So this is my crazy idea. I've been fighting the install of an aftermarket headhunt using a PAC Bose interface. The final install just doesn't sound as good as my other install in a NON Bose application using only the stock speakers and the power of the headunit.

If I replace the speakers in the doors and behind the seat, connect wires directly to the headunit, that covers the install but....
What do I need to use in place of the Bose amp to keep my chimes and/ or anything else that is connected to the Bose amp?

It's an 06, so no onStar, as far as I can tell the only thing to address is the chime.

Thank you, and if anyone else has done this, what 4 speaker system did you use? Size, brand, etc for the application. I kept the OEM head unit and will do the same for the speakers so it could be converted back to stock one day if someone else ever wanted to.

Mike

 

The PAC interface should provide the chimes. If it's the older style PAC RP5-GM11 interface, it has a small speaker included that plugs into the interface that is for chime output. Otherwise, you would have no chimes since you've disconnected the speakers from the BOSE amp.

If you're using the newer style PAC interface, the GM1A-RST, it allows the chimes to play through the new speakers if properly connected. You would need to connect the speaker level outputs of the PAC interface to the speakers and not have them directly connected to the HU outputs as you have stated for this to work though.

 

I recently went thru the same issues you are having. Really disappointed in my Kenwood HU AND the new speakers I replaced in the door and behind the seats. I even put sound deadener in the car. I kept the Bose amp hooked up. It still sounded terrible. My nissan truck was more fun to listen to. I posted a thread here about a week ago with a shout out to Charleston. I came across Custom Car stereo here in town and they actually knew how to adjust the equalizer in the Kenwood. IN about an hour they had me all set up and on my way and I cannot believe I was doing everything WRONG. Something about the Bose acting differently with the HU power. I don't know. Except it saved me from getting an amp and ripping the Bose out. You are a little far from Charleston but maybe there is somewhere up there that knows what they are doing. I was ready to give up until I found these guys. Very happy minor adjustments.

 

thank you for the info. A quick request, would you be able to take a pic of the eq settings they used, crossover adjustments, etc? Maybe mirroring yours would be a good start.
also, I live in Sumter, maybe I’m closer to you than you might think. If so, I’d gladly take a drive down to take the pics of the adjustments myself. I’ll also try calling those guys. Pm me if you want and I’ll send you an email or cell number if you want to send pics vs post

 

PM sent

 

Foul!!!

PM all you want for stuff like phone numbers, personal addresses, arrange to meet in person, etc. I have no issue with that but information that could be the solution to a problem should be posted in the thread, if for nothing else, so that anyone searching for info on the same problem can find what may be a solution. There's nothing worse than finding a thread that sounds like it addresses your problem then finding out that the OP and others went private and that those same people are no longer active on the forum. If you post the info here, it lives to solve the problem another day for others,.

 

Understood, and if it works, I’ll be happy to share on the forum or otherwise. I’ve shared and supported solutions from my days in the 2000s with a c4 and will continue. But you make a good point and I will be more aware of the request and perception going forward.

great forum and proud to be part of it.

 

No worries. The "Foul" part of my post was more of a joke but the rest is true. Unless we post in the main thread, searching the forum for answers becomes pointless.

This IS a great resource but only works if everyone contributes. And there are some VERY knowledgeable people on this site that are more than willing to offer up suggestions and help.

Hope kanvasman's settings work for you and solve your issue. I would suggest that either you or he post the info regardless in case it might be the solution to someone else's problem.

 

No worries. I just PM'd him since we are almost neighbors and no one else had replied to either thread, ,therefore I thought no one was interested. My em to MDC said that here are some of the pics from the Kenwood. The first thing I got from this tech was that all of those preset settings ( pop, rock, jazz) just don’t work correctly with the Bose. I don’t know. I don’t understand it.. As I said they lost me when the Kenwood wanted to know how far my ear was from the speaker…And if you use one of the presets, the frequencies all were above the middle of the scale. When this guy got done they a=were all below the middle of the scale, and the sound was totally different. My hearing isn’t what it used to be but once he tuned the unit, I can hear all of the instruments. That is all I wanted to achieve. Check out the pics, ( sorry for the dust on the first one)ask any questions. Here are the pics I I took. Not sure if any of this works with other HU's but it worked on mine.Thx. Jim

 

I’m going to try them next week when I get back in town. I actually changed my setup to a pioneer dmh-1500nex, will be a full post explaining what I used and why once the bugs are worked out.

 

Herer are the rest of the settings on my unit that I did not include earlier. And FWIW I have th Kenwood DDX9903S with aftermarket Punch 3 1/2 P132's in the upper doors, Kicker CSC67 6 3/4 lower doors and Kicker DSC50 5 1/4 behind the seats. I removed the center dash and one of the tips that the tech gave me came after I mentioned that I really couldn't hear the behind the seat speakers. Like back in the day when the back set speakers were blasting and the windows were open. He explained that you really don't want to notice them. You should be sitting in the car as if you're are a concert and the band is never behind you. Maybe a small sound, but your focus should b3 what is in front of you and maybe even hearing the back but not noticing it. This is all I have to share. I will probably be playing around with the equalizer a bit now that he has me in the BALLPARK but if I screw it up I always have pics of his setting to get me back to square one. A place I would have never gotten to without their help.


Rear crossover

Front crossover

Speaker select front door

Speaker select behind seats. They are actually 5 1/2 but HU didn't have that option.

 

Hi Mike. No one wants the old Bose Equipment. The speakers are worn out, the amp is non-hi-fidelity and nearly any aftermarket headunit is able to produce better left to right stereo separation and frequency production than the Delco radio that came with the Bose system. Even the 3 1/2 " front door "tweeters" actually OEM GM speakers, are Delco not Bose. The rear 5 1/4" speakers (if you can actually hear them) are OEM. The only speakers powered by the Bose Amp are the woofers in the front doors that provide any Bass notes the system can produce. So rip out the old and replace with the new. Use the factory power supply wiring in the dash for the Headunit, but I recommend rewiring the speakers with high quality wire, and look around for a small but powerful multi-channel amp with Bass capabilities. You can find one that is 50 RMS watts x 4 and has a bridgeable channel for subs. DS

 

Thanks for posting all of this data. I recently bought back my '05 Z51 vert from the guy I sold it to a year ago. He had removed the BOSE (everything) and had a Kenwood system installed. I hate it. Since he gave me all of the removed components I was considering a reinstall of the factory system. Now I will try this and see if I can save myself the bother.

I know many people dislike the BOSE system but this new Kenwood / Infinity system is only acceptable if you only listen to talk radio. The installer did a very nice, clean install but if it doesn't sound good well ...

Cheers!

 

Not to sound condescending but are you sure that you don't have something turned off (like a bass output) or that you don't have a built in EQ in the head unit that is set to talk radio settings? It sounds strange that you can't get a decent music signal.

 

No problem, not condescending at all. The installer told me that the owner did not want a sub installed. He said he was more interested in BT connectivity and ApplePlay GPS than anything else. It shows in the sound. I have played with every conceivable option to adjust this system and can't even remotely get it to sound as good / bad as the BOSE factory system. The power amp is located under the passenger seat and, when I get the manual for that tomorrow, I will see if it has a sub out feature. Otherwise I would need to remove the seat to find out. I can wait. I have looked at a small JBL or Kicker sub enclosure that may be usable but still researching. I want every thing I may do to look factory original. The other issue is the constant low level hiss, or white noise sound, that comes from the tweeters. It is of course masked when program material is playing but otherwise there at all idle times.

Thanks for your reply NB.

 

Hmmm, that constant hiss shouldn't be there.

I wonder if all your problems aren't stemming from a failed (or failing) interface box. Do you happen to know which interface the previous owner/installer happened to use to install the Kenwood system? PAC interfaces have been known to fail, I wonder if that could be at least part of your problem.

 

I have no idea what items were part of the install other than Kenwood HU and Infinity speakers. I have the installers telephone and will be calling him to get a run down on the project. He's a mobile installer and has no central p;ace of business. In addition, I failed to mention the buzzing sound that it makes for a few seconds when you first start the car or place it in accessory mode. All in all, it makes me long for the BOSE product.

 

The Corvette C5 is very noisy and provides excessive heat from the "Tunnel". You can buy a spray-in sound dampener and spray inside the doors' on the internal skin, add some stick-on dampening material (it comes in sheets) to the inside of the doors' panels, and the framework for the doors. You can add the same spray and dampening material to the entire rear of the vette with a little cutting,shaping of the material and patience. Use the spray anywhere you can deaden sound from outside the vehicle. Have the exhaust and driveshaft inside the tunnel removed and you can buy a heat shield that is attached to the inside of the tunnel. Of course put the driveshaft and exhaust back. You can get sheets of heat proof material to cover the tunnel inside the car (after you spray sound deadening on it). If you can pull the engine, spray and attach heat proofing and deadening material to the firewall, that will really make a difference. Now the system: I don't know what the guy put in the car. You need a decent head-unit, one that comes with built in crossovers is best. You need at least one 4 channel amp. There are some amps the size of cell-phones that will power a good system or you can get monster sized amps and supply monster power for your speakers.Replace all speaker wire from the original to serious. The doors suck for Bass. Put Mids and tweeters or full range 4" in the original 3.5" positions, and (thin mount) 6 !/2's in the original 8" woofer position. You can buy kits to make an exact fit. If you want Bass, you are going to have to sacrifice the well in the rear of the car. You can buy a real good Sub box for the space for a 10" sub. I use a dual voice coil sub and get double the sound..Replace the 5" rear factory speakers with 5 1/4" HIGH Fidelity coaxials and put foam baffles on all your new speakers except the Sub. So if you need more info, on how to do all this you may need to consult a professional Auto stereo shop in your area. I hope you can find a good one that uses good components.. If this Kenwood Deck is a entry-level model, it probably isn't setup with built in crossovers. But maybe it's a high-end model and has them. My two 4-channel bridgeable amps are in the dash and except for the speaker wires to the sub box, door speakers, and power wires it is all in the dash. FYI: I used to work in Autosound for many years. Good luck.,

 

The buzzing is probably from poor ground or bad diodes in the car's alternator. Even though the alternator charges the battery, bad diodes will leak noise into a system. And noting you have noise, perhaps pops when you fire your car up, you may need a better triggering system from the head unit. It may be wired with the amps' triggers from the ignition instead of the head unit.

 

Erie PA used to have some of the top Car Stereo installers and designers in the country. I competed against them and established contact with them in the 80's and 90's when sending entries to the IASCA Challenge competitions. If you are near there you might see if these guys are still in business.