ***** and are metal, you have to monkey with the control shafts to get them to fit tight. I screwed with this for awhile as well and could not get them to fit snug without any play. That along with the bezel being too tall was why I returned the radio.

I ended up getting a nice stock unit on EBay that had already been refurbished by a shop that went out of business. Only paid $100 bucks.
Had the ***** rechromed and it looks like new. Purchased a new old school dash speaker (sounds like crap) and went "ORIGINAL like some of you suggested. I will however be installing a modern hidden head unit as my Infinity 6 X 9's are already in the rear deck.

Mike77

I have a Custom Auto Sound unit. I bought the remote mount CD player and in dash units. Paid $600.00 for it. Biggest POS I ever owned. Every bump the CD skips and the connections inside the plug for the wirring harness is constantly loose and crapping out. I am sure the metal pins in the plug are made out tin foil. The system looked good on the web site. The quality is bottom of the barrel. The unit weighs about 2 Ounce, kinda tells you there ain't much inside. I send it back for warranty. I recieved back and re-install. Same BS.
Buyer beware
Mike

mv213

To tell the truth, I emailed the support desk at Retrosound and explained I had just bought the radio from Crutchfield last month and politely asked if they had a link where I could buy just the new faceplate. They took pity on me and sent me the faceplate, gratis. I think their customer service is pretty good right now.

Anyway the USB feature is nice, and they have a hidden mount option with a remote infrared receiver. They also don't waste space with a cassette deck like a lot of the CAS and Ken Harrison decks.

If I had everything to do over, I would get the "radio delete" woodgrain and steel, and mount the Retrosound under the seat. I don't want to buy another woodgrain kit now though, they aren't cheap.

hinz57

I'm curious about the Retro radio's sound quality? I realize it can depend on the quality of speakers etc..But what is your impression?

mv213

I'm a ways away from hooking it up...the dash is out of the car right now and I don't have any speakers installed yet. I wouldn't expect fabulous sound without an external amplifier though. I'll post an update when I get it working.

MHENDERSON

I put one in my 71 Cutlass and it sounds great and it came in with out the antenna even hooked up and they light up nice .Go for it you will be happy!!