9-21-2008 Saab Audio Suck

Sonia's 2000 Saab 9-3 came with the very worst of audio systems.  The base Saab actually comes with no audio system, not even the wiring.  Sonia had one step up from that: the "AS1" sound package which consists of a couple paper "farter" 3x6 rear speakers, a couple dash tweeters, and some unpowered wiring in the door, but no actual speakers there, just holes.  Now, had she purchased the "AS2" sound package, those holes would have been filled with 2 ohm subwoofers and an amp to power them under the passenger dash, but no such luck. 

So I wanted substantially improve her sound system at the lowest cost possible.  First I installed a couple 3x6 Blaupunkts in the rear.  The existing sound system really couldn't power them adequately, so I needed more watts per channel.  I added a Kenwood KDC-138 stereo with the all-important aux-in and 50 watts x 4 channels.  Sound Advice "advised" adding an amplifier, but that would have been the same wattage as my new speaker, so that was silly, unless they amplify each other's wattage, which I doubt.  I think it bypasses.

Anyway, with a new aux-in jack, she now needed a music player.  I have mostly oggs, so the MS or ipod crap wouldn't work.   So I took a  Zire 72 out of retirement, added Pocket-tunes with an ogg plugin, and bought an aux-in cable.  If she wants more storage, she can buy a bigger SD flash card.  Great interface and problem solved.

However, by installing this, the Saab's Steering Wheel Remote Control buttons ceased to function.  To make this work, I would have had to buy either an infrared or wired adapter harness for at least $100, so we skipped that.  Besides, the console is close to the driver's side, so no real problem.

I left the ineffectual tweeters in the dash, but I split that signal cable to power two new door speakers: 2 ohm Infinity Kappa 3-ways which sound great.   Done, not too expensive, like $300.