corvettezman

I don't like the OEM sound with my new Pioneer unit 2770NEX.
Now I ordered the following but not yet received or installed:

- Pair of JBLs 6.5" for the rears.
- Kicker 12" Sub for the trunk with the center trunk enclosure.
- single channel amp 500W for the SUB.

I have not messed with the doors yet. More than likely will delete the OEM stuff and install a pair of 2 ways and door trim adaptors. Not planning on amplifying the doors or rears, instead just use the factory wiring. Looking for a better sound, not necessarily louder.
Question is: If I do all that , do I really need the Axxess adaptor behind the radio? My understanding is that it just makes the door OEM subs work. Do front and rear speakers have amps other than the two subs in the doors? Any other benefits? I could just get a GM wiring harness and wire it to the Pioneer without all that bulkiness behind the radio. I know the chimes work without the radio hooked up, so no chime benefits here.
And I am not sure if this Axxess adaptor is making the sound worse or not.

JMG2

correct

Quote:

Do front and rear speakers have amps other than the two subs in the doors? Any other benefits?

no. The "amps" for the subs are two deck of cards sized amps that sit under each sub.

Quote:

And I am not sure if this Axxess adaptor is making the sound worse or not.

If it makes a difference, I had the PAC oem adapter in my setup needlesly for years, when I took it out, it made zero difference in sound.

jdewolf

You can power the front and rear speakers from the HU, but to be honest you'll get the best sound if you power them externally. Most head units put out around 20w RMS (per channel). If you're going to be running wiring for an amp, you might want to consider at least a 5 channel amp. It's not that much more money or work to install.

JMG2

Agreed.
also, alpine sells an amp that piggy backs on to its head unit -- it's small enough to fit in the center console, behind the head unit
Alpine KTA-450 Power Pack Compact 4-channel car amplifier — 50 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield

It has standard wiring, power/ground/remote on/RCA inputs/Speaker outs, so if your current head unit isn't that big, it may fit behind it.
I'm using it to power the mids in my door, sounds great.

corvettezman

That was a setup I did in a 97 I owned and it sounded great!
It was back in the day before DD even got in the business. I modded my own bezel. I took many, many hours..... and it was many years ago.

Tyteflows

Running wires thru the door grommet is SUPER EASY and worth it if you're going to spend the money and time to do everything else.

JMG2

totally agree... I ended up running all new wires to the door and rear speaker. It's easy... running wires generally in the corvette is one of the easier cars I've done

Tusc

On my 99 daily I run JBL 6.5s and 3.5s with factory Bose. When it had the 8200nex I ran it with the PAC-ROEM adapter specifically for the Bose pieces to work with it. I have never tried them without. It did allow me to modulate the bass range so they wouldn't blow. With that head unit the sound was very clear. Having gone back to the oem head unit.... meh. Though part of that may be because I am running BT via an adapter spliced into the head unit off the remote CD controller and using a cheap aux adapter off Amazon to make it work. (The setup is clean though - I drilled a hole in the glove box for the Aux to sit next to the charger, so the BT adapter sits plugged into the Aux directly and has a little cable going to a dual USB charger with fast charge phone capability off the charging port.) Even running oem head unit et al it remains a notable improvement over factory speakers.

Also worth doing. Dynomat the doors to make them a de facto tube. Lay it up against the inside of the outer skin everywhere you can reach, then take the interior door skin (the vinyl monster with the handle, etc) off and cut the foam off. Go back to the door frame and cover the side directly facing you with more dynomat being sure to cover over the hole. I used dual plane aluminum sheet and cut it to fit then covered it. Bam. Ends up being a nice setup.

On the 03 I don't know the speakers in all cases. It has a 10" JBL in the trunk. An unknown amp of 500w with 5 channels. It will be receiving the old 8200nex. The regular speakers all have channel splitters. I have yet to take the door skins off but it will be getting the same treatment and I'll probably just directly swap the aluminum plates over to keep it simple. I'm guessing the car has a thumping little setup when I'm done. Not that the car or I will ever need it unless I add a third muffler in line to quiet the car. I've had bass tubes once in the past and ultimately not enjoyed them, though it was a paired 12" polk setup many moons ago. Perhaps the 10" will just add range effectively. If not, that speaker and the weight of it's box will have become unnecessary weight which can be removed.

corvettezman

I ended up doing just that.
Patiently waiting on 5 channel1000W Pioneer amp to arrive to put it all together.
All wiring is currently running to the back firewall where the amp will be mounted.
All installed and ready to go minus the amp. It's not here yet.
Set up:
- (4) 6.5" 180W JBL 2 way speakers with 2 Metra plastic door adaptors.
-1 Kicker 12" subwoofer with drop in enclosure for rear center opening.
- Pioneer 2770NEX wireless x 2 Apple Carplay and Android auto head,
- Axxess adaptor to power the head unit. I removed the Bose part of it. (had to use it. Radio would not turn on with a generic harness.)
- Metra radio bezel sprayed with Eggshell clear. Did not want it too shiny.
- USB and Aux port adapter in cigarette lighter hole.
- XM module- Ran XM module and radio GPS antennas to the rear bumper and mounted them with 2" red 3M tape on the underside top of bumper,
- Pioneer 1000W small 5 channel amplifier to drive it all.
- 8 gauge wire for power ran to battery with a fuseable link.
- pulled amplifier ground from rear frame.
- 1 10ft dual RCA jumper with amp turn on wire .
- 1 12 ft quad RCA jumper for all 4 speaker inputs.
- new speaker wiring to all 4 speakers and SUB.

I hope it sounds as good as I think it will.

JMG2

looks like a great setup!
Android wireless is awesome-- I added a motorola usb->android wireless adapter with my alpine ilx650, and will never go back (if anyone has wired android, this is a must!)
with that kind of head unit, just curious, why the aux input?
If you're using it for charging, I put a wireless charging mat in the center console, get in the car, drop the phone in the console and don't give it another thought.

corvettezman

it came with the usb adaptor in one unit and I had to fill the lighter cutout. I'll probably never use it myself. Good point though.

JMG2

gotcha, that makes sense.

jdewolf

Glad you decided to upgrade. You might want to consider upping your wire to 4awg though. Not sure of the amp you're buying, but youre probably near the limits of 8awg.

corvettezman

yeah. You're probably right although I would not be driving the amp to its limits.
amp specs called for 8 up to 12ft run and 4 for 20 ft run.
I can always use the 8 already ran for a pull wire if I up it.
The 8 was the kit amazon recommended.

jdewolf

The "cheaper" amp kits use CCA [copper clad aluminum] as opposed to OFC [oxygen free copper]. There's more resistance and as such you need to increase your wire size to compensate. So if your amp calls for let's say 8, going to 4 is generally recommended. Keep in mind I'm not knocking CCA nor budget minded folks.

GettnBetter

I went though all this years ago. I made a few posts here about it. Settled on sound deadening the chassis, replaced the junk rear speakers and installed a 1000w amp with a dual coil 1ohm 10" sub in the convenient rear location where the CD changer was using the plans I found here. I did install a 1 gauge line from the battery to the amp placed behind the passenger seat and used a 1 farad cap in the corner, it barely fit but the lights still dim when blazing Dr Dre. I can say wow, what a sound system. Head unit totally stock, the source was an ipod with a very inexpensive adapter, I believe it was called a smart or simple, it's been a long time. The rear storage space in a vert or hardtop makes perfect for subwoofer enclosure for that CD changer space. The coupe is not optimal unfortunately, the rear area is too open for good bass

corvettezman

My Pioneer sounds awesome with the setup I just mentioned.
I had no issue with the 12" sub in the Coupe. You can hear the bass outside the car.
I have not completely tuned it or completed it, but the first run was a success. So many adjustments to make on the amp and the radio itself.....