I am looking at replacing the head unit in my car, C6 base, 3LT with the premium Bose system.

The Alpine iLX-507 seems to have all the features I am looking for. It costs a bit more than I wanted to spend because of the interface you need to make it fully compatible with the the chimes and steering wheel controls, etc. The interface the shop is quoting is $300+.

I plan to run it with the rest of the Bose system and see how that goes. I am primarily looking to get out from under the factory Bose unit.

I am looking for feedback from people that have one of these Alpine units.

Thanks!

 

Which interface did they quote you for $300 ? If it's the PAC RP5-GM11 which is the most commonly used one on this forum, you can find it at Crutchfield for $139.99. I think I'd also price your Alpine system from them too, you might see it's cheaper from them also at $779.95. Car stereo shops tend to mark up the costs of their products.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_541RP5...SAAEgJ7OPD_BwE

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500ILX...e-iLX-507.html

 

PAC-GM1A RST


Radio Pro Advanced GM DATABUS Interface Class 2 w/Omnstar

 

I am using the iLx-507 in my C6 3LT and I am using the PAC RP5-GM11 interface. I have yet to really tweak the sound, but so far I have been quite happy. I also have the iLx-507 in my C4, which replaced the iLx-207.. been happy so far I honestly thought of selling one of my iLx-507s to try something else just because I want something different, no other reason.. Shoot me a PM maybe we can work out a deal on the 507.. if you are willing to buy used..

 

The GM1A-RST is a good interface, but depending on your system, you'd probably be just as good running the RP5-GM11 as it'll retain the same features as the GM1A-RST at half the price. I'm also currently running The GM1A-RST but I had both in my car, the reason I'm currently running the GM1A-RST is because I found a brand new one for $10 on an internet auction site. The GM1A-RST has a few advantages over the RP5-GM11 such as the chimes are done through the left speaker of the system where the GM11 chimes through a chime module that plugs into the interface, also if you have a premium Bose system, there're some additional features you can access on the RST that, if you don't have the premium Bose system can't be accessed. So basically I think running the GM11 will work just fine for you at half the price. Either way with keeping the original Bose, amp and speakers while replacing the head unit, you'll see a noticeable improvement in sound quality, and of course features the stock head unit didn't have. One thing I also did on my car was to add a subwoofer and sub amp to add that much needed bass these cars lack which can really liven up the system, other than that I'm still running the Bose speakers and amp.

Also, if you originally had the stock NAV system, the stock GPS antenna should plug right into the new Alpine system, so you won't need to use the one that comes with the Alpine. If you're also wanting to add XM radio, you'll need to purchase this additional tuner as the stock XM tuner can't be reused with an aftermarket head unit. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_220SXV...0V1-Tuner.html You can however reuse the stock XM antennas with the use of some adapters, this thread I wrote will lt you know what you need to do this. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-xm-tuner.html
Another thing I reccomend while you're at it is to also add a backup camera, you'll be glad you did. Let me know if this helps, or if you have any other questions.

 

The OEM antenna plugs directly into the iLx-207 but the connector changed for the iLx-507 and no longer connects as the connectors are different

 

Thanks for clarifying that, I didn't realize they changed them.

 

yep, I started to look at an interface, but I think it was cost prohibitive vs mounting the Alpine antenna which seems to work great

 

If you're interested in reading about the differences of the two interfaces, here's the owners manuals for both.

 

I have had a -507 for several years now on my C5.

It's a great head unit with a sharp HD screen. I use the available BT volume **** option as it is a very nice convenience add-on

 

Yea I really like the HD display. I got the first one on sale and was a better price than the Kenwood DMX958xr..

 

Double post

 

It does have the premium Bose system.

 

Does it have Onstar?

my 3LT had Nav with Bose no Onstar, I am using the RP5-GM11 without any isues. I have the little chime module mounted to the radio adapter mount and it is plenty loud to here in the driver seat. sounds decent enough so far.

One thing to note, use the 507 microphone, the OEM one int he car and several others caused echo issues..

 

It does have OnStar, or at least the equipment is there, I don't use it.

Thanks for the info on the mic. I do use the hands free.

 

Onstar might make your purchase of an interface different, madsonp might have a better answer on that..

Hereis how I mounted my iLx-507 Mic

 

My car has OnStar, and the biggest issue I had was programming the phone buttons on the left side of the steering wheel, no matter how I tried to program them, they'd always default to OnStar, the way I got around this was to pull the OnStar fuse in the floor board fuse panel, after doing so I was able to program them as I wanted. And if I recall correctly, before pulling the fuse, my phone was trying to connect to both OnStar and my Pioneer system causing interference, again pulling the fuse eliminated this as well as deleting OnStar from my Bluetooth connections. No big deal since OnStar isn't supported on these cars anymore anyway.

I and others tried to use the stock mic with an aftermarket system, I couldn't get it to work with my Pioneer, so I mounted the Pioneer mic, up on the drivers side "A" pillar by the stock mic similar to what's shown above.