Lots of incorrect info floating in this thread.

Clarification :

Bose speakers : Front Tweeters
3 1/2 inch tweeter = this can be changed for an Alpine or other mid/tweeter of the same size. Cost about $80/pair and it does make a difference in your sound stage

Bose speakers : Front Subwoofers
8 inch custom subwoofers with custom Bose amplifiers. These CANNOT be changed for aftermarket speakers without seperate amplification. If you just try to connect your new speakers to the speaker output of the Bose amps - it sounds like garbage (ask me how I know ). Once you change your head unit, they stop working unless you buy an expensive converter (not worth the money - get decent speakers instead)

Bose speakers : Middle
6 1/2 inch midrange speakers of truly terrible quality. Muddy vocals and that's the best of it. This can be changed for midrange 6 1/2 inch speakers like Rockford Fosgate, Pioneer, and so on. Be aware that they are VERY SHALLOW because the gas fill neck is just behind the drivers side speaker. Again, as me how I know this.

Bose speakers : Rear
There are no rear factory speakers

Bose Head Unit :
It sucks. Change this abomination as soon as humanly possible.

EG

Details are here - http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...1&forum_id=103

Old and new speakers - spot the differences?

 

Thanks Stephen,
for the roughly 200 bucks would you say it's worth upgrading to regular speakers, besides the bose sub?

 

Chris,
Yes, it does make a difference - especially the front tweeters/mids. I bought the Alpine 3 1/2 inch mid/tweeter and it was a MUCH richer sound.
Stephen

 

just wondering if anybody can post how to r & r speakers. do grills come off or do door panels and back panels have to be removed. help would be appreciated.

 

THANK YOU!!!!!

 

Gentleman...any speaker can be replaced with another speaker of close to specs. When it comes to the Bose systems they always use odd iimpedance drivers. That first off makes it hard to properly match a speaker to the Bose amp. Generally aftermarket speakers are sold in 4 or 8ohm. Bose are between 1 ohm and 3 ohm drivers....not sure in the vette since I have never tested it. Anyways...the problem EG most likely had was not using a speaker made to work within the Bose parameters. The Bose amp has a built in low pass filter, is underpowered, and operates at an odd impedance which most likel causes even less power to go to the speakers. If the Bose sub is 1 ohm (which is possible) and you add a 4 ohm speaker in place of it you will get alot less power going to the speaker. All these factors together will cause the speakers to sound like garabage.

I have done everything that can be thought of to a Bose system in one car or another. Very little in the C5 but a ton in C4's, other GM vehicles, and Nissan's. The only thing I have ever done that was worth while was add a sub and/or tweeters. Personally I believe it is best to yank out the Bose and go all aftermarket.

 

There is a wiring harness in each door that runs to the stock speakers. There are two wires in this harness that will send a high level signal to power aftermarket speakers while still using the factory head unit, if you splice into them, but you will lose the subs (You will not be able to send low (bass) frequencies to the front speakers using this method).

Sorry, but I don't remember off hand which two wires you need to splice into, I will check when I get a chance. If you don't care about losing the bass from the amped Blose speakers in your doors, then this will work. You do need mounting plates to fit aftermarket speakers in the factory openings. You can purchase these from several places or build them yourself from MDF.

 

Details are here - http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...1&forum_id=103

EG

 

thanks for the replys

 

Thanks EG, I felt lost there for a while.

 

I wanted to do the same thing, replace the stock speakers, to get better sound quality with minimal investment. I went to numerous car audio places and was told the same story. You can only replace the front door speakers and the rear panel speakers. There are problems with impedance, ohm, watts, I dont exaclty remember. I was advised to get Alpine speakers as they are the best replacement due to those issues. I did that for about $170 installed and I have been real happy with the results. It's not going to make your stereo a bone-crusher, but it is a nice upgrade to the stock sound.

 

No problem. Just wanted to correct all the misinformation that was flying around.

EG

 

eg,
i see in your pics that you have the grills removed on the back speakers and on the door panels. is there any danger in breaking those when you pop them off? how do you get them off?

 

The middle ones pop off easily and the door ones require the door panel to be removed first. They are very durable and are very easy to remove.

I actually have my grills in - I just painted then black and removed the piece of fabric that hid the speakers. I will eventaully replace the fabric with sound transparent cloth, but I'll do that later in the year sometime.

Intact grills

 

A while back someone posted that any 2-way speaker (whatever THAT means) which fit the opening would be a perfect replacement for the stock Bose speakers without ANY other changes.......

So that info is completely incorrect ?

 

I don't know what I'm doing, but I know this can't be done. Something about the speakers having a different ohm reading than aftermarket ones. Paging Snoop Dan!!!!!

 

Bose uses very low impedance speakers. I have seen 1ohm drivers and 3 ohm drivers in Bose systems. Aftermarket speakers are in general 4 ohm drivers. What this means is the already under powered Bose amps will produce less power with a higher impedance speaker. The lower the impedance the amp sees the more output it will make.....to a point.

Two way can mean two things depending on how it is used. A coaxial speaker is often called a two speaker. A coaxial is two seperate speakers connected together in one chasis. They also share one speaker location. It is usually a midrange driver with a tweeter mounted to it and they can be bought in all your general sizes.Two speakers are better then one...more on that in a minute. Coaxial speakers are made so a better speaker can be installed in a factory location without changes to other parts of the car. Coaxial speakers do sound better then factory speaker but often not as good as a seperate system. Though there alot of coaxial speakers available that do sound as good but they are a bit different. Coaxial speakers are very commmonly used as a factory speaker replacement.

Better then coaxial speakers are what is called coaxially mounted seperates. Those are two seperate speakers mounted in one chassis but do not share the same speaker terminals. This allows for a much better crossover unit to be used (usually included) and often better speakers. Coaxially mounted speakers allow the user to have a better speaker system with more control but still put it in the factory location.

Seperate speakers are the best available. These are two and sometimes three seperate speakers not mounted to each other. The reason for these is the speakers can be mounted in factory locations or can be mounted in non factory custom locations. Often the mid will be in the door or kick panel while the tweeter is mounted higher in the door or dash. Seperate speakers also have the ablity for better control through crossovers or a seperate amp on each speaker.

The purpose for using seperate speakers is to allow the driver to perform it's job better. All speakers are designed to play a certain frequency band. A sub is designed to play low frequencyies and a tweeter high frequencies. A speaker is more efficent if plays within it's dedicated frequency band. This way a midrange driver can belt out midrange while the tweeter is taking care of the highs and the sub is only playing lows. Ofcourse you need the proper crossovers to control all that but they are usually included with the speakers.

 

Yes it can because I, along with a multitude of others have done it.
EnglandGreen has it stated correctly.
The C5 is different than the C4, that had to have everything replaced or use a line converter. Each speaker had its own amp, the C5 is not like that.
The 3 1/2" in the door and rears are standard junk 4 ohm speakers and can be easily replaced by a good 3 1/2" from any aftermarket company.
The subs in the door are run by a Blose processor and cannot be changed, but the 3 1/2"s are OK.
I initially put in Eclipse 3 1/2"s in mine, with decent results, but eventually pulled everything, and am running 6 1/2 JL - XR"s in the doors with an 8" Sub, in the rear compartment, powered by an Alpine Amp and using the stock HU. There are low level outputs from the HU that you can tap into to get a full signal to the amp.
I also disconnected the rear speakers, they were just screwing up the sound stage, and my system sounds much better without them.
That change made a huge difference!!!
I wanted to retain the stock/stealth look because the car is my daily driver and did not want anyone stealing the HU when it is parked.
While not competition class, the sound is pretty decent. A different HU would make a big difference, but this works for me.

While I had the door panels off, I fixed anyplace/thing that might vibrate.
I bent the pins tighter for the Blose Emblems, and then used silicone glue to hold them in place.
I bent the tabs over on the speaker grills so they hold tighter, used very tiny sheet metal screws to tighten them down, and then siliconed the tabs and screws.
The stryofoam padding in the upper door comes loose, so I used 3M Contact Spray Glue and really pumped it in between the door panel and the foam. I used a couple of C-Clamps and thin wood(so I would not leave an impression on the door panel) and tightened the clamp just enough to press the foam against the panel. I kept it clamped over night.

I also put very thin sticky(one sided) weatherstripping on the door itself, between each pin hole. Basically I outlined the door panel with weatherstripping. This added enough thickness, so when I put the panel back on, it was pressed tighter against the pins, and the weatherstripping would absorb any vibration.

My system volume can go high enough to cause ear bleeds, and after 4 years still don't have a vibration in the doors.
I play my music loud, so the above has really worked well.

 

i sure wish that people that don't know and haven't done/tried it would stop posting stuff like "i know this can/can't be done". Do NOT base your answers on having done it before on other systems just because you assume they are the same. Find out if they are the same and THEN give your advise if they truly are.

as EG stated VERY clearly, this CAN be done...front 3.5's can be replaced with aftermarket 3.5's and rear panel 6.5's can be replaced with aftermarket 6.5's and 6.75's ( I found out that different manufacturers use different sizes/names for this size bolt pattern. best recommendation is to measure the stock speaker bolt pattern and get an aftermarket one that matches). He also noted that driver's side is "very shallow" due to fuel filler neck in that area. this is all correct. Just as an example, i tried some Blaupunkt 6.5's i had and they weren't even close to fitting due to the fuel neck area. I got some infinity 6.75's (which, by the way, Crutchfield said wouldn't fit) and they fit perfectly...the separate x-overs even fit in there behind the speakers.

The rear speaker grilles are VERY easy to pop off and won't get damaged easily. you also need to pop all the fasteners off that interior panel so you can push it an pull it as needed to access the speaker fasteners. You do not need to remove it entirely.