ccap

Just picked up a new Z06 1LZ and I want to change out the crappy Bose with a system that warrants this car. I use to own a Z51 3LT and the system was even worse. The sub was terrible.

I have not done an install in years, but am very comfortable with doing this. The biggest obstacle is just ringing out the existing wires and tying it into the OEM head unit.

I have been doing my research and and even took apart the back of the car to look at the amp, fuse box and battery connections. Man I love that battery bus, makes it so easy.

I have read where people just add a sub, such as the JL Audio or the Vette Nuts box and leave the rest in place.

I want to add the sub box, but also replace the speakers , Obviously keep the head unit, replace the Bose crap amp.

I still want to be able to have all the systems in place such as indicator bells and hands free calling.

I still have some questions, but this where I am so far.

1. For the sub I will use Vette Nuts box and JL Audio Sub. Like this one better than the JL Audio. The JL looks terrible IMO.
http://www.vettenuts.net/index.php?l..._detail&p=1540

2. For OEM interface, use the JL Audio. This interface looks really cool. If it performs like it says, it should solve a lot of head unit output issues.
http://www.jlaudio.com/fix-86-car-au...m-tuning-98103

3. For AMP, I figured I would go JL Audio 6 Channel or if anyone have any other thoughts let me know. I want to use the same area where the Bose amp is now.

4. For Speakers, again need your help. What are people using in the C7? I figured I would go Focal, JL Audio C7 speakers... Any other thoughts, models? I might need to go true separates, therefore a crossover would need to also be placed in the trunk area. Correct?

To expand on the speakers, is it possible to use the existing speaker wiring. I really do not want to run new wiring to the doors.

I was going to abandon the center speaker unless I can figure out how to move the chimes and bluetooth to that speaker. I remember someone posting about this. If the wiring goes to the back now and I don't have to touch the dash, then great. Hope someone can guide me on that.

Finally, does anyone have the wiring schematics of the amp, speakers, interface wires, etc.

Thanks all and hope to be able to put together an install thread when I kick this off.

Snowwolfe

Would love to watch your progress on this. But you might get more help in the audio/electronics sub forum.

King_C7

I went through this last year and this was my setup.

Audison Bit One processor. The JL Audio Fix is also a good unit but after playing with it I ended up going with the Bit One instead and I am glad i did. It made a huge difference when I did the swap.

Focal ES 165 KX3 3-way components for the front. I originally wanted to go with a 2 way setup for front and rear and the installer told me to go with the 3-way component set and scrap the rear speaker idea. After spending some time configuring the Bit One with all the time alignment settings you forget the rear speakers are not even there.

Focal 3" midrange in the dash. Absolutely must have, you can turn the center off on the Bit One and you can definitely notice something is missing. System sounds way better with a center once you tune everything with the Bit One

Alpine Type R 10" in a Vettenuts box.

Amps
2 Alpine PDX-M6 4-channel Amplifiers
1 Alpine PDX-M12 Sub Amplifier
If size is an issue you can go with Rockford Fosgate Punch or Power series amps which are tiny for the power they put out and can easily be hidden. I listened to a car with the Power Series small amps and I was amazed at how much power they put out and how good they sound.

I ran my system fully active utilizing the crossover in the Bit One and it sounded amazing.

JerryU

Good luck. I'm sure you have considered, but so much tire and road noise in the C7 you need to install a quality sound insulation package. A number of Threads on the subject discussion how to and what was used.

ccap

Thank you for the reply. I will look into the products you talked about. I did order a Vettenuts box so that is on the way.

An installer that I talked to also said get rid of the rear speakers, not necessary, so I will take that route.

Did you do the install? What did you need to run for wiring as far as speaker wiring? was it all new? Or could you use the wiring in place?

Why did you choose multiple amps for the project instead of one multi channel amp and a sub output?

For the Audison, how is that wired to the head unit? Any specifics?

Were you still able to keep the car chimes in the car and the bluetooth through the speakers?

I am familiar with Rockford Fosgate stuff. It's been years but would imagine the quality is still there.

Any reason for not using of suggesting JL Audio? Just curious

Finally any Pics and wiring diagrams. Thanks

thill444

I went with JL Audio C5-650 component speakers and C2 5.25" fill speakers. I ended up going with the JL Audio stealthbox and a single Kenwood Excelon amp to power everything (and it seems more than adequate as I rarely reach even 50% on the volume **** now even with windows down and targa roof removed). I used an LC7i line out converter to get a clean signal to the amp but if you have the money get the Audison Bit One processor mentioned above (I will likely go that route at some point). You will also want to add sound deadening to the doors and rear area while you have everything taken apart.

It is a noticeable improvement, especially when you play a good source. Bass is punchy and not distorting, and voices are so much more crisp.

I would just run new wires (my installer insisted on it) and do it right.

No issues with bluetooth, system chimes, etc.

King_C7

Unfortunately I didn't take any pics of the setup and I removed the system from the car and put it all in my daily.

ccap

Thanks for the reply. How do you like the JL Audio speakers? I am familiar with Focal and I know they are an incredible speaker, just not familiar with JL as far as full range speakers.

I agree on running new wires, I was trying to be lazy.. I just hope getting the wire to the center dash isn't too hard..

I agree with sound deadening, I have material ready to go.

Now I have find locations for the amps and crossovers. Thanks again.

thill444

I like JL, but as you know speakers are subjective. Focal, Hertz, JL Audio, etc are all good brands and comes down to your preference. I actually already owned the JL Audio C5-650 speakers from a previous car and scored them on a great deal years ago so that factored in for me.

I do like Focal a lot too. Honestly, compared to Bose almost anything would be an upgrade.

I will say the Bose system in the C7 is one of the better Bose systems I have heard, but I like to drive with the windows down a lot and the Bose is just too weak when you introduce more road/wind noise. And the more you turn up the stock system the worse it gets in terms of distortion.

ccap

King,

Why did you choose multiple amps for the project instead of one multi channel amp and a sub output? I wanted more power for the Sub so it didnt make sense to go with a Multichannel amp to do everything. I also needed a total of 8- cahnnels so it made sense to go with 2 4-channel amps and a single sub amp.

For the Audison, how is that wired to the head unit? Any specifics? The outputs of the factory amplifier are wired into the Bit One, any time alignment, crossover and equalization setting coming out of the inputs are then stripped so you are getting a full range signal and then you can make your own changes in the Bit One.


The 2 questions above..... When you say 8 channels.. How was that arrived? You have 2 three-way set ups, center speaker and Sub. 8 individual speakers.. Does that mean that you didn't use the Focal crossovers and went straight into the Audison? Is that possible?

So the Bose amp stays in place. The OEM head unit goes into the Bose amp, then the speaker level outputs go into the Audison then then into new amps, speakers, etc.

Also where did you put your amps? was there enough room by well area or did you mount behind the back trim

King_C7

ccap;1594843846]King,

Why did you choose multiple amps for the project instead of one multi channel amp and a sub output? I wanted more power for the Sub so it didnt make sense to go with a Multichannel amp to do everything. I also needed a total of 8- cahnnels so it made sense to go with 2 4-channel amps and a single sub amp.

For the Audison, how is that wired to the head unit? Any specifics? The outputs of the factory amplifier are wired into the Bit One, any time alignment, crossover and equalization setting coming out of the inputs are then stripped so you are getting a full range signal and then you can make your own changes in the Bit One.


The 2 questions above..... When you say 8 channels.. How was that arrived? You have 2 three-way set ups, center speaker and Sub. 8 individual speakers.. Does that mean that you didn't use the Focal crossovers and went straight into the Audison? Is that possible? I have 1 3-way setup, 1 centre channel and 1 sub, I needed 8 output channels. 2 channels for tweeters, 2 channels for mids, 2 channels for mid-bass, 1 channel for centre and mono amp for sub. That was a total of 9 channels but I only used 8 outputs. The system is running full active so I did not use the passive crossovers that came with the Focal speakers. I wanted to be able to set my own crossover points for each individual speaker with the Audison Bit One.

So the Bose amp stays in place. The OEM head unit goes into the Bose amp, then the speaker level outputs go into the Audison then then into new amps, speakers, etc. Correct the bose amp stays in place and all the bose speaker outputs are connected to the inputs of the Bit One. Rca outputs from the BitOne go to the amps.

Also where did you put your amps? was there enough room by well area or did you mount behind the back trim. The Alpine PDX series amps are pretty small and stackable so I mounted them on the rear floor above the battery. If you would like I can send you a diagram on how the system was setup, send me your email.

ccap

King C7.... PM Sent, Thanks

ersatz928

The clever thing to do would be to bring line-level signals out of the factory Bose DSP/Amplifier unit, from the circuit between the D/A output and the input to the internal audio power amps. I have done some reverse engineering of the Bose unit and I think this is possible. This is on my to-do (maybe "to-try") list.....

Also, how do you do the calibration of the Bit One, as the C7 does not have a CD player?

ccap

Great question re: the CD test disk. I just read through the manual and saw that. I was thinking you would run the test sounds through the PC and let the system calibrate itself

King_C7

You can convert the CD to MP3 or Flac files and put them on a USB stick and plug it in your car and run it from there. Thats how it was done on my car.

chefcg1

I have to ask being a car stereo idiot, but I agree that the stock system is lacking. Would just a speaker upgrade be an improvement? Say go with the focal speakers you all have been referencing. I'll be honest I'm not a huge audio guy when it comes to the car as I like the car sounds most the time but do appreciate clear audio. On the other hand I'm a huge audio snob at home.

thill444

No beacuse the Bose amp is not powerful enough and Bose does some funky processing of the sound. You wanna replace the speakers and add an amp. You d t need the break the bank on a decent amp/speaker setup.

Satanspawn

I had my fronts replaced with a PHD AF PRO 3-way setup and eliminated the rear speakers.

Eliminated the factory sub and installed the JL Fix which branches to a HELIX P SIX DSP mk 2 that powers the fronts and a Match amp that powers a Brax Matrix 10 inch sub in a JL Stealthbox with all fresh wiring separate of the factory stuff. Amps and everything were mounted where the factory sub was for a nice stealth setup.

The sound is absolutely incredible and the speakers aren't even fully broken in yet. Definitely worth every pretty penny spent. The factory Blose setup is awful.

ersatz928

Also, I assume this upgrade requires that the Bose noise cancelation system needs to be disabled by disconnecting the two microphones?

ersatz928

OK, but the lower fidelity of MP3 (compared to CD audio) probably does not yield as good a compensation curve in the Bit One audio processor.