328 Stereo Upgrade | FerrariChat

328 Stereo Upgrade

Discussion in '308/328' started by alert1, Aug 16, 2005.

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  1. alert1

    alert1 Karting

    Mar 17, 2005
    104
    Any advice on what kind of stereo package to upgrade in a 328 GTS? I like it crisp and loud.
     
  2. 285ferrari

    285ferrari Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Sep 11, 2004
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    Robbie
    ALPINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  3. sherpa23

    sherpa23 F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 28, 2003
    9,992
    Rocky Mountains
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    Bastuna
    You turn your radio on?
     
  4. DGS

    DGS Six Time F1 World Champ
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  5. Bandit

    Bandit Formula Junior

    Dec 21, 2003
    493
    Central MS
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    Mike B.
    The limitation is going to be on the door speakers. You will not get good crisp sound out of them, particularly in the low range. Unless you are willing to mount some enclosed speakers behind the seats or on the rear shelf, you will be fine getting a mid-priced stereo with 25 - 40 watts per channel.

    I like Alpine. The CDA-9835 and CDA-9855 models are full-featured and would work well.

    Of course, I wouldn't know how they sound in a Ferrari. I've turned on my radio once. The day I bought it, I made sure the radio worked. Since then, the music from the exhaust and the wind noise from the targa top have made the radio completely useless.
     
  6. maquino

    maquino Karting

    Jun 22, 2005
    219
    Consider an Alpine #CDA-9820XM. This unit fits right into the available slot in your dash, and consists of AM/FM, a single-disc CD player, and an XM satellite radio receiver. The AM/FM and CD are the usual kinds of things; XM is stunning: over 120 specialized, digital, commercial-free channels everywhere your car can see the sky. Check out:

    http://www.xmradio.com/

    In the case of the 328, the top of its dashboard is plastic/fiber, so you can mount the XM antenna right under the top of that dashboard - invisible - and still get perfect reception. :)

    The one drawback to this unit (indeed most/all Alpines) is that the display can be hard to see in bright sunlight. You can live with this via pre-sets, etc., but you should know about it in advance.

    I don't think there is another XM unit that will fit completely into the 328's dash slot. Don't know about Sirius units, but having experienced both, XM has by far the better channel selection.

    I think that the 328's stock speakers are perfectly adequate for this unit.
     
  7. DGS

    DGS Six Time F1 World Champ
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    May 27, 2003
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    I bought my (used) 328 with an older Alpine unit in the dash. The permanent floating Massachusetts Pothole Festival put an end to the CD player. The CD bounced clear out of the unit on one bump.

    I looked at units like the Empeg/Rio Car, but they still have disks -- shock mounted laptop drives, but vibration sensitive disks all the same.

    I was thinking in terms of an MP3 player that uses memory sticks or other electronic storage -- no moving parts larger than an electron. I'm still waiting for the technology in a DIN format -- rather than just the "jogger" units.

    But in the years I've owned the 328, I don't really miss the stereo. When it was my summer daily driver, I'd use the radio occasionally when stuck in traffic, mostly for traffic reports. Since moving to the D.C. area, I don't even use it that much -- gridlock is "normal" traffic in these parts, and the traffic reports here aren't exactly "real time".

    But then, I rarely use the stereo in the EVO, either. When I drive, I drive. I don't have the spare attention to really appreciate music in that setting.
     
  8. jaturon

    jaturon Formula 3

    Oct 25, 2004
    1,599
    Bangkok Thailand
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    Zane
    That's the one!
     
  9. Dave

    Dave F1 Rookie

    Apr 15, 2001
    2,722
    Little Rock
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    David Jones
    I replaced the speakers in the doors with new ones from Polk Audio,
    Installed a McIntosh head unit in the dash,
    Then installed an Alpine power amp to drive the speakers.
     
  10. Mike328

    Mike328 F1 Rookie
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    Oct 19, 2002
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    MY 328 has a very sensible audio treatment. You can replace the head unit with whatever you want. Make sure you get one with a dimmable display or a display that can be turned off--when driving at night, any light down there is a distraction.

    All you really need to do is to put high-end 6 1/2" speakers in the doors in the factory location, and then put a small, two-channel amplifier somewhere. Mine has it very nicely secured to the floor in the wiring / relay area behind the passenger footplate.

    You don't have to get crazy, and you're not going to win any competitions with the audio system "bones" you have in the 328. But mine is very clear and loud enough to be heard find on the highway with the top down, without doing anything irreversible or, frankly, noticeable for that matter.

    --Mike
     
  11. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
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    Franklin E. Parker
    Try an Ansa sports exhaust.
     
  12. Dave

    Dave F1 Rookie

    Apr 15, 2001
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    I have a Tubi on mine, so the amp had to have enough clean power to be louder than the exhaust and the 4 Webers behind my head.
     
  13. Enzo

    Enzo F1 Rookie

    Feb 14, 2002
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    Pat Pasqualini

    I thought you only liked glasspacks?
     
  14. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
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    Franklin E. Parker
    Those would sound good too. ;)
     
  15. Enzo

    Enzo F1 Rookie

    Feb 14, 2002
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    Pat Pasqualini
    LOL
     
  16. MJT328GTS

    MJT328GTS Formula Junior

    Mar 30, 2005
    374
    St. Louis
    Full Name:
    MJT
    #16 MJT328GTS, Aug 18, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I just purchased my '88 328 two months ago and the stereo was old and needed replaced (8 year old Jensen head unit and Infinity door speakers driven by a Nagamichi amplifier behind the radio).

    I love listening to music when driving so I had to upgrade the system. My F-car has a Tubi so I had to make sure the stereo could be clear and loud to compensate for the increased vocals of the exhaust.

    Here is what I had installed: an Alpine CDA-9853 head unit. JL Audio 6" door speakers with surface mount tweeters. I love base so I just went ahead and had custom sub boxes installed behind the seats. I went with the smallest size subs, which were 5" JL Audios. The custom boxes fit in the corners and are not very noticeable, especially from behind. For the amp, I went with a 6 channel JL Audio amp in the trunk. Took Tweeter 4 days to install, but they did a great job.

    Here are some pictures of the install for you. I love the sound!! Worth every penny I spent on it!
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  17. 285ferrari

    285ferrari Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Mike--Nice setup looks really good!!!
     
  18. Vlad328

    Vlad328 Formula Junior

    Mar 16, 2004
    279
    New Orleans, LA
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    Vladimir Zuzukin
    The speakers kinda make the 328 look hip.
     
  19. Markie1949

    Markie1949 Karting

    Apr 4, 2005
    82
    Utah
    My car came with MB Quart speakers installed in the doors 6 1/2 sizes, sound was impressive, and i know my Hi- Fi. one was blown by the crap amp, fosgate something, ricer crap, i replaced it with an MB Quart 200 / ch stereo amp and new MB Quart speakers. sounds beautiful, and total expenditure @ $ 315. You arn't going to get thumping bass, but if thats your desire, you don't know engine music!!
     
  20. MJT328GTS

    MJT328GTS Formula Junior

    Mar 30, 2005
    374
    St. Louis
    Full Name:
    MJT
    Thank you for the kind words. I love the sound and I think Tweeter did its best making sub boxes that sounded good without getting too large and imposing in the back. I am in the process of modifying some grill covers to fit over the 5" subs because I'm not thrilled about seeing the JL Audio logo on the speaker. I'm not 17 anymore so I want the speakers to be less obvious from the front. When the covers are completed and on the speakers I'll be sure to add that picture as well.
     
  21. loki

    loki Guest

    Jul 25, 2005
    227
    The most important thing to remember is that you will need pleanty of power to overcome the sound of the engine. You can fit a large 6.5" speaker in the doors but may need to shave the opening a bit to make them fit. MBQuart used to make a very nice speaker called the Q series. The speaker sounds really nice and can handle pleanty of power. Clarions Pro Audio head units are nice and don't clip at higher volumes. I know a lot of people like the Alpines but the Alpines display will wash out in sunlight and they do clip when the volume is past 25 (it goes to 35). A large amp can be placed in the "trunk" behind the engine bay. Wires for the amp can be run down the passanger side of the car and through the passanger rear wheel well. You can get decent sound but don't expect to be able to hear it when the pedal is on the floor. (not that you would want to anyway)
     
  22. hank sound

    hank sound F1 Veteran

    Jan 31, 2004
    5,953
    Burbank, CA
    Full Name:
    Hank Garfield
    The opera called "Ferrari" seems to be all I want to hear when I'm in my girl. Oh well, that's just me.

    Cheers, Hank
     
  23. alert1

    alert1 Karting

    Mar 17, 2005
    104
    The speakers in the doors are muffled by the carpet. Has anyone cut the carpets and placed the speakers on the outside of the carpets on the doors? Any thoughts on altering the factory condition this way?
     
  24. jvbjr

    jvbjr Formula Junior
    BANNED

    Aug 19, 2005
    418
    I just put an Alpine system with 6.5" Fucal speakers in the doors. I have just the two speakers, but the Fucals put out soooo much bass it is a non-issue. With the top down at 130 mph I can hear the stereo just fine, mine also has a "mute" which reduces the volume 20 db gradually stepping it down and up so when you are driving in traffic you can turn it down at the traffic lights. It was $800 in total w/ installation, done in two hours, has IPod hook up and they hardwired my radar detector power so my lighter space is now not used if I want to use it for something else, like IPod power supply.
     
  25. MARQ

    MARQ Formula 3

    Feb 9, 2002
    1,924
    East Coast US
    Full Name:
    Marq
    My 328 is done this way. However, before I did it, I purchased the original factory carpet replacement pieces for each side so that I could revert to the original 'speaker behind the carpet' set-up. Noticeably sharper/clearer/crisper (no audiophile here) sound w/o the carpet covering the spkrs.
     

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