[V8] 95 A5q Radio options

Tue Jan 18 22:39:53 PST 2011

Final update

Finished up the install today.

Used a hacksaw blade to wear down the raised ribs inside the radio hole that
support the stock radio but severely pinched the mounting sleeve of the of
the new radio.  

This unit looks really decent in the V8.  It fits very nicely, it doesn't
look like a video game, and when it's lit up, it's readable and not
distracting.

With only rear speakers installed it sounds as good as the system in my 93
V8.  I'm really pleased, considering the cost and amount of effort it took.

I pulled the front door units also because they were making noise, even
though they weren't receiving a signal.  I'm going to figure out some front
speaker option for the doors.  

The front Bose speaker units were making noise, even when not receiving a
speaker signal, and one or both were causing a battery drain.

This head unit was 70 bux.  It's a simple deck with a strong FM tuner, CD,
and an aux input.  I know there's much more functionality available, but for
me, and for the money, this is excellent.

Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Kellock [mailto:ekellock at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 7:51 PM
To: 'Mike Pshenishny'; 'thejimrose'
Cc: 'quattro at audifans.com'
Subject: RE: 95 A5q Radio options

Here's an interim update on my stereo install which falls right in line with
what the original poster has in mind.

I bought this radio from Crutchfield...
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1301300MP/Pioneer-DEH-1300MP.html?tp=5684

but just the standard adaptor...
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_12040VW12/Antenna-Adapter.html?tp=2569

The install is not complete but I have it connected to the front antenna and
with Local set to the 2nd highest level, I get all the stations I can get
with the Bose.  

I bought these speakers...
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSG971M/Pioneer-TS-G971M.html?tp=91

and this harness adaptor...
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120701759/Audi-Receiver-Wire-Harness.html?tp=29
77

It was nice to not have to do any scratch wiring but since I ran my own
speaker wire, I'm only using about a third of the adaptor... oh well.

Issues.  I have not pulled or unplugged the front speakers and they make a
noise while the system is on probably because of one of the two wires that
connect to the blue/white antenna power wire.

Also, it is apparent that one or both of these front speakers was the cause
of my battery drain.

I will be pulling those and adding something in their place to hook to the
new radio.

The installation sleeve for the new radio does not fit in the stock hole
because of some raised ribs of plastic that are obviously there to support
and steady the stock radio.  I finished wiring everything up and tested and
will finish the installation tomorrow.

I think I'm going to cut a slit in each corner to allow the enclosure to
flex instead of trying to cut down the ribs.  There are 8 in all and they're
fairly substantial.  

Forcing the install sleeve in caused it to start to deform.

I used the stock Bose enclosures in the back, stripped of all their
Bose-ness.  I had to remove the plate they mount to to cut down the spacer
to allow my new speakers to mount flush as the Bose speakers had a thicker
foam insulator.  The rear speaker install is as clean as it gets.

I got some 16 gauge speaker wire at Walmart and used a stiff wire to route
it behind the knee bolster, the kick panel, and under the rear backrest to
the trunk.  I pulled the doorsill plastic cover and the wire fit in there,
no problem.  

Two pieces of 16 foot long wire were more than enough to make this run.

I used butt connectors for everything and taped wires together to reduce
flex and vibration for those connections.

The color of the display is a totally different color than anything else in
the car, but I'm really not concerned about it.  The light of all the
buttons, on the other hand, is red.  

This has got to be the easiest stereo install I've ever done.  One could
probably live with rear speakers only, but I think I'm going to go for that
just cause it sounds weird, having driven the same basic setup for 20 years.

The head unit has some pretty flexible controls, and really quite simple and
straightforward.  You can cycle through some standard sound profiles, which
would be handy for books on tape vs music.

One sort of neat feature is that you can leave the display illuminated when
the radio is off, a few buttons and the time, I don't know, as kind of a
night light I guess.  Gimicky, but defeatable.

Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: quattro-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:quattro-bounces at audifans.com] On
Behalf Of Mike Pshenishny
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 2:07 PM
To: thejimrose
Cc: quattro at audifans.com
Subject: Re: 95 A5q Radio options

Did you use an antenna adapter on the new headunit?  I believe that would
cure AM/FM reception issues.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_12040VW54/Antenna-Adapter.html

-Mike

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 3:54 PM, thejimrose <thejimrose at gmail.com> wrote:
> another vote for aftermarket - superior in every way EXCEPT if you
> like FM.
>
> fm reception w aftermarket radios in audi's is abyssmal, due to the
> amplified antennae. case in point the alpine in my now ex b5a4. great 
> radio
> - love the ipod integration but lousy fm.
> _______________________________________________
> quattro mailing list
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/quattro
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