Anybody ever use a Monsoon am/fm/cdc radio? How did you like it and what speakers did you use? What are the differences between the Monsoon and regular ( 90ish model ) ?

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85 GT 3.4
14.9 @ 90 1.9 60' Old TH125/3.06
Unknown New 4T60/3.42

I have one in my 88GT. I like it. I have pinoeer speakers, old, need to be replaced. Haven't found a set i like, yet. Probably going to install Boston Acoustics or Infnity Kappa. The difference between the Monsoon and the standard CD player- Monsoon puts out a little more power, I think. Never really researched it, got the CD player for free so i just put it in.

quote Originally posted by Lilchief: Anybody ever use a Monsoon am/fm/cdc radio? How did you like it and what speakers did you use? What are the differences between the Monsoon and regular ( 90ish model ) ?

Pontiac Monsoon CD deck in mine too.
Sony Xplod speakers in dash and B pillars.
Deck fits nicely into the appropriate space with no modification necessary other than using an adapter harness to hook it all up.
Fitting the Sony speakers into the B pillars is a different story.....
The Monsoon deck also has the harness plug-in for steering wheel stereo controls, which I plan on doing later.

I have the Monsoon in my Formula, not because it's a Monsoon, it was just on the wrecker's shelf for $20 and the price was right for a 2003 CD radio for my Formula. I don't know what might be different for a Monsoon radio but all I cared about is the CD.

James

The difference is that a Monsoon system is more than just the stereo. It has a 5 channel, I think, amplifier, and better speakers than the normal setup. In the f-body cars it had the mids and tweeters in the doors, and a 2-way and subwoofer in each side of the back, if I recall correctly. I think a couple of people have done the full swap to their cars. I have an amp out of one, sitting here, that I grabbed off eBay to use the case for a car pc. You'll need the harness and everything, if you plan to do the full swap with the amp.

quote Originally posted by randye: Fitting the Sony speakers into the B pillars is a different story.....

I always tell people to get 4"x6" plates for the rear. The magnet on co-ax 4"x6' speakers is usually larger/deeper than stock and cause fitting problems.
The space in the B-pillar is slightly deeper at the bottom so a plate fits well if you install it with the tweeter at the top and woofer at the bottom.

Excellent co-ax/tri-ax 4"x10" and 4"x6" plates are made by Eclipse, Infinity, Polk Audio - stuff you won't find at Walmart. Usually good prices on eBay.

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3.4L S/C 87 GT www.fierosound.com
2002/2003/2004 World of Wheels Winner &
Multiple IASCA Stereo Award Winner

quote Originally posted by fierosound: I always tell people to get 4"x6" plates for the rear. The magnet on co-ax 4"x6' speakers is usually larger/deeper than stock and cause fitting problems. The space in the B-pillar is slightly deeper at the bottom so a plate fits well if you install it with the tweeter at the top and woofer at the bottom. Excellent co-ax/tri-ax 4"x10" and 4"x6" plates are made by Eclipse, Infinity, Polk Audio - stuff you won't find at Walmart. Usually good prices on eBay.

When things don't bolt right in, you sometimes have to modify
Some creative cutting and drilling on the supplied mounting adapters, and a wee bit of trimming on the interior trim panels and it is possible to get the Sony speakers to fit in where the stock B pillar speakers were. Not a simple bolt-in, but works good if you take the time to fit it carefully.


Randy

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Everyone thinks I'm psychotic,
except for my friends deep inside the earth.

I have the Monsoon in my GP and it take a full system of 5 speakers and amp matched to the specific GM car.

I have the same head unit as above with a set of Sony speakers and the factory Sub. It sounds good enough for me and I did not have to cut any wires.

The only bad thing about the factory head unit is that it is hard to get a CD out with the car in park. Other wise the read out is red and matches the factory dash in the car.

Also not most new stero head units in the new cars are not pulg and play unless you have things tweeked. My 6 disc changer head unit would not just plug into the Fiero. It works with the computer in the car and needs some work to function in the Fiero.

quote Originally posted by topher_time: The difference between the Monsoon and the standard CD player- Monsoon puts out a little more power,

so does anyone know how much power it puts out?

Any headunit newer than about 2002 is probably not going to work. But that's about when the Monsoon went away anyway.

As mentioned earlier it was a whole system with amps and specific speakers for the car. The head unit itself was like any other late 90s early 2000s radio.

I don't know the power output of the Monsson headunit, but you should not be expecting a lot of power out of any headunit. Unless you are prepared to run separate amps don't expect a lot of power.

(BTW) I have the 98 Delco radio in my car. The steering wheel controls have been done by a few folks. It requires the slip ring and upper part of the column from the donor car to be transplanted. The steering wheel will be about an inch closer to you after you are done.

quote Originally posted by jscott1: Any headunit newer than about 2002 is probably not going to work. But that's about when the Monsoon went away anyway.

nope, not true. the new pontiac solstice, and i think the gto have it as an option. i am positive on the solstice though.

[This message has been edited by tednelson83 (edited 12-12-2006).]

Okay so they are still calling it Monsoon? Nevertheless, the vast majority of headunits made after 2002 won't work in a Fiero.

my 01 Grand Am has a monsoon system in it and my g/f's grand prix has just the regular delco system in it and i barely notice a difference...both sound fairly decent for a factory system.

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1986 Fiero GT (under construction...donate today)
2001 Grand Am GT (the daily beater)
1998 Dodge Neon R/T (who can forget that P.O.S.)
1990 Beretta GTZ (also under construction)

quote Originally posted by jscott1: Okay so they are still calling it Monsoon? Nevertheless, the vast majority of headunits made after 2002 won't work in a Fiero.

The Solstice definitely has Monsoon. I definitely remember it from when I tried to test drive one. It was the last one in the area, already sold, and waiting for delivery to the owner, so I didn't actually get to drive it. And now that the supply is more abundant again, I like the looks of the Sky and Opel GT better anyway. I just want the steering wheel/upper column out of the Solstice.

The speakers and amp is the Monsoon system not the head unit.

Yes Pontiac still offers the Monsoon sytem yet today as the top end unit.

And the radio's 2002 and later will not work with out haveing some extra work done. The new cars can even have the radio problems diagnosed by the computer in the car. Just get a 96-2001 radio and you will be fine as it is plug and play. If you want power add an amp..

A Monsoon in a Fiero is not a big deal as it was not designed or matched to the Fiero cabin and was in most cases designed for a much larger car like a F body, G body or H body.

I thought mine looked bad! Here's what I used to fix the warping...



and a roll of duct tape!

The Monsoon radio with the amp was rated at 500 watts installed in the Firebird TransAm. Without the amp, I have no clue!

Doesn't the Monsoon have mp3 capabilities though, and not with the regular?

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85 GT 3.4
14.9 @ 90 1.9 60' Old TH125/3.06
Unknown New 4T60/3.42

i have a monsoon raido il sell it has a cd and tape deck. make offer

quote Originally posted by Lilchief: Doesn't the Monsoon have mp3 capabilities though, and not with the regular?

No. Some of the later model stereos did have MP3 support though, I think. It has nothing to do with the Monsoon distinction though. It was just a feature added in later years. I think 02-04 stereos might have had it. I'm not sure about the 05-up stereos. The Solstice stereo for example is built to fit the lines of the dash. I think the GTO stereo is similar.

quote Originally posted by dobey: No. Some of the later model stereos did have MP3 support though, I think. It has nothing to do with the Monsoon distinction though. It was just a feature added in later years. I think 02-04 stereos might have had it. I'm not sure about the 05-up stereos. The Solstice stereo for example is built to fit the lines of the dash. I think the GTO stereo is similar.

Some 2005 top end units and up have MP i pod plugs but again the stereo head is not a plug and play in a older car.

quote Originally posted by hyperv6: Some 2005 top end units and up have MP i pod plugs but again the stereo head is not a plug and play in a older car.

No, some of the slightly older ones had MP3-CD (disc full of MP3s) support. The C6 Z06 has MP3-CD support, but not iPOD. And an optional 6-disc changer. Also has optional DVD-Nav support, with touch screen.