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I purchased this Lime Rock Green z51 last year in July and I am looking to upgrade the sound system.
I was Googling and landed on a few posts here listing each component, but it seemed like the recommendations were geared towards audiophiles with large budgets.
I am a sound novice and just want something with more clarity than the stock 3LT 10 speaker system.
Here is what I've gathered:
Lower Door - Kicker 51KSC6504 2-way coaxial
Dash Corners - Pioneer TS A301TW (Are these necessary if I buy coaxials for the lower door? Or should I get a 2-way component system?)
Center Dash - Kicker KSC350
Powered by a Kenwood Excelon X802 5-channel amp.
These parts listed add up to about $475, and I am wanting to stay under a $1000 budget. Is this possible? What other/additional parts do I need?
I appreciate the help.
I am an older car stereo audiophile and what I found that stereo system is only as good as the source. Changing speakers will help but the Bose system is very hard to upgrade. It's not too bad, best thing to do on a limited budget is remove the factory rear sub and put a quality sub and amp in for that and that will take a lot of stress off the front sound stage. I put in 2 Audison 10's with 1000 watt Alpine amp and a bass ****. The car hammers now. Also try and upgrade the source with the aux port and a quality digital audio player and use high quality recordings.
Howdy, congratulations and welcome. I'm not much of an audiophile these days. Played in a band in the 70's and we didn't know anything about hearing protection back then. Just "get up on stage and crank the amps up".... plus, I now live in SW Florida these days so the top's almost always down when I'm in it so I'm not gonna be much help to you but you may want to try your query in the audio forum: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...lectronics-20/
I am an older car stereo audiophile and what I found that stereo system is only as good as the source. Changing speakers will help but the Bose system is very hard to upgrade. It's not too bad, best thing to do on a limited budget is remove the factory rear sub and put a quality sub and amp in for that and that will take a lot of stress off the front sound stage. I put in 2 Audison 10's with 1000 watt Alpine amp and a bass ****. The car hammers now. Also try and upgrade the source with the aux port and a quality digital audio player and use high quality recordings.
Best luck with your audio upgrades, I'll be following. I'm not super happy with my 2018 Stingray 3LT sound system either.
Someone mentioned replacing the rear sub base speaker. What triggers to have that or not? I looked at a 2015 stingray convertible 2LT that had one. Mine doesn't.
scroll down to post #7 that's the subthump harness you need. Just read through the posts I explain what you need and where I mounted my amp. It's so easy to do the hardest part is picking your subs and box set up.
I only added a better sub. No sense to me to add much else because of road, tire & wind noise. The C7 isn't a quiet cabin. Used the subthump harness, & the stock sub box, but added a Kicker 10" & Kicker amp.
To get the bass signal need a quality hi to low level adaptor like a wavetech or audio control line converter and used the front lower door speaker for signal which is the cleanest in the car. The wires are accessible in the rear of the car off the factory amp and then I removed the factory sub and used that area to mount my amp and its right their for power at the battery. Any hi end stereo shop and do it for you for a couple hours of time. Huge improvement in sound. My corvette friends are amazed on how much more volume and bass I have. You can do more but the source is your weakest link and I'm not swapping that out at this time.
To get the bass signal need a quality hi to low level adaptor like a wavetech or audio control line converter and used the front lower door speaker for signal which is the cleanest in the car. The wires are accessible in the rear of the car off the factory amp and then I removed the factory sub and used that area to mount my amp and its right their for power at the battery. Any hi end stereo shop and do it for you for a couple hours of time. Huge improvement in sound. My corvette friends are amazed on how much more volume and bass I have. You can do more but the source is your weakest link and I'm not swapping that out at this time.
I purchased this Lime Rock Green z51 last year in July and I am looking to upgrade the sound system.
I was Googling and landed on a few posts here listing each component, but it seemed like the recommendations were geared towards audiophiles with large budgets.
I am a sound novice and just want something with more clarity than the stock 3LT 10 speaker system.
Here is what I've gathered:
Lower Door - Kicker 51KSC6504 2-way coaxial
Dash Corners - Pioneer TS A301TW (Are these necessary if I buy coaxials for the lower door? Or should I get a 2-way component system?)
Center Dash - Kicker KSC350
Powered by a Kenwood Excelon X802 5-channel amp.
These parts listed add up to about $475, and I am wanting to stay under a $1000 budget. Is this possible? What other/additional parts do I need?
I appreciate the help.
Last edited by onetechyguy; Mar 10, 2025 at 10:46 PM.
Reason: Forgot to provide link
One thing to think about is adding sound deadening while you’re in there. Helps reduce road noise and made a decent difference (for me) with the stock system. I went a little overboard and did the interior (aside from door panels) as well as the rear wheel wells.
Honestly, I would start with quality source material and adjust the (limited) settings and you will be surprised how good it can sound. Like anyone else, I have owned a great many cars in my lifetime and I have upgraded the sound system in every single one usually to the tune of many thousands of dollars at a time. I was quite surprised to find that in the Corvette as long as I use lossless material the sound quality is quite good except when at highway speeds with the roof off when I can't simply overpower the wind noise.
Based on the recommendations, I updated the parts list.
NavTV M650-GM DSP interface
JL Audio RD900 5-channel amp
Undecided on speakers. I will probably get the Kickers I listed in my original post for the doors, and a Pioneer 3.5" for the center dash unless someone suggests otherwise.
Dynamat for the hatch floor, and the inside of the doors. Turns out Amazon basics has their own brand of Dynamat.
On the amp, am I correct in saying the channels will be split like this:
1. Lower door speakers
2. Speakers behind the seat
3. Center dash
4. Dash corner tweeters
5. Subwoofer (this car has the 10-speaker system)
Does this mean I will need a second amp to power the door mid-speakers? If I left the stock speakers for the mids, will I still need the second amp?
I'm not sure I will attempt this installation myself, but it would help to know how this works so I can carry on a conversation with the installer.
Sound system advice + intro post
