Stereo Mods - Adding an amp and harness

[FirstAscent]

I am probably having an outfit in Portland gut the whole Bose system and throw it in the trash, and I'm sure they can fab up a box, but it sure would be nice if it fit.  I had a stealth box two trucks ago and it really was butter.  You just know it is going to be perfect volume for the drivers if JL makes the box.  
 
 
 

Yeah for the price and fitment the stealth boxes are excellent!
Do it and keep us posted! Not many audio upgrades going on around the forums on these trucks.

[MesaRat]

On 3/14/2020 at 12:58 PM, Reaper5699 said:

In the pic, I haven't removed the jack fixture, so it will scoot back another 3 inches.  You can see the gap on the left...it will sit flush all the way back.

Took delivery yesterday and I am leaning to just changing out the speakers and adding a sub. 

 

How/where did you do your sub tap? 

 

I am thinking of tapping off the rear speakers (from a Metra speaker plug/harness connecting to the new speakers) but I am worried about going through door to body conduit/rubber housing.  I don't want to cut or tap factory wires if possible.

 

thx

[Reaper5699]

Pull the door sill plates on the front and rear door it will give you room to access the wire bundle.  The wire bundle has a T intersection that feeds the right rear speaker, locks and window.  I tapped it there and ran it to the LC2 which acts as an RCA converter for your amp and the remote power on.  FYI, my amp turns on when you use the remote to unlock the doors/open the door, and the signal will keep the LC2/Amp on for 3-4 minutes after you close the door/or lock the vehicle...guess this is normal from what I've read.  If I get bored, I will move the remote power on to the fuse box where I found a good ignition tap.  I removed the passenger seat completely to give me better access.

[MesaRat]

if you are using speaker sense the amp and other components will turn on and stay on for a bit when unlocked and/or opening and closing as the truck turns on some functionality of the infotainment in order to immediately provide the availability of chimes etc and help the boot up time of the system.  My Ford did the same.

 

thanks for the tips.  i will pull the sills as well as the door panel and see if i can easily go through the flexible conduit between door and body.

 

i'm still contemplating and trying to decide if i want to install single or dual 12" Kenwood Exelon subs. already own the subs and just need a custom box - 5ch JBL amp and DSP i will use just dedicated to the subs.  also allows me to have to get just wiring harness and connect up the other four channels into my door and dash speakers if i decide to go that route later on. 

 

however, i have never experienced down firing subs before and am weighing the loss of extra space when the seats are folded up.

[demento19]

On 3/13/2020 at 3:48 PM, Reaper5699 said:

I replaced the front dash and door speakers with a Kenwood set KFC-XP6903C.  They sound great and I don't really think it needs an amp for my use....gets loud enough without distortion.  The dash speakers were a direct bolt in (I clipped the plug off the stock speakers and re-wired into the Kenwood leads) and the 6x9 was bolt in after you snip the bracket down to fit the Chevy.  I had a 10" solobaric in a box that I transferred from my 4 runner that fits perfectly under the rear seat.  Running that with a 200W per channel amp...again, more than enough for me.  I used an LC2i to convert the rear door speaker signal to RCA and add the bass frequencies back.  The LC2i lets you bring back the bass that the stock system cuts out...quite a few you tube videos on it.  Amp and LC2i are under the passenger seat, just took the entire seat out to make it easier.  Wasn't too bad...took a bit of time to make sure it was all right and tidy.  I also used a marine battery switch to use as a disconnect from my battery to my amp and lights.

The set he sells in the link I posted is two plugs with wire that basically intercepts the stock signal to send to an amp, and then sends the amp signal back to the speakers.  I'm not a super audio snob, but I like it to sound good, and just the Kenwood speakers makes a huge difference in the quality of sound.  The bass fills in the low end details.  I'll relate any further details as I did them if you want.

 

2 months later, are you still satisfied with your decision to skip the amp? In previous cars I've forgone the amp and just upgraded the head unit and been perfectly happy with speakers and the powered sub. I plan to do the same to my 2020 1500. Ill replace all 6 speakers and tap a speaker wire for a powered sub. I'm hoping to avoid the $300 + installation hassle of an amplifier if I can avoid it.

[Reaper5699]

Still happy with it:)  Tweaked the LC2I a bit for the bass, but no complaints...it gets plenty loud and it's clean with no distortion.  I re-reading my post, I tapped the rear door speaker on the passenger side for the sub.  Good luck!!!

[CT Chevy Connoisseur]

Funny story - so I decided to swap out speakers in my 2020 2500HD WT - started with the 2-3/4" Kenwoods - cracked open the dash and turns out the WT doesn't have top speakers - just the plug and a hole.  New speakers mounted well in existing slots but thought it was funny GM couldn't afford to add the cheap ass 2-3/4 speakers that come stock in other models.

 

I'm getting 6x9's from CT Sounds - should be here any day now

 

Just the little one's in the dash made a difference - can't wait to get the new door speakers in

[Jeff Cooley]

Any how to Videos or posts for this? I have a 2020 GMC 3500hd SLT with the premium Bose setup. Where should I be tapping into? I have a Pac LOC converter I need to wire in. On my 2018 ford I did it behind the dash. Can't do that with this vehicle. I found out the hard way.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

[CT Chevy Connoisseur]

On 7/20/2020 at 3:34 PM, CT Chevy Connoisseur said:

Funny story - so I decided to swap out speakers in my 2020 2500HD WT - started with the 2-3/4" Kenwoods - cracked open the dash and turns out the WT doesn't have top speakers - just the plug and a hole.  New speakers mounted well in existing slots but thought it was funny GM couldn't afford to add the cheap ass 2-3/4 speakers that come stock in other models.

 

I'm getting 6x9's from CT Sounds - should be here any day now

 

Just the little one's in the dash made a difference - can't wait to get the new door speakers in

So I added the 6x9's - a pain because I had to also buy a new bracket as they are not 6x9's in WT just a round one.

 

Anyway they sound good but because it is a WT package and apparantly they remove everything they can the radio doesn't actually have an option for adjustments like front to back or left to right so it is what it is in that sense. 

 

[rbrjr1]

Tagged..

 

I was thinking about replacing my speakers and adding a small all in one amplifier with a loop harness just this past weekend...

I love the factory head unit in my silverado, I really just want to be able to crank the volume when "its time"..

 

 

I assume if I'm replacing all the speakers in the doors, it's a great time to add dynamat (or other sound deadening material)to the doors (and floorboard)?

[Dennis R]

On 3/13/2020 at 3:48 PM, Reaper5699 said:

I replaced the front dash and door speakers with a Kenwood set KFC-XP6903C.  They sound great and I don't really think it needs an amp for my use....gets loud enough without distortion.  The dash speakers were a direct bolt in (I clipped the plug off the stock speakers and re-wired into the Kenwood leads) and the 6x9 was bolt in after you snip the bracket down to fit the Chevy.  I had a 10" solobaric in a box that I transferred from my 4 runner that fits perfectly under the rear seat.  Running that with a 200W per channel amp...again, more than enough for me.  I used an LC2i to convert the rear door speaker signal to RCA and add the bass frequencies back.  The LC2i lets you bring back the bass that the stock system cuts out...quite a few you tube videos on it.  Amp and LC2i are under the passenger seat, just took the entire seat out to make it easier.  Wasn't too bad...took a bit of time to make sure it was all right and tidy.  I also used a marine battery switch to use as a disconnect from my battery to my amp and lights.

The set he sells in the link I posted is two plugs with wire that basically intercepts the stock signal to send to an amp, and then sends the amp signal back to the speakers.  I'm not a super audio snob, but I like it to sound good, and just the Kenwood speakers makes a huge difference in the quality of sound.  The bass fills in the low end details.  I'll relate any further details as I did them if you want.

 

Speakers:  https://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/excelon/kfc-xp6903c/ 

 

LC2i:

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-iYnQ89AlBFZ/p_161LC2IB/AudioControl-LC2i-Black.html?XVINQ=GW3&XVVer=67A&awcp=&awcr=396288658483&awdv=c&awkw=lc2i&awmt=e&awnw=g&awug=1013442&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qzzBRDnARIsAECmryo_TZAiVMyg7oO4CSi8zkQ3WV8g4Z8s0RAw2X201h3TNyzZtB-z3QwaAk32EALw_wcB

 

Sub:  https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206TL7S102/Kicker-44TL7S102.html

Do you remember what color wires you tapped off of for the LC2i?  That's really the only thing I need.  I can make my own wiring harness for my amp install.

 

Thanks.

[Gregg Messenger VE6WGM]

On 3/13/2020 at 4:48 PM, Reaper5699 said:

I replaced the front dash and door speakers with a Kenwood set KFC-XP6903C.  They sound great and I don't really think it needs an amp for my use....gets loud enough without distortion.  The dash speakers were a direct bolt in (I clipped the plug off the stock speakers and re-wired into the Kenwood leads) and the 6x9 was bolt in after you snip the bracket down to fit the Chevy.  I had a 10" solobaric in a box that I transferred from my 4 runner that fits perfectly under the rear seat.  Running that with a 200W per channel amp...again, more than enough for me.  I used an LC2i to convert the rear door speaker signal to RCA and add the bass frequencies back.  The LC2i lets you bring back the bass that the stock system cuts out...quite a few you tube videos on it.  Amp and LC2i are under the passenger seat, just took the entire seat out to make it easier.  Wasn't too bad...took a bit of time to make sure it was all right and tidy.  I also used a marine battery switch to use as a disconnect from my battery to my amp and lights.

The set he sells in the link I posted is two plugs with wire that basically intercepts the stock signal to send to an amp, and then sends the amp signal back to the speakers.  I'm not a super audio snob, but I like it to sound good, and just the Kenwood speakers makes a huge difference in the quality of sound.  The bass fills in the low end details.  I'll relate any further details as I did them if you want.

 

Speakers:  https://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/excelon/kfc-xp6903c/ 

 

LC2i:

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-iYnQ89AlBFZ/p_161LC2IB/AudioControl-LC2i-Black.html?XVINQ=GW3&XVVer=67A&awcp=&awcr=396288658483&awdv=c&awkw=lc2i&awmt=e&awnw=g&awug=1013442&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qzzBRDnARIsAECmryo_TZAiVMyg7oO4CSi8zkQ3WV8g4Z8s0RAw2X201h3TNyzZtB-z3QwaAk32EALw_wcB

 

Sub:  https://www.crutchfield.com/p_206TL7S102/Kicker-44TL7S102.html

Hi Reaper.. I was reading your well described write up, and looked at the speakers you used.  I notice there are two versions of this speaker.  The 6903C is listed as being for Chrysler products, and the 6902C is listed for GM products.  I just wanted to make sure I order the correct speakers.. did you actually use the Chrysler version in the GM pickup?

[Reaper5699]

The GM version.  Got them at a local stereo shop.  Good luck.

[Reaper5699]

Dennis, sorry for the delayed reply, but I don't remember the wire color.  The 12Volt web site is where I searched for the colors.

[Gregg Messenger VE6WGM]

Thanks Reaper.