adding tweeters to bose speakers????
 

Hello, I got my C5 about 3 weeks ago and love it. I'm in the process of upgrading the stock stereo. I just added a JL steath box with amp. I'm going to try to keep the bose speakers and head unit (b/c it is easy to use, sounds good, and will keep costs down). I think the main thing lacking in the factory system (after I added the sub) is the highs, there is really no tweeter at all.

Can I add a tweeter in parallel to the front twidlers? Has anyone tried it? Any tips?

Thanks for your help.
Karl

you'll be better off just replacing the twiddlers with a coaxial 3.5" speaker. to add a tweeter off the front tweeters would require a passive x-over

I hear ya on cost. But I just replaced Blose with a new Alpine 9887, coupled with previously installed Stealth, two Alpine amps and JL door speakers.
That head unit made a huge difference in sound quality! Cost several hundred $$ installed (needed XM unit plus IPod cable) but worth every penny. My Bose head unit (actually Delphi) did not play well with the new amps and speakers.

thanks for the info... I was thinking about separate tweeters over a coaxial so that I could mount the tweeters in a better position, probably on the top or bottom of the a-pillar. I wasn't planning on running a crossover, do I really need one to put the tweeters in parallel with the twidlers???? I kind of thought that there was some kind of signal processing that occured before the twidlers and that the tweeters wouldn't play the mid, ie only playing the highs?

I'm really not that fimilar with this whole bose system...but trying to preserve it as much as possible and get a good sound.

if you wire them in parallel you are also going to have an impedance drop and put more stress on your stock headunit's internal amp. also the twiddlers do play highs but also some of the mids so you'll probably end up frying the tweeter too. If you want a minor upgrade then do the coaxials, if you want better imaging and sound quality then you'll need to do it right and spend the money on a proper setup. Or, if you want to do some trial and error you could build a passive x-over so you wouldnt have to worry about impedance or frequency issues. keep in mind though; if the twiddlers are 2 ohm drivers (i can't recall off hand), you probably wont find an off the shelf version of the passive x-over that you'd need.

there are some tweeters that are made to just add on to the factory systems. Their impedenance is so high that it doesn't really drop the total load on the factory amp. They are usually not the best quality, but if you are looking for just a "bit" of improvement, then you should try these. I've got some for $10 plus shipping if you want to try them.

-Vince

ok, thanks to everyone for your help. I bought (from a CF member) a set of tweeters with crossover, so i'll put in the crossover and use the stock 3.5 in the door and put the tweeters up on the a-column. I'll let you know how it turns out.

ok, so here is an update... I purchased fosgate fanatic x tweeters with crossover from here. I installed the crossover using the existing twidlers for the mid and then installed the tweeters at the top of the a-pillar (i am fairly tall and had previously removed my visors). it sounds great, i adjusted the tweeters down at the crossover since they are so close to your ears.

so, i have a factory headunit, rear speakers, and door wolfers. I added fosgate tweeters w/ crossover, and a JL steathbox with a punch amp (putting 250 watts to the sub). Sounds great, i'm still adjusting the settings to even everything out.

thanks for everyone's input and advice.

lets see some pics

sorry, I tried to add pics...How?
 

ok, I tried to post some pics but I'm not exactly sure how. Anyway, if anyone wants pics, I can send them to an email address. Or, if anyone tells me how to add pics, I will.

I added tweeters (with crossover), replaced door handles with brushed stainless steel, replaced E-brake with brushed stainless steel.

Thanks,
Karl

Now you have bass and highs. All the system missing now is midrange. Go ahead and put some good 6.5s in, you'll end up doing it down the road.;)