The features seem well thought out.

Specifications do not always tell the full story but:
Output Power (@ 14.4 volts @ 4 ohm @ 1% THD) 25x4 watts RMS / 45x4 watts Max Power
It might be fine at lower listening levels but 1% Total Harmonic Distortion at full power is bad.
The RCA outputs may have less distortion.

https://help.retromanufacturing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Newport-User-Manual-1.pdf

 

1% THD is not great by current audiophile standards for the built in amp, but compared to the stock Delco unit I'm willing to bet this is a vast improvement and probably not audible at all with the stock speakers.

 

I wonder how much distortion on pre-outs

 

I say I say what a revolting development! As with 4-track, 8-track and cassette I imagine it's only inevitable that CDs must go the way of dodo birds. I only skimmed twice, but didn't catch anything about a CD. This replacement seems pretty slick and not priced silly for a retro knobs-buttons look.

But, here's really nothing wrong with my radio, and it sounds great since the upgraded speakers. If I ever did anything it'd just be adding a USB jack for a few gigs of "the good stuff".

 

I say I say what a revolting development! As with 4-track, 8-track and cassette I imagine it's only inevitable that CDs must go the way of dodo birds.

As much as I like physical media I do not miss worrying about heat or cold damaging the media or the player.
I have always hated taking the dash apart to dust a laser or clean a cassette mechanism.

I really hate the low quality of audio offered, and lack of specifications on some new audio players.

1% THD is not great by current audiophile standards for the built in amp, but compared to the stock Delco unit I'm willing to bet this is a vast improvement and probably not audible at all with the stock speakers.

I have never checked the "premium" sound radios in the b bodies, but in the past I was surprised by the quality of some of the OEM radio amplifier chips. Not a lot of power but low distortion.
Aftermarket or OEM, distortion increases as the volume control is moved toward 100%
If you do not need the maximum power specified some amplifiers are good at lower volumes.

It can be hard to find a good replacement speaker but it may be time to look. The speaker has now spent about thirty years in a hostile environment. Years of high heat or cold and moisture do not improve the OEM speakers.

 

I have never checked the "premium" sound radios in the b bodies, but in the past I was surprised by the quality of some of the OEM radio amplifier chips. Not a lot of power but low distortion.
Aftermarket or OEM, distortion increases as the volume control is moved toward 100%
If you do not need the maximum power specified some amplifiers are good at lower volumes.

I can’t find any spec sheet on the Delco radio, but here’s a short video I took of the head unit playing off a cassette I had in the car I converted to mp3 using the stock concert sound ii speakers. Soundsfine at 80% volume and plenty loud, even with the car running.

 

"I have always hated taking the dash apart to dust a laser or clean a cassette mechanism. "

Ah the good 'ol days, and the curse of good hearing. I had to take a rather fancy extensive hearing test for work overseas, and the technician came back in the booth with, You have relatively good hearing for your age. There's a measured greater loss across some ranges though, but not uncommon. I asked if that might be in the frequencies of people talking, and she goes, "Yes! How did you know?"

Just lucky I guess. My wife was there with me and they both chuckled.

I've cleaned the heads of reel-to-reels and DVDs, but that had definitely been decades ago and I'm thinking it was also a factor of how easily accessed those heads were on non-automotive equipment.

And to show how little I know, I thought it was the "compressed" nature of computer file audio that flattened all the fidelity out of .mp- tunes, at least compared to almighty vinyl. Or so the old wives tales went. Maybe that was cd stuff as you mentioned.

There's a pretty big thread maybe 10-15 years ago on everybody's fave replacement speakers, and with no other mods needed at all. I and some others reported great results with one brand and model.

 

And to show how little I know, I thought it was the "compressed" nature of computer file audio that flattened all the fidelity out of .mp- tunes, at least compared to almighty vinyl. Or so the old wives tales went. Maybe that was cd stuff as you mentioned.

With memory space being cheap now many people just select best quality when "ripping" their own music.
I just recommend "blind listening tests". Most people will be surprised at what the human brain will "correct".

With the engine and drive train noise I am not worried about the quality of my mp3 files and the two conversions (to bluetooth then back to analogue).

The required attention to driving dulls the need for "perfect sound"

For the most part DIY addition of a auxiliary audio into the OEM works for me.
Cell phone bluetooth for short drives, and high quality music player directly connected for long drives.
The OEM is the best quality head unit that I can find and fits the dash.

The only time the expensive audio is worth it to me is when I sit down and listen without any distractions.

There are CDs that are known to be worse than vinyl but it is in the audio engineering.
The average CD player, amplifier and speakers does not take advantage of the frequency, or dynamic range that can be encoded into a CD.

In the olden times radio programs were recorded on oversized records called transcriptions.
There was a push to change to a superior format that could be edited.
The radio engineers when "blind tested" would prefer "the sound" of transcription records over the superior quality of sound recorded on film. Tape recorders were close to the transcriptions but were also rejected.
Bing Crosby was the first to force tape recording on the industry.

My point is people develop a preference to sound and others may like or hate it.

 

Innersesting. Here's the first hit on one of those speaker threads, and it may even point back to the one I recalled:

https://www.impalassforum.com/threads/what-kind-of-speakers-should-i-be-looking-for.1322810/#post-12168427

 

No complaints, 95 SS. Had to trim a little around the trip button. It flows with the car, people think Its stock when they see it. That’s what I was looking for .