90 Radio has Loudness Control, Really

[Tinker]

I am an electronic technician, was the service manager in a HiFi Stereo store, and build speaker systems as a hobby. I first got my Reatta in 1995, and was very impressed with the quality of the stock Delco audio system. After a few months I noticed the sound just wasn't as full and rich as I had become accustomed to. It turned out that there are some hidden controls on this radio, and the Loudness had been inadvertently turned off. Here's how to fix it:

 

Press the "Volume Down" (lower the volume) & "Fade Down" (send more sound to the rear speakers) at the same time. This will restore the loudness so that the audio sounds as great at low levels as it does at very high levels.

 

Another hidden control affects the DNR (Dynamic Noise Reduction) for the cassette player. The restore procedure is:

 

Press the "Volume Up" & the "Fade Up" at the same time.

 

No, I don't use the cassette player, and Yes, I prefer the CD's

 

It would be nice to know if any others out there appreciate quality audio.

[Ronnie]

Hi Tinker. Welcome to the forum. Good tips about the '90 radio controls. I'm not in to car sound systems but I do appreciate good sound. Have you ever heard any of the vintage Polk SDAs? I own a pair of 2Bs and a pair of the little CRS+. Below is a photo of my 2B-TLs powered by an Adcom amp.

[Tinker]

 

Hi Tinker. Have you ever heard any of the vintage Polk SDAs? I own a pair of 2Bs and a pair of the little CRS+.

 

The competition sold Polk Audio and Yamaha. Our speakers were typically JBL, Electro-Voice, Bose, Advent and Gauss. Currently I'm using a pair of Electro-Voice Sentry III studio Monitors. The house is still being remodeled to provide a larger listening area. Hopefully, once some progress is made, I'll either build some full custom units (112dB 1W/1M, 10Hz - 22,000Hz), or build new woofer sections for the Sentry III's (dual 18" or 21" units). Yes, I like the 1812 Overture with real cannons. In the past I had a set of Electro-Voice Patrician 800's with 30" woofers.  

[Ronnie]

 

Hi Tinker. Have you ever heard any of the vintage Polk SDAs? I own a pair of 2Bs and a pair of the little CRS+.

 

The competition sold Polk Audio and Yamaha. Our speakers were typically JBL, Electro-Voice, Bose, Advent and Gauss. Currently I'm using a pair of Electro-Voice Sentry III studio Monitors. The house is still being remodeled to provide a larger listening area. Hopefully, once some progress is made, I'll either build some full custom units (112dB 1W/1M, 10Hz - 22,000Hz), or build new woofer sections for the Sentry III's (dual 18" or 21" units). Yes, I like the 1812 Overture with real cannons. In the past I had a set of Electro-Voice Patrician 800's with 30" woofers.  

 

 

That's some mighty big speakers. I don't have a room big enough for anything like that. My listening room has to serve as a living room too. Going down to 10Hz must take a lot of clean power. I have a friend that has some of the big Polk SRS speakers that will make the pictures hanging on the wall dance around at low frequencies.