rsvette12

Wondering if the base sound system can be upgraded in some way without messing with the factory unit as it is to integrated into the car, 1LT system is not cutting it, I had 5,000 dollar system in my C6 and C7 system does not come close, wondering if i could get some direction on adding an amp and bass box to it to beef it up a bit more, thank you.

ersin

Usually, the first mods people seem to tackle with new cars is the audio system. So far, there's hardly been any talk of upgrading the audio system here. I guess everyone wants to listen to the exhaust instead.

Sometimes a simple speaker upgrade helps immensely. I've heard that Bose does not use standard size speakers in a lot of applications. Does anyone know if the speakers in the C7 are a standard size and mounting that can be replaced easily? If so, I think I would start there. Then I would worry about an amp next with maybe a processor. But how much can you do in the small cabin of a Vette?


Cheers.

rsvette12

Thanks Ersin - going to run this by the professional that installed my c6 system, should be interesting to hear what He has to say tomorrow.

KenHorse

Don't have my C7 yet but in my C6, I replaced the Bose speakers with Polks and added high end tweeters. I LOVED that sound system

ersin

Were they a standard size speakers, e.g. 4", 5.25", 6.5", etc.? And with 4 screw mounting?


Cheers.

DocHolliday

Is the 1LT system the same as the 2 and 3LT just without the sub? Or a completely different system all together?

rsvette12

Thanks Ken, I am thinking its needs more power and a bass speaker addition to bring it to a respectable level, being a musician sound fidelity is more important to me than listening to the npp exhaust.

KenHorse

In my C6 yes they were but I have no idea about the 7

rsvette12

Doc its the same thing without the amp and bass speaker

ersin

I found the graphic. It looks like:

2 x 1" tweeters
3 x 3.25" "twiddlers"
2 x 10" woofers
2 x 5.25" full-range speakers
and the 8" woofer in the trunk

My bet is you can get better sound by replacing the tweeters, woofers and full range speakers. I don't know how deep the woofer enclosures in the door are, but if they aren't very deep this may limit you on exactly what would fit in there.


Cheers.

rsvette12

It is a real pain to replace speakers in the door, at least it was in c6 - installer took panel off and there was a giant hole after removing paper crap bose speaker - what a joke that cost me extra to fill the hole to put in a decent speaker.

slief

There were not standard size speakers up front in the C6 and I don't remember the back. Infact the Bose uses something like an 8 or 10" speaker up front in the door. I upgraded the stereo in my C6 replacing everything from head unit to speakers and added an amp and a sub. Some of the new speakers needed adapter plates. If I were you, I'd wait a bit until JL Audio or some other company comes out with sub enclosure that can mount in the rear cubby and is molded into the corner of the trunk like the JL as well as other subs did in the C6. A good stereo shop will be able to tie into the factory speaker outs and add an amp and sub through a low level converter. It's also possible that there is already a sub output in the factory 1LT stereo but nobody has really delved that far into the C7 factory system as of yet.

I have a 2LT C7 and I'm honestly pleasantly surprised how good the facrory system sounds but unlike the 1LT, there is a sub in the 2LT. Having said that, the front speakers of the Bose are unually large which does provide a surprising about of BASS up front.

rsvette12

JL Audio - yes I had this in my C6 - very expensive and didn't actually think it was that great

You are correct you have to replace everything as bose speakers only work with bose head unit

HalfMoon

Yeah, they were a 3" or 3.5" (door and dash) and a 10" in the door and 5.25" in the rear on my 2011.

I did the plates and ran JL C5-650 components up front and C5-525 coax in the rear with an HD 900/5 amp and a 10w3v3 sub. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before people start upgrading, even the best Bose is questionable by people that really get into car audio.

rsvette12

"10" in the door "

Spot on giant hole lol

HalfMoon

Shouldn't be the case. Bose speakers with the Bose amp, sure... but not the head unit. You just need to get a line level output either from the head unit or by using a LOC and run that to an amp with your speaker(s).

ersin

Except for those "twiddlers", the speakers seem to be standard size. But until someone tries to replace them and reports back we won't know.

rsvett12, you now know what I was talking about. LOL. It shouldn't be too much of pain to remove the door panels, relatively speaking. I've done so many times on a variety of cars. But leaving a hole when replacing the speaker really sucks. Let's hope the C7 is more audio-mod friendly.

slief, yes, I'm sure in time someone will come out with a kit to add a sub in the back. The question is how much room will it take up. That's always the killer for me. I don't like to lose room in the trunk of my cars. But then, sub-bass is not quite as important to me. In the end, it is all a compromise in vehicles. Good thing the big speakers in front provide a decent amount of bass. How muddy are they though? I haven't heard a factory sub that really sounded all that great.


Cheers.

Glen e

Upper speaker is in door panel you take off
Lower speaker in door
Ignore red dots- for another project

ersin

I'm sure you can get the head unit to interface with normal amps. There are plenty of magic boxes out there that will let you do that. It's just a matter then of replacing the amp with the speakers. Then you can have a much better system.


Cheers.

rsvette12

"rsvett12, you now know what I was talking about. LOL. It shouldn't be too much of pain to remove the door panels, relatively speaking. I've done so many times on a variety of cars. But leaving a hole when replacing the speaker really sucks. Let's hope the C7 is more audio-mod friendly"

Got yah Buddy

Glen nice picture that looks better than C6 to deal with but stuck with this system as its to tied into the DIC so I would like to add something to the existing system, like a sub and amp I hope