Stock Delco Stereo Radio Speaker Setup
02-09-2015, 08:36 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Stock Delco Stereo Radio Speaker Setup
In my '1972 convertible, I have the stock Delco AM/FM stereo radio using 2 original style 8-10 ohm dash speakers. The guy who refurbished the radio suggested that I install 2 additional 8-10 ohm speakers in the kick panel area to get a much improved sound. I spoke with the owner of a company that supplies speakers for vintage car radios who said the stereo (not the mono radio) unit should handle the 2 additional speakers. He said some of the full size 1972 chevy cars with stereo radios used a 4 speaker system.
Is anybody using this 4 speaker setup in a 1970 - 1972 stock Delco stereo radio?
Thanks for the input.
Dr
Is anybody using this 4 speaker setup in a 1970 - 1972 stock Delco stereo radio?
Thanks for the input.
Dr
02-10-2015, 05:26 AM
#2
Team Owner
Yes. I'm using 4 speakers. But, I have also replaced the speakers in the dash with modern upgrades.
My new dash speakers are 4 ohm units; and the kickpanel speakers are also 4 ohm units. I've wired them in SERIES (on each side) to get 8 ohm total for each side. That's a pretty good match to the 10 ohm amp output impedence.
If you keep the orignal dash speakers (10 ohm) and add other 8 ohm speakers in the kickpaner areas, you will end up with either 4 ohm sets or 16 ohm sets on either side, depending on how you wire them (parallel or series). Neither of those is a good option. With 4 ohms on each side, you will overdrive the output amp and likely burn it up, if you turn the volume up very high. With 16 ohms, its will sound fine...but the volume level will be weak.
And, those dash speakers are likely performing rather poorly after 40 years of service (not mentioning that they were 'cheapos' when they were installed.
Go with two 4 ohm speakers on each side, wired in series, and you will like it a lot.
My new dash speakers are 4 ohm units; and the kickpanel speakers are also 4 ohm units. I've wired them in SERIES (on each side) to get 8 ohm total for each side. That's a pretty good match to the 10 ohm amp output impedence.
If you keep the orignal dash speakers (10 ohm) and add other 8 ohm speakers in the kickpaner areas, you will end up with either 4 ohm sets or 16 ohm sets on either side, depending on how you wire them (parallel or series). Neither of those is a good option. With 4 ohms on each side, you will overdrive the output amp and likely burn it up, if you turn the volume up very high. With 16 ohms, its will sound fine...but the volume level will be weak.
And, those dash speakers are likely performing rather poorly after 40 years of service (not mentioning that they were 'cheapos' when they were installed.
Go with two 4 ohm speakers on each side, wired in series, and you will like it a lot.
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Cortadito (02-12-2023)
02-10-2015, 10:26 AM
#3
Melting Slicks
Good info and thanks!!!
Yes. I'm using 4 speakers. But, I have also replaced the speakers in the dash with modern upgrades.
My new dash speakers are 4 ohm units; and the kickpanel speakers are also 4 ohm units. I've wired them in SERIES (on each side) to get 8 ohm total for each side. That's a pretty good match to the 10 ohm amp output impedence.
If you keep the orignal dash speakers (10 ohm) and add other 8 ohm speakers in the kickpaner areas, you will end up with either 4 ohm sets or 16 ohm sets on either side, depending on how you wire them (parallel or series). Neither of those is a good option. With 4 ohms on each side, you will overdrive the output amp and likely burn it up, if you turn the volume up very high. With 16 ohms, its will sound fine...but the volume level will be weak.
And, those dash speakers are likely performing rather poorly after 40 years of service (not mentioning that they were 'cheapos' when they were installed.
Go with two 4 ohm speakers on each side, wired in series, and you will like it a lot.
My new dash speakers are 4 ohm units; and the kickpanel speakers are also 4 ohm units. I've wired them in SERIES (on each side) to get 8 ohm total for each side. That's a pretty good match to the 10 ohm amp output impedence.
If you keep the orignal dash speakers (10 ohm) and add other 8 ohm speakers in the kickpaner areas, you will end up with either 4 ohm sets or 16 ohm sets on either side, depending on how you wire them (parallel or series). Neither of those is a good option. With 4 ohms on each side, you will overdrive the output amp and likely burn it up, if you turn the volume up very high. With 16 ohms, its will sound fine...but the volume level will be weak.
And, those dash speakers are likely performing rather poorly after 40 years of service (not mentioning that they were 'cheapos' when they were installed.
Go with two 4 ohm speakers on each side, wired in series, and you will like it a lot.
02-10-2015, 11:09 AM
#4
Instructor
Thread Starter
Yes. I'm using 4 speakers. But, I have also replaced the speakers in the dash with modern upgrades.
My new dash speakers are 4 ohm units; and the kickpanel speakers are also 4 ohm units. I've wired them in SERIES (on each side) to get 8 ohm total for each side. That's a pretty good match to the 10 ohm amp output impedence.
If you keep the orignal dash speakers (10 ohm) and add other 8 ohm speakers in the kickpaner areas, you will end up with either 4 ohm sets or 16 ohm sets on either side, depending on how you wire them (parallel or series). Neither of those is a good option. With 4 ohms on each side, you will overdrive the output amp and likely burn it up, if you turn the volume up very high. With 16 ohms, its will sound fine...but the volume level will be weak.
And, those dash speakers are likely performing rather poorly after 40 years of service (not mentioning that they were 'cheapos' when they were installed.
Go with two 4 ohm speakers on each side, wired in series, and you will like it a lot.
My new dash speakers are 4 ohm units; and the kickpanel speakers are also 4 ohm units. I've wired them in SERIES (on each side) to get 8 ohm total for each side. That's a pretty good match to the 10 ohm amp output impedence.
If you keep the orignal dash speakers (10 ohm) and add other 8 ohm speakers in the kickpaner areas, you will end up with either 4 ohm sets or 16 ohm sets on either side, depending on how you wire them (parallel or series). Neither of those is a good option. With 4 ohms on each side, you will overdrive the output amp and likely burn it up, if you turn the volume up very high. With 16 ohms, its will sound fine...but the volume level will be weak.
And, those dash speakers are likely performing rather poorly after 40 years of service (not mentioning that they were 'cheapos' when they were installed.
Go with two 4 ohm speakers on each side, wired in series, and you will like it a lot.
Thanks for the input. Did the 4 ohm dash speakers that you installed require any modifications or were the replacements an exact fit? Where did you buy them? I explored the possibility of going with the setup you used but was told by a speaker company rep (who only sold 8 ohm speakers) that the 4 ohm replacement dash speakers sold by the major corvette parts suppliers would require some modification. I'm always reluctant to make modifications.
02-10-2015, 03:42 PM
#5
Team Owner
I bought all the speakers from ONLINECARSTEREO.COM. Lots of choices...cheap, quality, etc. For the dash speakers, search for "4 ohm" and "4x6 inch"; you will get an extensive listing of possibilities.
Find speakers that are NOT hi-wattage speakers; the Delco head only produced 16 watts RMS to the speakers. In 'today's' terms, that would be about 35 watts (peak). Instead, select speakers that have 50 watt capability or less. And, for that small size speaker, frequency response in the area of 50Hz - 10KHz would work fine. If you prefer better high frequency response, you will pay more--and you still won't be able to hear it. {lol}
BTW, many folks will try to tell you that speakers in the dash are a BAD idea. Actually, the truth is that it is a very GOOD idea. The high frequency portion of the sound will cleanly reflect off of the windshield glass and will then be aimed directly at the listener(s). You really can't do any better than that with high frequencies...especially inside a car. Good bass frequencies do not require direct line-of-sound to the listener, so the kickpanel areas for bass speakers is very good, as well.
You will NOT be able to match the hole pattern exactly. However, several choices have plastic frames (these usually have multiple hole pattern sets in them). These are a good choice for the dash speakers. It is possible that one of the hole sets will match up with what you have. But, if not, you can use a 'pencil' type soldering iron to melt new holes in the plastic frame so they will fit in the stock speaker mount hardware. You DO need to re-use the stock speaker mounts, so that the weight of the speakers will be absorbed by the mounts and not on the dash pad, itself.
Choose kickpanel speakers using similar parameters. A larger speaker will provide better bass response (something like 30Hz-10KHz would do nicely). Again, you want speakers that are not 'high power' units. Anything less than 100 watt (peak) speakers would do the job, and would not present a problem with too large (nor too deep) a magnet that will not fit in the kickpanel wall structure members. The '68-69 cars had 4x10 speakers in the kickpanels. If you can find something like that, great. If not, anything 5-1/4" round or smaller will work. Elongated speakers will fit better and may provide better bass response.
Good luck with your project.
Find speakers that are NOT hi-wattage speakers; the Delco head only produced 16 watts RMS to the speakers. In 'today's' terms, that would be about 35 watts (peak). Instead, select speakers that have 50 watt capability or less. And, for that small size speaker, frequency response in the area of 50Hz - 10KHz would work fine. If you prefer better high frequency response, you will pay more--and you still won't be able to hear it. {lol}
BTW, many folks will try to tell you that speakers in the dash are a BAD idea. Actually, the truth is that it is a very GOOD idea. The high frequency portion of the sound will cleanly reflect off of the windshield glass and will then be aimed directly at the listener(s). You really can't do any better than that with high frequencies...especially inside a car. Good bass frequencies do not require direct line-of-sound to the listener, so the kickpanel areas for bass speakers is very good, as well.
You will NOT be able to match the hole pattern exactly. However, several choices have plastic frames (these usually have multiple hole pattern sets in them). These are a good choice for the dash speakers. It is possible that one of the hole sets will match up with what you have. But, if not, you can use a 'pencil' type soldering iron to melt new holes in the plastic frame so they will fit in the stock speaker mount hardware. You DO need to re-use the stock speaker mounts, so that the weight of the speakers will be absorbed by the mounts and not on the dash pad, itself.
Choose kickpanel speakers using similar parameters. A larger speaker will provide better bass response (something like 30Hz-10KHz would do nicely). Again, you want speakers that are not 'high power' units. Anything less than 100 watt (peak) speakers would do the job, and would not present a problem with too large (nor too deep) a magnet that will not fit in the kickpanel wall structure members. The '68-69 cars had 4x10 speakers in the kickpanels. If you can find something like that, great. If not, anything 5-1/4" round or smaller will work. Elongated speakers will fit better and may provide better bass response.
Good luck with your project.
Last edited by 7T1vette; 02-10-2015 at 03:49 PM.
The following users liked this post:
Cortadito (02-12-2023)
02-10-2015, 07:23 PM
#6
Instructor
Thread Starter
I bought all the speakers from ONLINECARSTEREO.COM. Lots of choices...cheap, quality, etc. For the dash speakers, search for "4 ohm" and "4x6 inch"; you will get an extensive listing of possibilities.
Find speakers that are NOT hi-wattage speakers; the Delco head only produced 16 watts RMS to the speakers. In 'today's' terms, that would be about 35 watts (peak). Instead, select speakers that have 50 watt capability or less. And, for that small size speaker, frequency response in the area of 50Hz - 10KHz would work fine. If you prefer better high frequency response, you will pay more--and you still won't be able to hear it. {lol}
BTW, many folks will try to tell you that speakers in the dash are a BAD idea. Actually, the truth is that it is a very GOOD idea. The high frequency portion of the sound will cleanly reflect off of the windshield glass and will then be aimed directly at the listener(s). You really can't do any better than that with high frequencies...especially inside a car. Good bass frequencies do not require direct line-of-sound to the listener, so the kickpanel areas for bass speakers is very good, as well.
You will NOT be able to match the hole pattern exactly. However, several choices have plastic frames (these usually have multiple hole pattern sets in them). These are a good choice for the dash speakers. It is possible that one of the hole sets will match up with what you have. But, if not, you can use a 'pencil' type soldering iron to melt new holes in the plastic frame so they will fit in the stock speaker mount hardware. You DO need to re-use the stock speaker mounts, so that the weight of the speakers will be absorbed by the mounts and not on the dash pad, itself.
Choose kickpanel speakers using similar parameters. A larger speaker will provide better bass response (something like 30Hz-10KHz would do nicely). Again, you want speakers that are not 'high power' units. Anything less than 100 watt (peak) speakers would do the job, and would not present a problem with too large (nor too deep) a magnet that will not fit in the kickpanel wall structure members. The '68-69 cars had 4x10 speakers in the kickpanels. If you can find something like that, great. If not, anything 5-1/4" round or smaller will work. Elongated speakers will fit better and may provide better bass response.
Good luck with your project.
Find speakers that are NOT hi-wattage speakers; the Delco head only produced 16 watts RMS to the speakers. In 'today's' terms, that would be about 35 watts (peak). Instead, select speakers that have 50 watt capability or less. And, for that small size speaker, frequency response in the area of 50Hz - 10KHz would work fine. If you prefer better high frequency response, you will pay more--and you still won't be able to hear it. {lol}
BTW, many folks will try to tell you that speakers in the dash are a BAD idea. Actually, the truth is that it is a very GOOD idea. The high frequency portion of the sound will cleanly reflect off of the windshield glass and will then be aimed directly at the listener(s). You really can't do any better than that with high frequencies...especially inside a car. Good bass frequencies do not require direct line-of-sound to the listener, so the kickpanel areas for bass speakers is very good, as well.
You will NOT be able to match the hole pattern exactly. However, several choices have plastic frames (these usually have multiple hole pattern sets in them). These are a good choice for the dash speakers. It is possible that one of the hole sets will match up with what you have. But, if not, you can use a 'pencil' type soldering iron to melt new holes in the plastic frame so they will fit in the stock speaker mount hardware. You DO need to re-use the stock speaker mounts, so that the weight of the speakers will be absorbed by the mounts and not on the dash pad, itself.
Choose kickpanel speakers using similar parameters. A larger speaker will provide better bass response (something like 30Hz-10KHz would do nicely). Again, you want speakers that are not 'high power' units. Anything less than 100 watt (peak) speakers would do the job, and would not present a problem with too large (nor too deep) a magnet that will not fit in the kickpanel wall structure members. The '68-69 cars had 4x10 speakers in the kickpanels. If you can find something like that, great. If not, anything 5-1/4" round or smaller will work. Elongated speakers will fit better and may provide better bass response.
Good luck with your project.
Thanks again for all the great information.