i have an 89 vette with all original bose. one speaker is going out (bad amp) and the head unit is also on its way. wanted to see what stereos other vette owners are using as a replacement. i recently saw a direct fit bose head unit replacement that has a cd instead of a cassette for $500 in Mid America Design, but seems rather high. i was also told by best buy that it would cost $250 to install an aftermarket jvc cd player that costs $250. tell me what you think the best idea for is for this situation, fix speaker? orig or aftermarket head unit?
Thanks guys
:cheers:

 

I'd be interested in the reply here. I have a 90 vette that is having the speaker popping and cracking problem (right front).
I'm not sure I want the expense of replacing the Amp in the speaker only to find the problem being elsewhere in the system. It sound one could exceed 500 dollars rather quickly to correct the current system.

What replacment unit(s) are the same size as the head unit and what speaker combination would fit the current openings.
Thanx for any feedback.

 

I have an '84. All I did was replace speakers and repair everything else. I know what everyone says. But my Bose is just find, and some good tunes.
Anyway, do as you want.
Just an FYI.
Tony

:smash:

 

This is an interesting topic... only because people get all nervious about upgrading a Corvette's stereo.

First off... the bose SUCKS. When new, they were pretty good - compared to other factory systems. But compared to aftermarket, they sucked.

There is little point of modifying aftermarket to work with bose.

If you desire to keep the car stock, there are services that will recondition the bose systems. This includes the decks.

The repairs are possibly of better quality than the original Bose... namely, because they have found the bugs and weaknesses.

If you decide to go aftermarket, you need to replace the entire system. Remove the head and speaker/amp modules.

Head unit options are wide. There are kits that will permit installation of any single DIN (German Industrial Standard for fitment, similar to SAE) head unit you could desire. Also, you can use DIN and a half unit.

Also, harness adaptors are available for the 84-89 units that will adapt for power and such... however, you will have to run new speaker wire.

Finally, the 1990-96 heads are "double" DIN. the options there are only a little less limited. A kit is available from:

SPECIALTY AUTOSOUND MANUFACTURING
TEMPE,AZ 85281
800-937-6644

It is a good quality metal unit and will accept all sorts of single DIN head units.

The number of double DIN head units is limited. They are both very pricy and limited in features.

Speaker options are dependant on model year:

1984-89 use door speakers. a 6.5" can be made to fit, but will require some work. They also have a dash install... a number of speakers exist to fit that.

1990-96 use the rocker panel speaker boxes. a 6.5" round might fit, but it would be a custom installation. There are no dash speakers.

the rear speaker boxes are the same for all model years. With some work, upto an 8" sub can be installed in the rear.

 

put in an ALPINE WITH GOOD SPEAKERS :party: :thumbs:

 

I'm replacing the Bose in my 89 with the Audiovox GC600, featured in Eckler's catalog, only I got mine on Ebay for $100 instead of Eckler's $500, there are still plenty of them left by a reputable seller. The stereo that you see in MAD was used in the Camaro, roughly 1992-1995, and they claim it's the Bose stereo although Bose doesn't have a L-R balance, so the picture must be of a standard Delco stereo. I see the camaro stereos on Ebay all the time, for much less than $500. If you have one amp going out, the rest will soon follow. You can get them repaired (the capacitors go bad), or upgrade to a new stereo, I chose the latter because I got fed up with my Bose system. Believe it or not, lots of people will want your original Bose stereo HU, and selling it can go towards the purchase of a better system.