93 Audi 90CS Audio

[Tec_Nine]

Bought a prestine 90CS, compared to my b5 s4 sound system the 90 sounds worse than a portable speaker, couple questions. Is the 90CS audi factory amped or do the speakers get power from the headunit? Second question than would be, if I just upgrade speakers would there be a noticible differance if maybe mated with an 8" sub. Third would be is there any oem headunit thats better than the crap one in there that would fit and if not do they make a harness to install and aftermarket unit. All help appriciated.

[Ruffiano]

Is the 90CS audi factory amped or do the speakers get power from the headunit? Does your unit have the Bose package? if not it gets power from the headunit. If so, it has small built in amps on speakers.

Second question than would be, if I just upgrade speakers would there be a noticible differance if maybe mated with an 8" sub. I generally add a 10" sub to my setups to fill out the sound better.

Third would be is there any oem headunit thats better than the crap one in there that would fit and if not do they make a harness to install and aftermarket unit. Yes, there are other OEM headunits, but normally not worth the hassle. I like Alpine head units, they have many that illuminate red and match the interior nicely. Install kits are readily available on Amazon for about 7 bucks.

http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-VW01B-...W6ZJ6EEASY7M7E

You will also need an antenna adapter if you want to use the radio:
http://www.amazon.com/Metra-Electron...ntenna+adapter

Any more questions?

Here is my B4 90 interior at night:

[Tec_Nine]

No Bose sound for me, thank you for your knowledgable answer, much appreciated. Should I be worried about mounting depth as far as new speakers go?

[Ruffiano]

not particularly, i have MB Quart stuff that replaced all the OEM components.

[Tec_Nine]

Okay sounds good. Thanks again

[PRY4SNO]

Regarding the sub size... it depends on the volume you can get with your enclosure. An 8" with plenty of power and a decent sized enclosure will go plenty low and pound quite hard without distorting. A buddy of mine has a JL 8w7 in his b5 avant and it pounds.

As for decks, I prefer Pioneer myself, but get one that will match the stock gauges and fits your budget with the options you require (bluetooth, USB, etc).

There's a fair amount of info about speaker sizes on s2forum.com if you haven't looked there yet.

[Tec_Nine]

seen mixed answers on speaker sizes, looks like 4" up front is the norm but as far as the rear speakers in the door panels most audio sites say 6.5" but I've been told they're 5.25", so the question is which one is the correct size? The doors also have tweeters I believe, any insight as to their size. Thanks guys

[slacktide]

Fronts are 4" but you will need to cut 2 of the speaker mounting tabs off to get em to fit. Rear doors are a funky non-standard size with amplifiers attached to them. They have a decent plastic enclosure, but it needs dynamatting. A 5 1/4" fits in the hole perfectly. You MIGHT be able to fit a 6.5" but the enclosure will be undersized and I'm not sure the grille will fit in the door opening. I'd say the door tweeters are 1" or so, pretty standard.

My system: Clarion head unit, MB Quart 4" in the dash, MB Quart 5.25 in the rear doors, MB quart 6.5" in the rear deck with custom enclosures, 2 10" Polk DB subs in a sealed box (meh), Alphasonik USA 2150 amp (500W to the subs), Sony XM4040 amp (200W to the drivers. Want to replace it with an Alphasonik USA4060 or 4080.) All top-shelf early '90s era stuff, except the Polks because my old JLs blew up and they were dirt cheap.

BTW one problem is that the dashboard speaker grilles effectively block at least half the output. Seriously, pull on off and look at it. I cut away most of the blocked area and covered it with grille cloth. Kind of like on this page but a lot cleaner. http://www.audifans.net/ftopict-27420.html

[Tec_Nine]

After picking a head unit on crutchfield one thing that is recommended for install is a single pole-double throw relay. Anyone know the purpose of this on a 93 Audi 90 cs. Could it be because of the cars security system? Never had to do this on any other car. Figured I'd get some input

[Ruffiano]

it might be because the original stereo had 'constant' power, and they want you to use the relay for the 'switched' power.

These cars have a nice switched power junction under the drivers knee panel, very simple to run a single wire over to it.

[Tec_Nine]

Yeah I believe you're right because I have to turn off the original before I get out of the car every time. If I don't the chime sounds

[slacktide]

I used a relay because I was running several amps off of a single remote turn-on lead. Can't think of any other reason you'd want one.

I ran a dedicated positive cable from the head unit directly to the battery, and found a convenient switched source to connect the turn-on wire (usually yellow on aftermarket)

[Tec_Nine]

Any of you have issues with rear speakers not working after using a harness to hook up after market radio? Reason I ask is when I was looking up installation hardware on crutchfield one of the reviews says rear speakers didn't work after install.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1207017...s.html?tp=2977

[slacktide]

Any of you have issues with rear speakers not working after using a harness to hook up after market radio? Reason I ask is when I was looking up installation hardware on crutchfield one of the reviews says rear speakers didn't work after install.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1207017...s.html?tp=2977

As I said before, the rear speakers are funky non-standard things with built in amps. You will need to run new wires to the rear speakers from the head unit. My installation does not re-use a single factory wire and I recommend you do the same. Those "Matching wiring harnesses" are more trouble than they are worth. I wouldn't use one even if it was free.

[zcameron831]

I bought my 95 90 with cut stereo wires and no speakers. After wire matching and splicing I put 2 4" speakers in the dash, cut 6" holes into the front doors for 6.5" Polks and put 6.5" polks in the rear doors. Wired everything to a kicker 4ch amp, then added 2 custom 10"s on a 4,000w banda amp, dual batteries, and 1/0guage power cables.

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