va2nc

Ok, I am about a month into my ownership of my Vette and I want to upgrade the audio system. I have the non nav, non bose system so nothing too much is lost. I picked up a Pioneer dvd for the head unit, and since Crutchfield has a ton of specials I am also good on amps.
I am seeking advice for the factory speakers. Has anyone tried to keep the factory 10's in the doors and amping them? I have read many people doing the components 6.5" in the doors with tweeters in the factory location. And I also noticed people have done the 8's in the door as well for mid bass. I kind of like this idea of the 8's because I don't really want heavy bass coming from the door, but don't know if 6.5's will give me the midrange I am seeking. For the bass, I am thinking of the JL 10" Stealthbox but have been looking at sub boxes at Madvette Motorsports and this nice box I cannot find from scienceofsound. (He hasn't posted anything since 2007) Any suggestions?

HANNY

first start with the sub, then if you want more do that. You will be shocked however at how much better the system will sound by just adding a sub. A good ten inch and a nice amp should do it. I have a 10" fosgate p3 shallow in a madvette enclosure in the rear cubby and an alpine 500 watt amp run mono. IT sounds incredible. So try just the sub first,,,,,,you will be shocked at how good the stock stereo will sound once the bass is there. check out my garage for pics. good luck, paul

Joz132

Here's the set up on my vert:

Alpine - INA-W900BT head unit w/ ipod kit
Alpine type R 6.5 component front speakers
JL Audio XD700/5 amp
JL Audio Stealthbox dual 8" subs

Absolutely worth every penny!

thptrek

Take a look at my profile for my setup. The JL Stealthbox Sub is very good.

NYC6

A nice set of 6.5" components, powered correctly will give you plenty of good mid-range and highs. To round it out get a good sub. There is a self professed expert here who tried selling the point that the Bose 10" speakers could be repowered and sound fantastic. He was dead wrong and went a different route in the end. Bottom line, lose the bose, they're garbage. Heres my setup in my C6. It really sounds great. The JL Stealthbox is the way to go. IMO. Quality bass that hits nicely

JL Audio C5-650 Components, XR-525 Coax,JL Stealthbox 10W3, amps 450/4v2,300/2v2, Kenwood 8019DD H.U

taahring1

replacing the bose is like going from night to day, find a good set of components for the front, rear speakers arent amazingly important so if you want to skip out on them you can, i put some 5.25 coaxials back there and they sound great, gives it the little extra to balance out 2 10" subs
heres my setup
Polk Audio PA1100.5
Polk MM 6.5" components in front
Polk MM 5.25" coax in rear
Kenwood eXcelon 10" shallow mount (XW1000F) x2 in a simple shallow box that fits under the roof mounts
Pioneer AVH 3300BT headunit

patb23

The bose system in the Z06 do suck. I'm getting ready to replace them with all JL audio equipment and adding 2 JL 10" subs in a custom enclosure.

NYC6

In my opinion, I have a JL Stealthbox in my coupe. One 10" sub is plenty for the small Vette cockpit. Not to mention the limited space back there. Give a single thats powered well a listen. Unless you really like bass that is.

WAwatchnut

I went with 8"s in the doors, along with 4" coaxes. I tried using components, and mounted the tweeters in the top fo the woofer grill, but I didn't like the lower soundstage that that created. The resulting sound is great, with a good punch from the 8's.

The main limitation with larger than 6.5" drivers is the mounting depth. You'll have to use something fairly shallow, and use a mounting plate that doesn't sit flush. The plates I used were about 1" thick, and the mid-woofer (old school MB Quart 8's) barely fit. Morel's 8" would fit as well.

va2nc

Were the MB Quart 8's midbass/subs or were they coaxial speakers. I really want to obtain just a little more mid kick and was thinking about a Pioneer shallow mounted 8" sub. The issue I see is now I must either find a crossover to separate the fq for the woofer and the 3.5 or 4" I run up top.
Do you have any pictures of your set up?

va2nc

Honestly I do like my bass on the heavy side...however in my Vette as long as the bass is really clean and has a moderate punch I am happy. We all know that space is limited and I do not want some large bulky box in the back of my car like I'm some 18 year old bass head. I will do a single 10 in the rear cubby.

va2nc

Chevy engineers spent the budget on the overall design and the performance of the car. Not much invested in the stereo, however I will say it has a decent sound compared to my old 350z.

va2nc

Thanks for the info. That is really what I was seeking. Was it worth keeping the factory door speakers and repowering them with an external amp once I install my new head unit.

NYC6

The 'genius' who was all ramped up to do it found out it was a moronic idea and didnt do it in the end. He put JL speakers in when all said and done. Dont even try it, get the best Components you can and power them with enough juice. It will be light years ahead in quality from the cheap paper OEM stuff.

WAwatchnut

They're MB's 8" woofers - old school ones from when they were still German made. I would not recommend coaxial speakers as the tweeter would be way too low in the door, and 8's don't really cover the frequency range up to the crossover of the tweeters very well. But when combined with a 4" midrange and tweeter, they work great!

Many companies have made x-overs for a three way system, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. I went active, with a 4 channel amp running the 8's on one pair of channels, and the 4" and tweeter off another pair of outputs. Then a separate amp for the subwoofer.

I took some pics, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I'll post them when I get a chance.

I haven't used the Pioneer shallow mounts, but I'm guessing most shallow mount 8's would work pretty well. Also, several companies 8" are not "shallow mount" but don't require a very large mounting depth.

va2nc

Thanks for the advice. Looks like I will run the Pioneer 8's in the door for my midrange/mid bass.
You have a pair of 4" and tweeters mounted in the door as well? Was it tight fitting both the 4 and the tweeter up top?

WAwatchnut

The stock mount is for a 3.5" speaker, mounted to the door panel. I made some mounting panels for the 4" drivers, which was a pain because the door is not flat where the driver has to fit, but once I was done, they fit perfectly. I originally put the tweeter in the top of the woofer grill, but the staging was too low. Fortunately I was able to find a pair of QM100 KN-S speakers, which is the coaxial mounted two way speakers, and just used those.

I don't think there would be any way of mounting the tweeter high enough on the door without using a coax or having the tweeter grill visible. I'd definitely recommend using a good quality coax along with the 8".

patb23

Mine is going in next week to get all the factory speakers replaced. I'm going with JL audio setup. C3-650 & C3-525 to replace the factory speakers. Also getting 2 10" W6's in a customer enclosure. amps: HD 750/1 & HD 600/4. Going to keep the factory nav head unit for now.

PeterSG

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I hope you hear a big improvement. Please let us know.

dledet2812

Here is what I have in my 2010 C6:

JVC AV61BT Double Din Head Unit
Polk Audio DXI 6500 component speakers for the front doors
Polk Audio DXI 525's for the rear fill
Alpine F65 4 channel amp for the Polk's
JL Audio 10" Stealthbox
Alpine 500W mono amp for the JL
Steering Wheel Interface to retain steering wheel controls
Onstar Interface
(2) amp kits
wooden speaker adapter plates for the front doors

Worth Every Penny!!!! I am 1000% happy with this set up. It rocks as hard as anyone can possibly stand it. It has the most clear highs, Mids are crisp and the low's are perfect!