When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
looking for some advice from the experts here that have been there done that. I recently bought a 98 coupe, Bose audio, single CD, and I want either a bluetooth or apple / usb head unit. I've check Crutchfield and I see some nice units but I'm afraid I'll lose that Bose sound, and advice for a decent head unit?
Thanks
looking for some advice from the experts here that have been there done that. I recently bought a 98 coupe, Bose audio, single CD, and I want either a bluetooth or apple / usb head unit. I've check Crutchfield and I see some nice units but I'm afraid I'll lose that Bose sound, and advice for a decent head unit?
Thanks
I got the PAC REOM-1 VET-1 and a cheap radio off the auction site. Connected plug and play to Bose amp and spekears. Sounds great. Radio has FM, Bluetooth, AUX, USB and SD card inputs. Total cost of every thing was about $60.
I got the PAC REOM-1 VET-1 and a cheap radio off the auction site. Connected plug and play to Bose amp and spekears. Sounds great. Radio has FM, Bluetooth, AUX, USB and SD card inputs. Total cost of every thing was about $60.
My factory Bose head unit died. So I bought a single DIN Alpine CD player with usb and bluetooth and used a PAC adaptor to interface with the stock Bose drivers. Surprisingly, it made a noticeable improvement in sound quality. Less distortion, tighter bass, overall a lot cleaner sounding at higher volumes. Of course, replacing the factory Bose drivers would have been even better, but I didn't want to put a ton of money into my car's stereo.
looking for some advice from the experts here that have been there done that. I recently bought a 98 coupe, Bose audio, single CD, and I want either a bluetooth or apple / usb head unit. I've check Crutchfield and I see some nice units but I'm afraid I'll lose that Bose sound, and advice for a decent head unit?
Thanks
As mentioned above, to properly replace just the head unit leaving the rest of the system in place you will need an adapter (not just a harness) to provide the required interface. This is due to the way the factory system was designed.
Replacing the head unit should be just plug-and-play by using either one. Both have setup adjustments to customize sound/levels. After tweaking them to your liking, they shouldn't require any further touching.
A double DIN is very nice, but if budget doesn't allow it and you want to consider a single DIN, then you would need an adapter plate to secure the new unit in place and provide a nice finish.
Here is an adapter plate that matches the interior very well. It has the word "Corvette" engraved in it that can be set up with backlighting (or you can customize the lettering).
The lettering can be above or below the head unit opening, there is also a non illuminated version with the head unit located in the center of the mount.
The main lettering illumination available in red, blue, green, yellow, white LED’s and also red mini lamp illumination.
My factory Bose head unit died. So I bought a single DIN Alpine CD player with usb and bluetooth and used a PAC adaptor to interface with the stock Bose drivers. Surprisingly, it made a noticeable improvement in sound quality. Less distortion, tighter bass, overall a lot cleaner sounding at higher volumes. Of course, replacing the factory Bose drivers would have been even better, but I didn't want to put a ton of money into my car's stereo.
If you want to take this a little further, without a doubt, the easiest and least expensive way to upgrade the system with the more bang for your buck is new speakers that can be bolted on in place of the factory ones, keeping the rest of the system intact.
I went with Kenwood 3.5s and 6.5s. I noticed some improvement with a Kenwood single din head unit, but not much. I recently replaced the Kenwood single din with a Joying single din with screen (one of the new Intel ones), and there was a much more noticeable difference in sound quality. Sound was a lot clearer. If you don't need or want too much bass, keeping the stock Bose system and upgrading the speakers is the way to go. The rear speakers are powered by the head unit, so it shouldn't be too difficult to splice in an amp if you wanted to; of course, you would be limited by the stock wiring.
If you're happy with the factory head unit, just keep it. I got an adapter from Double D Mods that plugs into the AUX jack on the back of the factory head unit and allows me to charge and play my iPhone through the factory system.
In talking with Crutchfie;d a few weeks ago and telling them all I wanted was a Pioneer unit as I had installed in my truck several years back. And, wanted to keep the stock speakers, didn't want/need bluetooth stuff. They set me up with an order list with single din nearest to what's in my truck and adapters for a little over 200 bucks. I'll probably order it next month and fix the display problem on my temp control all at the same get go. Plus pull the Sirius set up and sell it and put my ash tray set up back in with usb charge ports .
Head unit options for C5
