Well this bites
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 9,289
Likes: 16
From: Skippack PA
St Jude Donor '13
Not a problem at all Jay. And having talked to you I know this question will arise... you do not need the GMAH24B just because you have Bose, the B version will actually make things more difficult. You have 2 ways you can rig this up. If you left the Bose amp installed then just hook up the GMAH24 per the instructions, except do NOT connect any of the new head unit's outputs (RCA or speaker level) to the GMAH24. The GMAH24 will output the chimes & Onstar to the Bose amp which will then be output via the dash speaker. If you have removed the Bose amp then you'll need to clip the OUTPUT wires from the GMAH24 and tie them off directly to the dash speaker. This is where the difference between the GMAH24 and GMAH24B comes into play, the non-Bose version has enough output to drive that small speaker.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 467
Likes: 1
From: LI New York
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Jay,
I just got done installing my Kenwood 8120 this past Sunday using the modules recommended. No problems at all and I kept my Onstar. Let me know if you have any questions. I took some pictures of my harness after all the soldering to the HU harness. I also added the module for the steering wheel controls which work well. I've replaced all of the GM speakers with JL Audio gear, seperate amps for the doors and the subs.
Judd
I just got done installing my Kenwood 8120 this past Sunday using the modules recommended. No problems at all and I kept my Onstar. Let me know if you have any questions. I took some pictures of my harness after all the soldering to the HU harness. I also added the module for the steering wheel controls which work well. I've replaced all of the GM speakers with JL Audio gear, seperate amps for the doors and the subs.
Judd
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 96,496
Likes: 82
St. Jude Donor '03 through '17
Not a problem at all Jay. And having talked to you I know this question will arise... you do not need the GMAH24B just because you have Bose, the B version will actually make things more difficult. You have 2 ways you can rig this up. If you left the Bose amp installed then just hook up the GMAH24 per the instructions, except do NOT connect any of the new head unit's outputs (RCA or speaker level) to the GMAH24. The GMAH24 will output the chimes & Onstar to the Bose amp which will then be output via the dash speaker. If you have removed the Bose amp then you'll need to clip the OUTPUT wires from the GMAH24 and tie them off directly to the dash speaker. This is where the difference between the GMAH24 and GMAH24B comes into play, the non-Bose version has enough output to drive that small speaker.
Jay,
I just got done installing my Kenwood 8120 this past Sunday using the modules recommended. No problems at all and I kept my Onstar. Let me know if you have any questions. I took some pictures of my harness after all the soldering to the HU harness. I also added the module for the steering wheel controls which work well. I've replaced all of the GM speakers with JL Audio gear, seperate amps for the doors and the subs.
Judd
I just got done installing my Kenwood 8120 this past Sunday using the modules recommended. No problems at all and I kept my Onstar. Let me know if you have any questions. I took some pictures of my harness after all the soldering to the HU harness. I also added the module for the steering wheel controls which work well. I've replaced all of the GM speakers with JL Audio gear, seperate amps for the doors and the subs.
Judd
Dan the Bose amp is still in place, I just disconnected the speaker leads to the center channel. I take it that I'm going to have to pull the adapter I have in the car and piggyback a few more. I want to retain Onstar, BT, steering wheel functions and the OEM mike on the B pillar.
Not so much care about the NAV features as i'm looking more for the audio.
Here's my choices, correct me if I'm wrong in this order.
1. Alpine
2. Kenwood
3. Pioneer
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 9,289
Likes: 16
From: Skippack PA
St Jude Donor '13
I'll touch base with both of you. I've upgraded the speakers with Focals and a Zapco amp as some of you are aware of already.
Dan the Bose amp is still in place, I just disconnected the speaker leads to the center channel. I take it that I'm going to have to pull the adapter I have in the car and piggyback a few more. I want to retain Onstar, BT, steering wheel functions and the OEM mike on the B pillar.
Not so much care about the NAV features as i'm looking more for the audio.
Here's my choices, correct me if I'm wrong in this order.
1. Alpine
2. Kenwood
3. Pioneer
Dan the Bose amp is still in place, I just disconnected the speaker leads to the center channel. I take it that I'm going to have to pull the adapter I have in the car and piggyback a few more. I want to retain Onstar, BT, steering wheel functions and the OEM mike on the B pillar.
Not so much care about the NAV features as i'm looking more for the audio.
Here's my choices, correct me if I'm wrong in this order.
1. Alpine
2. Kenwood
3. Pioneer
I have an Alpine IVA-W205 in my truck and a Kenwood DNX-8120 in my convertible. I really like the Alpine for the audio stuff but its NAV is crap. Priced very high and underperforms, plus the NAV is an option via the Blackbird PMD-B200.
I will admit a preference for Alpine over Kenwood in terms of audio so I winced a bit when I put the Kenwood in the vert, but plugged into the Zapco I'm using it delivers great sound. The NAV in the Kenwood is Garmin so it wins hands-down on that side. I'll be putting a Kenwood 6140 in my Z06 so I guess it's obvious what I prefer at this point.
