Stereo Upgrade Options

MNDave · March 2, 2012

Hello everyone, new here and this is my first post.

I recently purchased a 2005 Silverado 1500 (non-bose) and I think I would like a new stereo as my first upgrade/mod. I currently have the factory radio that still has a cassette deck. Who uses that anymore?

Wondering what my options are that won't break the bank?

I don't need to go top of the line, but would like to have iPod control, and would like to keep my steering wheel controls. Bluetooth would be a nice bonus.

I see some units on Amazon (Clarion, JVC, Pioneer) that look good for about $200, but not sure how/if I could keep my steering wheel controls with them.

All said and done for under $300-350 including install kit would be nice. If that's possible, any suggestions? Thanks.

Motohead309 · March 2, 2012

I too have an 05' Silvy and it happened to have the Bose deck in it. All I did was add an amp & subs + a seperate sub volume control. I found a product from this forum called, 'BlueStar' and that allows bluetooth and a different device from PAC-Audio that allows connection to an iPod/iPhone. But, just the subs and amp were around $350.

The PAC-Audio device could be eliminated if BlueStar can get their device to support streaming.

BlueStar will eliminate Onstar though. The cable that plugs into Onstar have to plugin to the BlueStar device. If you're lucky, you might find an OnStar device that supports bluetooth, but I hear replacing one of these can be quite a challange.

arctictwist · March 2, 2012

You will need adapters. Pioneer has decks that support blue tooth and theres an adapter, some have it built in. The PAC unit will retain factory harnesses, xm, chimes, and so on. I opted for the add on xm tuner however, it allows for integration with the head unit where as the pac unit moves xm control to the DIC. PAC also has a steering wheel control adapter.