OT looking for radio

Hi...

With apologies for the off-topic post, I wonder if any of you
in Canada might have or know where I could get one of the
earlier (squarish) Infinity AM/FM/CD units?

The one I need is the one that says Infinity or Infinity Gold on
the face, and has 5 (not 3) equalizer sliders.

Goes without saying that I want one with an operating display,
and that will play burned cd's.

Would like to buy one for a reasonable price if one can be found
in Canada (there is one in the US, but customs hassles).

Please let me know, thanks in advance, and take care.

Ken

Have you tried Ebay?


In article <K6xhf.613058$tl2.346833@pd7tw3no>, Ken Weitzel >
wrote:
>
>Hi...
>
>With apologies for the off-topic post, I wonder if any of you
>in Canada might have or know where I could get one of the
>earlier (squarish) Infinity AM/FM/CD units?
>
>The one I need is the one that says Infinity or Infinity Gold on
>the face, and has 5 (not 3) equalizer sliders.
>
>Goes without saying that I want one with an operating display,
>and that will play burned cd's.
>
>Would like to buy one for a reasonable price if one can be found
>in Canada (there is one in the US, but customs hassles).
>
>Please let me know, thanks in advance, and take care.
>
>Ken
>

Rick Yerke wrote:
> Have you tried Ebay?

Hi Rick...

Yeppers, sure did... that's where I found the one in the US...
Searched all the for sale newsgroups, too


Still hoping that there must be one sitting somewhere in Canada
doing nothing... young folks seem to be "upgrading" them all the
time, so the OEM ones must be going somewhere

Thanks for your reply, and take care.

Ken

"Ken Weitzel" > wrote in message
news:ZSxhf.608554$1i.362247@pd7tw2no...
>
>
> Rick Yerke wrote:
> > Have you tried Ebay?
>
> Hi Rick...
>
> Yeppers, sure did... that's where I found the one in the US...
> Searched all the for sale newsgroups, too
>
>
> Still hoping that there must be one sitting somewhere in Canada
> doing nothing... young folks seem to be "upgrading" them all the
> time, so the OEM ones must be going somewhere
>

Yes, they are. The Infinity sytems use powered speakers, and you
cannot substitute a standard radio and use the Infinity speakers, you
have to replace the speakers when you replace the Infinity system

As a result of this there's a market for used, working Infinity radios
because quite a lot of people who have their Infinity radio stolen by
thieves, do not want to replace the entire system, they just want to
replace the radio.

Also, the Infinity speakers themselves are expensive to replace, so
quite a lot of people who have ONE speaker fail, want to buy
just a replacement, so there is also a market for used, working,
Infinity speakers.

I have been in every wrecking yard in my city that has
Chryslers, scavenging parts for my projects, and without fail
every single vehicle that comes into a wrecking yard with an
Infinity system has that system pulled within days. The speakers
are usually pulled within a week. Radios that have the 5 band
equalizer like you want, the yards themselves take those radios
out, they don't even make it to the yard for customers to get.

The car audio shops know all this so when a young fool pup comes
in to R&R his Infinity radio with a stereo, if he does not want his
Infinity system parts, the audio shops take them and sell them.

The VAST majority of GOOD cdplayer Infinity systems with the
5 band eq go straight to the insurance companies for radio
replacement.

Every once in a while you see one of these on Ebay that is
probably a good one, for example Ebay auction #5834287779.
But most of them are suspect, and even these can be easily
bid up to $150 or more. For example of
the silliness, check out Ebay auction #8017168057, the
seller flat out admits the radio is busted but there's STILL
one bid on it for $40, 4 days before the end of the auction!

In my Ebay opinion,
(I've bought over 400 items on Ebay, my feedback is all positive,
and I've been doing it since 1999, userID tmittelstaedt) based
on looking at the auctions descriptions and sellers info for
these Infinity systems for quite a while (I wanted a cd player
too, like you do) the vast majority of cdplayer Infinity systems
with the 5 band eq that go on Ebay have a failed cd drive. The sellers
don't tell
you this, they just ship the radio with shippers insurance, and
when you go to install it and find the cd drive broken, they tell
you to file a claim with the shipper because it must have been
damaged in transit. You then go to file a claim and the shipper
tells you that you have to show an invoice for the purchase of the
radio so they can get a dollar value. You show them the $150
that you paid the Ebay seller and they issue you a check for
$150 then take your Infinity radio (which they have a right to
do so) and you end up right back where you started from.

There are companies that sell (they claim) refurbished Infinity
radios on the Internet - prices are comparable to what you would
pay an audio store for a decent car radio - but they are warrentied
and you can find them on the Internet by searching Google. That
is your best hope to get a working cdplayer Infinity radio.

Here is my advice, if you are willing to take it.

STRONGLY consider gutting your existing Infinity system and
selling the components on Ebay - you will fetch a good price
for them - and put all new speakers and a new aftermarket radio
in. Put in good 2 way speakers in the dash holes, run thick cable
from them to your radio, and put a highpass filter on them, then
run a thick cable to a subwoofer and put that in a box under the
drivers seat and a lowpass filter on it. Don't use the existing
wiring and don't waste time trying to put speakers in the door or
in the rear deck or rear tailgate. The cost is a bit more than what
you think your going to pay on Ebay, but it will sound better and
you can probably play mp3s directly off the CD.

If you absolutely must have an Infinity, then do what I did -
find an Infinity CASSETTE player with the 5 band eq. For
example Ebay acution# 8017699153. Install that,
then buy a personal CD player with a car kit (cigarette lighter
plug and cassette adapter) you can probably get one for
$30. The sound quality will be the same as if you get an
Infinity system with the cd player, and when the thieves
break into your car to steal the cdplayer, they will not
destroy your dash getting the Infinity radio out. The Infinity
cassette players are on ebay, cost a quarter of the cdplayers,
and most of them are in great shape because a cassette
drive is a lot less fragile than a cdplayer mechanism. You
do have to beware of busted mounting tabs though, for
example the 8017699153 auction is missing the bottom
mounting tab.

In my case the reason I went with an Infinity in my used 94
T&C (which when I bought it, had had the original infinity
system gutted, replaced with an aftermarket, and that also
was missing) was so that it would be identical to my 95 T&C
which when I bought it came complete with a working Infinity
5 band eq and cassette head. The idea was to have them
both the same so if in the future a failure happened, I could
swap components to quickly find the problem. And I bought
my 5 band eq cassette system off Ebay as well. But if I hadn't
had that situation, I would have gone aftermarket.

And one last thing I will say - the Infinity system isn't worth
listening to unless you have the 5 band eq. That is one thing
you are right about. There is a very strong bass spike in
the 200 Hz range that makes the system sound like your sitting
in a 55 gallon drum if you have the volume up any appreciable
amount, and only the 5 band eq can adjust that out. The
fundamental problem with the system is the speakers are
2 way, not 3 way. If they had power-driven only a bass
subwoofer, and put a standard midrange and tweeter in,
instead of the power driven woofer that goes up to 1Khz
and a combo midrange-tweeter, the sound would have been
phenominal. Instead it's just like everyone elses 2-way
systems, and the power-driving of the woofer compounds
the 200Hz spike.

Ted

Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:
>
> Yes, they are. The Infinity sytems use powered speakers, and you
> cannot substitute a standard radio and use the Infinity speakers, you
> have to replace the speakers when you replace the Infinity system
>
> As a result of this there's a market for used, working Infinity radios
> because quite a lot of people who have their Infinity radio stolen by
> thieves, do not want to replace the entire system, they just want to
> replace the radio.
>
> Also, the Infinity speakers themselves are expensive to replace, so
> quite a lot of people who have ONE speaker fail, want to buy
> just a replacement, so there is also a market for used, working,
> Infinity speakers.
>
> I have been in every wrecking yard in my city that has
> Chryslers, scavenging parts for my projects, and without fail
> every single vehicle that comes into a wrecking yard with an
> Infinity system has that system pulled within days. The speakers
> are usually pulled within a week. Radios that have the 5 band
> equalizer like you want, the yards themselves take those radios
> out, they don't even make it to the yard for customers to get.
>
> The car audio shops know all this so when a young fool pup comes
> in to R&R his Infinity radio with a stereo, if he does not want his
> Infinity system parts, the audio shops take them and sell them.
>
> The VAST majority of GOOD cdplayer Infinity systems with the
> 5 band eq go straight to the insurance companies for radio
> replacement.
>
> Every once in a while you see one of these on Ebay that is
> probably a good one, for example Ebay auction #5834287779.
> But most of them are suspect, and even these can be easily
> bid up to $150 or more. For example of
> the silliness, check out Ebay auction #8017168057, the
> seller flat out admits the radio is busted but there's STILL
> one bid on it for $40, 4 days before the end of the auction!
>
> In my Ebay opinion,
> (I've bought over 400 items on Ebay, my feedback is all positive,
> and I've been doing it since 1999, userID tmittelstaedt) based
> on looking at the auctions descriptions and sellers info for
> these Infinity systems for quite a while (I wanted a cd player
> too, like you do) the vast majority of cdplayer Infinity systems
> with the 5 band eq that go on Ebay have a failed cd drive. The sellers
> don't tell
> you this, they just ship the radio with shippers insurance, and
> when you go to install it and find the cd drive broken, they tell
> you to file a claim with the shipper because it must have been
> damaged in transit. You then go to file a claim and the shipper
> tells you that you have to show an invoice for the purchase of the
> radio so they can get a dollar value. You show them the $150
> that you paid the Ebay seller and they issue you a check for
> $150 then take your Infinity radio (which they have a right to
> do so) and you end up right back where you started from.
>
> There are companies that sell (they claim) refurbished Infinity
> radios on the Internet - prices are comparable to what you would
> pay an audio store for a decent car radio - but they are warrentied
> and you can find them on the Internet by searching Google. That
> is your best hope to get a working cdplayer Infinity radio.
>
> Here is my advice, if you are willing to take it.
>
> STRONGLY consider gutting your existing Infinity system and
> selling the components on Ebay - you will fetch a good price
> for them - and put all new speakers and a new aftermarket radio
> in. Put in good 2 way speakers in the dash holes, run thick cable
> from them to your radio, and put a highpass filter on them, then
> run a thick cable to a subwoofer and put that in a box under the
> drivers seat and a lowpass filter on it. Don't use the existing
> wiring and don't waste time trying to put speakers in the door or
> in the rear deck or rear tailgate. The cost is a bit more than what
> you think your going to pay on Ebay, but it will sound better and
> you can probably play mp3s directly off the CD.
>
> If you absolutely must have an Infinity, then do what I did -
> find an Infinity CASSETTE player with the 5 band eq. For
> example Ebay acution# 8017699153. Install that,
> then buy a personal CD player with a car kit (cigarette lighter
> plug and cassette adapter) you can probably get one for
> $30. The sound quality will be the same as if you get an
> Infinity system with the cd player, and when the thieves
> break into your car to steal the cdplayer, they will not
> destroy your dash getting the Infinity radio out. The Infinity
> cassette players are on ebay, cost a quarter of the cdplayers,
> and most of them are in great shape because a cassette
> drive is a lot less fragile than a cdplayer mechanism. You
> do have to beware of busted mounting tabs though, for
> example the 8017699153 auction is missing the bottom
> mounting tab.
>
> In my case the reason I went with an Infinity in my used 94
> T&C (which when I bought it, had had the original infinity
> system gutted, replaced with an aftermarket, and that also
> was missing) was so that it would be identical to my 95 T&C
> which when I bought it came complete with a working Infinity
> 5 band eq and cassette head. The idea was to have them
> both the same so if in the future a failure happened, I could
> swap components to quickly find the problem. And I bought
> my 5 band eq cassette system off Ebay as well. But if I hadn't
> had that situation, I would have gone aftermarket.
>
> And one last thing I will say - the Infinity system isn't worth
> listening to unless you have the 5 band eq. That is one thing
> you are right about. There is a very strong bass spike in
> the 200 Hz range that makes the system sound like your sitting
> in a 55 gallon drum if you have the volume up any appreciable
> amount, and only the 5 band eq can adjust that out. The
> fundamental problem with the system is the speakers are
> 2 way, not 3 way. If they had power-driven only a bass
> subwoofer, and put a standard midrange and tweeter in,
> instead of the power driven woofer that goes up to 1Khz
> and a combo midrange-tweeter, the sound would have been
> phenominal. Instead it's just like everyone elses 2-way
> systems, and the power-driving of the woofer compounds
> the 200Hz spike.

I only know the 2nd gen LH systems, so I may be trying to relate apples
to oranges. On the 2nd gen (rounded corner) Infinity systems, The head
units are all interchangealbe with Infinity and non-Infinity OEM
systems. The only difference in the Infinity and non-Infinity systems
is that in the non-Infinity systems, the head unit drives the speakers
directly. In the Infinity system, the same head unit will drive an
amplifier box that in turn is wired to the speakers (not sure if the
speakers are interchangeable - probably not, if only for power reasons).

I know the above because I bought an AM/FM/cassette/CD from a 300M owner
who had upgraded his Infinity system (with amplifier), and substituted
it into my Concorde's non-Infinity system (no amplifier), so that same
head unit drives the speakers directly, and does a fine job.

Again, if the vintage systems you guys are talking about are different
from what I described, then just ignore this.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005, Ken Weitzel wrote:

> With apologies for the off-topic post, I wonder if any of you in Canada
> might have or know where I could get one of the earlier (squarish)
> Infinity AM/FM/CD units?

That'll be this one?
http://i1.ebayimg.com/01/i/00/7a/1d/9c_1_s.JPG

(There's also a version without a cassette player)

Couple years ago, a shop in Toronto decided it would be a good idea to
leave my truck on their forecourt with the doors wide open and the dash
all apart while they went to lunch. I found out about it when they called
me to ask whether or not the truck had a stereo when I dropped it off.
They obtained a replacement from a local wrecking yard. You can do
likewise by means of www.car-part.com (searchable used auto parts clear
across North America; you can confine your search area to Canada if you
wish). A bunch of them come up with a search on 1997 Chrysler LHS
radio/CD. Results are from all interchangeable years/models and are listed
in descending-price order.

I've also seen 'em on Ebay.

DS

"Bill Putney" > wrote in message
...
> Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:
> >
> > Yes, they are. The Infinity sytems use powered speakers, and you
> > cannot substitute a standard radio and use the Infinity speakers, you
> > have to replace the speakers when you replace the Infinity system
> >
> > As a result of this there's a market for used, working Infinity radios
> > because quite a lot of people who have their Infinity radio stolen by
> > thieves, do not want to replace the entire system, they just want to
> > replace the radio.
> >
> > Also, the Infinity speakers themselves are expensive to replace, so
> > quite a lot of people who have ONE speaker fail, want to buy
> > just a replacement, so there is also a market for used, working,
> > Infinity speakers.
> >
> > I have been in every wrecking yard in my city that has
> > Chryslers, scavenging parts for my projects, and without fail
> > every single vehicle that comes into a wrecking yard with an
> > Infinity system has that system pulled within days. The speakers
> > are usually pulled within a week. Radios that have the 5 band
> > equalizer like you want, the yards themselves take those radios
> > out, they don't even make it to the yard for customers to get.
> >
> > The car audio shops know all this so when a young fool pup comes
> > in to R&R his Infinity radio with a stereo, if he does not want his
> > Infinity system parts, the audio shops take them and sell them.
> >
> > The VAST majority of GOOD cdplayer Infinity systems with the
> > 5 band eq go straight to the insurance companies for radio
> > replacement.
> >
> > Every once in a while you see one of these on Ebay that is
> > probably a good one, for example Ebay auction #5834287779.
> > But most of them are suspect, and even these can be easily
> > bid up to $150 or more. For example of
> > the silliness, check out Ebay auction #8017168057, the
> > seller flat out admits the radio is busted but there's STILL
> > one bid on it for $40, 4 days before the end of the auction!
> >
> > In my Ebay opinion,
> > (I've bought over 400 items on Ebay, my feedback is all positive,
> > and I've been doing it since 1999, userID tmittelstaedt) based
> > on looking at the auctions descriptions and sellers info for
> > these Infinity systems for quite a while (I wanted a cd player
> > too, like you do) the vast majority of cdplayer Infinity systems
> > with the 5 band eq that go on Ebay have a failed cd drive. The sellers
> > don't tell
> > you this, they just ship the radio with shippers insurance, and
> > when you go to install it and find the cd drive broken, they tell
> > you to file a claim with the shipper because it must have been
> > damaged in transit. You then go to file a claim and the shipper
> > tells you that you have to show an invoice for the purchase of the
> > radio so they can get a dollar value. You show them the $150
> > that you paid the Ebay seller and they issue you a check for
> > $150 then take your Infinity radio (which they have a right to
> > do so) and you end up right back where you started from.
> >
> > There are companies that sell (they claim) refurbished Infinity
> > radios on the Internet - prices are comparable to what you would
> > pay an audio store for a decent car radio - but they are warrentied
> > and you can find them on the Internet by searching Google. That
> > is your best hope to get a working cdplayer Infinity radio.
> >
> > Here is my advice, if you are willing to take it.
> >
> > STRONGLY consider gutting your existing Infinity system and
> > selling the components on Ebay - you will fetch a good price
> > for them - and put all new speakers and a new aftermarket radio
> > in. Put in good 2 way speakers in the dash holes, run thick cable
> > from them to your radio, and put a highpass filter on them, then
> > run a thick cable to a subwoofer and put that in a box under the
> > drivers seat and a lowpass filter on it. Don't use the existing
> > wiring and don't waste time trying to put speakers in the door or
> > in the rear deck or rear tailgate. The cost is a bit more than what
> > you think your going to pay on Ebay, but it will sound better and
> > you can probably play mp3s directly off the CD.
> >
> > If you absolutely must have an Infinity, then do what I did -
> > find an Infinity CASSETTE player with the 5 band eq. For
> > example Ebay acution# 8017699153. Install that,
> > then buy a personal CD player with a car kit (cigarette lighter
> > plug and cassette adapter) you can probably get one for
> > $30. The sound quality will be the same as if you get an
> > Infinity system with the cd player, and when the thieves
> > break into your car to steal the cdplayer, they will not
> > destroy your dash getting the Infinity radio out. The Infinity
> > cassette players are on ebay, cost a quarter of the cdplayers,
> > and most of them are in great shape because a cassette
> > drive is a lot less fragile than a cdplayer mechanism. You
> > do have to beware of busted mounting tabs though, for
> > example the 8017699153 auction is missing the bottom
> > mounting tab.
> >
> > In my case the reason I went with an Infinity in my used 94
> > T&C (which when I bought it, had had the original infinity
> > system gutted, replaced with an aftermarket, and that also
> > was missing) was so that it would be identical to my 95 T&C
> > which when I bought it came complete with a working Infinity
> > 5 band eq and cassette head. The idea was to have them
> > both the same so if in the future a failure happened, I could
> > swap components to quickly find the problem. And I bought
> > my 5 band eq cassette system off Ebay as well. But if I hadn't
> > had that situation, I would have gone aftermarket.
> >
> > And one last thing I will say - the Infinity system isn't worth
> > listening to unless you have the 5 band eq. That is one thing
> > you are right about. There is a very strong bass spike in
> > the 200 Hz range that makes the system sound like your sitting
> > in a 55 gallon drum if you have the volume up any appreciable
> > amount, and only the 5 band eq can adjust that out. The
> > fundamental problem with the system is the speakers are
> > 2 way, not 3 way. If they had power-driven only a bass
> > subwoofer, and put a standard midrange and tweeter in,
> > instead of the power driven woofer that goes up to 1Khz
> > and a combo midrange-tweeter, the sound would have been
> > phenominal. Instead it's just like everyone elses 2-way
> > systems, and the power-driving of the woofer compounds
> > the 200Hz spike.
>
> I only know the 2nd gen LH systems, so I may be trying to relate apples
> to oranges. On the 2nd gen (rounded corner) Infinity systems, The head
> units are all interchangealbe with Infinity and non-Infinity OEM
> systems. The only difference in the Infinity and non-Infinity systems
> is that in the non-Infinity systems, the head unit drives the speakers
> directly. In the Infinity system, the same head unit will drive an
> amplifier box that in turn is wired to the speakers (not sure if the
> speakers are interchangeable - probably not, if only for power reasons).
>
> I know the above because I bought an AM/FM/cassette/CD from a 300M owner
> who had upgraded his Infinity system (with amplifier), and substituted
> it into my Concorde's non-Infinity system (no amplifier), so that same
> head unit drives the speakers directly, and does a fine job.
>
> Again, if the vintage systems you guys are talking about are different
> from what I described, then just ignore this.
>
> Bill Putney
> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
> address with the letter 'x')

You are correct Bill

I have shipped lots of electronic stuff to Canada.The only way to ship is by
the USPS do not have anyone ship to you by UPS. .I fill out a small customs
form and mark item as gift ,no problems.Rick

In article <ZSxhf.608554$1i.362247@pd7tw2no>, Ken Weitzel >
wrote:
>
>
>Rick Yerke wrote:
>> Have you tried Ebay?
>
>Hi Rick...
>
>Yeppers, sure did... that's where I found the one in the US...
>Searched all the for sale newsgroups, too
>
>
>Still hoping that there must be one sitting somewhere in Canada
>doing nothing... young folks seem to be "upgrading" them all the
>time, so the OEM ones must be going somewhere
>
>Thanks for your reply, and take care.
>
>Ken
>

Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:
> "Ken Weitzel" > wrote in message
> news:ZSxhf.608554$1i.362247@pd7tw2no...
>
>>
>>Rick Yerke wrote:
>>
>>>Have you tried Ebay?
>>
>>Hi Rick...
>>
>>Yeppers, sure did... that's where I found the one in the US...
>>Searched all the for sale newsgroups, too
>>
>>
>>Still hoping that there must be one sitting somewhere in Canada
>>doing nothing... young folks seem to be "upgrading" them all the
>>time, so the OEM ones must be going somewhere
>>
>
>
> Yes, they are. The Infinity sytems use powered speakers, and you
> cannot substitute a standard radio and use the Infinity speakers, you
> have to replace the speakers when you replace the Infinity system
>
> As a result of this there's a market for used, working Infinity radios
> because quite a lot of people who have their Infinity radio stolen by
> thieves, do not want to replace the entire system, they just want to
> replace the radio.
>
> Also, the Infinity speakers themselves are expensive to replace, so
> quite a lot of people who have ONE speaker fail, want to buy
> just a replacement, so there is also a market for used, working,
> Infinity speakers.
>
> I have been in every wrecking yard in my city that has
> Chryslers, scavenging parts for my projects, and without fail
> every single vehicle that comes into a wrecking yard with an
> Infinity system has that system pulled within days. The speakers
> are usually pulled within a week. Radios that have the 5 band
> equalizer like you want, the yards themselves take those radios
> out, they don't even make it to the yard for customers to get.
>
> The car audio shops know all this so when a young fool pup comes
> in to R&R his Infinity radio with a stereo, if he does not want his
> Infinity system parts, the audio shops take them and sell them.
>
> The VAST majority of GOOD cdplayer Infinity systems with the
> 5 band eq go straight to the insurance companies for radio
> replacement.
>
> Every once in a while you see one of these on Ebay that is
> probably a good one, for example Ebay auction #5834287779.
> But most of them are suspect, and even these can be easily
> bid up to $150 or more. For example of
> the silliness, check out Ebay auction #8017168057, the
> seller flat out admits the radio is busted but there's STILL
> one bid on it for $40, 4 days before the end of the auction!
>
> In my Ebay opinion,
> (I've bought over 400 items on Ebay, my feedback is all positive,
> and I've been doing it since 1999, userID tmittelstaedt) based
> on looking at the auctions descriptions and sellers info for
> these Infinity systems for quite a while (I wanted a cd player
> too, like you do) the vast majority of cdplayer Infinity systems
> with the 5 band eq that go on Ebay have a failed cd drive. The sellers
> don't tell
> you this, they just ship the radio with shippers insurance, and
> when you go to install it and find the cd drive broken, they tell
> you to file a claim with the shipper because it must have been
> damaged in transit. You then go to file a claim and the shipper
> tells you that you have to show an invoice for the purchase of the
> radio so they can get a dollar value. You show them the $150
> that you paid the Ebay seller and they issue you a check for
> $150 then take your Infinity radio (which they have a right to
> do so) and you end up right back where you started from.
>
> There are companies that sell (they claim) refurbished Infinity
> radios on the Internet - prices are comparable to what you would
> pay an audio store for a decent car radio - but they are warrentied
> and you can find them on the Internet by searching Google. That
> is your best hope to get a working cdplayer Infinity radio.
>
> Here is my advice, if you are willing to take it.
>
> STRONGLY consider gutting your existing Infinity system and
> selling the components on Ebay - you will fetch a good price
> for them - and put all new speakers and a new aftermarket radio
> in. Put in good 2 way speakers in the dash holes, run thick cable
> from them to your radio, and put a highpass filter on them, then
> run a thick cable to a subwoofer and put that in a box under the
> drivers seat and a lowpass filter on it. Don't use the existing
> wiring and don't waste time trying to put speakers in the door or
> in the rear deck or rear tailgate. The cost is a bit more than what
> you think your going to pay on Ebay, but it will sound better and
> you can probably play mp3s directly off the CD.
>
> If you absolutely must have an Infinity, then do what I did -
> find an Infinity CASSETTE player with the 5 band eq. For
> example Ebay acution# 8017699153. Install that,
> then buy a personal CD player with a car kit (cigarette lighter
> plug and cassette adapter) you can probably get one for
> $30. The sound quality will be the same as if you get an
> Infinity system with the cd player, and when the thieves
> break into your car to steal the cdplayer, they will not
> destroy your dash getting the Infinity radio out. The Infinity
> cassette players are on ebay, cost a quarter of the cdplayers,
> and most of them are in great shape because a cassette
> drive is a lot less fragile than a cdplayer mechanism. You
> do have to beware of busted mounting tabs though, for
> example the 8017699153 auction is missing the bottom
> mounting tab.
>
> In my case the reason I went with an Infinity in my used 94
> T&C (which when I bought it, had had the original infinity
> system gutted, replaced with an aftermarket, and that also
> was missing) was so that it would be identical to my 95 T&C
> which when I bought it came complete with a working Infinity
> 5 band eq and cassette head. The idea was to have them
> both the same so if in the future a failure happened, I could
> swap components to quickly find the problem. And I bought
> my 5 band eq cassette system off Ebay as well. But if I hadn't
> had that situation, I would have gone aftermarket.
>
> And one last thing I will say - the Infinity system isn't worth
> listening to unless you have the 5 band eq. That is one thing
> you are right about. There is a very strong bass spike in
> the 200 Hz range that makes the system sound like your sitting
> in a 55 gallon drum if you have the volume up any appreciable
> amount, and only the 5 band eq can adjust that out. The
> fundamental problem with the system is the speakers are
> 2 way, not 3 way. If they had power-driven only a bass
> subwoofer, and put a standard midrange and tweeter in,
> instead of the power driven woofer that goes up to 1Khz
> and a combo midrange-tweeter, the sound would have been
> phenominal. Instead it's just like everyone elses 2-way
> systems, and the power-driving of the woofer compounds
> the 200Hz spike.
>
> Ted

Hi Ted...

Thanks so much for so much valuable information... I appreciate it!

Here's where I am, and why. Bought my first ever non-GM car, a
'94 LHS a couple of months ago. Impeccable in almost every respect,
if you couldn't recognize the year you might well believe it to
be brand new. No exaggeration.

One of the few probs (also no drl's) was that the radio worked
perfectly in every respect but for no display. Given that was
very close to my trade until old age and several strokes caught up
with me, I tried to fix it to no avail.

Found on a Winnipeg newsgroup a working pull (non-infinity) from a 2000
minivan. Bought it for next to nothing, plugged it in, and the display
worked. But didn't sound anything like the infinity, and won't play
burned cd's.

So, several choices. Could stay as I am. Or could learn to live
without the display. Or could butcher the cheap one for its display
parts. Or go with your idea - to that end I have a bid in now (winning)
on an infinity cassette version. Closes in 3 days, though.

Or, given the fact that virtually all the display components are on the
top board, it's possible that the cassette and cd versions might be
swappable

Thanks again for you help, and take care.

Ken

Bill Putney wrote:

> Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:
>
>>
>> Yes, they are. The Infinity sytems use powered speakers, and you
>> cannot substitute a standard radio and use the Infinity speakers, you
>> have to replace the speakers when you replace the Infinity system
>>
>> As a result of this there's a market for used, working Infinity radios
>> because quite a lot of people who have their Infinity radio stolen by
>> thieves, do not want to replace the entire system, they just want to
>> replace the radio.
>>
>> Also, the Infinity speakers themselves are expensive to replace, so
>> quite a lot of people who have ONE speaker fail, want to buy
>> just a replacement, so there is also a market for used, working,
>> Infinity speakers.
>>
>> I have been in every wrecking yard in my city that has
>> Chryslers, scavenging parts for my projects, and without fail
>> every single vehicle that comes into a wrecking yard with an
>> Infinity system has that system pulled within days. The speakers
>> are usually pulled within a week. Radios that have the 5 band
>> equalizer like you want, the yards themselves take those radios
>> out, they don't even make it to the yard for customers to get.
>>
>> The car audio shops know all this so when a young fool pup comes
>> in to R&R his Infinity radio with a stereo, if he does not want his
>> Infinity system parts, the audio shops take them and sell them.
>>
>> The VAST majority of GOOD cdplayer Infinity systems with the
>> 5 band eq go straight to the insurance companies for radio
>> replacement.
>>
>> Every once in a while you see one of these on Ebay that is
>> probably a good one, for example Ebay auction #5834287779.
>> But most of them are suspect, and even these can be easily
>> bid up to $150 or more. For example of
>> the silliness, check out Ebay auction #8017168057, the
>> seller flat out admits the radio is busted but there's STILL
>> one bid on it for $40, 4 days before the end of the auction!
>>
>> In my Ebay opinion,
>> (I've bought over 400 items on Ebay, my feedback is all positive,
>> and I've been doing it since 1999, userID tmittelstaedt) based
>> on looking at the auctions descriptions and sellers info for
>> these Infinity systems for quite a while (I wanted a cd player
>> too, like you do) the vast majority of cdplayer Infinity systems
>> with the 5 band eq that go on Ebay have a failed cd drive. The sellers
>> don't tell
>> you this, they just ship the radio with shippers insurance, and
>> when you go to install it and find the cd drive broken, they tell
>> you to file a claim with the shipper because it must have been
>> damaged in transit. You then go to file a claim and the shipper
>> tells you that you have to show an invoice for the purchase of the
>> radio so they can get a dollar value. You show them the $150
>> that you paid the Ebay seller and they issue you a check for
>> $150 then take your Infinity radio (which they have a right to
>> do so) and you end up right back where you started from.
>>
>> There are companies that sell (they claim) refurbished Infinity
>> radios on the Internet - prices are comparable to what you would
>> pay an audio store for a decent car radio - but they are warrentied
>> and you can find them on the Internet by searching Google. That
>> is your best hope to get a working cdplayer Infinity radio.
>>
>> Here is my advice, if you are willing to take it.
>>
>> STRONGLY consider gutting your existing Infinity system and
>> selling the components on Ebay - you will fetch a good price
>> for them - and put all new speakers and a new aftermarket radio
>> in. Put in good 2 way speakers in the dash holes, run thick cable
>> from them to your radio, and put a highpass filter on them, then
>> run a thick cable to a subwoofer and put that in a box under the
>> drivers seat and a lowpass filter on it. Don't use the existing
>> wiring and don't waste time trying to put speakers in the door or
>> in the rear deck or rear tailgate. The cost is a bit more than what
>> you think your going to pay on Ebay, but it will sound better and
>> you can probably play mp3s directly off the CD.
>>
>> If you absolutely must have an Infinity, then do what I did -
>> find an Infinity CASSETTE player with the 5 band eq. For
>> example Ebay acution# 8017699153. Install that,
>> then buy a personal CD player with a car kit (cigarette lighter
>> plug and cassette adapter) you can probably get one for
>> $30. The sound quality will be the same as if you get an
>> Infinity system with the cd player, and when the thieves
>> break into your car to steal the cdplayer, they will not
>> destroy your dash getting the Infinity radio out. The Infinity
>> cassette players are on ebay, cost a quarter of the cdplayers,
>> and most of them are in great shape because a cassette
>> drive is a lot less fragile than a cdplayer mechanism. You
>> do have to beware of busted mounting tabs though, for
>> example the 8017699153 auction is missing the bottom
>> mounting tab.
>>
>> In my case the reason I went with an Infinity in my used 94
>> T&C (which when I bought it, had had the original infinity
>> system gutted, replaced with an aftermarket, and that also
>> was missing) was so that it would be identical to my 95 T&C
>> which when I bought it came complete with a working Infinity
>> 5 band eq and cassette head. The idea was to have them
>> both the same so if in the future a failure happened, I could
>> swap components to quickly find the problem. And I bought
>> my 5 band eq cassette system off Ebay as well. But if I hadn't
>> had that situation, I would have gone aftermarket.
>>
>> And one last thing I will say - the Infinity system isn't worth
>> listening to unless you have the 5 band eq. That is one thing
>> you are right about. There is a very strong bass spike in
>> the 200 Hz range that makes the system sound like your sitting
>> in a 55 gallon drum if you have the volume up any appreciable
>> amount, and only the 5 band eq can adjust that out. The
>> fundamental problem with the system is the speakers are
>> 2 way, not 3 way. If they had power-driven only a bass
>> subwoofer, and put a standard midrange and tweeter in,
>> instead of the power driven woofer that goes up to 1Khz
>> and a combo midrange-tweeter, the sound would have been
>> phenominal. Instead it's just like everyone elses 2-way
>> systems, and the power-driving of the woofer compounds
>> the 200Hz spike.
>
>
> I only know the 2nd gen LH systems, so I may be trying to relate apples
> to oranges. On the 2nd gen (rounded corner) Infinity systems, The head
> units are all interchangealbe with Infinity and non-Infinity OEM
> systems. The only difference in the Infinity and non-Infinity systems
> is that in the non-Infinity systems, the head unit drives the speakers
> directly. In the Infinity system, the same head unit will drive an
> amplifier box that in turn is wired to the speakers (not sure if the
> speakers are interchangeable - probably not, if only for power reasons).
>
> I know the above because I bought an AM/FM/cassette/CD from a 300M owner
> who had upgraded his Infinity system (with amplifier), and substituted
> it into my Concorde's non-Infinity system (no amplifier), so that same
> head unit drives the speakers directly, and does a fine job.
>
> Again, if the vintage systems you guys are talking about are different
> from what I described, then just ignore this.


Hi Bill...

This one is the "square" one; original 94 stuff. And I unknowingly
plugged a non-infinity radio into infinity speakers to have it work
fine. Didn't sound like the infinity, of course. But if I hadn't first
heard the infinity I'd have thought it was just fine

Take care.

Ken