A Simple Audio Upgrade - With the help of Double D Mods
08-17-2015, 12:49 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
A Simple Audio Upgrade - With the help of Double D Mods
Well, here's the deal. I had been wanting to do something with the 2011 GS Vert. w/Bose to get more sound from the factory setup and not spend a couple of grand or more doing it.
I spent a couple of weeks doing some research and checking out different audio threads. I was still unsure of the route to take so I decided to call Dennis over at Double D Mods. I left a message with Donna and about an hour later Dennis called me back.
I'm not going to get into the install it self as there are plenty of threads on that. What I will tell you is what I went with and my initial thought of how it turned out.
Here's the deal...Dennis asked what I was trying to do, what type of music I liked and ultimately, how much did I wanted to spend. That was the big question as I've never been one to put a lot of money in a stereo. So with all of the if's and but's out of the way here is what Dennis recommended.
A Kenwood 4 channel amp, 3.5 front and 5.25 rear coaxial speakers, AOEMGM24 harness, amp kit and RCA's. The amp kit consists of a PAC module and all cabling necessary to provide power and ground to the amp. The GM24 harness is placed in-line with the PAC module feeding the new amp and allows you to use your Bose amp to drive the 10" door speakers and the front center dash speaker.
This was perfect for me as I wanted to maintain the factory head unit and I did not want a sub in the trunk. Maintaining the 10" door speakers would hopefully be satisfactory for my bass needs in this configuration.
I ran speaker wire to the 3.5 fronts and the 5.25 rears. The amp would drive those four speakers independently of the Bose amp. Giving the rears the much needed gain in volume they seemed to lack. It would also allow me to make adjustments to the F/R through the amp in addition to some tweaking with the main HU. Not to mention the quality of the new speaker in lieu of the factory ones.
So, I got everything installed and adjusted. Did a little fine tuning thru the HU. NOTE: I ended up moving the fade towards the front speakers just a little. The rears are obviously right behind your head so the fronts got drowned out. Also, due to the lack of a big sub...I had to run the base level up and treble down on the HU. Not rocket science but it took me a minute to figure it out. Once I got it all balanced out and adjusted to my liking, it sounded great.
So here's what I think; it is a BIG improvement.
Top up...it's more than enough. The sound quality is so much better and clear. I feel like I get the full spectrum of sound. Probably needs more bass but overall I can't complain at all. No, I can't just crank the bass up on the HU or amp as it becomes distorted. Again, no complaint but a little more bass wouldn't hurt .
Top down...same as with top up just not as loud. The sound is still great. I can still hear the music over the factory NPP and wind. I have found myself reaching for the volume control on a few songs but overall, it's more than adequate.
So, for you guys that want more sound volume and quality but don't want to spend a bank roll doing it. Or you're older and just don't need or want that blaring sound, no offense to anyone of any age, this might be the setup for you.
You will have to call Dennis for pricing but it's definitely something to consider. It's pretty simple and not too awful on price if you can route the wires and plug and play parts yourself.
Going to take a long trip this week...will let you know my final thoughts when I return. See you on the road!
Marlon
PS, thanks Dennis!
I spent a couple of weeks doing some research and checking out different audio threads. I was still unsure of the route to take so I decided to call Dennis over at Double D Mods. I left a message with Donna and about an hour later Dennis called me back.
I'm not going to get into the install it self as there are plenty of threads on that. What I will tell you is what I went with and my initial thought of how it turned out.
Here's the deal...Dennis asked what I was trying to do, what type of music I liked and ultimately, how much did I wanted to spend. That was the big question as I've never been one to put a lot of money in a stereo. So with all of the if's and but's out of the way here is what Dennis recommended.
A Kenwood 4 channel amp, 3.5 front and 5.25 rear coaxial speakers, AOEMGM24 harness, amp kit and RCA's. The amp kit consists of a PAC module and all cabling necessary to provide power and ground to the amp. The GM24 harness is placed in-line with the PAC module feeding the new amp and allows you to use your Bose amp to drive the 10" door speakers and the front center dash speaker.
This was perfect for me as I wanted to maintain the factory head unit and I did not want a sub in the trunk. Maintaining the 10" door speakers would hopefully be satisfactory for my bass needs in this configuration.
I ran speaker wire to the 3.5 fronts and the 5.25 rears. The amp would drive those four speakers independently of the Bose amp. Giving the rears the much needed gain in volume they seemed to lack. It would also allow me to make adjustments to the F/R through the amp in addition to some tweaking with the main HU. Not to mention the quality of the new speaker in lieu of the factory ones.
So, I got everything installed and adjusted. Did a little fine tuning thru the HU. NOTE: I ended up moving the fade towards the front speakers just a little. The rears are obviously right behind your head so the fronts got drowned out. Also, due to the lack of a big sub...I had to run the base level up and treble down on the HU. Not rocket science but it took me a minute to figure it out. Once I got it all balanced out and adjusted to my liking, it sounded great.
So here's what I think; it is a BIG improvement.
Top up...it's more than enough. The sound quality is so much better and clear. I feel like I get the full spectrum of sound. Probably needs more bass but overall I can't complain at all. No, I can't just crank the bass up on the HU or amp as it becomes distorted. Again, no complaint but a little more bass wouldn't hurt .
Top down...same as with top up just not as loud. The sound is still great. I can still hear the music over the factory NPP and wind. I have found myself reaching for the volume control on a few songs but overall, it's more than adequate.
So, for you guys that want more sound volume and quality but don't want to spend a bank roll doing it. Or you're older and just don't need or want that blaring sound, no offense to anyone of any age, this might be the setup for you.
You will have to call Dennis for pricing but it's definitely something to consider. It's pretty simple and not too awful on price if you can route the wires and plug and play parts yourself.
Going to take a long trip this week...will let you know my final thoughts when I return. See you on the road!
Marlon
PS, thanks Dennis!
Last edited by MH663; 09-08-2015 at 11:33 AM.
