I read the post "Time to trash the Blose system" - but my scope is much narrower - I had my OEM head unit upgrade with LED lights and 4mm jack for Sirius input and I want to keep it.

I just want to replace my front speakers.

I saw that a "mounting plate" is available that allows conventional speakers to be mounted in place of the integrated Bose unit.

But the Bose speakers include an amp - so if that is trashed and conventional speakers mounted - I'm assuming the factory head unit won't really be able to drive the speakers - are people mounting smaller amps right onto the speaker mounting plate?

 

I found some useful info here - I guess I'd need this "interface box" to allow the OEM radio to talk to an amp - which would then power the replacement front speakers (and I guess the rears as well)? Next question is where all this stuff would be mounted? Has anyone mounted an amp in the glove box?

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ose-setup.html

 

I can't help you with your question, but I'll ask you this: Do you really love to listen to music in your car?

I tore the complete interior out of my '02 'Vert within a week of buying it used a few years ago. Wasn't too bad. Did my own Double Din install, speakers, two amps, sub. Came out nice, but was a lot of work. My pictures from Photobucket died, I may need to put them up again using a different host.

You could do it much easier with a "normal" stereo and not got the Double Din route, though I see the stuff out there on Amazon now to make the DD install easier. I am lucky to have a friend that does body work so he made my console look nice after I got it cut apart.

 

From my Grand Sport project thread...

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...project-3.html

...scroll down to post #48 where I started working on audio. Kept the HU, changed everything else.

Might give you some ideas.

 

IMHO, if you are going to do this, you should also replace the rear speakers.

All 4 speakers should be from the same manufacturer, and belonging to the same line. This should reasonably assure you they have the same timbre.

The C5 OEM speakers do not include any real tweeter. Bose used 4 plain-cone (paper) speakers to handle high and mid frequencies and called them "twiddlers". That's why you can make a big improvement by replacing them with a 2-way coaxial design.

That being said, 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.

OEM C5 Speaker Sizes:

-Front
Twiddler: 3.5"
Subwoofer: 8"

-Rear Twiddler
Coupe: 6.5"
FRC/Z06/Convertible: 5.25"


Get 3.5" 2-way coaxial speakers to replace the doors' twiddlers and 2-way coaxials of the right size for the rear. Don't touch the OEM subwoofers.

A quick search produced this:

JL Audio Evolution™ C2 Series 2-way car speakers:

• C2-350X (3-1/2")
• C2-525X (5-1/4")
• C2-650X (6-1/2")

You are going to need as well. One kit will do both rears.

The door-mounted amp is just for the subwoofer (there's 1 amp and 1 subwoofer in each door). The 2 front 3.5" twiddlers that are mounted beside the subwoofers, as well as the 2 rear twiddlers, are directly driven by the headunit. More details here.

The system is designed in a similar way than a 4.1 system: 4 channels + a powered subwoofer (in this case 2 powered subwoofers, so 4.2 if you will ). As mentioned above, replace the 4 speakers, but don't touch the subwoofers or their amps and give this a try

 

Kind of a waste replacing the rear one since the door one over power them. ( If you use an aftermarket head unit and roem vet adaptor)

I have tired experiments with no sub and the front and back sound the same level as soon as you power the sub back on the rear get drown out

 

He is keeping the OEM system intact. He just wants to upgrade the speakers.

 

I just wanted to chime in quickly as I also like the keeping the stock look, primarily to keep the bad guys peering in at bay. I have a 2000 Vert and before Dennis went AWOL, I bought the complete JL Speaker Upgrade kit. Included the Front C2-350X and the Rear C2-525X along with the speaker wire adaptors. I can't really recall the price but as a package it was pretty reasonable. I also got an ipod adaptor too.

The improvement was pretty incredible. Drastically clearer and more output. Obviously, with the background noise associated with convertibles, you really don't need to get audiophile quality equipment to make it sound pretty darned good for all around cruising.

And BTW, even with a Vert, the rears are plenty noticeable. At least with the C2-525X's.

 

Thanks for the replies. I was concerned that "by itself" the factory system would not be able to power replacment speakers without an amp. I have a series of door panel projects in mind:

- Replace failing window switch on DS
- Replace inner weatherstrips (I spoke to someone at Corvette Central at Carlisle about this - the replacements may be available now
- Upgrade the speakers

 

No worrie​​​​​​s, as I mentioned above, the OEM headunit has a built-in 4-channel amplifier to directly drive the 2 front and 2 rear speakers.

If you upgrade the 4 twiddlers with 2-way coaxials you'll hear the difference! Check mrmagloo's message about this, and by the way, his speakers are the same model I recommended you

 

That being said, 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 just ordered a set of these speaker mounting plates from SCP

https://www.southerncarparts.com/cor...tes-p-517.html

How do I "replace the twiddler and leave the subwoofer intact?"

 

Sorry, perhaps I didn't explain myself in a clear way.

You don't need new mounting plates at all. To replace the front 3.5" twiddler you only need to remove it from its current assembly and mount the new 3.5" 2-way coaxial speaker in the same place the old one was mounted.

The OEM assembly with the subwoofer and amp remains in place. You are just swapping the little 3.5" twiddler mounted on the OEM assembly.

I hope you can cancel the order on time and save those $50

 

going to jump in on this thread, hope it's okay. if im replacing the factory HU and using the roem adapter, would it be smarter to go ahead and replace the whole speaker setup, or would you still recommend just doing the twiddlers in which you referenced?

 

The PAC Audio ROEM-VET1 and Axxess XSVI-2004 adapters are needed when replacing just the head unit leaving the rest of the system intact.

You can take this a step further by upgrading the 2 front and 2 rear twiddlers with 2-way coaxial speakers that can be just bolted-on in place of the OEM ones.

I don't know if this answers your question, but more details are here.

 

 

Glad everything went well. Enjoy!

 

Did the speakers fit with no issues?
Also, the adapter kit(wires), do I need on for the front and the back?
Thanks

 

The Metra adapter 72-4568 is only used for the rear speakers. One kit will do both sides.

 

So the fronts are done how? I'm looking for plug and play here. Don't feel like splicing wires, but will if need be. Thanks

 

Take a look at this post for more details on the process..The 3.5" fronts might have soldered wires or spade connectors, but as long as you mark the wires' polarity, as suggested, you should be fine