JimHarris4

Just took a 1200 mile ride this weekend in my relatively new (to me) '98 vert. The sound was way too tinny, like an AM radio. Is it a bad/blown sub?
If I upgrade my sound system, do I need to do both head unit and speakers? Or would sound insulation dramatically improve it?
Any audio brands to avoid?

Thanks in advance. And keep driving!

Evil-Twin

Contact Dennis at Double D Mods. There is no obligation. a forum vendor and the benchmark of how all vendors should operate their business. Dennis will be the best phone call you have even made to fix this issue... he will not try t6o sell something you don't want... he will give you direction and options, and I reiterate, no obligation.. he likes to help people..
call him.

http://www.doubledmods.com/

(608) 854-2033 or (608) 854-2034

574 State Rd. 80
Hazel Green Wi. 53811

Monday-Friday 8-5 CST

also have some sort of budget in mind if you want to up grade.. Denis will give you the best bang for the buck, with options ...

Bill aka ET

JimHarris4

Thanks for the fast reply. I've heard great things about Dennis on the form.

ArmchairArchitect

Subscribing for real responses to the OP's question, not an advertisement for forum vendors.

Corvette#2

Tinny sounding like an AM radio ? Sounds like something is broken. The stock Bose system doesn't sound amazing, but I wouldn't describe it as tinny. It could be an amp or maybe some of the drivers are blown. I would take it to a local car stereo shop and have them diagnose it for you. Check Yelp for a place with good reviews.

My Bose head unit died earlier this year. I went to a car stereo shop and they installed an Alpine CD/usb deck and ordered a C5 specific wiring harness to interface with the Bose drivers. It cost about $300 total with installation and the sound is noticeably improved from the stock system. I think it's due to the new head unit having stronger amps to drive the speakers. Most new head units now use class D amplifiers which are a lot stronger that what used to come built in with a head unit. It sounds clearer at louder volume levels. One day, I might still add a subwoofer to get that low bass slam. I'd guess the stock speakers only goes to about 40-50hz.

LoneStarLizzard

As an earlier poster mentioned, Double D Mods (Dennis) is a great resource for discussing stereo issues and sourcing equipment. I rode Evil Twin's learning curve when selecting my navigation head unit...being sure that the unit I selected had a volume control ****. [I absolutely hate having to look away from the road to find the proper buttons on a hand held remote.]

I'm a happy camper with my self-installed double DIN navigation head unit, 900 watt amp, upgraded speakers, subwoofers, A-pillar tweeters, back-up camera, etc. Didn't start the install until I had marshalled all of the parts. So the complete install took about three days' work, including time to replace all of the interior leather components (seats, door panels, center stack, glove box door, etc. all done in "baseball brown" leather sourced from Vette Essentials). Except for the seat covers, which I installed myself, all of the other leather pieces were wrapped by Double D Mods, who then shipped those pieces to my home in Tejas.

You asked about sound insulation. Below is a link to a detailed stereo install, including a link to a source - http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/ - that discusses the whole "sound proofing" area. Turns out that acoustical insulation for your C5 involves more than you'd think. Eliminating vibration and harmonic distortion emanating from the chassis, for example, is a topic most aren't aware of. But if you're going to tear out the carpet to add insulation, then you should address the vibration issues at this same time.

Also, my research told me that much (if not most) of the road noise that messes up the quality of your stereo sound emanates from the rear wheel wells and trunk/spare tire well areas. You gotta pull out all of the carpet to address this area.


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/audi...p-by-step.html


There are many other great links to picture-rich C5 stereo installs. PM me if you want some of my favorite ones.

The Lizzard

GCG

It might be that your door-mounted subwoofers are not working. You have 1 subwoofer with a built-in amp in each door. If both of them stopped working at the same time it's possible they are not receiving power. Check fuse 28 and micro-relay 45 in the passenger fuse box.

GTATIME

Let's face it the factory system sucks! If your planning on doing your head unit, do your speakers too.

I replaced my system with an alpine head unit (Upgrading to a double DIN alpine when my vettenuts bezel comes), alpine type R speakers, and alpine type r 10" subwoofer. I ran all new speaker wire because I have amps going to both the speakers and sub, this would be my suggestion. I would also say to skip the single DIN and get a double DIN with navigation and bluetooth that allows for streaming as well as phone calls (most aftermarket HU support bluetooth streaming but not all do).

It sounds 1000x better, the only issue you will have is sound insulation. I didn't have to do that in mine since I have a coupe, so I can't recommend anything to that effect. I did have a Camaro Z28 vert before the C5 which also had an alpine system with no sound insulation but I ALWAYS drove with the top down, so I didn't really hear the stereo much anyways.

If you install yourself and need any help feel free to PM me with any questions, the write-up's here are great too.

Marc@Vettenuts.net

Lot of good advice here.

Updating the audio in a 20 year old car is going to bring the car into the 21st century and have all the latest technology. The driving experience changes dramatically when done correctly.

One of our Premium Insulation kits makes a huge difference in cabin noise and heat.

We offer turn key audio packages and also build custom corner sub boxes for your C5.

Give me a call or drop me an email with your budget and lets see what we can get figured out for you.

Marc
615-896-6100
marc@vettenuts.net

JimHarris4

Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for. I thought something must be loose or blown. The sound is awful.

Much appreciated!

JimHarris4

Thanks, Lizzard. Great info.

I've read all the sound deadening posts I could find. After open heart surgery, I'm not eager to rip out the seats and carpet, but I'd like to give a go at the doors and maybe the back end. I can't tell from the posts how major a job a complete insulation install would be.

And I'll keep looking for a new head unit and speakers.

LoneStarLizzard

I appreciate your reluctance to try this for yourself. I did mine 2 years after an L3-4-5 vertebrae fusion (lower back). It was a snap. I will give you additional "installation" posts shortly.

The Lizzard

Bluefire

Are you frequently a dick? He's not a vendor.

Evil-Twin

OP's topic line is looking for an upgraded system, because his stock system is beat.

As an Expert in automotive design, I defer my opinion to other Professionals when it comes to areas that I am not an expert. In my experience dealing with many Professionals, I find that Dennis is not only a professional, but a kind, honest and empathetic member of this forum, and a Corvette owner. When I was researching upgrading my sound system, I had already developed a plan and budget. I thought I had completed my research. I took the opportunity ( no obligation ) to contact Dennis. I found him to be very friendly, he was energetic, and offered me insight that no one else was able to do. I gave him my budget and told him what I thought were my parameters. He told me he could give me exactly what I wanted but told me that if it was him, he would do things a little different. He offered logical and impactful options. Some of my priorities where easily dismissed with logic from what I easy saw as a real professional.

I would recommend Dennis over any local audio store, I would recommend him to my friends and children. My children are grown adults in their 40's. I do not just recommend people without putting my credibility on the line. When it comes to this area of expertise, Dennis is by far the best I could find. Prices, knowledge, commitment to his customers, and always willing to hold anyone's hand. Contacting him is a no obligation experience that will make you a believer. Support after the sale is a key ingredient of a world class business. Dennis will be there for you today, after the sale, and years down the road. He's a good guy. Corroborated by hundreds of people on this forum. I have never heard a single bad word about Dennis in my 16 years here.

I Know a few things because I have seen a few things



Bill aka ET

LoneStarLizzard

Jim, here are some threads to useful how-to-do-it posts by other forum members:
1. One by Patches (an acknowledged guru of all things C5 that aren't known by Evil-Twin): http://forums.corvetteforum.com/audi...-overhaul.html

2. A C6 install that shows the "mass loaded vinyl" approach to eliminating vibration dampening: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/audi...o-install.html

3. An install for a C5 vert: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/audi...ress-pics.html

4. A generic post on carpet removal: http://books.google.com/books?id=1TP...ed=0CFsQ6AEwBQ

5. A C5 install by Mike Mercury, another C5 guru: http://www.tim-yvonne.com/mikemercury/sound.htm

6. A "how to ground your amp" install that uses a seat bolt as thegrounding point: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/audi...nger-seat.html

Tip: If you take the seats out, you might want to address the "rocking seat" issue that haunts virtually all C5s. Here's a couple of links to sites where this fix is discussed:
http://www.lieblweb.com/c5seatfix.html

http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb....Z5Z5Z50000050C

Those links should be enough for this week's homework assignment. Let us know if you want more. Keep us posted.

The Lizzard

JimHarris4

This is unbelievably helpful. Thank you for your thorough response.
I thought I already read everything on the forum about audio, but I was wrong!
I just purchased the nylon washers and intend to address the rocking seat issue as well.
Thanks

LoneStarLizzard

Amen.

Sure...Dennis sells products, but where he excels is in providing solutions. You can shop his product price quotes with other vendors if you wish. He doesn't care (but as I discovered, Double D's prices were VERY competitive, and in fact better in most cases. And he'll advise you of all the other stuff (cabling, connectors, fasteners, etc.) you'll need and how much of it. That's something you'll never get from an on-line vendor. Finally, he'll spend the time to walk you through your planned install and afterwards help you troubleshoot things if needed.

Dennis provides solutions.

The Lizzard

Evil-Twin

Since you used my name and made false statements about me ( Things I don't know )...

ED ( Patches ) and I are best friends.. for 16 years. There is nothing that he does or I do that doesn't become a private message conversation. He did Carole's car 7 years ago.. I know of every step of that build. ED goes in deep all the time. But ask Ed now about Dennis and he will agree that he is a go to guy when it comes to upgrading a stock system, and not necessarily the ultimate system. ED spent thousands on Carole's system. Dennis can offer a very acceptable upgrade for well under a thousand dollars. Or can supply a 5,000 dollar system, he even offers to come to you and install anything he sells. He offers that but naturally you pay all the expenses. He has travels to many customers to do a professional install. He offere4s the whole enchilada, but also offers free support for the DIY.

ED is a remarkable guy, very thorough, a real professional, like myself Ed is also an engineer and we collaborate on many things outside the automotive arena.

To say unknown to ET is just untrue... almost like saying I don't know what IM talking about.. no need to bringing me into your thread only to say I don't know something.. just a blind sided lie. You have no Idea what I know, so why make up such a lie? seems petty and a cheap shot to me.
Bill aka ET

I quoted and responded to your post because you used my name in your post and said things that were not true about me. I'm just responding so the OP understands who you are.

You've been on this forum 7 years I've been here 16 years After retiring from GM's Corvette Design studio.
You have 800 post under your belt, I have 18,000 here in open forum and 20,000 in private message Most in helping members.
The Thanks avatar spec has been in existence for two years. You have 16 thanks I have 1200 thanks. Not really important but Do not like anyone disrespecting me in their post especially when they make false statements about me..

laserjack

Well said !... I've thought about upgrading my system also, and Dennis provides a world of knowledge and suggestions.

LoneStarLizzard

Bill, I said that very tongue-in-cheek, intending it to be very high praise for your competence.

Obviously you didn't enjoy my attempt at humor.

The Lizzard