BLACK3.2

Please excuse my rather naive question. I stopped paying attention to car audio sometime in the 2000s. I have a 1990 964 3.8 build with RS cams that is very loud. My future plans include headers and Gt3 center-exist exhaust, so it will get louder. The previous owner installed a mid-2000 alpine stereo, sub-woofers, tweeters, etc. that are just extra weight to me. Even with the volume up, the quality is lost over the noise from the engine. I don't want to replace with a heavy, multi-speaker system. In my other cars, I use the radio sometimes, and mostly just play music or podcasts over bluetooth.

So, in the interest of light weight and simplicity, I have a notion of replacing everything with just a bluetooth input. No headunit. Instead, I'll run a blanking plate. I may even run just a single speaker in the middle of the car to minimize the amount of wire I'd have to run.

Does such a system exist? If so, where could I find it? What should I be searching for? My lack of knowledge in car audio means my googling has been pretty clumsy.

Lastly, if possible, I'd like to run a bluetooth mic to make calls from the car, with a mic that run up the A-pillar and set up close to my face. Is that possible? I know I'd only be able to make calls while cruising at low rpm or parked, but I'm ok with that.

With appreciation for the wisdom of the collective.

Cheers,
B

12v Nick

Bluetooth streaming without a head unit is more than possible – it's a technique that's used on a lot of classic builds. Pieces like this one from JL Audio are something we use quite a bit for that job. With that approach, you're better off not worrying about having hands-free calling in the car. An aftermarket head unit is going to be the right solution if that a feature you need. As for having one speaker in the center, I don't think that's a good idea. If the extensive sound system you have now gets drowned out by the engine and ambient noise, I'm not sure that single speaker would do anything but **** you off.

My recommendation would be a bluetooth module like the one I linked above attached to a compact power amplifier to drive a "good quality" set of component speakers. The weight from a sound system like that is negligible and you'll get a good experience when you do listen to tunes. If you need some help navigation that whole process feel free to reach out – happy to help!

– Nick