Forum;
My First POST.....:)
I know someone has solved this problem before me. What Unit did you choose and why? Not looking to spend a fortune, just upgrade.
I recently purchased a 93 Eldorado Roadster, 1 owner, 53,000 miles, Dark Cherry Metallic, Saddle top. It came with the Factory AM/FM/Cassette.
I want to upgrade to a CD/Cassette Stereo - that sounds the best with the stock factory speakers. I was told Sanyo had two models with those options that will fit in the dash of the car. Otherwise if I go with just a CD upgrade my options are greater to other stereos. Also, I would like the MP3 Option, or an Audio Output Jack to connect my mobile MP3 Player to the Car Stereo system and speakers. Any options there?

PS.... I spent an hour or more on www.crutchfield.com (http://www.crutchfield.com/) - I have a headache..

TOO many options - They don't believe in reverse engineering. What fits in the car....select the model stereo that fits in the car - without defacing the dash, etc. Too many of the stereo did not have kits for the Eldorado..etc

Please advise.

Charlesj
Southern Indiana
93 Eldorado Roadster

Surely someone has done this before.... I cannot believe I have all these folks looking and not responding.

Charles

I would just get any aftermarket headunit that is in your price range. I am bias towards pioneer i like how the look/work/etc....
you can get a good model for what you need for around $100-$200

SKy's the limit specially since the adapter is the standard double din opening in the dash.

Money no object? Budget? Give me a dollar amount and ill steer you in the rite direction.

Prone to go with ALpine but there are quite a few other good manufacturers out there.

Josh;

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I am looking for something between $200-300 based on what I have seen. Of course, that depends on where you buy the unit. One place will ask $200 for a $300 unit, while another will be $225, or something like that.

Charles



I would just get any aftermarket headunit that is in your price range. I am bias towards pioneer i like how the look/work/etc....
you can get a good model for what you need for around $100-$200

SLS:
Thanks for you feedback too. I guess around $200 to $300 for the Headunit. The young man at Best Buy indicated that the install kit book shows that I would have to buy a thin line Headunit - which would then make a pocket either top or bottom of the Headunit. In other words, there is no aftermarket Unit that will fill up the stock unit as a one for one switch. The install kit dictates which unit you can install in the dash.
Based on what I am looking for and willing to spend, what do you suggest.
I have a older birthday coming up and the BRIDE wanted to know what I want for my BIRTHDAY...do I have a surprise for her... he, he, he,

Charles

SKy's the limit specially since the adapter is the standard double din opening in the dash.

Money no object? Budget? Give me a dollar amount and ill steer you in the rite direction.

Prone to go with ALpine but there are quite a few other good manufacturers out there.

carstereoworld.com
really good prices on head units

The young man at Best Buy indicated that the install kit book shows that I would have to buy a thin line Headunit - which would then make a pocket either top or bottom of the Headunit.
There are several head units in the market, I personally owned a CD/casette/EQ combo. Just search for double din. What the guy at best buy meant is that THEY don't have one that fits your car. He is either ignorant or doesn't care about what's best for you.

Excellent point - Thanks a million. I now know what to search for.

Charles

There are several head units in the market, I personally owned a CD/casette/EQ combo. Just search for double din. What the guy at best buy meant is that THEY don't have one that fits your car. He is either ignorant or doesn't care about what's best for you.

Super! Now I know where to look for a Double Din HeadUnit..... You guys are awesome......

Charles
carstereoworld.com
really good prices on head units

Anytime! If you see 2 or 3 that you like, tell us and we can make suggestions to pick a winner...

I've been studying this issue for my '92 for some time. This is not a straight forward head unit swap. On the '92 ( can someone verify the '93? ) the dash unit is only a control unit. There is a cable that leads to the trunk panel behind the rear seat. This area contains the amp/tuner. ALL speaker wire runs to this AND the antenna cable terminates there. Your going to have to do a lot of re-wiring.

The really exciting thing is that Kenwood is bringing out the Excelon DDX7015. This is a DVD receiver with a 6.5" touch screen controls. It needs a 2 DIN high opening and our Eldo's have one. Here's the link to Crutchfield:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-RxKtAG9eZjb/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=17&g=168550&I=113DDX7015&o=m&a=0&cc=01&avf=N
They are expecting availability sometime mid April. At $1399 it's more than your current budget, but you may want to wait and sacrifice to come up with the cash. I can't think of a better solution for an Eldo dash than this. It brings us to the next step of what GM should have done after the touch tubes in the early '90's Riveria and Toronado's. I'm broke right now, but after I get things turned around, this is where I'm heading.

I have just checked the excelon... nice, real nice! It's the first time in years that I would even consider buying a kenwood. And it's not because of the double din, or the monitor, or most of its features... this is the first kenwood product with a 24 bit processor I have seen (I don't regularly check their products, but I don't think they have before) Add that to an all-you-will-need-head unit and you have a winner...

Craig;
Thanks a million for the info. Funny thing...when I was checking through the dealer to see if I could upgrade they indicated that if I had the 'bose' unit it would be as you described in your post. But I have the very stock vanilla AM/FM/Cassette and it's all there in one piece. The connectors are there for both the speakers and antenna.

3 Different Audio sound shops in Louisville, KY have all told me that my opening will not accomodate the Double DIN unit, without modifying the dash substructure. One tech said he did that for a customer after the customer signed a wavier.
They all SUGGESTED....that I look for a single DIN unit that has the features that I am looking for and the install kit will make a small glass case opening or note pad opening beneath the New Unit to give it a more clean look. They suggested Kenwood and Sanyo....

Charles


I've been studying this issue for my '92 for some time. This is not a straight forward head unit swap. On the '92 ( can someone verify the '93? ) the dash unit is only a control unit. There is a cable that leads to the trunk panel behind the rear seat. This area contains the amp/tuner. ALL speaker wire runs to this AND the antenna cable terminates there. Your going to have to do a lot of re-wiring.



The really exciting thing is that Kenwood is bringing out the Excelon DDX7015. This is a DVD receiver with a 6.5" touch screen controls. It needs a 2 DIN high opening and our Eldo's have one. Here's the link to Crutchfield:http://www.crutchfield.com/S-RxKtAG9eZjb/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=17&g=168550&I=113DDX7015&o=m&a=0&cc=01&avf=N


They are expecting availability sometime mid April. At $1399 it's more than your current budget, but you may want to wait and sacrifice to come up with the cash. I can't think of a better solution for an Eldo dash than this. It brings us to the next step of what GM should have done after the touch tubes in the early '90's Riveria and Toronado's. I'm broke right now, but after I get things turned around, this is where I'm heading.

I have replaced the stereo in my 93 STS and I think the techs are right that you have to modify the substructure, unless there is a very shallow unit I don't know of. I was going to put a double din in until I pulled mine out and found a big metal bar in the way. I went with the Pioneer DEH-P6400 in-dash. I got mine on clearance at Best Buy, but they usually don't have the best price. I got my speakers from www.etronics.com. They seem to have lowest prices around. For the dash install kit, I went to Circuit City. It was 20 bucks, looks great, and lets you keep your factory black trim piece. Whatever you get, good luck.

They suggested Kenwood and Sanyo....
CharlesI don't think I have to add anything... sanyo? brrr..

I had a Pioneer double din HU in my dash ( 4 years ago). No major "structural modification" needed. But hey, maybe there is a drastic structural difference between the 92, 93 and 94 models, or maybe nowadays DD HU are bigger than they used to be... In the other hand, yes, there is a couple of details to be done, and they have to protect their arses form sue-happy customers with a waiver... but the final product and the looks of the double din have no match...

Modifying a caddy's system is usually a frustrating experience. It involves more time doing research than actually installing your stuff. There is no such thing as a reference book to do it. Few aftermarket parts, erroneous information, different AC delco BOSE factory systems... you name it.

The sad thing is that other than a few and generally expensive ones, most of the "professional installers" are too used to have all kinds of pre-made A-goes-in-B-nothing-else-needed (not even brains) stuff. Ask them to do something for which they don't have a kit, and they have no clue how to.

When I was doing my last system (last year), I needed a solder gun to fix a cable (a cable built capable of being repaired, not the usual $30 disposable kind). I went to more than 6 different shops and none of them would like to do the 2 minutes job. I had to pay one of them to let me use his stuff and do it myself.

I searched for weeks for an installation kit that fitted my 94 deville. I bought a couple on the internet, none of them fitted. I went to several shops, the some would say they didn't have a specific one, others would sell you a kit but wouldn't install it. I ended buying a kit for mustang, did a couple of minimal adjustmenst, and voila! perfect. Just 2 minutes of gray matter usage. It even has a small pouch where I'm planning to accomodate a signal processor. Lousy "professional installers". They make me sick.

Yup, you're going to have lots of fun installing that radio into a '93.. I know I didn't think it was going to be that hard replacing my double din with an aftermarket radio.. Come to find that after buying my JVC double din off EBay and getting ready to cut/splice it into the existing wiring, it isn't possible with you guessed it, our year '93.... What we have is a head unit where all the guts are really in the trunk attached to the back of the passenger seat.. Soo I had to run all new wires and while I was at it I put in new 6X9's and new speakers in the doors.... It fit right in; however the mounting bracket I made is a strip of metal that comes off the center back post, down, and to the front of the radio.. At the front it T's (Used JB weld) out to 2 bolts that point down that I JB welded to the strip also... Works great except I never found some black foam to cover the edges and hide the fact that it's a little smaller than OEM.. I now want to switch it out and get a flip up LCD/DVD player or this double din... http://www.discountave.net/dpkencaraudd.html (http://www.discountave.net/dpkencaraudd.html)



Well that's my 2 cents... If you want to see a pic of the radio installed go here.. http://users.idworld.net/luv2fly/caddy/cadillacweb.htm (http://users.idworld.net/luv2fly/caddy/cadillacweb.htm)