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I'm sure some members have upgraded their rear speakers in a C5. I have a 2000 Vert. I assume the FRC and Z06 have the same rear speakers. I haven't taken them out yet, so I don't know size, impedance, wattage, etc. Could anyone recommend an upgraded speaker brand? Do the tears have an amp like the fronts? I know back in the day Jensens were good. Haven't done much keeping up with the audio side of things in a long time. Thank you for any help......
I'm sure some members have upgraded their rear speakers in a C5. I have a 2000 Vert. I assume the FRC and Z06 have the same rear speakers. I haven't taken them out yet, so I don't know size, impedance, wattage, etc. Could anyone recommend an upgraded speaker brand? Do the tears have an amp like the fronts? I know back in the day Jensens were good. Haven't done much keeping up with the audio side of things in a long time. Thank you for any help......
In my experience, rear speakers do not add much to the overall sound Replaced mine with Infinity all around. In stock set up (as I have), don’t go overboard on the rears. Perhaps with an aftermarket amp, rears might play more of a role.
A cautionary note - I upgraded the rear speakers in my FRC with "2-way" speakers - which have a separate tweeter - and I was not happy with the overall sound of the system - the rear speakers were too "tinny" for me and I was unable to get it right using the controls on the OEM headset. I wound up going back to Bose rear speakers from a later model to get things back in balance. I did also upgrade the "twiddlers" in the front with 2-ways - and kept that as-is. Had I been able to find a true "midrange" speaker with no separate tweeter - I would have gone with that - but I had a hard time finding ones like this....
The rears are 5.25", they do not have an amp like the fronts. One thing to note is the Bose speaker polarity is opposite to industry standard, and you will need a wiring adapter to fit new rear speakers. The factory Bose units have a direct proprietary plug vs the traditional spade connections. The adaptor will take care of the reverse polarity issue as well.
I recently installed some JBL GX528's and GX328's. They helped some but be aware most rear speakers will bottom out on the body panels. You will need to install a 1/4" spacer to keep that from happening. The factory Bose speakers have a plastic plate on the front I pealed off and placed behind the new speakers and it worked perfect.
For me, I'm running a 10" sub in the back so I didn't need as much base, so I added some hi-pass filters in the back and front, that really helped the whole system to be better balanced and let the highs come through.
Lot's of recent post about this very topic, just so some searching.
I have a 2002 Vert
I used 5.25 Hertz HCX 150 watt premium speakers + 300 watts rms 1/2 of an old school Rockford 600a4
The other 300 watts of the 600a4 is for the sub which is plenty.
They stick up 1/4-1/2 " but I packed insulation around them and the cover fits.
I used Hertz HCX 6x9s in the doors with a Rockford 500a2 500 watt rms amp
Component speakers don't do it for me won't take 500 watts rms.
Also added tweeters at the tops of the A pillars powered by a 200 watt Kicker compact amp
The 6x9s will fit if you gut a speaker cover and use it as a spacer.
You can hear this system quite loud and clear with good bass at 90 mph with the top down.
Had these Pyles before the Hertz HCXs
Last edited by StrangelovesM6Vert; Oct 12, 2020 at 05:02 PM.
A cautionary note - I upgraded the rear speakers in my FRC with "2-way" speakers - which have a separate tweeter - and I was not happy with the overall sound of the system - the rear speakers were too "tinny" for me and I was unable to get it right using the controls on the OEM headset. I wound up going back to Bose rear speakers from a later model to get things back in balance. I did also upgrade the "twiddlers" in the front with 2-ways - and kept that as-is. Had I been able to find a true "midrange" speaker with no separate tweeter - I would have gone with that - but I had a hard time finding ones like this....
I just went through this exercise and researched speakers ad nauseam. Last year I purchased speakers based on info on the forum, and found that they sucked so I returned them.
I wound up purchasing Infinity Reference 3022CFX and 5032CFX. They are 3 ohm speakers. If you install 4 ohm speakers, your rear volume will be very low compared to stock.
These sounded really good (better than stock) and had no signs of decreased volume with the Bose head unit like the ones I returned did, and sound terrific with the aftermarket head unit. I also installed bass blockers for the front and rear speakers. Feel free to pm me if you would like.
I also accidentally ordered 2 sets of the rear speaker harness adapters so if you need one let me know.
Last edited by Ed Ramberger; Oct 12, 2020 at 06:58 PM.
I just went through this exercise and researched speakers ad nauseam. Last year I purchased speakers based on info on the forum, and found that they sucked so I returned them.
I wound up purchasing Infinity Reference 3022CFX and 5032CFX. They are 3 ohm speakers. If you install 4 ohm speakers, your rear volume will be very low compared to stock.
These sounded really good (better than stock) and had no signs of decreased volume with the Bose head unit like the ones I returned did, and sound terrific with the aftermarket head unit. I also installed bass blockers for the front and rear speakers. Feel free to pm me if you would like.
I also accidentally ordered 2 sets of the rear speaker harness adapters so if you need one let me know.
I'm looking to do a little refresh on my dual purpose C5. I want good clean sound, with a little bass. Did you leave your stock BOSE door subs installed? What headunit are you using for this setup or did you only upgrade speakers?
I'm looking to do a little refresh on my dual purpose C5. I want good clean sound, with a little bass. Did you leave your stock BOSE door subs installed? What headunit are you using for this setup or did you only upgrade speakers?
Before I installed the head unit, I installed the speakers. They sounded really good with the Bose head unit. I took the advice of member Autotragic who was down the same road. He recommended using bass blockers with the speakers. I installed them so I never heard the system without them. The car sounded great with the Bose head unit - it retained the Bose door woofers - and the Reference 3032CFX and 5032CFX speakers. Mine is a vert so the rears were 5.25"
Feel free to pm me if you want to discuss in detail. Always willing to help.
Last edited by Ed Ramberger; Oct 22, 2020 at 06:52 PM.
I'm sure some members have upgraded their rear speakers in a C5. I have a 2000 Vert. I assume the FRC and Z06 have the same rear speakers. I haven't taken them out yet, so I don't know size, impedance, wattage, etc. Could anyone recommend an upgraded speaker brand? Do the tears have an amp like the fronts? I know back in the day Jensens were good. Haven't done much keeping up with the audio side of things in a long time. Thank you for any help......
Infinity Reference 5032 CFX fit and sound excellent. They are a 3 ohm speaker. I didn't notice a big volume loss like other speakers I tried. I have a 2004 vert and that's what I installed. Verts use 5.25" rears.
Only the woofers are amp driven. The front and rear speakers are head unit driven.
Last edited by Ed Ramberger; Oct 22, 2020 at 07:55 PM.
I just went through this myself.. put hertz in the rear.. but honestly, you don't really even need the rear speakers, they do so little.
I ended up putting 8" subs in the door and high quality audio frogs. You can check out my build here if you want.. everything fit behind the stock grills. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...s-in-door.html
Upgrading rear speakers......
