# Radio is terrible



## kevlar2005 (Dec 5, 2005)

OK...I bought my new GTO on xmas eve and I am thrilled. I do have one gripe. The stereo in this car is terrible. I have already made the amp correction mentioned in many of the posts, but I'm still not satisfied. The stereo does reasonably well with CD's, but when the radio is on the audio quality is lousy. Can any of you offer any suggestions to solve this problem....


Oh yeah... I am upset that my driver's doorlock came off in my hand and wont stay on anymore.....

Thanks, 

K


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## Pennsylvania Goat (Jul 22, 2005)

Look in your maual or do a search to figure out how to turn the "DDL" function of the stereo OFF. 

It is a complete waste of an option and makes a HUGE difference in sound quality. 

Enjoy the goat.


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## radiohead (Dec 27, 2005)

*GTO Radio*

I didn't care for the sound from the stock radio at all. I had a new unit installed, it sounds a hundred times better and I can hook up my XM. I haven't tried the amp adjustments to see what affect that has, will try that soon. 

I will tell you be very careful if you replace the radio, hire a good installation company or person. I was going to do it myself but the unit I bought was very complicated and I could not find a whole lot of resources for the car. No direct installation kits, pretty much a custom job. For some reason the wireless entry isn't working since the new radio went in. I started a discussion on the site, if you are considering replacing the radio and care to follow the problem I had.

Good luck


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## ModBoss2 (Nov 13, 2005)

kevlar2005 said:


> OK...I bought my new GTO on xmas eve and I am thrilled. I do have one gripe. The stereo in this car is terrible. I have already made the amp correction mentioned in many of the posts, but I'm still not satisfied. The stereo does reasonably well with CD's, but when the radio is on the audio quality is lousy. Can any of you offer any suggestions to solve this problem....
> 
> 
> Oh yeah... I am upset that my driver's doorlock came off in my hand and wont stay on anymore.....
> ...


amp correction :confused


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## radiohead (Dec 27, 2005)

Sorry, not sure where I got amp from  , I should have said radio. I have not tried the "DDL" setting. I guess that will not matter since I replaced the stock radio!


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## Pennsylvania Goat (Jul 22, 2005)

radiohead said:


> Sorry, not sure where I got amp from  , I should have said radio. I have not tried the "DDL" setting. I guess that will not matter since I replaced the stock radio!


If the Goat was my daily driver, that stereo would be gone so fast. I want to curse GM for adding that POS as a "feature" of the goat! Anyway, try the DDL option. It makes a H U G E difference. The amp adjustment does help as well. 

good luck.


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## dealernut (Oct 22, 2005)

Pennsylvania Goat said:


> If the Goat was my daily driver, that stereo would be gone so fast. I want to curse GM for adding that POS as a "feature" of the goat! Anyway, try the DDL option. It makes a H U G E difference. The amp adjustment does help as well.
> 
> good luck.


No one ever said the Aussies knew anything about stereos!!!!!HAHA!!!!

The DDL is a waste of time and programming....The amp adjustment helps a little. I personally fault the window antenna for poor radio reception. I have never been a big fan of them and they don't pick up that great. But I love the clean appearance on the outside.


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## Pennsylvania Goat (Jul 22, 2005)

dealernut said:


> No one ever said the Aussies knew anything about stereos!!!!!HAHA!!!!
> 
> The DDL is a waste of time and programming....The amp adjustment helps a little. I personally fault the window antenna for poor radio reception. I have never been a big fan of them and they don't pick up that great. But I love the clean appearance on the outside.


True, thats why you've got to turn that DDL OFF!!! That stereo left SO MUCH to be desired. The interior was....well....almost perfect!


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## ModBoss2 (Nov 13, 2005)

Pennsylvania Goat said:


> If the Goat was my daily driver, that stereo would be gone so fast. I want to curse GM for adding that POS as a "feature" of the goat! Anyway, try the DDL option. It makes a H U G E difference. The amp adjustment does help as well.
> 
> good luck.



Okay, I went in and adjusted some of the settings...said 'NO' to the distortion setting...is that the same as the amp adjustment?

And I'm pretty happy with this factory setup. Not nearly as good as the Alpine system in my last ride, but not bad for stock...looks pretty cool too, imo.


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## Pennsylvania Goat (Jul 22, 2005)

ModBoss2 said:


> Okay, I went in and adjusted some of the settings...said 'NO' to the distortion setting...is that the same as the amp adjustment?
> 
> And I'm pretty happy with this factory setup. Not nearly as good as the Alpine system in my last ride, but not bad for stock...looks pretty cool too, imo.


Boss: Yes! Kill that DDL! The amp adjustment must be made on the amp, however. That bad boy is in the trunk:

1) Pop the trunk
2) Pull lining down on left hand side of trunk
3) Contort your body, and reach up and turn the knob. 

Not toooo much though. A mild adjustment brings a little more life out of the stereo IMO. Good luck.


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## ModBoss2 (Nov 13, 2005)

Pennsylvania Goat said:


> Boss: Yes! Kill that DDL! The amp adjustment must be made on the amp, however. That bad boy is in the trunk:
> 
> 1) Pop the trunk
> 2) Pull lining down on left hand side of trunk
> ...



Thanks! Never knew there was an adjustment there. I fine-tuned my BassLink on my last car, so maybe I won't mess this up.


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## J.E.T. (Sep 30, 2005)

You'll never be happy with the stock system if you've already had a good aftermarket set-up, believe me. I gutted the whole thing and went with an all Memphis brand system and Kenwood flip-screen DVD, NAV, Sirius unit. Double 10" custom built subs in the trunk. At about $6K it is a little pricey but man.........it ROCKS!!arty: 


JET


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## ModBoss2 (Nov 13, 2005)

J.E.T. said:


> You'll never be happy with the stock system if you've already had a good aftermarket set-up, believe me. I gutted the whole thing and went with an all Memphis brand system and Kenwood flip-screen DVD, NAV, Sirius unit. Double 10" custom built subs in the trunk. At about $6K it is a little pricey but man.........it ROCKS!!arty:
> 
> 
> JET



My last car wasn't too fast and never would be fast unless I spent at least $10k for short block and turbo, so I kept the mods basic and built a pretty nice audio system. True, much better sounding.

This car, I leave the radio off a lot of the times, just to listen to the 6.0 powered Borla catback!!  The GTO will be easier to get real HP gains, so that's my main goal right now.


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## Jeffs386 (Nov 1, 2005)

I agree stock radio is a POS,I can only listen to cd's the radio itself is unlistenable(I wonder if thats a real word)cranking up the amp helps a bit because you can then lower the bass and not distort the front speakers soo much.as far as reception goes here in Daytona Beach when I hit the search button the radio just searches and searches never stops on a station
I love the hell out of this car except
Radio is a joke...
No guages 
Seatbelt is hard to reach while sitting in drivers seat
Paint issues


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## Mean Goat (Aug 18, 2005)

Mine is set up like this and sounds good enough that I don't plan to make any changes to the radio, CD player or speakers at the present time. However, I rarely have the volume over about 30 and listen to CDs mostly. I agree that the radio reception is not that great.

Subwoofer amplifier setting: One notch below maximum

Equalizer setting: Rock

DDL: On

Boost: +1

:seeya:


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## Pennsylvania Goat (Jul 22, 2005)

DDL: On :shutme
DDL: Off :cool


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## Mean Goat (Aug 18, 2005)

Pennsylvania Goat said:


> DDL: On :shutme
> DDL: Off :cool


I couldn't tell any difference with it on or off. So, why not leave it on to handle distortion if it does occur?


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## Pennsylvania Goat (Jul 22, 2005)

Mean Goat said:


> I couldn't tell any difference with it on or off. So, why not leave it on to handle distortion if it does occur?


When I turned mine off it sounded like a fat woman had goten off of my speakers. No distortion to deal with as of yet.


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## BobS (Jul 28, 2005)

kevlar2005 said:


> ...The stereo does reasonably well with CD's, but when the radio is on the audio quality is lousy. Can any of you offer any suggestions to solve this problem....
> 
> K


Have you tried hitting the "LOC" button? 
The FM sound quality greatly improves when you do.
(without LOC, I think the stations sound muffled.)

Good Luck.
BOB


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## Starrbuck (Dec 13, 2005)

I have the LOC button on as well and the radio does sound much better. I'm going to turn the distortion thing off today and try to find the knob in the trunk too!


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## Starrbuck (Dec 13, 2005)

Turned off the distortion thing and cranked up the amp in the trunk and it made a tremendous difference. It sounds so much better.


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## Pennsylvania Goat (Jul 22, 2005)

There ya go! Rock on man. 

Though, the best song comes from the LS2.


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## Starrbuck (Dec 13, 2005)

Amen, brutha!


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