I have an 06 Z06 with nav and Bose and want to upgrade the speakers and add an amp. I know very little about audio, so I went to an electronics store to see what they recommend. I want to know if what they told me is accurate or not. Note that I want to keep the existing head unit. I have also looked over the faqs and other posts, but still am a little confused.

First they told me that the could not just replace the existing amp, that they would have to add the external amp to the existing amp and would need some interface kits (two FX100 OEM amplifier interfaces $140, P200 BAP200 8AWG amp kit $30, and two I302 2C-1M audio interconnect $80).

They recommended that they replace the front 3.5" speakers and for the 10" subs they want to replace with 6x9 coax speakers. Since rear speakers are for fill only, we decided not to replace those. Also, I have disconnected the center dash speaker.

So does this sound reasonable? Do I really need to keep the existing amp? If I replace the 10" subs with 6x9 speakers, do I really need the 3.5" speakers?

Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

I've never heard of anyone using a factory Bose amp with aftermarket speakers, so that part is right. They will have to take out the bose, and install an aftermarket amp.

The harnesses are what they are. You need them to hook into your stock Head Unit, and other harnesses allow you to keep your steering controls, chimes, etc.

If you are going to run 6x9 coax, you won't need the 3.5's or the center channel. If it were me, I'd go with a nice 6.5" component set over 6x9's any day, but that's just my opinion.

The Bose stuff is not ALL that bad, especially if you are going to run coaxial speakers (not the best sounding IMHO) regardless of manufacturer. If you are going to spend the $, get quality speakers, clean power, and have a small sub installed at the same time.

Getting it all done at once will save you the hassle of going back & forth, wondering why your car sounds good, but not great.

A great sounding system would be as follows:

Audio Control Interface http://www.audiocontrol.com/c5396/967/New-Mobile.html or similar quality. Stay away from "generic" brand name interfaces!

DLS Ultimate Iridiums http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...mpaign=froogle

DLS 3 channel amp http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...timate+A5.html They sound very similar to the old Sound Stream D II series amps. One of the finest sounding SQ amps ever made. You have a ton of amp choices, but stay away from ANYTHING made in China, ANYTHING!

And a nice C6 stealth box. You can get one loaded for about 4 bills or so.

That would give you a very solid system that will sound like a million dollars at any volume level, and impress most audiophiles ears with the proper tune.

Good luck!

Keith


Nice car by the way....

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/audi...audio-faq.html

All your answers are in the above thread. You can keep the stock HU and use an aftermarket harness that you'll piggyback into the OEM harness for your audio output signals.

6.5" Component speakers for up front and 5.25 for the rears. You'll need to buy an amp and I would suggest running new speaker wires instead of using the OEM ones.

Your going to have to purchase speaker mounting plates sold by forum vendors to reuse the OEM mounting locations for the doors.

I would disconnect the center speaker by just un hooking the speaker leads to it.

Very straight forward install with a 50% improvement over the stock system.

 

basically a load of ****

 

Would you care to elaborate?

 

Keith,

Thanks for the feedback, but I'm confused about your above statement. You say that they will have to take out the bose and install an aftermarket amp. They told me that they could not remove the bose amp, that they would have to combine an external amp with the existing bose amp. Does this sound right?

 

Sorry, I hadn't had my coffee yet....

They don't have to remove it, but I wouldn't use it. Maybe they want to run your rears off of it.....

 

Read the faq

 

I did read the faqs which tells me how to install an external amp and info about replacing speakers, but it did not specifically address 2 questions that I have.

1. Do I really need to leave the oem Bose amp in as the installer says (ie. why can't I just replace the Bose amp)?

2. If I replace the 10" subs with 6.5 speakers, do I still need the 3.5 speakers (ie. is there any advantage to keeping the 3.5" speakers)?

 

1. no point in removing it nothing will fit there really i would just leave it where it is

2. i woudl do a 6.5 component set

 

That still doesn't answer my question why the installer insists that he can't remove the Bose amp, that he still has to use the Bose amp along with the new external amp (unless as a previous poster said the Bose amp is needed to power the rear speakers). Guess I'll have to ask the installer again.

I was just trying to get a feel if the installer knows what he's talking about since he said he would need some additional wiring harnesses to get the amps to work together, and was just wondering if he is trying to sell me more hardware than what is needed.

 

prly doesnt know what he is talking about then he probaly wants to use the outputs of the bose amp to feed the aftermarket amp which is only gonna equal crappy sound

you can 100 percent remove the old amp, and no point to use it to power the rear speakers cause it does a crap job of that at best

 

I just did this last week. This is the only harness you will need.http://forums.corvetteforum.com/audi...r-harness.html When you use 6.5 components you will be replacing the 3.5 with tweeters.

 

Find a new installer as he's full of crap. I just did exactly what you want to do. The Bose amp is still in the car but it's not powering anything. Go out and buy a 4 channel amp if you want to run the rears just for filler.

6.5" components will replace the existing tweeter located towards the top of the door. The 6.5" will replace the 10" Bose POS.

 

Arc Audio Mini 4.125 will fit perfect. There is also a new Soundstream Stealth amp that will fit in the stock Bose location. I'm waiting to hear the reviews on the Stealth.