BackInBlack05

'05 C6 with Bose and integral changer. It sounds OK, but nothing compared to my wife's Mustang w/Shaker audio. I require an aux jack for the Ipod. Controlling the Ipod mounted in the console would be even better, but not a requirement.

Head unit suggestions in the <$500 class? What part of the Bose has to be replaced or can be re-used? Should I plan on speaker upgrade too?

I'm not a big audiophile. I'm not trying to "compete" or see how many people I can annoy and bolts I can shake loose with Thump thump bass. I do like a rich, filling sound and occasionally crank up the jams.

LS WON

Since Corvette is not a metal car I have heard you won't get best sound reception when it comes to radio signals per Corvette Magazine.

b murph

Save your money. Buy a exhaust system. Then listen to the sound of all 8s firing in sequence. Music to my ears.

vetteright

I've had my Kenwood for a couple years now and really enjoy it. I simply swaped the head unit and left everything else in place and it sounds fine. With the Kenwood I have navigation, still have satellite radio & OnStar. I now have Bluetooth that pairs with my cell phone, iPod hookup in the center console and a back-up camera and my steering wheel audio controls still work just fine. It was esentially a plug and play installation. I purchased the needed hardware from Dennis at Double D Mods, a vendor here on the forum. Dennis has great prices on Kenwood, Pioneer and others and provides great customer service. Give him a call and he will hook you up - he even prewires the componets before he ships them making installation a snap. He has sold many, many systems to members here on the forum.

tampatopless

Do you have a convertible or a coupe?

Flame Red

Kenwood is good, but beware of two things. First, there is a new harness Idatalink Maestro that is supposed to come out some day to integrate Kenwood into the data bus. Might be out in a few months but was supposed to be out last June. Buying a new harness is another couple of hundred $. They have it for Ford, but GM is vaporware at this point. Second, if you have an Iphone-5, the connectors are different and I bet it will be till next year's model that Kenwood supports it.

cldgin2

I just had the Kenwood installed. It's having issues streaming the Data from Ios6 but I'm told that's more of an apple thing. You can plug your iPhone 5 in with apples converter. The Kenwood sounds fantastic and looks fantastic. Much better unit than Gm's navigator

To clear up any possible confusion, it's steaming the music fine, but information like song titles and being able to control from the Kenwood are the issues. Need an iOS upgrade I think soon

peter pan

Another happy Kenwood user and my iPhone works fine with the new iOS.

JockamoIPA

I recently upgraded to the Pioneer 2400. Here's my thread about the install and subsequent sound quality:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/audio-electronics/3105286-pioneer-avh-2400bt-review.html

For what I spent I'm extremely happy.

Daekwan06

All well said. Which is exactly why I'm waiting to see whats announced at CES in Jan2013. Between the lag on the new harness which is rumored to access the HUD, the new connector on my iPhone5 (which doesnt support iPod out btw) and Apple finally supporting 1st party turn-by-turn Navigation in iOS6. I just cannot risk spending a $1000 and several hours of labour, for a setup that will could be seriously outdated in about 3 months.

When I purchased my C6 in Spring 2011.. I was already on the hunt for headunits to replace the dated standard radio in my car. The jump in technology & features.. especially based on price.. was incredible from the 2011 to 2012 headunits. Meaning a $500 2012 headunit, could do as much as a $1000 2011 headunit. And it seems every interface improved to be both faster & better (Kenwood evenmore than Pioneer). All of that makes me incredibly excited for what features 2013 headunits will bring. About the only thing that sucks is knowing anything announced at CES2013, will not be available for purchase from vendors, until March or April. So the actual wait from now to shipping a 2013 headunit.. is atleast 6 months.

I guess the good news is I've owned the car for 2 years now and been able to get back with the stock radio. Waiting 6 more months, shouldnt be that big of a deal. Especially considering the timing. Like most Vette owners, my car doesnt get driven much in the Fall & Winter. That gives me plenty of time to research pricing, installation, features and of course how things will be supported by the iPhone5 running iOS6.



All that said. If you are convinced on purchasing a great $500 2012 headunit now. I really dont think you can do better than the Pioneer 8400. You can find just the headunit for under $500 with a simple Google search. But keep in mind along with the headunit you will need to spend atleast $200 more on a connection harness, dash installation kit, GM antenna adapter & necessary wiring tools/connectors to get the job done. That said, I would highly recommend you purchase one of the ready-to-install package from CF forum vendor DoubleD Mods. His overall price will be competitive to what you would pay all together after purchasing everything else ala carte. Aad they will sell you the headunit, connection harness, any additional cables & accessories together with the required pre-wiring for you. Its the easiest way to install your own headunit in your C6.

DoubleD sells has packages with an aftermarket headunit that is plug & play ready to easily install in your car and has great customer/telephone support available if you run into any snags or hurdles during installation. They also sell Kenwood and the rest of Pioneers 2012 lineup with competitive pricing. Here's a link to start search what they have available for you, in your budget.

http://shop.doubledmods.com/C6-Corve...-C68400PKG.htm

carnutsx2

Look at the pioneer navigation units, they have $100 rebate until the end of october.

Coolness

I've been toying with this for a while I really like the Pioneer AVH-P4400BH and the Alpine IVE-535 HD. Both are double din, have BT phone & audio, control iPod and have HD radio. Additionally, they both can use your phone apps, so could do Pandora or nav. Totally recommend replacing the stock speakers (I have focal all around), and adding a sub (doesn't have to be large). You will be surprised what a improvement it will make.

markab

i just want something simple for my 09 C6 to replace the factory unit any suggessions corvette nation?

ZO ZICK

I went with a Pioneer DD!

Very pleased with results

brooklync5

Pioneer gets my vote. I have mine for about 3 years and still like it a lot.

CCIE

Upgraded my system and kept the stock head unit and it sounds great. There's a thread somewhere here on the proper harness, GM24 I think it is. Signal is fairly weak, but enough. Ran it to a couple of arc mini amps and out to JL components in the doors and JL coax be hind the seats from one amp and build a very low profile custom enclosure in the left rear box for a JL 6" sub. Sounds great. No complaints whatever on sound quality from anything except the sub, which sounds good but not great. For the price, it's a great setup. Plenty of reasons to want a different head unit, I suppose. Resolution sucks. The balance and fade don't dial in well. But you can get a decent signal off it with the right harness.

MikeERWNC

Pioneer? are we still in high school?

I just install my Kenwood on Monday.
With all of the parts in hand before I started, and never taking a Corvette console and bezel out, it took me right at two hours to install the head unit.
The only issue was power. I am an import guy and did not know Chevy needed a Positive to run the radio. Kenwoods support was great. I ran a wire from the HVAC to power the radio with the key.
I did the speakers all Kenwood last week and it took me about four hours total because of all the broken tabs I had to epoxy back on or rebuild from scratch.

I overkilled the door speakers.
So I am currently waiting for a Kenwood Amp to arrive.
The GM shittio speakers were not a robost as I was thinnking.
The Kenwood Excelon Subs I installed need a bit more power than the new radio puts out.
My highs and midrange sound superb. My base is there but does not hit as hard as I like.

Doors:
Kenwood KFC-XW800F 8" Shallow Flat Mount Thin Subwoofer XW800 Sub 8 Inch
Two Pair of thes. I replaced the worn out dash speaker.
Kenwood KFC-835C 3-1/2" 2way Performance Series Dual Cone Car Speakers
Trunk panels
Kenwood KFC-1364S 5-1/4" Car Audio Speakers System/ 3-Way Car Speaker KFC-1364S

Chevy / Buick Radio Installation Antenna Adapter

GM CAR RADIO FACTORY WIRING HARNESS ADAPTER 4004

Chevrolet Buick Saturn Radio Installation Dash Kit

KENWOOD DDX419 DVD RECEIVER W/ 6.1" TOUCHSCREEN BUILT IN BLUETOOTH DDX419

SiriusXM SXV200v1 Connect Vehicle Tuner for SiriusXM-Ready Car Stereo Receivers

And a whole bunch of female and barrell connectors.
Half a roll of heat shrink.

PT DOC

I put a JVC nav head unit in my 08 with bose. The model is discontinued now but can be found refurb for about $500. Model is JVC KW-NT3HDT. It has a lot of features BUILT-IN (Bluetooth, navigation, HD radio, front USB, SD card slot, detachable face plate and more).
The radio was a huge upgrade over the Bose system but I ended up changing out the 3 1/2" door speakers, the rear speakers, removed the center channel and added a JL sub with external amp. Now it sounds great.
I recently put a Kenwood DNX6190HD in my wifes 08 Sky RL and it has very similar built-in features but a nicer interface and some other goodies - also can be found for about $500 refurbished.
You will be hard pressed to find anything under $500 that is not refurb, or used.
Also, as others have mentioned there are other costs for wiring harness, mounting kit, adapter(s) and possible labor if you can't do the install yourself.
Good luck

ALLEN007

I just put a Kenwood in my 05 purchased form DD and have no complaints. I also have Bose and left them in. It was easy, Dennis pre-wired everything and all I had to do was plug it into the existing harness and I was done.

boraxman

Pioneer 3200BT touch screen, DVD, Bluetooth, USB, bought used here on the parts board for $250 shipped. Couldnt be happier.