I decided to replace the head unit in my C5 a few weeks ago and it has turned into a nightmare. I ordered the head unit online and then took it to Best Buy to have them install it. But then they called me (after they were halfway through the installation) and said that the factory Bose speakers wouldn't work with the new head unit I'd purchased so I would have to buy new speakers and pay extra for "custom wiring." Well, I figured I was this far into, I'd go ahead and pick out some new speakers. So I chose the Kenwood KFC P605IE components. They were supposed to be "good speakers." Well, to make a long story short, I paid $165 for the new speakers and $200 for "installation and custom wiring" and the speakers sound HORRIBLE. I couldn't be more disappointed with the sound. It doesn't sound nearly as good as the factory speakers. So I don't know what to do now. I don't want to return the head unit I purchased but I can't stand these new speakers. Could someone please suggest some speakers for me? Something they've put in their C5 that they're happy with that's not too expensive? I don't mind spending a couple hundred but I don't want to spend thousands.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems, what exactly does the new speakers sound like. Is it popping or crackling at all? Is it distorted when you turn it up? Or is just the sound quality poor compared to factory but it still sounds ok? What head unit did you use and what wattage are you pushing to the speakers? Do you have a separate amp? Perhaps you can go back to Best Buy and exchange speakers? Or was something installed incorrectly? Some electronic stores "guarantee" satisfactions within "30 days". Perhaps you need a EQ to help the sound quality? Let us know what you find out - someday i will be replacing my stereo system and i would like to find out how yours turned out. Good luck.

 

Well, the sound quality is definitely NOT as good with the new speakers. The factory speakers just had a much richer sound in my opinion. But there is also very bad distortion when I turn it up (and not even that loud).

This is the head unit I bought.

www.cardomain.com/item/KENKDCMP5028?vq_id=none

Maybe not the nicest in the world but it got very good reviews so I don't think it's the problem (although I don't really know).

I do not have a separate amp. I didn't think I needed one but I don't really know that either. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how the factory audio set-up worked and I don't really know what they did when they put the new stuff in. I just know it sounds really terrible.
If anyone has some suggestions/advice for me I'd really appreciate it.

 

Two places to get info, I would suspect that maybe your missing some bass, but also the speakers you got don't look to be very high wattage...

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...59&forum_id=20

http://www.subthump.com/

 

Well, let me start by saying that I am no super Audiophile nor am I trying to win any competitions in the stereo dept. However, When I choose to change something like that I research it pretty good. I wanted to upgrade my 98 coupe sound system so I started out by going to very reputable car audio repair places in my area and asked what was the best head unit. I got the same answer from EVERYONE I spoke to. You cannt get a better performing head unit than the GM Delco Unit. And it is designed for that vehicle and wiring.
I was told that the good quality sounds come from the speakes and the amps. As I am a poor cop and dont have thousands of $'s to spend on sounds, I have to shop for the best I can get for my budget.
Here is what I did....

I left the delco HU (CD Player).................free
PAC Vet1 interface for RCA outputs...........$65.00
Infinity 3002cf 3.5" fronts.......................$49.00
Infinity 6002si 6.5" 2 way rear..................$79.00
Factory Bose door woofers......................free
Fosgate 201S, 200w amp........................$99.00
Kicker 03C12 12" Sub.............................$79.00
Subthump Custom 12" sub-box................$182.00 shipped
Amp install kit..................................... .$20.00

So as you can see I have spent less that $600.00, and let me tell you..this this freakin rocks!! The sound is very clean and I used the great information I found on this forum to install it all myself. (removing door panels, stereo trim, wiring, etc....)

The bass hits so hard in this thing that my wife says it makes her stomach hurt. You can litterally feel it in your bones. I listen to real rock and roll...AC/DC, Sabbath, Zepplin, etc...and there nothing like having that driving kick bass drum shot through you like you were sitting right in front of it.
I will tell you another thing, I installed the door and rear speakers while I was waiting for my sub box to be made and just replacing the stock 3.5's and 6.5's made a night and day difference.

Good luck and if I can help with any stereo install ?'s please feel free to ask. I also found a trick Sirius receiver mount for the C5 and good antenne mounting option.

 

TEN-99: Thanks for your help. I really appreciate the advice. I just wish now that I'd talked to you before I tried to do anything. I pretty much wanted to do what you did: get decent sound without spending too much money. Anyway, I want to make sure I'm understanding correctly so if you don't mind confirming that I have this right I'd appreciate it.

In each front door there is a 8" woofer and 3.5" speaker.
In the doors you left the 8" woofer but replaced the 3.5" speaker.
The back speakers are 6.5" speakers and you replaced them.

In addition to this, you also had a 12" sub installed.

Did I get all this right? And as far as the amp, did you get the amp because you were getting the 12" sub or did you want it anyway? I really don't even know anything about amps because I've never had one before. To be honest, I don't even know where the amp goes or how it hooks up to everything else. If you don't mind explaining some of this in a little bit more detail, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

You didn't say what HU you bought, but for most component speakers, the HU doesn't have enough power to drive them. So you need to get an amp to drive the speakers.

The idiots from Best Buy should've been able to let you use your new HU with the Bose speakers. You just needed an interface to go from the HU to the Bose speakers, most people that do this use this
Click for Soundgate interface



TJ

 

I install car stereos for a living. If you need any help or have any questions please PM me. Best Buy was right about custom wiring but there are several ways around it. For the best sound though speaker wire should be run from the new speakers to the back of the new head unit to avoid any boss processing. Sounds like they didnt do that correctly and or you might just need a good quality amp to drive those componets. They generally sound a lot better with an external amp because it adds to the headroom

 

Bump

 

No problem....

I did leave the factory Bose 8" subs in the doors as well as leaving factory HU. The Bose subs have their own amps. The factory HU supplies power to the door 3.5's and the rear 6.5's. The 3.5 and 6.5 factory speakers are "full range" speakers that sound ok but not good quality. (especially in the high range).

I just disconnected the factory speakers and plugged in the new ones with the same wires. (These speakers are plug and play replaceable, powered only by the Factory HU).

As I stated in the previous post, I had a custom 12" sub enclosure made and added a Kicker Comp. 12" sub that sits in the center storage compartment. The amp I installed is a Rockford Fosgate 201S (200 watt RMS). This amp comes with a verification certificate and states that the amp is actually putting out 263 watts rms.

This amp only runs the 12" sub. In order to connect the sub to the existing system, I purchased a PAC-VET1 wiring harness that plugs in in-between the factory HU and the factory wiring harness (no cutting or splicing) and provided four RCA outputs. (2 left, 2 right) So all I had to do was run an RCA from this harness to the back of the car and a power and ground from the battery.

I mounted the amp on the flat panel in the back of the car (just above the center storage compartment where the sub is located.

The whole install took just a few hours and I did all myself. It was really pretty easy. I will be happy to help you out any way I can. My email is txcop2000@ev1.net. Good luck and I hope this helps!

 

Thanks for all the help from everyone so far. I guess I'm still trying to decide what to do at this point since I've already spent some money and I'm not happy with the results. I still think my head unit is ok (Kenwood KDC-MP5028) so I think I'm going to leave that alone now that it's in there. I also think I'm going to leave the rear speakers alone for now and because of financial restrictions, I'll probably wait on the sub, sub box, and amp. However, I've got to do something with the speakers in the door because it just sounds awful. Someone in this thread suggested maybe I needed more power for the speakers but I don't think that's it because when the volume is low it sounds alright and when I turn it up it sounds to me like the speakers can't handle it. I could be wrong, but I guess I'm going to assume that's it. So I'm thinking maybe now I should just go out and buy some 8" woofers and 3.5" twiddlers and just try to match what the stock system had in the door. Hopefully this will work, if anyone has any other comments/advice to offer, please do. Thanks again to everyone who has responded.

 

Are you sure you don't have anything loose in your doors that is vibrating when you turn the stereo up? Vette doors have different problems at different years. In addition, you had Best Buy's best installers in there rooting around. I'd pull the panels and make sure there's nothing laying loose in the door and that everything the put together is in there tight. This website has a knowledge base that
lists service bulletins for door noises in the interior section.
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...ry.php?catId=6

HTH

 

You could put the Bose speakers back in and get the soundgate adapter which will allow you to use the non stock head unit. that would be the least expensive way to go. I replaced my head unit with a kenwood and put in the sound gate then I added a stealthbox from jl audio and a jl 500 amp It sounds really sweet. however some time down the road i will replace the bose crap in the doors and rear and take out the adapter and add another amp to power the other speakers. that will give the best sound. bottom line the bose system kinda sucks if your really picky about sound then you need to dump it all.

 

I used to have the factory Bose speakers with an Alpine head unit. The speakers gave it up last week. The Alpine seems to push alot more power than the stock one. I replaced mine with Kicker mids and tweeters. It sounds alot better.

 

I am no stereo guru either, but I would guess that your HU does not have enough clean power for driving your new speakers. There is a lot - a whole lot of info on this forum under the General\audio electronics section. (left click forums, general, audio) Most people buy a new HU, run out of the pre amp into an amp, and then to the speakers. Remember that your stock bose speakers had their own amp at the speaker, so they had an amp after the delco HU.

You will get there, but you will have to spend a little more $$. (its worth it though!!)

 

I need a plan like 10-99 has but I dont need all that much PUNCH!

I have a Z06 and I want to install a single "SMALL" base speaker 10" and a smaller amp. I need that spare tire area and dont want to fill it up with base box. I want to construct a sealed box that will fit into the the area on the left or right side of the trunk. Then I want to replace the door speakers and the rear speakers. The rear speakers in a Z06 are smaller than the Coupe. What is the size of the stock speaker and can I cut the enclosure hole and add a BIGGer rear speaker in the same enclosure area???

Thanks

bill C

 

Our rears are 5 1/4". I don't think there is enough room to add bigger, like 6 1/2" for example, at least not without doing some panel cutting and custom enclosure fabrication. What you might consider Bill, is something I did in the rears and that is add a pair of 5 1/4" co-axials in the stock position. The additional tweeters in them do make a difference. I'm using some Boston Acoustics but there are plenty of other good quality brands out there as well. HTH

 

Hello again to everyone:

I have finally come to a conclusion on what I am doing with the sound system in my car. At first I was going to try to take the cheap way out, but I love my vette too much to do that. So I took it to a Tweeter store and started talking to someone there. Well, to make a long story short, the guy there convinced me to take out the cheap stuff I'd had installed, return all of it, and put a VERY nice sound system in (completely replacing all factory equipment). It is going to cost me some serious money but I got financing, so who cares?

So here's what I'm getting installed:

HEAD UNIT:
Alpine CDA-9851
SPEAKERS:
In the doors: JL-Audio XR650-CSi (6.5" 2-way components)
The rears: JL-Audio XR650-CXi (6.5" coaxials)
In the back storage space: Custom fit stealth box with JL-Audio 10W3D2 (10" sub).
AMPS:
For the speakers in the doors and the rears: JL-Audio 300/4
For the 10" sub: JL-Audio 500/1

This is going to be a hell of a system and I'm sure in the end, it will be well worth the money.

I do have a few questions though to anyone who has already done a stereo system upgrade:

Has anyone put in the Alpine CDA-9851 and if so, were you happy with it? I know the JL speakers and amps I'm having installed are great quality but wasn't quite sure what head unit to go with.

Also, any recommendations for where I should have them mount the amps? They said it's pretty much up to me but I wasn't sure.

And lastly, I saw a forum discussion where a couple members were discussing the potential problem of their amps overheating. Has anyone had this problem? Should I be worried about this?

Looking forward to feedback. Thanks.

 

I would be so damned mad at Best Buy if I were you. I had a Kenwood HU isntalled and it's fine with the stock speakers. I just added an amp and sub. At this point, I'd be back at BB raising holy total hell about it.

(Oooops...didn't see your recent post about taking out the entire system. Hope it all works out for you.)

 

Geez! That new system is gonna rock! You can't go wrong with JL speakers. I have their 8" sub, and it hits HARD. Let us know how it sounds!