ATTENTION: I need all BLOSE haters inside please....

Y2KC5NBM · 11-05-2003, 01:38 PM

:lolg: :hurray: :party: LOL, I knew that would get most of you in here! Now for my question.

I have been reading up on the "Blose" stereo system that is in the C4 Vette. Seems like everybody hates this system. I have never been an extreme fan of Bose, but the system in my car doesn't sound bad. I have high end stereo equipment in my house (B&W) so I do know what good sound is (Before somebody slams me on that last comment), but I honestly don't think it sounds bad, not great, but not bad. The only problem I have with it is the fading in and out of the "treble" in the song. It doesn't do it all of the time, it seems like it's not locking in on the radio station. The treble fades in and out when turning or being close to a semi or something big that could block the signal. I have done some reading in the audio forum trying to find out if you can replace the Bose head unit with an aftermarket head unit and still keep the speakers. I have found nothing in that forum that answers my question directly. I've seen post related to that subject talking about adapters, but not really a straight answer. Can anybody help me out with this? I really would like to have a CD/MP3 unit but still want to get at least the same sound that I get from the Bose unit or better. I have seen stock CD/Cass units for sale (doctordons.com), but don't really want to pay $500 or more for a stock unit.

I know that everybody is going to say to ditch the speakers too, but I honestly don't think it's worth the expense to me right now. All I want is a CD player in my Vette. The money used for speakers I will spend to get some chrome 5-star "ZR-1" wheels and tires. For me....the sawblades gotta go!

Thanks!

Brian :confused:

Y2KC5NBM · 11-05-2003, 05:05 PM

Man, not a single comment yet...couple of lookers, but no takers. Come on guys....help a newbie out. :thumbs:

EatRice · 11-05-2003, 06:28 PM

Ever thought about using an FM modulated cd changer? Not the best but no worse than keeping the Bose speakers. Also factory stays in place and you can have 6 or more cds at hand all the time. On the other hand it is possible to add an aftermarket radio to your factory stuff. The speakers are not what really creates the problem it is the amplifiers. Interfacing the aftermarket radio with the amplifiers is not always fun. I have installed many into Bose systems (both in Chevy's and Nissans) and sometimes have no problems but sometime there is turn on/off pop and/or noise. These are fixable but a hassle. You can use a product that is available from this site http://peripheralelectronics.com/2002/loc.asp it is toward the bottom of the page and is called GMAH12 or GMAH21 (you did not say what year your car is). There are other products available but this is the only one I use. Take a look and maybe it work for you.
By the way nice selection on home speakers. I have B&W's in my theather in my home. LOVE THEM. Been in car audio for a long time now moving into home audio/theater.....much more fun and BIG MONEY :) But if you have B&W you know what I am talking about.

Y2KC5NBM · 11-05-2003, 10:48 PM

EatRice - You ROCK man, thanks. That's EXCATLY what I was looking for. Also, about the B&W's. I am using the bookshelf's DM 601 S2's with Kevlar cone's for my front's, DM 303's for my rears, and a CC6 S2 for my center in my small theatre system. It's very impressive...crystal clear.

Thanks a ton.

Brian

EatRice · 11-06-2003, 02:25 AM

Glad to be of some help. I have a small theater in my house that I am still working on. 92" screed with a front mount LCD projector and four chairs. i am using the B&W CDM 9nt fronts and their counterparts for rear and center. I can not say enough about them. All of the B&W are sweet...someday I am going to upgrade to the Nautilus as long as my fiance doesn't find out. I don't think I can ever own a home again without at least a little theater. Good luck with your car.

knewblewkorvette · 11-06-2003, 11:46 PM

If the radio goes from stereo into mono mode on it's own, it sounds like the treble going up and down. If the treble done not have the same problem with tape/CD, I bet that's your problem. :thumbs:

bogus · 11-07-2003, 04:53 PM

I will be blunt.

The bose sucks cause it simply does not maintain sonic quality over its life span.

to many components in the system deteriorate at an alarming rate.

the amps eat themselves up, the driver are paper junk and rot away... yuck

Going to an aftermarket head unit will help the tuner quality, but the overall sound will only be as good as the best adaptor in the system.

same goes with the RF CD changer. It will be better than an FM signal, but not as great as an inline CD source.

Additionally, adding a RF interface will hurt whatever FM reception you DO have. I had an Alpine RF CD changer a few years ago, and it killed reception. I ended up getting a then new Alpine 7525 cassette head and used the 6 disk changer on the line connections. Huge improvement on audio quality.

The downside of going aftermarket... the installation. It will take space.

Amps, subs... ect.

I am thinking of doing the 2 8" subs in my GF's 87 coupe. They will fit, and with minor modifications, a nice 3, 4 or 5 channel amp will fit on the rear bulkhead.

And using a nice pair of 6" 2 or 3 ways in the doors. So... I have to do some cutting... oh, well.....

A buddy of mine has a 01 Civic. His system is mainly my old stuff! an Alpine 7939, Butler TD1500 (2 channel 150 watts/side) and an ERA-G320 EQ. And yes, I regret selling this stuff now... 3 years on, it still sounds GREAT!

His fronts are 6" Boston Acoustic Proseries 65's. Nice drivers, yes, but his sound is off... no sence of mid range... and thats caused by the fact that his tweets are about 20" ABOVE the mids! The off-axis performance is questionable at best.

he did modify the crossovers to help take the edge of the tweets. Doing so forced the listener to hear voice and such from the 6's and not from the tweets, effectively lowering the sound stage.

I did suggested qforms kick panels.... bring those speakers together!

oldace84 · 11-07-2003, 07:48 PM

Not trying to step on any toes. But my Bose is fantastic. No problems, and a Rocking sound. Loud and clear.
Soooooooooooooooooooooo.
:blueangel:

EatRice · 11-08-2003, 10:40 AM

Lot of good points there Bogus. Also....Bucky kicks butt. I look forward to reading Get Fuzzy everyday. Also, Butler amp? Man I have not heard that name in a long time. Is it one of the tube amps? I think they only made tubes but could be wrong. And is it really still working well? When tube amps started to become popular the big consensus was they were not going to last in a car environmet. I have installed a few but that was long ago. If it is still working that is pretty cool.

bogus · 11-08-2003, 03:08 PM

they are a hybred technology. He uses MOSFET's for the power, and, in my old TD1500, a pair of 6L6GC's as output filters, essentially.

check the link, it explains it much better than I can.

But I bought my Butler in 1997, sold it in 2000, and it is now in another friends car. So is is now just at 6 years old, was used as an instore demo for some time before I bought it, and it STILL sounds fabulous.

It came with a 5 year warrantee!

If a tube quits, I suspect he would still fix it on the cheap, tho.

Bucky rocks!!! You need to hang out in OT some! There are 3 of us, each with different Bucky's!

EDIT:

The link: http://www.butleraudio.com/

[Modified by bogus, 2:13 PM 11/8/2003]