What do you guys think about this:

http://www.secretaudio.com/


http://www.casmfg.com/CAE-630.jpg


1969-72 chevelle
CH92-630 $239.00

And I can get it in about a week?

What I want that this has is: a line in for my XM unit, a better / louder radio. And this new fancy .mp3 input device seems pretty nifty as I always have a USB thumb drive laying around.

Comments?
It's for my 72 drop top.

What should stock 1972 AM/FM radio look like?!

What should stock 1972 AM/FM radio look like?!

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/images/smilies/confused.gif
It's there one still in the '72?

Mike,looks cool to me :thumbsup:
71-72's had the European style tuning and volume symbols on them.

Hey BB Mike, if you get one let me know what kind of quality radio you get. I am in the market for one as well. Thinking about sending my am/fm delco out to get refurbished.

What do you guys think about this:

http://www.secretaudio.com/


http://www.casmfg.com/CAE-630.jpg


1969-72 chevelle
CH92-630 $239.00

And I can get it in about a week?

What I want that this has is: a line in for my XM unit, a better / louder radio. And this new fancy .mp3 input device seems pretty nifty as I always have a USB thumb drive laying around.

Comments?
It's for my 72 drop top.

I've seen a similar unit in the Crutchfield catalog that has these features.
how much power (RMS)-watts per channel?? (rms-watts not baloney-watts)
the knobs on the radio shown should be for 67 & 68 cars.
i think the original knobs are black vinyl/plastic with symbols on the center
how much harmonic distortion ?? -Less than 0.1% ???
does this unit have a cd or cassette???
what music formats will it decode and play form the usb??
it looks like it would fit in the car style wise ..:thumbsup:

Bill,
I thought you said something about the radio being from a slightly different year. Sorry 'bout that. I was also hoping for an online picture to send them and ask "will the knobs look like this or not?"

I plan to order one, today after I talk to them.

I'll ask about THD
They say: 240 Watts, or 4 x 60W, more than enough for a convertible with little speaker room
●AM-FM Stereo
● 240 Watts
● USB Port for Flash Memory MP3/WMA Playback
● Direct 10 CD Changer Control
● Alpha Numeric id3 Display for MP3/WMA files
● Electronic Tuning and Volume Control
● 4 way Fader
● Left Right Balance
● Digital Clock
● 2 Channel RCA Auxiliary Input for Satellite / iPod etc.
● 16 Pre-sets (12FM-4AM)
● 4 Channel RCA Pre-outs
● Separate Bass and Treble
● USA/Euro Tuner
● Power Antenna Lead

Here's a listing for stand alone MP3/USB connection using the older CD changer DIN connection (the latest version simply has a USB lead coming out the back - absorbing this functionality into the radio):
http://www.ss396.com/pdf_catalog/tech/stereo/USB_MP3_Adapter.pdf

And here's the user manual with more specific details:
http://www.casmfg.com/images/Radio_Manuals/usa-630__manual.pdf

If it was me I would do a search on CAS radios and see what kind of feedback others had to say about the quallity of there products.
If it were me.........
Jegg's has these for 259.00 there new, so who knows the quallity?
They look good though ?
http://www.jegs.com/i/Retro%20Sound/700/MODELONE/10002/-1
T.C.

What do you guys think about this:

http://www.secretaudio.com/


http://www.casmfg.com/CAE-630.jpg


1969-72 chevelle
CH92-630 $239.00

And I can get it in about a week?

What I want that this has is: a line in for my XM unit, a better / louder radio. And this new fancy .mp3 input device seems pretty nifty as I always have a USB thumb drive laying around.

Comments?
It's for my 72 drop top.

there is one at crutchfield.com
that has more.

the link for it.. is in this interior section.. nad in a thread I started..

After an hour of searching/reading, I'm not so sure this "new" Custom Autosound radio is any better than the horror stories of the old ones. Lastest reviews for CAS are about a year ago, and this unit has come out since then. I may just order one if they have a money back gaurantee.

That cruthfield Retro Sound unit has front panel USB and Aux. That is a show stopper for me. Having cables sticking out is an audio install NO NO.

Well hell... Not sure if I want to buy the CAS and be a test dummie or not.
My other option is to go with a Marine unit put under the seat that has the wired remote control with a worthwhile LCD on it. Practically the same amount of money between the two.

I may just do the latter and put in a center console in front of the bench seat to house the XM docking station and Marine remote control/LCD. I have a buddy at the local Audio install place that I'll run that option by.

After my CAS radio went bad I opened it to see what was inside, it looked like 1980's electronics,.
So I put a CD/radio in my glove box and made the OE radio a "dummy" just for the lite (I accually use the on/of part of the switch to turn the glove box unit on).
For a remote you can buy a "remote for the remote" LOL that is very small and only a small part of a RF sensor has to stick out of the dash to catch the CD player remote signal,
Cost about 40.00 US, mine is sticking out of the ash tray lip and is about 1/8"x1/4".
Hardest part is mounting the CD/radio in the glove box, I guess you could mount it under the seat and still use the remote.
T.C.

TC where did you get the remote for the remote from?

Mike,
I've done a good bit of research lately on radio options for the Chevelles. Looking to upgrade the tunes in Anne's '70 4dr also.
Too much to type here...we'll talk this weekend... ;)

I've got the Retrosound (www.retrosoundusa.com) unit. As compared to the Custom Autosound units (I've had several), it's much better. Not a real "high end" radio, but a definite step up from CA.

What should stock 1972 AM/FM radio look like?!

heres the original 1972 Am/Fm Radio that is the (Stereo) version
http://www.chevelles.com/radiotech/71fmstereo.jpg

Ryan,
Thanks for that image.

Other's I will be sure and post about what solution I go with.

Bill. I hope to be at the hotel on Friday night becuase there never seems to be enough time during the day while "working" the show. Room is booked, so only something unforseen can prevent it! What time you expect to roll in?

Bill. I hope to be at the hotel on Friday night becuase there never seems to be enough time during the day while "working" the show. Room is booked, so only something unforseen can prevent it! What time you expect to roll in?

:thumbsup: Plans are to leave here around Noon...eastern...on Friday. Driving the more door.
See 'ya then...

stallone:
I bought the remote for the remote at a local stereo/install shop.
You can also get them on evil bay for about 25-40 $, I can't remember what they actually call them, I know the one I have works really well and allowed me to put a really nice sounding stereo with radio, cd player, mp3 & remote 10 disc cd changer options in the glove box.
You use the remote the stereo comes with, something to keep in mind.
T.C.

They are commonly called an "IR repeater"

My only draw back with that is I want to see some visual feedback of what's going on. For volume, that's simple. But song title, bass/treble or subwoofer level, you have to know you're in the right menu. Reaching over to the glovebox while driving is something that nearly kills me each time I try it. :D

Yep your rite about that, I do find myself in the dark when trying to find the source.
I preset all the other stuff base ect.... except for volume .
I just scroll through the sorce button untill I find what I am looking for radio, CD, ect then use the preset to find station, tract ect..
Not a perfect system but it works for me, I am also not looking for a super nice really great sound as my motor makes to much noise anyway. LOL
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/506/medium/P1010005.JPG
T.C.

Pretty installation job TC !

Thanks that's glove leather inside out to get the fuzzy look.
It's quiet tight behind it with the Vintage air, this is what my OE radio looks like after the operation. LOL
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/506/medium/P1010003.JPG
I have plenty of room behind this for my AC ducts .
T.C.

I am ordering the Custom Auto Sound unit in a few minutes. so if I forget to post back about how it sounds, send me a PM.

I could not find a Marine radio with the kind of remote controller I wanted (most are even round in shape). Instead of making the remotes better, display wise, the market decided to make them wireless. So they look the same and just cost twice as much. So a marine radi solution was around $300+ for what I wanted, and they did not have the USB memory stick option for MP3s. So I am going with CAS for function and hoping for quality.

I just found this post now!!

Mike, I'm ashamed...wondering what a stock radio looks like, geeeze, whadaya think I built this for!!???

Team Chevelle RADIO TECH (www.chevelles.com/radiotech)

Custom Auto Sounds, eh? Let me know what it sounds like when it hits the bottom of the garbage can, cause that's where it's going to end up. :eek:

I'd tell you what I'm planning for my car (remember I'm the bone-stock guy), but you'd really need to be an electrical engineer to understand, so let me know when you find one and we'll talk :D

Go ahead and pour your Dr. Pepper on me while you're at it Joe!

Maybe your Radio Tech article needs to be made a sticky like the other threads. :D
I particularly liked the aftermarket radio section of that writeup.

I spoke with the distributor at great lengths and they will take it back in less than 30 days if I do not like it.

Just the other day my stock radio lost the left channel. It's somehow tied to the tuning knob, becuase it too does not work. I still have my presents, but orange pointer does not move. Anytime you push the preset button all the way in, you only have right audio. As you release it, the left audio comes in. Well on mine, as I release the preset button the left audio never comes back. The wifey likes to push the buttons at random and make the indicator zing from one side to the other. I blame her.

Fill me in on some details. And it better not be an I.R. repeater, because you can not accurately search .mp3 sub folders with those.

One thing I did think about is using the wireless Marine remotes and putting it on the steering wheel, but it will look like crapola unless I put in a Grant type steering wheel.

Mike, I've decided to go away from a head unit all together and put a radio delete plate in, I've already got a 4 channel amp and just wired a headphone plug from it to the center console and am just going to use my mp3 player, even the local radio stations come in fine through the mp3 tuner.

I don't own an .mp3 player. :( But the idea is a good one provided the volume is dynamic enough in range and also that you have a seperate control over bass.

That cruthfield Retro Sound unit has front panel USB and Aux. That is a show stopper for me. Having cables sticking out is an audio install NO NO..

the usb and aux
is on the front and wired to the back panel..
some people like to hook their ipod to the car.. the c/d player/etc
and front panel make it easy..
the ports are on the back also

Thanks for that info! if the CAS goes back, I will try those guys next.

Check the one out at Ausleys it looks authenic but has new stuff inside. I don't know if it does what you want but it looks correct.

ive put in three custom autosound usa-6 radios and they both sound good. one is in a 57 nomad with 40 detal flow flowmasters, one of the other is in a 70 el camino with super 40 mufflers. the third one is in a 56 belair now that one the owner had some problems with it the power button wouldnt work.

The results are in:

This USA-630 Custom Auto Sound radio is JUNK. Total piece of crap.

Where it lacks is bass output, which is why people give it the "tinny" label. I have the bass on +10, the trebble on -10 and yet the trebble still outweighs the bass. With any other setting you wouldn't even think you have anything but tweeters hooked up - and piezo tweeters at that! Their "bass" adjustment is like most people's midgrange adjustment.

This unit is going back. I will try the other USB radio talked about in here, provided it has rear I/O.

Awful. I think the stock radio had better sound. :(
I first started to think "cheap" when I took it out of the box and it weighed about 12 ounces. Really, It's all of 4" deep.

Oh, on the white lettering on the front makes it very hard to see the LED display behind it. The picture in my first post does a good job of hiding that little tid-bit.

Let me be the first to say "I told you so" LOL :noway:
It's a shame they make and sell that stuff, I opened mine after it quit and it looked like 60'-70's electronics, really cheep inside.
Sorry ya had a bad experience Mike, hope your new unit works better?
That's why I finally went with the CD/Radio in the glove box, tired of beating my self up trying to get one in the dash.
T.C.

:( I know I know.


And it even had a "hiss" noise while tuned to a very strong local FM station. Car was off. Just a noticable static like hiss.

I'll keep you all posted.

The dealer is taking this unit back, but assured me they sell a lot of them with no problems. pfft. riiiiight.

the usb and aux
is on the front and wired to the back panel..
some people like to hook their ipod to the car.. the c/d player/etc
and front panel make it easy..
the ports are on the back also



I can not verify the rear I/O on the retro sond unit. Do you actually own one? They have a video on their website and the back panel does NOT have either the aux or USB input!! I guess I could always take the thing apart and solder something in. It's almost standard practive to have to modify ANYTHING that goes on our cars... :rolleyes:

The dealer is taking this unit back, but assured me they sell a lot of them with no problems. pfft. riiiiight.

That's because a lot of people that buy something that fits without cutting the dash aren't concerned about bass.

Good luck with whatever you choose, just fyi if you want more bass/responsive bass from your speakers you should box them in from behind and make sure the enclosure is near air tight. I do that with all my door speakers (in daily drivers) and it wakes the bass up in the speakers so I don't have to put a sub in the car (don't need that much bass).

Call Crutchfield and ask them. They are super nice people (at least the ones I talked to).

Well heck. The Retro sound model does not currently have the rear I/O ports, but they are releasing a new model in November that will have this feature added to it.

http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/details/id/18
^This is the currently available one. No pictures on the new unit yet.

I will wait until November for this feature to come out.
I'll have to put back in the stock radio and stock speakers... write off a few more hours of "extra" work. :rolleyes:

UPDATE

I got the new Retro Sound radio installed finally. I didn't get it until January and it was too cold to drive the car then, so I just put it off. In short: I like it. Much better than the first "Custom Auto Sound" unit that sounded very high strung and tin-like. It's not wonder they didn't sell direct. Retro Sound though has been a pleasure to work with.

I'll post up some more information when I have time. So far it has not dissapoint me. Pictures and review to come before the weekend is over and I put some "miles" on it.

update on the retrosound:

The rear I/O .mp3 USB drive cable reaches to the ash tray and makes it really nice for hiding, yet still getting to easily. The knobs are cool. You do not use the back flat knobs - only use the front rounded knobs. the install didn't take long because I had the stock radio to base the knob "nut depth" off of. I can take pictures if anyone wants. I think it looks great. The chrome trim distracts from the lowly sweep speedo. :D

Only two downsides to it and they both only apply to my convertible I think. The display can be washed out from sunlight. Any digital radio will do this though, so I can't fault them. Even my cell phone can't be read while driving with the top down.

The 2nd is that there is no dedicated "sub out" control or volume. That output is a function of "rear fade" I think. It's not too big a deal, but when my top is up the sub is LOUD, but when the top is down, the noise padding in the runk prevents the sound from getting out, so I have to fade to the rear to compensate when the top is down. The Aux input works great for an XM radio as well.

The Station seaking is very good. you can put it to manual or to seek. Picks up all the stuff my 97 Tahoe does, and doesn't lose it as you drive (i.e. phase lock loop)

That being said, I am planning on selling the radio because I am going to go with a custom interior and put a fancy new radio down in the center console with some other gauges and use a hide away door to disguise the radio and I will just have the stock radio as a dummy. I know, I'm just a glutton for punishment, but being an audio-phile person my whole life I am always upgrading. Right now I have the XM radio going to the aux and I think I'd like the look better with a radio that has built in XM versus a module that could be stolen.

Anyone wanna buy mine?

I also bought the trunkhauss rear trunk kit for putting a sub in the back and cleaning things up at the same time. Well, it won't fit a convertible. Different bracing. Instead, I just tossed a random sub box in back. So if you have a 68 to 72, you can get that kit with the radio and be set. i'll probably put a members classified up one of these days. Been busy building the other car. Two project = stuuuupid. :yes:

Mike
Do you have a picture of the radio installed? I'm curious to see how a chrome faced radio looks in the black dash. I could be interested.

Here is a picture I took with my cell phone. Hopefully the quality comes across, or that you can even view the images. If not, I will host them sometime later.
The white interior blinds the cell phone camera, so I couldn't stand any further away. The image is still a little "ghosty" looking, but it's something.

http://picture.vzw.com/mi/443253042_1542805802_0.jpeg?limitsize=580,480&outquality=56&ext=.jpg&border=1,0,0,0

Mike, the picture you posted shows up as a red X for me.

In my 71, gonna have the stock am 8-track stereo gone over by ward's classic radio W/ an MP3 jack installed. Stock speakers, prefer originality over modern sound quality.

Go to chevelletechtips.com and look at the retro radios we offer. Ausleys

Hello All,

Here's our radio in a 70-72 dash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cntstpdrmn/3550183328/sizes/l/in/set-72157618461757477/

Also regarding BB Mike's comments, please note that our current Model One Radios come with an aux in port both on the front AND on the back--- Next year's units (shipping in January) will have RDS on the tuner, RF remote (not IR) and will have an SD card input on the back as well (on a cable)--- We're also reducing the length (depth) of the unit by 1" --- there's a few other tricks up our sleeve that I can't mention here, but we're making some cool upgrades!

Michael When are you going to build one that SOUNDS worth a hoot. From Custom Autosound, to Ken Harrison who is just up the road, to yours , the one that Ausleys is pushing and all the others it is always the same......way too under powered too listen at low levels. Once cranked up it reaches unacceptable distortion levels. I do not understand why Alpine can put in foreign guts that perform without an auxillary amp for less than $200 and ya'll cannot for $300. The industry starves for it and is willing to pay within reason.

There are a lot of guys in this hobby that truly listen to music and understand quality reproduction of it. We understand that not all recording studios are the same and that is why Stereo Review used to review the quality of the recording as well as the content. All of the gadgetry you add is fine but it is the sound quality that continues to disappoint. I know business is business but you are missing a good portion of it.

I wish you the best of luck but even in the best reviews of these type of radios it has only been OK or acceptable. Most are wretched. That is not good enough for me. Having grown up in the 60's the music was every bit as important as the cars.

Even in BBMikes update he makes no mention of the quality of the sound just that it is better than Custom AutoSound. It wouldn't take much.

Not to rain on your parade just my .02.

Thanks for the discussion, You're not raining on our parade, our pre amp section is of higher quality then the competitor's, our current onboard amp is 22wpc x 4 rms and we're using a beefier IC amp on the next model, really the sound quality has a lot to do with the speakers you have, and also the onboard electronics of the radio---

We spend a lot more money in the quality of our electronics, I think if you did some searches in forums like chevytalk, or this one, you'll get an earfull and, while we're the "new guy" on the block, I think one look at our site compared to these companies, we offer a larger amount of information to the consumer about our products, mulitmedia, video, photos of the product installed in the dash, while I am of course biased, I will say electrically and functionally, you'll find our radio is superior to what is out there in this niche business.

Regarding your statements of sound quality, and our unit, connect our unit to an outboard amp and listen to the pre-amp section of our radio versus the competition, our PCB is laid out better, it does not introduce any unwanted noise or cross talk into the pre-amp section--- I can assure you that if you did the same to a competitor's unit you would hear some bleed through when connecting a source to the aux in port, switch modes and you'd be able to quietly hear that source in the background--- Our unit is not for everyone and we do not profess our unit to be an audiophiles unit--- The unit has an onboard amp, and it's an IC not a Mosfet amp, the body of our radio is only 4" wide to allow for our unique shafts to be connected outside of the unit for maximum installation flexibility. We did make some compromise in space to accomodate our design, however we're making our Gen 3 unit (shipping in Jan) 1" shorter, adding 30g more mass to the heatsink, and going to a higher quality output IC amp.

The competitor's units use a single sided PCB in an 8" wide metal box, their shafts are not movable outside of strict parameters, our innovative and compact design allows it to fit into vehicles other radios cannot.

We do our best to accomodate most consumers looking to add a non DIN unit to their un-cut original dash and of course there are those consumers that don't mind cutting their dash and adding a top end Alpine, Eclipse, Clarion radio --- it is a different market, those customers like to spend $400 on a compenent set of speakers and add a custom sub, etc--- our background is from this arena, however it is more satisfying and challenging to make something that no one ever has brought to the market and continue to hone and improve a much neglected niche classic car audio market with our innovative products.

Many thanks for your post,

Best Regards,

Michael Robbins
Product Manager
www.retrosoundusa.com

We do our best to accomodate most consumers looking to add a non DIN unit to their un-cut original dash and of course there are those consumers that don't mind cutting their dash and adding a top end Alpine, Eclipse, Clarion radio --- it is a different market, those customers like to spend $400 on a compenent set of speakers and add a custom sub, etc--- our background is from this arena, however it is more satisfying and challenging to make something that no one ever has brought to the market and continue to hone and improve a much neglected niche classic car audio market with our innovative products.

Many thanks for your post,

Best Regards,

Michael Robbins
Product Manager
www.retrosoundusa.com (http://www.retrosoundusa.com)

Ok....I am considering your radio strictly because I do not want to cut up my dash. I would be using it mainly as the brains and not necessarily the brawn...meaning I am installing 2 Amps (1 for mids and highs and another for a subwoofer) Do you feel that you all developed your radio for this type of environment more so then just hooking up speakers directly to the head unit and turning it on? I am trying very hard to not put a radio in the glove box or anywhere else.

Thanks

Jacen

Thanks for your email, I believe from your post that you want to use our radio strictly as a Preamp, many of our customers do that, and our radio has 2 sets of RCA pre amp outputs. We do have a new unit shipping the middle of march (owner's manual here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/25387879/Gen-3-Model-One-Owners-Guide-01-15-f )

So you can check out the new version of the Model One. For futher questions, please feel free to email our Tech manager Chris at : support@retrosoundusa.com and he can work with you on any further questions!! Thanks for extending this thread!

Michael

fwiw....I have a retrosound in my 67ss. it works very well. michael and gang have excellent customer service too. ordered mine direct from them and I suggest you do the same. you will like having your whole cd collection on a flash drive instead of fooling with loose cds or a cd changer and skipping tracks during those fun burnouts....

I have been in contact with chris at retrosound about this updated version for my 67 and intend on getting one as soon as they are released I just hope like a lot of others on this site that they live up to the hype most people just want a unit that is comparable to stereos that are avaliable for modern cars why is that a problem ? I am prepared to pay for one why carnt one be built that does the job

Is the display color Amber, Blue or Green?

Jacen

Here's a photo: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2730/4426676601_b906150ea7_o.jpg

Thanks for the post!

Is the display color Amber, Blue or Green?

Jacen

Nice...it's blue...hopefully it will match the Blue on my Digital Dakota dash I am purchasing.