Retrosound Troubleshooting

[Mr Stay Puft]

I know these radios are far from top of the line, and I have read they are prone to RFI. That being said they look the part and have Bluetooth so I am trying to make this work. I am getting a high pitched sound out of the component speakers I just installed and I can’t figure out why. Here is what I have
1989 Burb
M4 retrosound
Infinity reference 3.5 in the dash corners
Kenwood 4x10s in the back
6.5 Infinity Ref components in the kickpanels with a pioneer gma3702 amp

The dash and rear speakers are fine and have been for a year. It’s the new kickpanels that have a high pitched sound. If I mute the stereo or disconnect the RCAs the high pitch sound goes away. If I crank up the stereo real loud you can drown out the sound. BTW this is happening with the car off and key in accessory. I haven’t driven around yet as I am still troubleshooting. If I disconnect the RCAs from the retrosound and run the amp and kicks off my computer it sounds great. I’ve tried running separate power and ground wires to the radio and amp direct from the battery but I still get the sound. I’ve tried unhooking everything from the radio except power (switched and constant) and ground, and then rca cables and remote amp on wires direct to the amp. I’ve tried different RCAs. I’ve run short RCAs straight from the radio to the amp and not through the carpet and floor. I’ve pulled the radio out of the dash and run it on the floor. I’m out of ideas on what to try to at least isolate where the sound is coming from. I may have to abandon the retrosound but I’d like to try and get it to work. Any ideas on possible troubleshooting scenarios to run?

 

[Finkaire]

Try calling Crutchfield

 

[TotalyHucked]

You don't have your RCAs running near the power wires do you? That's always created high pitched noise in my experience

 

[Mr Stay Puft]

They were originally, but I’ve moved them. I’ve also tried running the RCAs direct to the amp with both the amp and head unit on the floor a foot apart and the power wires separate and far away. Crutchfield said they think it’s the head unit but are sending rca noise filters to try. I will see if retrosound wants to help but I’m not holding out a lot of hope from them. I’m looking into getting a new head unit. May go touchscreen like the Alpine Halo but I’m not sure how well something like that works in the stock location. It seems like a poor spot for visibility.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Yeah, there's not much for options on these trucks without cutting the dash all up. Hopefully it is just the unit and RetroSound will help out. Just to throw another option out there, I've seen several guys leave the OE or RetroSound in the dash and hide a separate bluetooth radio/receiver somewhere else in the truck. I've even seen some guys use the on/off and volume knobs of the headunit in the dash to remotely control the modern, hidden unit.

 

[Mr Stay Puft]

This thing looks kinda cool.

Portable 10

Ottocast 2023 Newest Wireless Apple Carplay & Android Auto car screen,10.26 Inch Full HD Touch Screen Portable Car Radio Receiver, Car Stereo with Mirror Link, google, Bluetooth and Backup Camera, GPS Navigation.

www.ottocast.com

Gives you the freedom to mount anywhere.

 

[SquareRoot]

Most stereo equipment is junk today. Sounds like your head unit has issues. I wouldn't waste much time troubleshooting it. I have had good results with Pioneer although I hate mine. 99% of the time know I just plug my phone into the Audio Control EQ and listen to my Spotify list. The factory location of the radio sucks for viewing modern digital displays. I'm waiting for a new rear view mirror that displays the radio controls and is touch screen and doubles as a backup camera.

 

[Mr Stay Puft]

By waiting do you mean you found one and it's coming in the mail, or waiting for someone to make a good one?

 

[SquareRoot]

By waiting do you mean you found one and it's coming in the mail, or waiting for someone to make a good one?

Waiting for someone to invent one. However, I should have looked at your link before opening my mouth. That has possibilities.

 

[Mr Stay Puft]

I've found a couple other ones that the companies at least have some positive feedback on Reddit.

CARPURIDE W903 Portable Smart Multimedia Dashboard Console with Dual Cameras

Supports Wireless & Wired Connections: Apple Carplay&Android Auto / Mirror Link / Cam inScreen: 9.3-inch HD IPS capacitive ScreenSupport Voice Controls: Apple Siri & Android Voice Control & Google.Light-sensing: Automatically adjust the screen brightness according to the ambient brightness. You...

carpuride.com

Road Top Newly upgraded Wireless Carplay Portable 8.9" Car Touchscreen

Road Top 2023 Upgrade Wireless Apple Carplay & Android Auto, Newest 8.9 Inch Full HD Touch Screen Portable Car Radio Receiver, Car Stereo with Mirror Link, Navigation, Bluetooth, Camera

roadtop.com

All of these are clearly from cheap Chinese companies with poor English on their websites though, so buyer beware.

I like the aspect ratios as they are similar to a rear view mirror like you had mentioned. Not sure if they work with polarized sunglasses. You also still need some kind of head unit. Once I figure out if I am keeping the retrosound or going with a standard single din replacement and get this high pitch noise figured out, I may try one of these units and report back.

 

[Mr Stay Puft]

Brief update. Retrosound replaced the radio under warranty (also upgraded me from the older Motor 4 to 4HD for free) and the noise is gone. There had to have been something wrong with the old head unit.

I also bought the above Carpuride W903 and I am hardwiring everything in, including the backup camera. On a brief trial of the unit it seems pretty nice. It is responsive and has a nice high resolution screen. The way I am using it is the unit pairs to your phone (iPhone in my case) and the phone then pairs with your stereo. So the phone and stereo are in direct communication with each other and the screen acts like a large interface of your phone. With iPhone you use carplay, which does limit the accessible features to "car approved" functions. Basically no video and limited app access. But for using Spotify or similar apps it works great. It also has a nice display for navigation while also leaving your now playing up and accessible.

I believe you can also screencast to the Carpuride if you wanted. That would allow full access to the phone including video. However, you would then need to run the aux cable from the carpuride to the stereo. So the phone would be casting to the Carpuride and then the Carpuride would send the Audio feed to the stereo via the aux cable. Not sure how it would then handle calls.

When I finish wiring everything up and have spent a few days with the unit I will post a video and some more info.

 

[SquareRoot]

Brief update. Retrosound replaced the radio under warranty (also upgraded me from the older Motor 4 to 4HD for free) and the noise is gone. There had to have been something wrong with the old head unit.

I also bought the above Carpuride W903 and I am hardwiring everything in, including the backup camera. On a brief trial of the unit it seems pretty nice. It is responsive and has a nice high resolution screen. The way I am using it is the unit pairs to your phone (iPhone in my case) and the phone then pairs with your stereo. So the phone and stereo are in direct communication with each other and the screen acts like a large interface of your phone. With iPhone you use carplay, which does limit the accessible features to "car approved" functions. Basically no video and limited app access. But for using Spotify or similar apps it works great. It also has a nice display for navigation while also leaving your now playing up and accessible.

I believe you can also screencast to the Carpuride if you wanted. That would allow full access to the phone including video. However, you would then need to run the aux cable from the carpuride to the stereo. So the phone would be casting to the Carpuride and then the Carpuride would send the Audio feed to the stereo via the aux cable. Not sure how it would then handle calls.

When I finish wiring everything up and have spent a few days with the unit I will post a video and some more info.

Awesome. I am following this as I too am very interested in a similar solution. I am leary of Chinese crap but choices are sometimes limited and quaility can be hit or miss. Gentex makes some quality (OEM) rearview moirrors with some of these functions but they get pricey quick but I would still consider one. I really need the back up camera feature as my mirror projects the reflections off the inside of the rear window. It's basically useless other than the compass, temp gauge and auto-dimming feature. PLEASE post pics and give us your feedback on your new toy.

 

[Finkaire]

Glad you got it figured out, I really like the fit and functionality of the Retrosound system. I added a powered under seat subwoofer to mine, not as a boom boom, but to just fill in the lower frequencies

 

[chevytech87]

Glad you got it figured out, I really like the fit and functionality of the Retrosound system. I added a powered under seat subwoofer to mine, not as a boom boom, but to just fill in the lower frequencies

What’s the rest of your setup? I have a retro sound and have been eyeing one of these…

 

[Finkaire]

Running the stock front and rear speakers, JBL was plug and play, power running from the cigarette lighter. Never sounded better