[Calamazoo]

Guys -

The dealers in the Toronto area offered to upgrade my HU-613 stereo in my S60AWD to the 5x75W Audiomax speakers and amp found in the T5. Basically, it would be a 12 speaker setup since the HU-613 has no Dolby Pro-Logic and thus does not need the center channel. I need the 613 because my wife listens to language tapes occasionally but most of the time I'm driving with the music on loud...I have the 10 CD Changer in the back anyways.

They want approximately CDN$1600 ~(or) $1000 USD (parts and install complete). Is this a total waste of money or should I totally go for it? My current setup only has 6 speakers (I think) and a 4x25 Watt setup on the basic setup that comes with the HU613. I have to admit that I like the stock look but would the trouble of going to other aftermarket parts still be worth it compared to this deal?

I'm pretty excited about the possibility though.....

 

[Kaizai]

I have spent $1,900 on my 850.
It has 6 speakers, 2 amps, and 1 sub.
It sounds better than your stereo (my girlfriend has a '02 S60 AWD), but I have not heard the T5 Stereo. I have heard the stereo in a C70 and I would say that it is on par with mine. I think my sub is a little nicer, but the speakers are about the same. I would recommend going with the stock volvo stereo becuase it is less of a pain, and aftermarket stuff is never as seemless.

If you install all the stuff yourself aftermarket can be better for more money. If you get it all installed it will probably cost you more money. Nice pairs of speakers are like 120+. Nice amps are 300ish. Installs for a good job can run upwards of 250 if they have to install amps and run wires and take out your headunit to hook stuff up.

If it was my volvo and it was still under warrenty i wouldn't want some shop opening it up

 

[S.R.]

There is a member on this site who did an amp upgrade on their HU-613 and they said it made a world of difference! Since you are getting 6 more speakers, I think that the listening experience will be much better. It all depends on how much you value sound in your car and if it is worth $1,000.

If you wanted a comparable aftermarket system, it would cost way more than what Volvo is offering you for the upgrade and it would not look stock. Plus, who knows what problems they might run into with the CAN-BUS system. Mike and Trysh have done it with their cars, but they are well versed on the procedure.

Just my 2 cents...

-Drew

 

[audiolover]

quote:

Originally posted by Calamazoo:
Guys -

The dealers in the Toronto area offered to upgrade my HU-613 stereo in my S60AWD to the 5x75W Audiomax speakers and amp found in the T5.
.....

Hi!

If it's worth it or not only you can tell!
What you should do is to listen to the audiomax system in stereo mode and see if the difference is worth 1000$ for you.

Since you have the standard setup today I would guess that you also need to change doorpanels for the front doors to be able to fit the audiomax frontdoor speakers.

 

[audiolover]

quote:

Originally posted by Kaizai:

I have heard the stereo in a C70 and I would say that it is on par with mine.

If your stereo is as good as the full C70 system I must congratulate you to a job well done!

 

[Kai]

quote:

Originally posted by Kaizai:
I have spent $1,900 on my 850.
It has 6 speakers, 2 amps, and 1 sub.

Hey, Kai..which MB Quarts speakers you got?

I'm not too crazy about Sony amp, but Fosgate...was pretty good back in mid 90s~98.

I'm just curious about other people's audio setup.

We got few guys here with some very kick ass systems.

 

[Kaizai]

quote:

Originally posted by The_one_n_only:
Hey, Kai..which MB Quarts speakers you got?

I'm not too crazy about Sony amp, but Fosgate...was pretty good back in mid 90s~98.

I'm just curious about other people's audio setup.

We got few guys here with some very kick ass systems.

I got the sony amp for 60% off from a friend, and it was brand new. That replaced the amp in the head-unit. So price/preformance ratio was great on that deal

. The Speakers were 2/$179 i think, best MB quarts they had at the store, don't remember the model #'s.

I kept saying this would be the last thing I buy! Then I always got more

.

 

[Kaizai]

quote:

Originally posted by audiolover:

If your stereo is as good as the full C70 system I must congratulate you to a job well done!

The C70 does have more speakers, so the sound stage is a little better. I like my sub better, and The sound is just as nice and loud.

Sure if I had a C70 I wouldn't mess with the stereo, but I had the base model 850 stereo, which totaly sucked

.