How To Install A Modern Sound System

How To Install A Modern Sound System

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Custom Autosound's USA-630 Stereo For Vintage Mustangs Is iPod And MP3 Compatible

By Jim Smart

Photography by Jim Smart

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If you're a baby boomer who remembers what it was like to grow up in the 1960s, you've seen significant changes in sound system technology. Five decades ago, reel-to-reel tape recorders and high-fidelity sound systems were hot. Stack LPs on the turntable and listen for hours. Mad Man Muntz brought us 4- and 8-track stereo players you could install in your car and take music with you. Cassette tapes replaced the clickity-click 8-track machines, and the next thing we knew the compact disc replaced our old cassette tapes. Now we've got pocket-sized iPods and other players that hold our entire music collection.

We admit feeling a pinch behind the tech curve when we contacted Carl Sprague at Custom Autosound to ask if he wanted to participate in a sound system installation that included a six-CD changer. He laughed and advised us that CD players are now dated technology. Then he told us about his new 240-watt USA-630 system.

Custom Autosound's USA-630 sound system represents the pinnacle of the company's quest for perfect listening enjoyment. To make it familiar and easy to use, Custom Autosound fitted the USA-630 with large pushbuttons that make it compatible with a classic Mustang dashboard. And though it looks classic, a look inside reveals the latest technology, including the ability to attach an iPod or MP3 player through the auxiliary or USB ports. Sure beats that old 8-track or CD storage container taking up space on the back seat.

Especially useful to aging baby boomers is the large alphanumeric display, some 30-percent larger so you can see under the worst of conditions. And, if you really must have that CD player, you can install one in the trunk and tie it into the USA-630 while still having the benefit of iPod/MP3 enjoyment.

USA-630 Specs