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C5 radio question (axxess module)

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Old Apr 23, 2019 | 01:14 PM
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Default C5 radio question (axxess module)

I recently swapped out the stock head unit for a kenwood with bluetooth and audio streaming from my android. Seems to be working, but the bass might not be up to par. Is anyone familiar with the Axxess XSVI-2004 module? The "trigger" LED is not on while the system is on which leads me to believe there is an issue with something. Does anyone have that module and do you remember if the LED is supposed to be on while powered up? Bought everything from Crutchfield which is supposed to have great customer service, they had no idea if the "trigger" LED light is supposed to be on. thanks
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Old Apr 24, 2019 | 12:23 PM
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Put your head down by the door speakers and see if you're getting any bass out of them. If you are, it's probably just a matter of adjusting the gains on the XSVI module.
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Old Apr 24, 2019 | 01:22 PM
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From what I have read, small adjustments on the gain pots should yield a big difference to sound. I have the gain pots cranked to full and there is a difference from min to max but I would think the difference should be larger. System sounds ok but I thought the bass was better with the stock system. It could be in my head though. I have played with the bass settings in the Kenwood unit and it doesn't seem to do anything. thanks
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Old Apr 24, 2019 | 05:02 PM
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See if you can locate the Bose relay in the passenger footwell fusebox. Try pulling it and see if there is a difference in sound. This will tell you whether or not your Bose door subwoofers are working properly. The other speakers are powered directly by the head unit so this relay would have no effect on them.
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Old Apr 24, 2019 | 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted by MATLARK
From what I have read, small adjustments on the gain pots should yield a big difference to sound. I have the gain pots cranked to full and there is a difference from min to max but I would think the difference should be larger. System sounds ok but I thought the bass was better with the stock system. It could be in my head though. I have played with the bass settings in the Kenwood unit and it doesn't seem to do anything. thanks

I just did the same on my car, I think the bass sounded better with the factory radio. But yes you have to adjust the gains on the box to get the subs to come on.

I am now working on figuring what speakers and sub to go with. Going to ditch the factory bose crap and go full aftermarket
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Old Apr 25, 2019 | 02:57 PM
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Originally Posted by MATLARK
I recently swapped out the stock head unit for a kenwood with bluetooth and audio streaming from my android. Seems to be working, but the bass might not be up to par. Is anyone familiar with the Axxess XSVI-2004 module? The "trigger" LED is not on while the system is on which leads me to believe there is an issue with something. Does anyone have that module and do you remember if the LED is supposed to be on while powered up? Bought everything from Crutchfield which is supposed to have great customer service, they had no idea if the "trigger" LED light is supposed to be on. thanks
Hi Matlark, I recently installed the Axxess XSVI-2004 successfully. I had absolutely ZERO bass before, and now I find it pretty decent for my taste at least. I had to play with my Pioneer settings and equalizer too to get it to where I wanted. FYI, the "trigger" LED never turned on on mine either. I put my 4 pot settings to MAX gain on all 4. My logic to this is that I want to have maximum available gain coming already from the amps, and I can always control and lower the gain output from the equalizer on the head unit. Plus, more gain just means more power amplification which usually means less distortion.
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Old Apr 26, 2019 | 01:27 AM
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I have installed many aftermarket stereos into a C5 Bose Equipt car
None of those MAGIC adapters work period
Beacuse the front door speakers have a built in amp in the speaker boxes and the rear speakers have a separate amp just behind your A/C control unit Nothing in the aftermatket will get you full power
To get a GREAT pounding stereo is not that expensive as you can sell alll the Bose stuff on E bay as it is is well sought after
I use only mid priced stuff
1 a Sony deck with USB adapter' and blue tooth
2 replace the 2 door speakers with comventional 6" speakers ( Sony Explod) remove the stock ones with the bulit in amps
3 Remve the rear amp just behind the A/C unit
4 Intstall conventional speakers in the rear hatch ( again Sony Explod )
5 Intall the best and most powerful amp you can afford
6 Buy a sub wofer box either a single 10" or single 12 or 2 10's or 2 12's
I sold all my Bose stuff for $500 on E bay
I then spend about $800 on the new stuff
Bottom line it only cost me $300 for a pounding bass stero and an clean crisp power 600 watts +
I did intsall it all myself but it you don't have the knowledge you can get it intalled for about $400
Don't try to do a Bose conversion I went down that road I does NOT work !!
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Old Apr 26, 2019 | 11:35 AM
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Originally Posted by tblu92
...None of those MAGIC adapters work period. Beacuse the front door speakers have a built in amp in the speaker boxes and the rear speakers have a separate amp just behind your A/C control unit. Nothing in the aftermatket will get you full power...

...Don't try to do a Bose conversion I went down that road. It does NOT work !!
This is not accurate. It is just misinformation. This upgrade can be done with excellent results when properly executed.

The front channels ARE NOT driven by any speaker boxes' built-in amp. The rear channels DO NOT have any separate amp behind the A/C control unit.

The C5 OEM Bose system's 4 main channels are composed of 2 front 3½" and 2 rear 5¼" (or 6½" if a coupe) twiddlers and all 4 of them are directly driven by the headunit's built-in 4-channel amp. In addition to that, each door has an 8" subwoofer directly driven by a dedicated amp that is mounted right besides it.

Using an AXXESS or PAC adapter allows to replace the OEM headunit preserving the arrangement explained above. Again, when properly executed and adjusted, it is an upgrade not a downgrade. There is no reason for not being able to get the "full power", as mentioned in the previous post, that the new headunit could deliver.

Click here for an independent confirmation of the results that could be expected.

This upgrade can be taken a step further by also replacing the 4 OEM twiddlers with 2-way coaxials like

JBL GX Series 2-way car speakers:
  • GX302 (3½")
  • GX502 (5¼")
  • GX602 (6½")

Last edited by GCG; Apr 26, 2019 at 11:50 AM.
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Old Apr 26, 2019 | 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by GCG
This is not accurate. It is just misinformation. This upgrade can be done with excellent results when properly executed.

The front channels ARE NOT driven by any speaker boxes' built-in amp. The rear channels DO NOT have any separate amp behind the A/C control unit.

The C5 OEM Bose system's 4 main channels are composed of 2 front 3½" and 2 rear 5¼" (or 6½" if a coupe) twiddlers and all 4 of them are directly driven by the headunit's built-in 4-channel amp. In addition to that, each door has an 8" subwoofer directly driven by a dedicated amp that is mounted right besides it.

Using an AXXESS or PAC adapter allows to replace the OEM headunit preserving the arrangement explained above. Again, when properly executed and adjusted, it is an upgrade not a downgrade. There is no reason for not being able to get the "full power", as mentioned in the previous post, that the new headunit could deliver.

Click here for an independent confirmation of the results that could be expected.

This upgrade can be taken a step further by also replacing the 4 OEM twiddlers with 2-way coaxials like

JBL GX Series 2-way car speakers:
  • GX302 (3½")
  • GX502 (5¼")
  • GX602 (6½")
You are absolutely correct. Tblu92's post is full of hyperbole at best and blatant lies at worst.
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Old Apr 28, 2019 | 09:19 PM
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Thanks for the replies. It works ok for now. Still feel the bass is not the same, but it is ok. My plan is to trade it towards a c6 z06 in hopefully a year.
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Old May 2, 2019 | 10:15 PM
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The Bose system has bulit in amps in the door speakers LOOK AT THEM !! The rear speakers are driven by an amp just above the A/C controller under the dash on a C5
C'on someone you know this is correct !!!!
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Old May 2, 2019 | 11:24 PM
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Originally Posted by tblu92
The Bose system has bulit in amps in the door speakers LOOK AT THEM !! The rear speakers are driven by an amp just above the A/C controller under the dash on a C5
C'on someone you know this is correct !!!!
Nope, you are wrong. The unit under the dash is a signal processor that takes the line output from the front output on the radio, processes it, and sends it to the amps in the door. The front output also goes through a filter before reaching the tweeters in the door, but is not amplified in any way. The rear speakers are directly powered by the radio.
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Old May 2, 2019 | 11:30 PM
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So are the rear speakers getting a full signal? If I replace the little 31/2 speakers in the doors are they just getting highs?
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Old May 2, 2019 | 11:50 PM
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That would be correct. The XSVI-2004 has a high-pass filter so that the front doors are getting only the highs. If you bypass the XSVI-2004, theoretically you should be able to get full signal to the front speaker connections.
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Old May 3, 2019 | 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by tblu92
The Bose system has bulit in amps in the door speakers LOOK AT THEM !!...
Those amps DO NOT drive the front channels. They are just for the subwoofers.

It seems you're confused. The doors provide housing for the 3½" front channels AND the 8" powered subwoofers, but they are SEPARATE components with SEPARATE functions, that are SEPARATELY driven. They just happen to be mounted in the same location: the doors.


Originally Posted by tblu92
...The rear speakers are driven by an amp just above the A/C controller under the dash on a C5...
Again, there's NO amp behind the A/C controller and the rear speakers ARE NOT separately driven from the front ones. The 2 front and 2 rear speakers are DIRECTLY driven by the headunit (radio).

It seems you didn't read Post 8 above:
The C5 OEM Bose system's 4 main channels are composed of 2 front 3½" and 2 rear 5¼" (or 6½" if a coupe) twiddlers and all 4 of them are directly driven by the headunit's built-in 4-channel amp. In addition to that, each door has an 8" subwoofer directly driven by a dedicated amp that is mounted right besides it.

Last edited by GCG; May 3, 2019 at 11:26 AM.
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Old May 13, 2019 | 12:52 AM
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A C5 does not have subwoofers
Look you are entitled to your own opinion
I have ownd over 15 C5 and never Corvettes My high end stereo shop could NEVER get full power in any 4 speakers and in the sub
woffer box I installed with 2 10's The Bose system just does not work--
I call it an amplifier you call it by some other made up name ---Bottom line IT DOES NOT WORK with aftermarket hi powered stereo amps There is no such thing as a magic adapter--You want great sound DITCH THE BOSE
maybe your opinion of a hi powered stereo is different than mine or most of the young people today
The Bose adapters are weak and provide absolutely NO pounding base that rattles the windows and the mids and highs are corrupted--to a fine eared stereo expert
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Old May 13, 2019 | 10:41 AM
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As they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink... "15 C5s and fine eared stereo expert"!!!


Originally Posted by tblu92
A C5 does not have subwoofers
Look you are entitled to your own opinion...
That statement is wrong. It is not a matter of opinion, it is a fact: ​​the C5 OEM Bose System DOES include an 8" powered subwoofer in each door.

Again, it seems you didn't read Post 8 or Post 15 above. These are facts:
The C5 OEM Bose system's 4 main channels are composed of 2 front 3½" and 2 rear 5¼" (or 6½" if a coupe) twiddlers and all 4 of them are directly driven by the headunit's built-in 4-channel amp. In addition to that, each door has an 8" subwoofer directly driven by a dedicated amp that is mounted right besides it.

Last edited by GCG; May 13, 2019 at 03:14 PM.
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Old May 13, 2019 | 07:43 PM
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I did a how to on balance the sound of a Roemvet1. I am not sure the one you have is the same but please read..

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-roemvet1.html
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Old May 13, 2019 | 07:59 PM
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I need to check mine. I used the xsvi and left everything at mid way but it all sounds good. I am not a high power stereo guy and it's hard to hear much when actually driving at speed but I can turn it up enough to hear it with the top off. Works for me.
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