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I've loved this beautiful C5 for 15 years, but now I want to drive it off a cliff because of a damn $100 speaker.
All you audiophiles are ZERO help. Every time I ask what I think is a really simple question, I get technobabble sufficient to design the next moon launch.
All I want is to be able to replace the really crappy Bose speakers in my car with something decent. I don't want to have to rewire the whole damn car. I don't want to put in a new "head unit" (doesn't anybody call them a radio or receiver anymore?). I just want to replace the speakers with something decent and I want to know how in plain English that someone who wasn't born on the planet RSS ADP FUKMENOW can understand. Is that too much to ask?
The door woofers cannot be just upgraded plain and simple. You can do the rear speakers and door twiddled but if the bose woofers are shot you will have to source a used set
The door woofers cannot be just upgraded plain and simple. You can do the rear speakers and door twiddled but if the bose woofers are shot you will have to source a used set
See? First post and I get "twiddled" and "woofered".
I don't know how to make it simpler then that. Two speakers in each door a 3.5 for highs and some mid and a woofer for lows. The 3.5 can be upgraded, the bigger woofer cant
If you want a simple fix, replacing the bad speaker with a used one just like it is the only way to go, and eBay is your best shot at one if you can't get one here with a WTB thread. Ecklers and MidAmerica may have them also, or check with the parts recyclers.
If you want it to sound good and last longer than 15 years, you're stuck with the aftermarket NASA-grade technical mumbojumbo.
Good answers thanks. Is the reason you can't replace the woofers is because they have individual amps on each speaker? Somebody replaced the head unit in mine and it sounds real tinny. A stereo store told me that they probably didn't use new wiring to interface the head unit with the woofer amp, so the woofers aren't working. they want $200. to install the proper wiring. Reasonable? Also if I replace it with a double din new head unit what do you recommend. I don't care about GPS but would like Bluetooth and good full sound. Don't need a BOOM BOOM subwoofer though.
I've loved this beautiful C5 for 15 years, but now I want to drive it off a cliff because of a damn $100 speaker.
All you audiophiles are ZERO help. Every time I ask what I think is a really simple question, I get technobabble sufficient to design the next moon launch.
All I want is to be able to replace the really crappy Bose speakers in my car with something decent. I don't want to have to rewire the whole damn car. I don't want to put in a new "head unit" (doesn't anybody call them a radio or receiver anymore?). I just want to replace the speakers with something decent and I want to know how in plain English that someone who wasn't born on the planet RSS ADP FUKMENOW can understand. Is that too much to ask?
have you gone shopping at Area 51? I hear they have everything you need. lol. Sorry couldn't resist. But that is exactly why I didn't get Bose, hard to upgrade compared to regular systems.
To the op before you drive your car off a cliff at least give me the chance to buy your car and ill give you a beater to do the deed with.
No seriously a quick search will yield that there is a vendor(s) on here who sells plug and play upgrade speakers.
No way in hell. I'll stick dynamite in each of these damn 3.5" speaker holes.
But seriously, I saw the thing from Double D Mods with the JL Audio upgrade, but since everybody who knows anything about stereo has already told me it's either replace a POS with another POS or else accept that you're going to have to spend lots of money, rip out your interior and replace everything that has a light bulb in it, I figured it was a scam.
I've never had a boes system in any of my vettes. I think they're over rated pieces of crap. With that said like any think that performs yeah it's expensive. Or it can be.
It's not so much the expense as the complexity. It's just a couple of speakers. You SHOULD be able to replace them with better speakers, but you can't.
Anybody tried this? Anyone know if it works or not? How can they do this when everyone else says it doesn't work? They don't seem to have anything for the woofers in the doors.
Last edited by JACKAL0PE; May 26, 2013 at 07:41 AM.
Well I'm not sure about that year Vette, but I can tell you about my 89:
The problem is Bose chose to use a non standard setup. the pre amp(head unit) to amp (in speaker) level is not standard, so nothing else will interface with it. It was intentional. Its not the typical head unit(pre amp & amp) to speaker setup. its head unit(preamp) to speaker assembly(amp&speaker)
Then thier pre-amp to amp voltage level was chosen as a lower than standard level to ensure all other makers components won't work right (sound tinny). hope this helps.