Hey guys well here it goes, I got a 94 Corvette with the famous Bose gold Sound system :rolleyes: ... Anyways the CD player doesn't work anymore speakers produce some static, but other than that not to bad... I went to get some quotes today on installing a Poineer Head unit, some speakers and a Amp, but they said its gonna cost some money to install all that stuff because of the custom work they will have to do, especially the Head unit since there is gonna be gaps there after they remove the bose...

Now I got acouple opitions either get my CD player fixed for $200 and get a amp... or **** on the Bose and just go all aftermarket and get the poineer?...

Thanks fellas

Tony

 

I am probably one of a few forum members that actually like the Bose, I would get it fixed.

 

I've recently asked this question but mine was differnet in that I wanted to put the Bose "back in" strictly to maintain originality. If this is your intent, then I say keep the Blose. Outside of that, I think you'll find it is much cheaper in the long run to trash the Blose. If you are a "do it yourself-er", there are certainly enough tips and tricks in this forum to reduce your installation costs dramtically yet do it professionally. Do a search on "Bose" and you'll see what I mean.

As STL94LT1 suggests, you wil not find too many in favor of keeping the Blose and the majority have trashed the system. Food for thought.

Good luck!
Bill

 

Bose is a good system when its working...or so I've heard...I've never actually heard one working.

I say go aftermarket, because thats what I did, and I've never looked back. :seeya

 

I had a double-din head unit put in that fit the existing space perfectly. I now need to get the speakers replaced and I'm going to choose ones that will fit underneath the existing covers. I personally wouldnt have an install done that wouldn't allow you to put the BOSE back in to keep it original.

 

For the money unless you are looking to stay original trash the bose and put somthing after market in. You will get a lot more sound for your money.

 

I had the bose system completely removed and had a Kenwood installed. Circuit City installed a pocket below the stereo which filled the space perfectly and now I have somewhere to put my wallet, cell phone, etc. I put a 4" Rockford Fosgate component kit in front with the 4" speakers in the original position and the 1" tweeters in the upper corners of the windshield. I routed the wired for the tweeters through the A-pillars. Id have the bose taken out professionally, unless you have alot of time and patients. good luck :cheers:

 

Dock,

This is not a huge problem. Pioneer made a head that fits perfectly, and I think they have since updated it... It was the FHP4400(I will have one for sale shortly).

The unit fits like a dream, and sounds very nice, but I want to upgrade to a high end Alpine... I have had mine for about 2 trouble free years. It has cassette and CD, plus, it will control a changer and has a remote.

the install is perfect. I can post pics tonite...

the unit has 6 outs... its street price is about $500.00 new, and I suspect the replacement units price is about the same.
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pi...010700,00.html

It looks like the FHP4100 is the replacement, cost wise, and the 8800 is the super grand daddy.

remember, these are double din heads, not the normal GM 1.5 din...

 

you can use the pioneer double din, deh-p77 if i remember right or you can use a piece of plastic & fiberglass on the plastic to create a single din opening and repaint when finished. if you've read the thread i posted about my stereo install you should know where i stand on what to do. just be logical with the choices you make & consider how much you'll be spending to do it.

unless you plan on spending a good deal i'd probably fix your bose. places like circut city usually don't have guys with the training or experience to do a really clean install. the other problem is they crunch there guys on time and rush jobs are common. you could use a pioneer deck and new speakers off a small amp or deck power somewhat ecnomically but it's hard to say if it would sound better than the bose if you keep the cost down. stepping into a higher quality speaker like mb quart, boston, focal etc would definatly be the way to go but you have to consider cost. how much can you actually spend on your stereo? i think the $$ figure will determine the choice you should make.

 

GTS is right about circuit city. I posted this before somewhere else but I was told that they pretty much did a "hack job" on the wiring. Overall.....im pretty satisfied with their work but there are just a couple nit pick issues I had, but then again, Im really picky when it comes to my car. :lol:

You can get alot more sound and alot better sound if you go aftermarket but, again, like GTS said, its all about how much money you want to spend. I actually liked the bose system alot. I just went through 3 head units and 2 tuner modules and got fed up with it. Good Luck, whatever you decide to do. :thumbs:

 

chuck it! :smash: you'll be much happier when you get the after market system in, and it'll last longer , sound better, look better, did i miss anything? unless you like things totally stock>! :cheers: :D

 

If you want to keep it original, which I do, here's the place to use for the head unit and speaker repairs. http://www.doctordons.com/ I'm not an audiophile by any stretch and the Bose sounds fine to me. I'd rather listen to that LT4 whine anyway. :)

 

If you plan on keeping the car for more than four or five years replace the whole system. I can only speak from experience as all my old amps were bad when I got the car; I replaced them with brand new amps and the brand new amps (the two front ones) went out in less than two years. Instead of buying new ones for the second time, I replaced the whole system and added a Kenwood CD head unit. If you are willing to spend a little more now and are keeping the car it will probably save you time and money later.

 

gts, I agree with what you say, exactly. I am one to talk about expensive audio... :) I am getting ready to buy an Alpine 7998 head...

I was trying to address this from a more cost conscious perspective. There is little that cannot be improved by spending more!! how true!!

but for most listeners, a nice set of Polks and 50 watts from a HU is much better than the factory blose...

my system consists of a JL Audio 10w3v2, JL 500/5 power amp, Boston Pro Series 5.5 front stage and Canton RS2's for the rear stage...

 

Hey guys I got some quotes at my local speed and sound shop and they told me to trash the system and get everthing new and rewired.. What I'm gonna do for my 1st part of the system is get a Pioneer DEH-P7400MP head unit, getting new speakers back and front and then getting a rockford fos 350 Watt amp to run that stuff, that will cost me $1,400 with installtion (installtion is 250 bucks)... Then when I get more money saved up gonna get another Amp worth 500Watt with one 10" sub... Should sound awesome, but gonna cost alittle over 2 grand :eek: But its worth it :D .. Thanks for all the help guys this place rocks :thumbs:

 

Tell us how it sounds when you are finished. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

 

No problem... :cool:

 

I just finished replacing my entire system with new high end equipment. I purchased the deck from onlinecarstereo.com and the speakers from a local store that matched the on line prices! I saved about 60 percent of the retail prices. (really) I also installed everything my self. The only real difficulty was the speakers which needed a new mounting plate. I figure I saved at least a thousand dollars. And still have what I think is a outstanding system. The only advice I will offer is check around before you buy, if Wal-Mart sells the brand you want .... I spent $309 on a $499 deck, and $169 on $479 a pair speakers, and $459 on a $759 amp. (Nakamichi, MBQuart, and Phoenix Gold Titanium) Good luck.

 

I am going to give you some very good advice here so please do listen. If you are going to have an aftermarket system done in your vette make sure you know who you are dealing with not just any local shop. Since I noticed that you live in Maryland I feel the need to tell you that I had mine done at Caton radio - Catonsville, Baltimore and spent weeks repairing the hack job they did on my car back in May of 2002. I havent had the time to complete all of the repairs but plan to in the near future. They had wires hanging out all over the place along the side and back of my passenger side seat, Ripped out one of the grommets on the firewall to run the power cable and left it out which caused a leak on the floor when it rained. They had a kit to put in a standard aftermarket radio, but after they hacked up the inside of the dash to get enough clearance for the radio to fit all the way in, they had to use self tapping screws to hold it in place. Then put some bent up metal pieces in to hold up the rear of the radio and drill screws into the side of my new radio to hold it in place. The radio was wedged in so tight that now the antenna and rca cables do not work since they were kinked so tightly that they split. Of course I did not find out all this until I decided to replace the trim panel around the radio and heater controls and by that time it was too late to do anything about it. AND to top it all this pile of crap cost me over $1100. All I can say is PLEASE do not make this same mistake. I was told this was supposed to be one of the best places around(YEAH RIGHT). This is the first time I have let someone else do a stereo system for me since I usually do all my own and now I am reminded why it is that I do my own systems, you can bet I will not make this same mistake again. :mad I like aftermarket systems but I hope the forum members learn from my mistake and make sure of what they are getting up front before someone hacks up there car. Hope you have better luck. :seeya