OK, here's my story and question. I'm trading in my 2006 coupe for a vert. I am 6’7” and bang the back of my head on the bar every time I launch it  this doesn’t happen with the convertible. (Oh, and I finally got the ‘OK’ from the wife )

The 2006 has the factory Bose system with Nav and XM. I had a local shop replace everything except the HU with a JL system (all speakers except the center dash one, one 10 in sub mounted in the hatchback area, Cleansweep, 500/5 amp).

What I have now sounds very nice, but I was wondering, as I am staring with a new car, would you order the same factory nav and just move the current setup over to the new car, or save the money on the Nav and install an aftermarket HU?

I know the quality of an aftermarket is much better than the factory piece, but a few questions..

Will aftermarket units work with the steering wheel radio controls that are on the 2007 models?

Will I notice that big of a difference in the sound quality from what I am currently listening to in a car with as much noise from the road and engine as the convertible Vette?

And if so, what head unit would you guys recommend?

Oh, and is it worth it to replace the small center speaker with the aftermarket JL model? I think the installer didn’t want to fool with it as he thought it might be too hard to get at. After viewing the thread here, it looks like something I could do myself!

ANY and all suggestions are much appreciated, as I’d like to get all the facts BEFORE I spend all the money! Unlike many previous screw-ups.

 

I have an '06 vert with factory NAV. Like you I debated which way to go and eventually fell to the siren song of the very cool feature of NAV integration with the HUD. As I've stated a number of times, including in another thread a few minutes ago, if I had it to do all over again I would have ordered the base stereo and started from scratch. On a vert since 2LT is the minimum package this means you're paying for Bose, unfortunately so whether you choose 2LT or 3LT depends on whether you want HUD, power top, etc. The components you already have will all work well in the vert except of course the sub box.


I haven't seen any reports of the steering wheel controls working with aftermarket. The system is VERY new and I don't know if it's standard GM parts bin stuff where the typical PAC steering wheel control modules will work.

Yes you CAN hear the difference in the vert and I think it's even more important to have an improvement system because you have to push it to hear it when you have the top down and when you push the factory system well..... you get the expected results.

The 2 biggies of the NAV aftermarket double-din seem to be Eclipse and Pioneer. The Eclipse is a higher quality unit so it's a function of what $$ you want to spend.

Don't be bothered with the dash speaker with an aftermarket setup. I put in 2 pairs of 6.5" component Focal Kevlars and the soundstage is so much better now than it ever was with the crappy Bose, including the center, that it shows me that speaker is simply unnecessary in a quality setup.

 

Yes, it will be the 3LT package, fully loaded.

Well, as there is still the question on the handset controls, I may just get the Nav package, and wait and see.


But another question!

You say the Eclipse is better than the Pioneer. How so? (yet the pricing for the Pioneer unit I've seen is higher. Forgot the number, but the unit with the 30gb hard drive)

Also, I'm partial to XM rather than Sirius, and I haven't seen where the Eclipse unit will do XM. Am I mistaken?

Sorry to sound like an idiot, but I’m typing this from work in a hurry.

 

I don't have personal experience with either besides pushing some buttons at a Tweeter, which doesn't really count. In general Eclipse has better build quality and better sound quality and that was what I meant. Alpine also have a unit but IIRC it's a bit pricey as the unit itself is about $1000 and then the NAV is an add-on for another $1500.

The AVIC line is certainly the most frequently encountered system out there. And there's alot to be said for that as there's a pretty big internet community (avic411.com) supporting mods, hacks, tweaks, etc.

The stock NAV certainly gets the job done, and I still enjoy the HUD integration. But an aftermarket will give you far more features for the money, and some you flat out don't get with stock - playing DVD's, hard drive for digital music storage, bluetooth for hands free phone, rear view camera, etc. Just gotta decide what's important to ya.