Hey guy, I just bought a 2005 S40. Loving it so far, but I noticed on the ride home the stereo was a bit lacking (three blown speakers). I know my factory amp is 100W. Can I order a 300W amp from eBay, will it plug and play?

Has anyone tried the GROM audio controller?

GROM-MST3 Android Bluetooth iPhone for Volvo S40/60/V50/XC90 06+ fiber-optics Single CD

And I was thinking of ordering some Rockford P165-SIs

PUNCH Speakers - P165-SI - Rockford Fosgate®

Any input would be great. Thanks

 

a few thoughts - research what the real power is for your 300 watt amp. There's peak power, RMS power (reflects average power over the audio spectrum - a purer measurement) and the power can be measured at different impedence (ie 100 watts into 8 ohms is 2x more power than 100 watts into 4 ohms)... BTW doubling the power gives you only 3 more dB of sound so unless you want to pop out your windows, aim for a cleaner amp... Note that "blown speakers" can happen two ways - you can literally melt the windings due to too much power, or more likely, your speakers are old and the rubber surrounds that hold the cone to the shell tore. You can buy a $10 fixit kit for that and your back in business (I had to do this for my home speakers). In terms of after market amps, they can draw a lot of power so you want them to be on their own fuse and relay - I'd even consider running a direct wire. Check if the amp has its own "on" some require a power source (ie like the power antenna ) to tell it the car radio is on, others sense the signal from the output. Stay away from amps that use speaker line inputs - you want "RCA" low voltage/high impedance inputs from the head unit's preamp not the signal from the power amp. I've seen other posts liking the Grom type products - essentially they use the factory radio's out of the box CD controller interface which is nice, but best to confirm your radio model is compatible.