6 and three quarter inch FOUR ways!!! Ouch those must really be shreiky. Is there any room for the mid sound to come out from behind the onslaught of tweeters???

Best bet, spend a little money, get a head, nice set of front speakers and if you like a little bass, a small sub in the rear. Then you can jam out!!

 

Actually it is not the Bose speakers - it is the Delco head unit that needs to be replaced. I couldn't believe the difference in my 87 when I swapped out the POS delco head for a sony. I got even better than than when I did the speakers, but its the head unit.

I dunno if the C5 has an adapter like the C4 did that you could use to power the bose speakers with an aftermarket head. If there is I would strongly bet that the sound would perk up immensely.

Whoever at GM is protecting the Delco radio division, they need to be fired for cause immediately. That division needs to be shut down immediately.

 

The Bose in the C4s had 4 amplified speakers and in my opinion sounded quite good. In the C5 the front speakers (doors) are amplified while the rears are not amplified. The front speakers have the woofer for low frequency and high efficiency 3.5 inch Twiddler for mid and high frequencies while the rears are 6.5 inch Twiddlers for mid & high frequencies. The 100 watt amplifier in each door drives the woofers and the radio amplifier equalizes and drives all the other speakers in front and rear. I have no problem with the high frequencies coming out of my system. Although I have had some hearing loss over the years my high frequency hearing is still quite good compared to a lot of other people.
Bill

 

Is there a way to tap the sub amp in the stock system to power a sub? I already have an aftermarket sub I used to have in my C4, which is why I ask. It sure would be nice to tap into an existing sub signal without having to add any other equipment. It would be even nicer if I could just tap that signal (if possible) from a connector under the dash, which makes it easier than removing the door panel and running wires from there to the back of the car.

 

What kind of stuff did you use, and where did you install it? I ask because I know that in 2001, GM starting using more insulation already. Also, what did you do to install it? For example, did you remove all the trim, then remove all the carpet, etc.?

 

Could you please share how you installed the amp? I'm interested in doing the same thing, because I noticed the same things you mentioned about the stock system. For example, with the engine off, I can hear the bass well, and the system does have adequate power to get it sounding good at a high volume without distortion, but at high volume you the mids and highs drown out the bass. So, I'd like to know:

1) Did you tap into a rear signal with a hi-lo adapter? If not, where did you get your signal for the sub amp?

2) How did you power the sub amp? I'm not all that up on how that part goes. I mean, do you have to power it separately? For example, if you're driving with the stereo off, is the amp still on?

3) Where did you mount the amp, and how did you run the wiring?

4) How long did this take you?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

I wonder if there's a way to put another set of the bose amplified front speakers in the rear? Would they fit? If the rear sounded as good as the front, the stereo would be fine.
Jeff

 

I've had Bose systems in a 1998 Mercedes ML320, a 2001 Miata, A 2003 Acura MDX, and now my 2004 Corvette. I will say one thing in their defense...they're consistent. They've ALL sucked! You could assemble a better sounding system from the components available at Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, the Bose systems are a pain to replace, especially with the weird head unit in a Vette. Last time I checked, Crutchfield didn't have anything you could drop in without at least a minor hassle.

I honestly can't figure out why manufacturer's continue to put this crap in high-end cars...the Bose marketing machine is either spectacular or most owners simply don't know how a decent stereo is supposed to sound.

 

1) About 1/4 of my burned CD's won't play properly
2) The deck won't play MP3's
3) The 8" speakers are too large to be putting in the doors, so if you turn up the bass the doors/windows rattle
4) What rear speakers?
5) The radio reception is horrible
6) They use a proprietary amp on speaker design so you can't upgrade the speaker or the amplifiers without replacing deck, speaker, amp and wiring
7) It has that classic "this is also used in the Cavalier" look to it
8) The $299 premium sound system in my Dodge Dakota will embarrass it badly
9) There are no steering wheel controls
10) The auto shifter sits firmly in front of the controls (not Bose fault)
11) 1.5 DIN limits your upgrade possibilities

 

I agree with the comment about the head unit. I just put in my kenwood MP3, and reused all the Bose speakers. I simply unplugged the speaker leads from the Bose amps to the woofers and used my two channel 200 watt amp to drive the Bose woofers in the doors. I am driving the twiddlers and rears right off the kenwood deck. You wouldn't believe the sound the woofers put out with an aftermarket amp. It was an extremely easy install.

 

id be glad to do a simple write up explaining the basics of the install!! im off to work now so i will type it up later tonight when im home!!

 

I had a few questions with your setup ...

You are driving the pre-amp inputs on your front speakers with the amplified output from your 200 watt amp?

I believe the Bose speakers have a 2 ohm impedance. External amps can handle that sometimes but how'd you get your deck to handle that without the risk of blowing it's internal amp?

 

OK, thanks, I'm looking forward to seeing it.

 

I am driving the large woofers in the door directly from the external amp. Yeah, they are 2ohm and my amp is 2ohm stable. If you look at the door speakers you'll see that you can simply disconnect the leads to the woofers and plug in your own speaker cable. I just fished some speaker cable into the doors. I am driving the rear and front twiddlers directly from my HU using a generic GM wiring harness. The system is working fine at this point. If I blow the internal amp in the HU I'll either get a new unit or another amp and drive the remaining speakers.

 

I wasn't aware that you could disconnect the front speakers from their amp. Sounds like the route you chose is a good intermediate alternative without having to replace everything.

 

Bose Blowz...
If you want to change speakers check this link.
http://www.tune-town.com/Cars/stuff/pac_oem1.htm

 

ADDING A SUB TO YOUR STOCK BOSE STEREO (great sound without having to change your stock speakers!! )

*this setup sounds great but is NOT for people looking for a competition setup! although it doest hit pretty hard! *

for those of you interested in upgrading your stock stereo, here is a brief write up about adding 1 sub/mono amp.

basically a rundown of what i needed for the setup:

- stock bose system!
- 10" sub (i chose JL) $100 new
- sub box (made my own) $30 in materials
- mono amp (i chose JBL 600wattsX1) $100 used
- amp wiring kit $70
- high/low converter $30

the install was fairly simple. its a basic setup, without going into too much detail here is what had to be done.....

1.) start by removing factory radio, and also the center counsil. i ran all the wires from the head unit right underneath the center counsil, then under the drivers seat, then right up the the amp.

2.) amp kit had to be set up. so start by running the power wire (fuse) through the firewall to the battery and hook up.

3.) with the factory radio out, now you can start connecting your wires. i started by hooking up the high/low converter.

installing the high/low converter:

- the converter was basically a small box, and had 6 terminals if i remember correctly. left speaker (+,-), right speaker (+,-), power, and ground

- looking at the harness in the back of the radio, you will see the speaker wires, and power and ground. run power to power, ground to ground, then the +'s to the left and right speaker wires, then the -'s to the ground wire.

- thats it for the converter, if you are sitting in the passenger seat and you look over to the counsil right where the plastic meets the carpet, you can actually put the converter in that spot under the carpet, there is tons of space!!

installing rest of amp kit:

- basically all thats left is to run the rest of the wires. you need to run a remote wire to the back of the head unit to the accesories that way the amp will turn off when the key is shut off, and doors are opened.

- next you have to run a ground wire for the amp. i used the big bolt holding the seat down on the drivers side. was simple enough, and it does the job!

- the rca's you are going to run from the amp, directly to the high/low converter.

- dont forget the power (fuse) wire has to go to the amp also!

- then all you have to do is run some speaker wire from the amp, directly to the sub box

YOU ARE DONE!

my install isnt really the cleanest, i have yet to actually pull the carpet in the back and mount the amp, and run the wires so you cant see them. right now i just have the amp behind the drivers seat, all the wires run from under/behind the seat then right up to the amp, so you dont really see wire everywhere.

now i built the box myself, so i saved some money. it took me and a buddy about 4 hours to build the box. but we managed to build the box, and install the whole system in only 1 night. it really isnt that bad. and for the $$ i spent, and time installing... it was SOOOO worth it!! it sounds GREATTT!!!

now its late, and i havent even re-read what i wrote. so im sure im leaving things out, and probably wasnt specific enough in some things. but like i said thats basically the idea.

feel free to ask any questions, and hopefully i can help you out!! thanks for reading!!!

 

Thanks for the info!

I just found out Pac-Audio makes a harness connector that gives you the amp trigger and right and left outs. It supposedly plugs somewhere between the stock connectors of the head unit before the BOSE processor. I was thinking that that might save some headache, but if you have to pull the center console and stereo to get it installed, then I guess it doesn't save any time, but makes a cleaner wiring job. I was kind of hoping there were wires coming out of the stock radio with a connector down the line that I might be able to access from under the dash on the driver's side since I need to take the lower part of the dash down to install a CLB anyway. That way I wouldn't have to pull the center console and radio. What do you think? Did you see any connectors a distance a way from the radio head, that I can reach from the driver's footwell or is the connector right on the back of the unit? Take a look at this part: Pac-Audio.com. You can buy it from Jim at Logjam Electronics.

I also understand tjhat if I get the right kind of amp, I might not have to use a hi-lo converter. For example, the Kicker (and others) Class D amps have standard speaker inputs (as well as a low level input) which I think means I can run from the radio speaker outs to the regular speaker inputs on the amp, which would filter out the highs and mids and pass only the lows to the subwoofer, right?

 

MrLeadFoot: to my knowledge there really is no other place to hook up the converter. although the only other option you have is to tap off the rear 2 speaker. but i was advised against that becuase they say its a bad signal, and that you will end up with road noise. they said the closer i get to the head unit the better.

honestly, taking the counsil off is CAKE!! it literally takes maybe 5 minutes max!! there are 2 screws that hold that whole plastic piece that covers the radio/air controls. then it pops off. just 4 bolts in the center counsil, then everything is off. really not bad. and thinking about it, running the wires under there is almost perfect. otherwise you would have to take up the side moldings and carpet and run the wires.

now im not really into the whole car audio thing, so im not sure about the amp and not needing a converter. ive heard that is possible also, but then i hear 95% of the time that you need a converter! so i used one, and it worked, so thats all i have to go by.

picking an amp/sub can be a hard choice, but if i may suggest you look towards the JL sub and the JBL amp. DEF. a great pair. the JL sub is highly recommended for small enclosures, and the JBL amp has PLENTY of power for the single sub. you can spend TONS of money on sub/amp but i got good deals off ebay, and ive had no problems!!

 

You know what else is interesting? All the stereo vendors and shops I've talked to agree that the stock BOSE sounds awesome with just the addition of a sub-system. And, to me, that re-confirms your findings and my thoughts, because they stand to make much more money by selling me an ENTIRE system, youknowwhat I mean?

Thanks again!