Upgrade the Bose Sound System

[Gettreal]

While you guys go on and on about all the replacements you can do (which we all know that if you spend thousands anybody can make anything better) :rolleyes2: Thanks for THAT input

However, I'll throw in my 2 cents and say that I added a sub box and amp to the Bose and it sounds WICKED...hits hard where it needs it and the Bose holds its own when combined..

 

[ChacHoe]

However, I'll throw in my 2 cents and say that I added a sub box and amp to the Bose and it sounds WICKED...hits hard where it needs it and the Bose holds its own when combined..

... and THAT is what I plan to do. :thumbsup:

 

[Hardin Thicke]

Yes I do. The retail price is $3250 and includes:
Lexus DVD voice-activated navigation system, Mark Levinson Audio System with 6-disc CD changer, 240-watt amplifier and 14 Mark Levinson speakers including 1 subwoofer, rear backup camera and Bluetooth.

The tahoe stereo with nav retails for $2250 then add $495 for the bose. A total of $2745. Then add $250 for the backup camera for a total of $2995. About $255 less. In the lexus you get bluetooth, a 6cd changer, and a soundsystem that is good.
I would have gladly paid $250 more to have the levinson system in my tahoe.

Let's clarify something.

1)The nav unit is not part of the Bose system,and it's not made by them.
2)The price GM charges for their nav unit is a joke. They might as well put a gun in your back and take your wallet too.
3)The Bose system lists for $495, and it's supplied to GM, transducers and amp for around $275
4)The Levinson system's amplifier is a much better, discreet design and is supplied to Lexus for around $1500 (without the transducers). I've taken them apart, and reversed engineered them. I know how they're made. It's a beautiful design, is partially handmade, and warrants the price Lexus charges for it.

I agree, the Levison system sounds marvelous, but it's in a completely different class. I get the feeling you think the supplier to GM, in this case Bose gets carte blanche to design whatever they want to put in the vehicle. <Bzzzt!!> Ooo,sorry! GM sets the design critera and price they're willing to pay. The supplier bids for the rights to supply. If you're disappointed in the Tahoe system, bitch to GM. They determine what goes in it.

 

[Hardin Thicke]

I think if you want to change anything with the Bose system you have to change the whole thing. Built in amplifiers with the speakes. Am I wrong?

Yes, you are. The Tahoe amp is a stand alone unit. It employs 3 multi-channel amplifer chips,passively cooled to drive the 8 transducers in the cabin, and supplies a line level signal to the subwoofer located in the console. Maximum dissipation of the amplifier devices are around 100 Watts RMS per channel. On-board DSP is provided to EQ the sound for the specific vehicle the amp is used in and uses a proprietary compression algorithm to prevent clipping at high output levels.

 

[Hardin Thicke]

...... I processed them through the program to amplify the bass and accentuate the high's in the original MP3s. I actually was AMAZED at how much better my MP3s sounded without spending the money on upgrading the system yet.

Ohhh, I bet that sounds good....

Perhaps...I know this sounds crazy.....but perhaps waveforms from frequency sweeps are measured inside the cabin and then adjustments are EQ'd into the vehicle's amp via the DSP so the input and output waveforms are identical. So by jacking up both ends of the audio spectrum you're totally trashing the proper EQ for the vehicle and are actually listening to a musical coathanger abortion......but that sounds good to you?

 

[rick32]

Hardin, it appears to me that you may very well know your stuff...

So. What is the Solutiuon to upgrading teh BOSE system. I have been told that JL audio has this device and from that you can add external pwr and change out speakers.... is that teh solution. I do not wish to take the bose systems out, just supplimenting it through various things to enhance its performance is essentially what we are all after i think....

Can anyone offer ideas..??

- :thumbsup: R32

 

[Hardin Thicke]

A number of years ago, my daughter got a chrysler Sebring with the Infinity option in it. The first thing she wanted to do was take out the 6x9's in the rear shelf, and replace them with her expensive pair of Polk Audio's removed from her old ride. So against my recommendations, she had me squeeze my kiester into the trunk, pull out the Infinity speakers and install the Polks. The Infinity's were run-of-the-mill paper cones with the ever popular whizzer cone at the center. I turned on the system and was appalled at the sound. It was total crap; eardrum trearing highs like someone was jagbbing me with an icepick. Infinity had EQ's their system to the cheapie paper cone and its weak high end response. Now the Polks sounded like jet engines under the rear shelf. This is the chance you take when you start modifying the OEM system. It's not the old days when you had a plain vanilla radio hooked to 2 speakers. Also note that the impedance for several channels of the Bose system is around 2 ohms.


What the listener perceives as great audio may be a far reach from how the actual recording was suppose to sound. I'm constantly blown away when I hear a supposedly "kick ass" system that sound like utter crap. I don't have the heart to tell them their setup blows. I guess feeling my insides being homoginized by 120db bass while my eardrums are being tortured by screaming highs is their perception of great audio. So I'm satisfied with the integrated system in my Tahoe. Is it the be-all to end-all? No, not by a long shot. But I'll leave my critical listening for my home's hi-fi and home theater room.

 

[rick32]

So. What is the Solutiuon to upgrading teh BOSE system

 

[ehaser]

wow...

I concur with what he said!!

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

Boy he's smart..

In all serious, sound is not just about mindblowing low's and high's.. That stuff is for kids..
Enjoy what you have...It's not really that bad unless you are listening to xm which compresses the sound down to nothing...

If you don't have the "ear" for good sound you might really want to throw in some new tweeters up by the front window..Take out the stock ones.. The bose design is actually very counter intuitive as you shouldnt point high frequencies at glass as they tend to smear.. Either way, It will probably give your sound more presence..To the high end listener (ie..sound buffs) they will be able to tell that the sound is blurred but the average listenerwill probably say "wow"..that sounds so clear...For the obvious reason that most people mistake systems with the low's and high's blaring as clear..I tired so if I'm starting not to make any sense then ...sorry..

 

[neweagle]

Go F&*K Yourself, Hardin . . .

Ohhh, I bet that sounds good....

. . . So by jacking up both ends of the audio spectrum you're totally trashing the proper EQ for the vehicle and are actually listening to a musical coathanger abortion......but that sounds good to you?

This has to be one of the most insipid comments ever. I wish the comment itself had been given a "coathanger abortion" before the author made it. In answer to the idiotic question . . . YES, it sounds good to me. That's why I said that I liked it in an earlier post (are we hooked on phonics yet, Hardin, or did you just miss that part).

Jerk . . .

 

[Hardin Thicke]

Is that the best you can do??

Wow, there folks is whatcha call a real intellengent comeback.... :smilielol: Oh boy, I'll bet that took you a few hours to think that one up!....give me second to catch my breath!.... Go ahead there sonny, and continue jack up both ends ends up the spectrum and say that it sounds good....and with mp3's ...discriminating audio at it's finest. :smilielol: How about growing up a little and get your head out of your azz while you're at it.

 

[Getwired]

Anybody have any real input to the topic here?

This doesn't really seem to be the proper board or forum for an audiophile discussion, or pre-pubescent name calling. If someone has input into the original topic of a decent upgrade to the Bose system, I suggest it be posted, or perhaps the mod(s) could just lock this thread.

I'm no Bose fan-boy, but the Bose Nav/DVD system in my Denali does sound mostly balanced, if somewhat weak in the low end. I have always been disappointed with XM's quality due to the lousy CODECs they use, and the only fidelity I enjoy seems to come from my Cowon iAudio X5 (which has BBE) built in for my MP3's and FLAC files. CD's do sound pretty good. Save the critical listening for home, and let other people enjoy their systems too.

The best option I've heard yet is adding an amp and sub to the stock setup.

"Taste" is personal and subjective, and you'll get nowhere "discussing" it here. :skep: Why hate all over this board?

 

[LAP TOP GAMER]

OK we like to keep it friendly here. Some people like me are fine with the Bose system, yeah if I had thousands of dollars to put into the system there is always better out there. They have come along way since the days of just an AM radio in the truck.
So I will say personal attacks will not be tolarated here, every one has different tastes, the one thing we share is our superior taste in vehicles, so PLAY NICE!, or I will kick people out of the play ground.

 

[ehaser]

I changed my mind...it does suck

so I'm driving today and I hear a really high pitched hum...I shut off the AC and listened closely while I turned the radio on and off.. Sure enough..there it was..Almost as if it's missing a ground.. Anytime the radio is on even while the volume is all the way down it throws off a signal.. Sure, who leaves the radio on and turns the volume down right? Still...it drives me a little nuts..
Have any of you experienced the same problem?

I really notice it when I call onstar..if I hit the accelerator I can hear the sound rise and lower with the rpm's..Should I assume that it's not grounded right??

 

[trigeeks]

Upgraded Stereo System

OK....I'm one of those people that doesn't care for the Bose system, so I did a little upgrading.

The head unit in the Tahoe is actually decent. It has low noise and great output. That said, I used the original head unit. (Nav, DVD, XM, etc)

Now....the upgrades.....
JL Audio ZR-650-CSi speakers in the front along with a second set of tweeters
JL Audio XR-650-CXi speakers in the rear doors
JL Audio 10W6v2 Sub Woofer in a small custom box behind the third row
JL Audio 500x1 amp for the sup and a JL Audio 450x4 amp for the front and rear speakers.
Audio Contol EQ with 30 channels of EQ

This baby sounds AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rick32]

what did that run ya ..... ????

 

[trigeeks]

It was right around $5000 including install. They did an awesome job!
They made everything as stealth as possible. You would never know I upgraded the system by looking at it, but you sure can tell by listening to it!
You can do a similar upgrade for less.

 

[07LTZ]

what would you recommend as a less expensive alternative? say only $1000 to $2000?

 

[sielo_X]

I never have been too impressed by Bose. I know I would have regretted over paying for such a lousy system so I'm just going to replace everything with Infinity Kappa Perfect. I've had them in my other cars and they've never let me down.

 

[Ech0]

Curious, where did they place the amps?

And, congrats on the new system.