Snowwolfe

Just bought a 2013 GS 3LT but it will be in storage at MacMulkin until the middle of May.

What features does the stereo have? USB or MP3 player ports? How many CD's does it hold? Can you play a CD while the Nav disc is in?
Generally how does it sound? I actually thought the stereo in my 2009 was pretty good for comparison.

red2012

USB port is in the console. Yes you can play a cd while the nav disc is in as they use different slots. The bose stereo sounds quite good with the 9 speakers as this is the stereo I assume you will be getting. You can only load one disc at a time. Much improved than the 2009 you had previously.

markcz

It also has a 3.5mm aux input in the armrest next to the usb port. The usb port supports full control of an ipod from the radio, and it is supposed to play MP3's from a thumb drive also but I've never tried that in mine.

I returned my '07 to stock and drove it 150 miles to pick up my new '12. The '12 was an obvious improvement on the drive home, so if you liked the '09 you'll like the '13 even better.

Greenvetter

If you have an iPod buy gm cable 25908035 and plug it into the USB and audio jack on your console. You will get full iPod control through the nav unit. It worked on my 2011.

markcz

No need for any special GM cable, the standard usb one that comes with your ipod works just fine.

Greenvetter

With control from the nav unit and iPod as a source selection?

red2012

yes

Greenvetter

I stand corrected. Should have tried that first!

Surf2602

I wonder what makes it sound better. Better audio adjustment off the radio(bass, treble,mids), the amp or the speakers. Cause my 08 lt3 sound terrible even with the speakers changed

dr_gallup

I know this is an old post but I just got a '13 GS 4LT and have used a USB stick with a couple of thousand MP3's on it. The top folder has all the artists names, under each of those are all the album names and in each of those are all the individual MP3's. The head unit doesn't seem to have any way to search or filter by artist, genre, etc. All it shows are the album titles but these seem to be in rather random order and the display doesn't have enough characters to even see the full name. Also random play only seems to play the songs randomly within one album, hardly useful.

Is the factory head unit just completely brain dead or do I need to do something different in my folder layout. It's so frustrating I'm thinking of burning a couple of CD's each with a different type of music so it would be a little easier to control.

I've never bothered wasting money on an MP3 player but I might brreak down and get one as they would HAVE to have a better user interface.

Or am I just missing something?

Garry in AZ

That is certainly a matter of opinion. I found the Bose system in my GS very poor.

Garry

Jimnc

Agreed. The Bose system in my ZR1 sounded terrible. Of course if all you use the radio for is listening to Rush Limbaugh or Garrison Keillor you probably don't care.

Sky High

Lets get one thing straight here. The XM radio and the FM tuner do sound horrible. The I pod or whatever you use for MP3 playback does sound quite good IF YOUR SOURCE MATERIAL IS UP TO PAR. Good quality source material makes or breaks the system. If your just playing back any junk you found sure, but rest assured if you recorded your source material properly the Bose sounds very good. All my music is re recorded and re equalized and then put on my i pod. World of difference.

Garry in AZ

Sky High, I agree with you 100% about the need for good source material. My reference there was actual CD's, and well recorded CD's at that. I am an audio engineer, and I have very high standards for the quality of my music. So I will agree with you on needing good source material, but with all due respect, I can't agree with you that anything Bose ever made sounds good. Bose is a company that is far better at marketing their brand than they are at designing good sounding equipment. Try and find a real audiophile who owns Bose. You will find it very difficult.

Garry

Sky High

I never said anything they ever made sounds good. The topic of this conversation is a corvette. The Bose gets a bad rap because people play junk thru it and expect it to sound good. You are a engineer so you know what I am talking about. I know quality music as well as you do being a musician for the last 35 years. Secondly you drive a 2011 GS correct? The Bose was redesigned in 2012 in the corvette and they went to nine speakers and whatever other changes to the system. Have you heard the difference between your car and the redesign? Big difference from what I am told although I never heard the old system as I have a '13 GS. All I am saying is the Bose is a lot better than people give it credit for. Certainly not a great system but very adequate when used correctly.

Garry in AZ

Okay Sky High, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. What I meant was, I do not think Bose has ever made a truly good sounding product whether it was home, pro, or car audio. Yes, I have heard the 2014 Bose system and also whats in the C7. I found both systems completely intolerable. I have listened to dozens of Bose systems in the last 3 years, and they were all "in my opinion" abysmal. For about 8 years, part of how I made a living was designing and assisting with the tuning of systems found in various Nissan, Mitsubishi and Ford vehicles. Due to budget restrictions, weight restrictions, and packaging restrictions, I was less than impressed with any of them either, but we felt our work was an improvement over the Bose stuff we listened to for competitive benchmarking.
To be honest, I have never heard a car audio system that came from the factory that I considered really good. And that includes the "high end" Levinson, JBL, B&W, Lexicon, and other stuff from luxury brands like M-B, Bentley, Rolls, Jag, etc. And just for reference, I do not consider MP3, AAC or any type of compressed format satisfactory for serious listening, whether it's re-recorded and EQ'd or not. I use audiophile label CD's from Telarc, Sheffield Labs, Chesky and others for my references.

So, I will respectfully just agree to disagree with you on the Bose, and leave it at that.

Or as my Dad used to say... "I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong."

I am happy that you enjoy your system, and I enjoy mine, and at the end of the day, really that's all that matters.

All the best to you,
Garry

Sky High

I understand where your coming from and respect what you are saying because you know what you want to hear. But if you say you never heard a high end automotive system you liked then nothing will satisfy you and your being unreasonable. Cars have limited space, acoustics and budget to make a system work and it sounds like your not willing to put that in the equation. Lets face it you do not have the dynamics of a living room to make this work the way you want to hear it. I honestly don't know what you expect or want to hear from a car system that hasn't been done from the factory in one of the higher end systems.

Rjhctrapp

He is right. Me being one. I've always heard the experts say "no highs, no lows, must be Bose". As they are removing Bose speakers with the little amplifiers attached to them. Lol

Rjhctrapp

Although, and it hurts a little to say this, my friend bought a 1991 Acura Legend with the Bose system and I gotta say, my ears were ringing when I got out of it. I swear, completely stock Acura/Bose. Acura must have played a role in designing that system.

billyboy47

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