TedG

Well this morning I ripped into the C6 and got the sub installed. Not too tough, finding appropriate wiring was the tough part.
The install:
Removed the rear speaker covers. and wired in the inputs. Found 12v bat. Red and white wire in the harness, driver side, just in front of the cargo light. Ground is black in the same place. Much more trouble finding aux power (to switch on the sub) finally found it on the passenger side, green wire, again just ahead of the cargo light. Easy to tuck in all the wires back to the center by the hatch latch.
The result:
The Clarion 7" sub is not a big power unit, but it does add some richness to the system. You have to be careful to find a balance, if I turn up the bass too much the Bose speakers start to boom, I seem to get the best results by leaving the bass setting in the center. There are four settings for the crossover 50,75,100,120 I set it to 100 and turned the gain up all the way. The rear speakers are attenuated quite a bit and the signal is crappy. All in all the system sounds pretty good, I haven't taken it out on the road just yet. It is raining and cold, and getting ready to snow. All in all a good result for the money (less than $300).
Caveats:
I think the rear speaker inputs are attenuated too much. They are touted as full range so it may be the only real place to tap in. Also the unit picks up some noise only when the radio is changing between signals and goes away once it finds a proper signal.

Hoonose

I got my Bazooka in yesterday. I'm having popping noises when it powers up. And, sometimes I hear some engine, and odd electical system related noise. Seems to come and go. It sounds nice when working as it should, but I'm not satisfied with the noises. The unit may just be pooping out, as this is the 3rd or 4th vehicle it's been in. As you adjust the volume, there's cracking in the sound. I might have to clean out the volume control, and find some sound isolating tricks....

TedG

Where did you tap in power and control?

Hoonose

My installer did it. I think power comes off battery, control from behind head unit....
I just checked it, and the noises are gone. I think there's funkiness going on related to all this keyless stuff. Something electrical is resetting in the car, and the noises are somehow related, or generated by that process.

need-for-speed

Will be interested to "hear" how it does while driving at highway speeds. Got pics?

Wafdof

Since you already have the wiring, you can easily drop a new Bazooka in there or other Sub pretty easily if you continue to have problems. Sounds like you got decent life out of it anyhow. Where did you mount the Tube? Could you maybe post a picture. Also interesting in what sized Bazooka you have.

Thanks Guys for all the valuable information!!

ny10522

Ted, didn't you replace the Bose speakers with Eclipses?

Hoonose

It's a 6" amplified tube and sits on the floor, up against the back of the rear cargo area, in the middle. It's not tall, and is lower than the rear lip. It's about 19" long.
I think the top will fit back there, over it, as well.
I'll get some pix.....

TedG

Yes, I replaced the 3.5" in the doors, and the 5.25" in the rear. But I left the 10" woofers in the doors. Because they are extremely thin 2.5" thick and the only other speakers that thin that I know of are Earthquakes. And there is another forum member going to get a set and report back as to how they sound.
I have a 6" Bazooka myself in storage. I may patch it in just to see how it sounds. since all the wires I need are done. I like how small the Clairion unit is.

Wafdof

Thanks Hoonose! I had a Bazooka when they first came out. I must say that first edition model was killer. I had the 8" model which IMO too large for this application. I am not looking for Ghetto bass, just something cleaner and tigher than what we have with the C6's system.

toolking

Ted: Thanks for being diligent in letting us know your progress. Same for the rest that have waded in with other ideas.

Looking forward to learning how it sounds on the road. So far do you feel that what you have done was worth it? Would it have been had you paid full boat for the woofer (which the rest of us would have to do)?
Thanks again
Ken

TedG

The speaker swap was well worth it. I am not sure about the sub yet, I definetly richened it up, but I am not entirely sure it is enough. I will know better after I drive it.

Hoonose

Here's some crappy fotos of the Bazooka sitting in back:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/phot...hp/photo/24589

TedG

Fiinally drove the car with the sub, I had the gain too high and I just dropped the crossover to 75. There is a ton of bass, and I think these final adjustments may just bring the system around. I'll report after I drive it some more.

Hoonose

Mine's going back in tomorrow. The initial install has the rear speaker-level going to the Bazooka's line-level input!
For some reason, going from rear speaker-level to sub speaker-level input shut the whole audio system down!
It amazes me that the above even works, and explains my noises.
Tomorrow, he'll try line-level out, or whatever, from the head unit, out to the sub.

TedG

Did another adjustment and it is as good as it is going to get. The cabin has a rich clear bass that is a huge improvement. Turning up the bass before only made it thump around your feet. Now at least it fills the area with a full bass. At least I can listen to the system and enjoy the music without thinking about how to make the system sound better. I had a friend listen to it that is really into this stuff, he is the guy who found the Clarion sub. He felt the improvement was dramatic, and after both of us listening to a CD that we were both very familiar with for a few minutes, we were pretty impressed. He was listening to Evanescence (in his truck)which is not the best recording but Amy Lee's voice is to die for. Anyway I put in my Evanescence and did a side by side, He has a mega system with multiple amps and Kicker subs, mids and 6 tweeters. And although the C6 was not as kick ***, it held its own. So all in all, with the Eclipse speakers and Clarion sub it is money well spent.

Hoonose

That's good news.
I hope I don't have to tear everthing OUT tomorrow.
I hope we'll be able to get a signal to hook up to at the head unit. This Bose stuff is just plain odd...

TedG

I really like the Bazooka. But something stinks about the high levels shutting down the system. Obviously the tube is drawing too much current. And if I remember you only use the positive off of each speaker and it should present almost no load. Anyway where the hell is he going to pick up RCA level inputs from? This sounds spooky to me.

Hoonose

I'm thinking one of those line-to-RCA converters.

TedG

I guess what I am saying is that I don't have a bunch if faith in your installers wiring. I'm pretty sure that the Bazooka doesn't draw any current. You need to check what is going on.