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I know there must be a method of getting the new radio head to sound as good or better than the original Bose system. I had the new Kenwood installed in my 2001 coupe at a reputable stereo shop. It was installed correctly with the Roem-vet1 PAC OEM1 harness. After picking the car up, highs were missing and lows were "flat" sounding. I took it back and the installer agreed, it sounded like "Crap." He recommended changing out the front and rear twiddlers, which I reluctantly gave the go-ahead. I'm into this radio head upgrade for nearly a grand now and the sound is not near what it was before I made the swap. The speaker change made little or no improvement whatsoever. I'm 53 years old and don't want a loud obnoxious thumping stereo, but want to enjoy music to at least the quality of the original system or better. The installer wants to put in a Kicker and change out my stock Bose door woofers. I don't want to give this guy any more money and I'm pretty certain I shouldn't have to purchase an additional amp just to obtain sound comparable to the original Bose system.
Im sure I'm not the first to have this issue but I was unable to locate a thread with anything similar. I don't mind spending a little money to fix the issue but I want to be sure the sound is worth the dollar and so far, I am extremely disappointed and frustrated. Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-
'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
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I think you mean front and rear tweeters rather than twiddlers, but here's a thought. Give Dennis at Double D Mods a call and discuss with him what you have bought, what you have had done, and what the problem is. He can most likely tell you what might fix your terrible sound from the system and help you with any needed extras.
I just installed a Kenwood DDX793 with my stock Bose speakers and it sounds fantastic. my unit has several speaker adjustments and you can make the car stand up and beg for treats !!!! Something he did (as you know) is not right !!!!!!!!!
Kenwood's have a multitude of adjustments if you go through all the set up sections. When I installed my h.u. I was pretty dissatisfied with the sound, sounded exactly how you described. I spoke to Dennis (where I had purchased my radio) and I started to play with every control. Eventually I got it sounding pretty good. If you go through all the tuning sections, you won't believe how many adjustments there are. As a last resort there are adjustments on the Pac Roem unit also. Ultimately I still might change the speakers which will eliminate the need for the Roem unit. I will try to avoid a sub and amp because I don't want to use up any available storage space. Hopes this helps.
I know there must be a method of getting the new radio head to sound as good or better than the original Bose system. Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.
If it were me, I would go to page 54 and make sure the settings for the speakers are correct. (If you know the model numbers of what's installed, you can get the specifications off of the Internet, or post them here so someone can help.) Then I would start with a flat EQ and make small adjustments until it sounds better.
When you buy a higher end Pioneer, it has a setup mode that uses a microphone. You put the microphone near where your ears would be, and run the setup mode. It adjusts its own settings to get you the optimal sound. (Car and home units have this, it's called Auto MCACC)
I was surprised not to see similar functionality mentioned in the Kenwood manual.
That kind of sound calibration makes a huge difference on how good things will sound. Also, the source you are using makes a huge difference. Using AM/FM/Bluetooth can all lower audio quality. You want to use high quality lossless digital media as your test music, and you want that media directly attached via a digital connection, not wireless.
With most properly working and installed modern components, the sound should easily exceed the quality of the factory unit.
I have a DNX692 and have had a similar experience with the sound quality through the stock speakers. I have made some progress but need more time to tweak it. As per Dennis you have to set each source. i am sure I will make it better, it is just about spending the time.
Thanks for all the advice. I have spoken to Dennis a few times as did the installer (supposedly). I have also spent quite a bit of time in the advanced adjustments in the Kenwood itself. Still having issues. I'm sounding like Debbie Downer, but I need to find knowledgable installer near me that can resolve this sound quality issue. I'm not going back to the original installer. That much is certain.
There are screw looking potentiometer adjustments on the ROEM VET1 that can be adjusted to get the high frequencies back. But you aren't going to get the high frequencies back if they installed speakers without tweeters...
I purchased a Pioneer from Dennis, with a similar setup Roem into Bose and upgraded the rear mid range but was not satisfied with the sound, same problem sounded nasal and flat. Contemplated an amp and sub box, but did a little research and found some very efficient speakers with crossover, tweeters, and replaced the front Bose and canned the Roem. I'm very happy with the results, great sound no amp or sub and the head has more than enough power in a Vert. Do some research into speakers with good efficiency and get rid of the Bose.
There are screw looking potentiometer adjustments on the ROEM VET1 that can be adjusted to get the high frequencies back. But you aren't going to get the high frequencies back if they installed speakers without tweeters...
They replaced the front 3.5 tweeters and rear 6 inch mid ranges with Kenwood similars. I will look for the settings you mentioned. Thanks.
Heres what I had done by Meese Audio in Lancaster Ca. They are the best audio specialist here where I live and have won numerous awards for their auto sound systems. First they pulled out all that Bose crap (My opinion and theirs too) They installed a Kenwood KDC-X597 Excelon head unit, Then they put in four Rockford Fosgate Two way speakers in both doors and the rears behind the seats, then installed a powerbase subwoofer in a custom trunk floor box and then powered it all with a 500 watt ARC Audio Amplifier mounted on the floor behind the passenger seat. After tweaking all the ,Bass, Treble, Mids, and faders, It sounds amazing, almost like sitting right in front of a live band. They also installed a subwoofer control **** on the dash to control the bass level at a fingertip. You can see the bass adjuster on the dash right to the left of the ignition switch, I kept the original Bose speaker covers on the doors too. Yes it does go very loud and you can really "Feel" the music through your whole body while in the car. Now you may say that seems like a lot of power for a small interior but note-mine is a convertible , so I wanted to feel the music with the top down at 70 mph. All this cost me around $1500, but like I said, The sound quality is just amazing at any level. Here are some pics of it.
I purchased a Pioneer from Dennis, with a similar setup Roem into Bose and upgraded the rear mid range but was not satisfied with the sound, same problem sounded nasal and flat. Contemplated an amp and sub box, but did a little research and found some very efficient speakers with crossover, tweeters, and replaced the front Bose and canned the Roem. I'm very happy with the results, great sound no amp or sub and the head has more than enough power in a Vert. Do some research into speakers with good efficiency and get rid of the Bose.
This will be my last resort. I'd like to get the sound back without replacing these. Thanks
I purchased a Pioneer from Dennis, with a similar setup Roem into Bose and upgraded the rear mid range but was not satisfied with the sound, same problem sounded nasal and flat. Contemplated an amp and sub box, but did a little research and found some very efficient speakers with crossover, tweeters, and replaced the front Bose and canned the Roem. I'm very happy with the results, great sound no amp or sub and the head has more than enough power in a Vert. Do some research into speakers with good efficiency and get rid of the Bose.
Which speakers did you use to replace the Bose door woofers?
06-06-2016, 08:56 PM
Aftermarket Kenwood ddx9702s Stereo sounds Terrible
The installer wants to put in a Kicker and change out my stock Bose door woofers. I don't want to give this guy any more money and I'm pretty certain I shouldn't have to purchase an additional amp just to obtain sound comparable to the original Bose system.
