Worth it to upgrade C5 speakers?
 

Ive been doing a fair amouont of research to upgrade my stereo on my C5 with the bose system. Im currently all stock. I have found that I can change out the rear speakers and the 3.5 speakers in the doors, but without an amp and head unit cannot get rid of the bose speakers in the door. Is it worth upgrading just the 3.5 and 6.5 speakers in the rear? Would a seperate amp just for those speakers help? Mine sounds like crap when its cranked up with the roof off. Im not looking for a crazy system and not wanting to spend a bunch on a double din, amp, all sepakers, sub, etc. That money can go towards go fast parts. Just looking for something decent sounding.

You don't NEED and amp to upgrade the big door speakers, many people just get a component 2-way system. You will need/want an aftermarket head unit and you can just run off the head unit's internal amplifier.

The head unit as well will vastly improve the quality of sound signal and you'll have the drivers to make use of it.

These are basically the main options available:

1. Replace just the headunit, leaving the rest of the system intact using
   • Axxess XSVI-2004
     Axxess XSVI-2004
     (this one preserves the RAP feature)
   • Pac Audio ROEM-VET1
     Pac Audio ROEM-VET1
2. Keep the headunit, but replace everything else adding a multichannel external amp driving new speakers through new wires by using
   • PAC AOEM-VET1
     PAC AOEM-VET1
3. Replace just the 4 twiddlers with 2-way coaxial speakers leaving the rest of the system intact
4. Combine 1 and 3
5. Take everything out and replace all from scratch

That being said, without a doubt, the easiest and least expensive way to upgrade the system with the more bang for your buck is new speakers that can be bolted on in place of the factory ones, keeping the rest of the system intact.

The C5 OEM speakers do not include any real tweeter. Bose used 4 plain-cone (paper) speakers to handle high and mid frequencies and called them "twiddlers". That's why you can make a big improvement by replacing them with a 2-way coaxial design.

OEM C5 Speaker Sizes:

-Front
Twiddler: 3.5"
Subwoofer: 8"

-Rear Twiddler
Coupe: 6.5"
FRC/Z06/Convertible: 5.25"


Get 3.5" 2-way coaxial speakers to replace the doors' twiddlers and 2-way coaxials of the right size for the rear. Don't touch the OEM subwoofers.

A quick search produced this:

JL Audio Evolution™ C2 Series 2-way car speakers:

• C2-350X (3-1/2")
• C2-525X (5-1/4")
• C2-650X (6-1/2")

Not only they are from the same manufacturer, but they all belong to the same line. This should reasonably assure you they have the same timbre.

You are going to need as well. One kit will do both rears.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...028d50bba5.jpg

Independent confirmation that upgrading the 4 twiddlers makes a noticeable and worthwhile upgrade.

Thanks for the super legit post. This helps alot. I think i will just replace the 3.5 door and 6.5 rear speakers and leave the factory woofers and head unit. I didnt want to get into replacing the head unit until i am ready for a double din...and that may be awhile cause i still need a cam and blower lol:rock:

I'm planning to sound deaden/insulate my C5 interior this spring. Should the doors also be sound deadened/insulated on the outside (under the door panel) or inside of the door cavity or both?

THX

Tony

When applying sound-treatment material to the doors, it is the inside of the doors' outer skin what should be the focal point.

OK, so the inside where the window is should not be done, correct?

I went old school with my 04 Z , 6X9 3way in the front doors put and sound divider in the back to mount two more JBL 6X93way and a 10 Kicker in the middle Alpine mini Amp right behind the Pas. seat 550 W 5 way AMP .. ( That's all you need ) NOT 1000 W. deal There the deal have to kinda remake the front door speaker en closures not really that hard a little work and have to have some old School I can do this deal .. and a new head unit helps as well . Now that was and is a upgrade and not that much money either . I use excising speaker wires in the front and rewired the rest myself ,yep all the well most of the carpet seats comes out . What holds some people back from getting a little crazy with some of the kind work is having someone else do the work and cost big money . Just go on line and read up on how to do this , I know nothing about doing all this stuff so I rwad read up on it now I have some bas ass sounding tunes .. I asked a guy Auto place how much to wire it all up $600.00 NO .. I might had that much in the whole upgrade and a few busted knuckles .. Just my take on the deal ..

Front speaker connectors
 

So if I replace the factory twiddlers in the doors with the JL Audio 3.5 inch do I use the same connectors as used for the rear JL Audio replacements? Thanks.

No, those adapter harnesses are only used to install the rear replacements. The factory connectors for the "front" OEM Bose 3½" twiddlers are "spade" ones and they do follow Bose's speaker polarity standard, which is the opposite of what aftermarket manufacturers use.

When you go to replace your front twiddlers, you will need to cut those spade connectors and crimp new ones following the "normal" speaker polarity standard (reversed in relation to Bose), or create your own adapter harnesses if you don't want to cut and crimp the OEM wires.


NOTE: If you are considering to upgrade the 4 OEM Bose twiddlers, take a look at this Post regarding better suited replacements that should result in a more rewarding experience. I just learned about them recently.

I've heard from a former car stereo guy yes. He also said use the heat ac duct insulation. It works just as well at a fraction of the cost.

One more piece of advice you DO NOT have to replace the HU. Shockingly enough unless you need/want Bluetooth and other more modern technologies the stock HU is equal to many high end units for sound.
In my C5 I did a total revamp of the speaker system but wanting it stealth.
I did very high end JL Audio components 6.5 woofer front speakers, a 1.5" tweeter in the door handles, with a 10" JL audio sub in a fiberglass box located in the right rear cubby all powered by a 650w Kicker amp. I do not do rears as they just make a mess out of the sound stage so I disconnect them. Baffles me as to why anyone would do rear speakers, but that is just me trying to create the perfect soundstage.
Changing the HU was last on my list but when I put it through the IASCA(Pro Sound Testing/Contest) sound test, it was simply amazing. I change every HU in all my cars but the stock HU was amazing in the C5. I think I was more shocked than anyone.
People would get in my car were simply blown away by how it sounded, you were on stage with the band.
I did do Dynamat in the doors to help insulate

Deadening is a very important item for sound quality. If you deaden it correctly, the dividends are HUGE.