mmg

I bought a 02 C5 convertible a few months ago and the PO had installed an aftermarket audio system (probably back in 06 or 07 based on the vintage of the hardware) in place of the Bose. I know just a bit about audio car wiring/electrics so I’m looking for some advice here.

I don’t like all the room that the sub (JL sub installed on a board that covers the center rear storage bin) and the amps/crossovers etc (two Directed A404’s) take up in the back, even though it’s fairly low profile (perhaps 6 inches high on the deck and takes up about ½ or more of the square foot area of the deck from back of seats to full rear of deck). Plus, even with the aftermarket head, it has no audio out (again, I guess because It’s mid 2000’s vintage).

I’m assuming that the factory built in speakers have been replaced since the factory system was Bose and this of course is not. Is that true?
I originally thought I’d go back to just the oem setup, but I’ve heard it’s not that great…plus if I had to get a used Bose head unit and 4 speakers, it could be pretty expensive and I’d have a mediocre system. Maybe I’m wrong…someone tell me if the factory set up is adequate?!

I do however and for sure, want to get all the extra “stuff” out of the back deck area. It takes up too much room and it just doesn’t look factory, even though the shop that did this did a fairly nice job with padded upholstery finishes etc.

Does anyone have any suggestions on whether or not I could remove this old system myself with reasonable success and also recommend what to install in it’s place that would only use the factory speaker locations, have a nice looking head unit that fits the dash hole, and also has audio out and perhaps Bluetooth? I’m hoping the aftermarket head unit was installed with an adapter harness and not a ton of wire splices…
Thx for any help.
Mark

Mike Beck

I practically gave away all that stock BOSE garbage. What a bad move backwards you are contemplating.

Why not put a new head unit in to drive the four speakers someone put in there, lose the amps and the sub. That JL Sub is nice, you will sell it fast.

What do you want audio out for? Maybe audio in, for an MP3 player or such?

With the right speakers you can have something that sounds decent without the amps, though you could still put a small 4 channel amp behind one of the seats.

I do not miss the room my amps take up at all, that area is pretty much useless with the top down anyway. They are enclosed to most people don't even know they are there anyway.

markcz

You can get a top brand single-Din radio with all of the latest gadgets for under $200.

I'm going to guess that you have component speakers in your doors, which sound great if properly powered, but if only powered from a HU internal amp they won't sound that good.

I won't even guess on your current rear speakers. You really need to see what exactly you're dealing with for the best solution.

If you're dead set against a sub in the back, to meet your goals I'd recommend a new HU and a small 4-channel amp to power components in the doors (prob already there) and rear coaxial speakers (may be there, you need to check). Given what you've said, going back to stock radio is crazy, going back to stock speakers isn't as crazy but still isn't a good idea.

Current wiring/connections can be anything, but with all aftermarket gear in a C5 you don't need anything from the car except switched power. When you turn your car off, does the radio stay on until you open a door, or does it shut off with the car?

Post the exact brand and model numbers of the HU and amps in the car, you may be able to sell them for more than the new equipment.

mmg

Thanks very much guys. Your input helps a lot to aid in my decisions. I'm sure I don't want the stock HU now! And it looks like the speaks I have, at least one of the ones I got a look at say "Clarion" on it....should stay in the car. Both good with me.

Attached are some pics I took tonight of as much as I could get. Hopefully you can tell me what I have, what it's worth and what might be involved in changing it over....sounds like a new HU and perhaps the 4 channel amp is the best route?

BTW, the HU shuts off as soon as the key is switched off, even with door remaining closed. If it's any clue also regarding wiring and/or amp setup, when I power up the car, it sounds like just the sub operates for the first 2-3 seconds, then the other speakers come on.

See pics!
Thx, Mark

mmg

OH and sorry...I meant to say audio "in"....

markcz

The amps you have really aren't worth much

Clarion rear speakers aren't anything to brag about, but will be fine for most systems.

It would be nice to know if door speakers were of better quality, or on par with rest of system. If same as rest, you'll prob want new ones.

Try disconnecting the sub and see how you like the sound without it. An improvement over that (still without a sub) would be to get a new HU ($200), an inexpensive 4-channel mini class-D amp with 100wRMS per channel ($150), and new door components ($150).

Call Dennis from DoubleDmods.com, he can work with you and your budget to get it sounding pretty good

Mike Beck

The original owner of your car took up a lot of space with that system. Here is a shot of mine. The amps are hidden, you can see part of the sub enclosure which is completely flush with the floor for the most part. What I did did not take up much room, unlike yours. My shotgun and gun bags fit nicely back there with the top down.

mmg

Thanks! Any recommendations for the mini 100w 4 channel amp? Without the sub, would I only need this amp in place of all this other stuff in the back?

mmg

Mike - this is a beautiful setup. Nice indeed. Is the sub mounted inside the center bin? Mark

markcz

I would call Dennis and see what he says, but his site shows a RZ4-1200D for $110. It's only 5"x9" and has plenty of power to drive any front components, and would prob need to be tuned down a touch for the rear speakers you have (since they can't handle everything the amp can put out).

If you're willing to entertain a Stealth Sub in the center tub (or keep your current one), then that amp could be bridged into 3 channels with 100w @ 4ohms to each door and 300wRMS @ 4ohms to a sub. Then you could use the radio internal amp to power your rears.

Yes. A single 4-channel amp can be used to power all 4 speakers -OR- it can power the doors and a sub with the radio powering the rears.

The only reason I'd recommend a new amp is because the one you have only has 45w per channel, and without the sub that would leave it sounding kinda thin.

Mike Beck

Yes, sub is in the center bin. The system sounds pretty good and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

mmg

So I'm looking at the owners manual on this amp online and, sorry to be dumb here, but it doesn't show an option for 3 channels of 100/100/300 watts. Just 4x100 at 4ohms, or 4x150 at 2ohms, or 2x300watts bridged. Is there something I'm missing? I do like the idea that you mentioned.... 2x100 for the front door speakers and 300 for my sub that I'd keep in the center bin (stealth). Just not obvious to me how I'd do it with this amp.

Also, in looking at my current setup, it looks like there's a crossover used for the front door speakers with 4 wires from crossover to them, so I'm guessing they are tweeter/mid combo? If that's the case, then I'd need a crossover as well for the fronts, correct?

Finally, it seems that the rears are powered by my current Directed amps, so therefore the wires to them don't run from the current HU. I guess that means I'd have to pull the HU and run new wires to them so they could be powered by the HU?

Finally, what is the power box I found in the left rear bin sidewall? Looks oem and plugs into a metal box like connector on the wall.

Thanks for your continued and very helpful info and advice.

Mark

markcz

On the amp you would use the front channels as 2x100 on HP. The two speaker outputs would go directly to your component crossovers, which then have two wires going to the door speakers. You could easily hide the crossovers in the doors, under the dash, or under a seat if you want to get them out of your trunk area.

The rear channels would be bridged to the sub on LP. How you wire the front channels doesn't affect how you wire the rear channels, you can do both at the same time.

I just noticed that this amp doesn't have adjustable HP/LP filters, it's just set at 80Hz. It may be worth the effort to find one that's adjustable, but price generally goes up as you add features or power.

You would have to run new wires from HU to rears if you wanted to power them from the HU. Very easy to do if you replace the radio.

Can you post a pic of the mystery box in your bin?

markcz

If you're sure you want a sub, you could also get a 5-channel amp and keep the rears on an external amp. In the same brand the RZ5-2500D is an inexpensive choice.

mmg

Thanks again Mark for the info. Attached is a pic of the sub, but doesn't show you much in the way of details. Under the trim it looks like a big black fibreglass box that takes the place of what (I guess) used to be the center bin compartment. I can send a pic of that if you'd want to see it.

So my thoughts now are to:

Keep my current HU and speakers/sub for now
Remove the round thing that looks like a frilly volt read out (?)
Remove the capacitor (I'm not fully cranking this system.. not at 62!)
Buy the stealth sub box from DoubleDmods for my center bin
Buy the bigger RZ5 amp to run the door, rear, and sub speaks
Use one of my current crossovers for the door speakers
Find a place to mount the amp (bigger one is 9x17) and crossover that minimizes the rear deck footprint. I think this is too big now for the left or right bin however with the bigger amp.

This way I also minimize any additional wiring needs. Any thoughts you have on this approach would be very welcome. Thx! Mark

Mike Beck

I hid the crossovers for my front and rear speakers throughout the car. Here is an under dash shot of one of the front crossovers. This is the passenger side. I attached it to the piece of plastic that gets removed to access the wiring for the door.

Mike Beck

Here is the driver side.

Mike Beck

People seem to turn their nose down at these Pioneer speakers, but I love them! Have bought six sets of them so far.

markcz

Both good ideas


You need to see what model your sub is, it may not fit in a stealth box. It would also be nice to know what ohm rating and how many coils, but that amp can handle either 2 or 4 ohms on the sub. If you bridge a 4-channel you'd need to make sure the sub can be wired at 4ohms.


You need them both, one per door.


Shop around first. The RZ5 is a good choice, but there are others that are smaller (that may cost more).

mmg

Mike - I just looked at ALL the pics you linked to here...omg, you basically stripped out the entire interior or your car to install of the goodies! Man, very nice work and thanks so much for sharing this.