Upgrading factory bose speakers. What have you done?

[Jkeeter725]

I have a 16 crew cab high country with the factory bose speakers and want to clean up the sound as best as possible without changing head unit. Look for recommendations from people that have done upgrades.

 

I know kicker makes a base upgrade but I'm looking at door and dash speaker upgrades. What di you install and do you think its work 250-500 dollars?

[2018GMC]

I have a 16 crew cab high country with the factory bose speakers and want to clean up the sound as best as possible without changing head unit. Look for recommendations from people that have done upgrades.
 
I know kicker makes a base upgrade but I'm looking at door and dash speaker upgrades. What di you install and do you think its work 250-500 dollars?

I added the JL stealthbox under center console. It’s expensive but they cram a 10” subwoofer under center console instead of the stock Bose 6” that hardly does anything.

The Bose amp now just runs the 6 dash and door speakers and it’s loud enough for me with finally some bass that doesn’t disappear after 1/4 volume.

Now my rear view vibrates and so do the front buckets if I have it turned up all the way. They also make a rear dual sub enclosure but that costs even more.

The stealhbox I received had an air leak. I contacted JL and after a lot of back and forth they said we have great Quality Control and our boxes don’t do that. Then they told me to open a case with customer support. They couldn’t refer me.

The sealed up the air leak with some electrical tape sandwiched between where the woofer meets the fiberglass enclosure.

So in the end JL audio support sucks.

[SWOYER]

50 minutes ago, 2018GMC said:

I added the JL stealthbox under center console. It’s expensive but they cram a 10” subwoofer under center console instead of the stock Bose 6” that hardly does anything.

The Bose amp now just runs the 6 dash and door speakers and it’s loud enough for me with finally some bass that doesn’t disappear after 1/4 volume.

Now my rear view vibrates and so do the front buckets if I have it turned up all the way. They also make a rear dual sub enclosure but that costs even more.

The stealhbox I received had an air leak. I contacted JL and after a lot of back and forth they said we have great Quality Control and our boxes don’t do that. Then they told me to open a case with customer support. They couldn’t refer me.

The sealed up the air leak with some electrical tape sandwiched between where the woofer meets the fiberglass enclosure.

So in the end JL audio support sucks.

That's a bummer, the reviews on these are supposed to be really good. I just ordered one hopefully they paid a little more attention to the construction in this one. 

 

 

To answer the original question, it depends what you want. 200-500 isn't alot of cash in the stereo upgrade world. I personally think the bose isn't really all that great, it's a mass produced oem system. If you want good sound you should consider a Line output converter LOC, an amp, speakers and if you want bass you'll need to factor all of that in. I'm still waiting on my head unit but I'm doing a full sound quality upgrade on my truck using Focal speakers, JL amp, stealthbox and a new 10" pioneer head unit. The price on that build is just over 4k for parts so far. 

[2018GMC]

That's a bummer, the reviews on these are supposed to be really good. I just ordered one hopefully they paid a little more attention to the construction in this one. 
 
 
To answer the original question, it depends what you want. 200-500 isn't alot of cash in the stereo upgrade world. I personally think the bose isn't really all that great, it's a mass produced oem system. If you want good sound you should consider a Line output converter LOC, an amp, speakers and if you want bass you'll need to factor all of that in. I'm still waiting on my head unit but I'm doing a full sound quality upgrade on my truck using Focal speakers, JL amp, stealthbox and a new 10" pioneer head unit. The price on that build is just over 4k for parts so far. 

I’d recommend running your stealthbox before putting center console back. It sounded just like a rattle and after going crazy trying to find it, I finally ran the stealthbox with center console removed. Could feel air being pushed out of enclosure.

I used the recommended JL 300x1v2 and a lc2i with signal off the Bose subwoofer connection.

I had disconnected my active noise cancellation since I have 6.2. But I recently hooked it back up and can’t tell a difference. Supposedly some people noticed overuse of aftermarket sub when ANC kicks in.

[2018GMC]

Comparison of stock Bose sub vs 10” JL Stealthbox

[ltzsilverado]

21 minutes ago, 2018GMC said:

I’d recommend running your stealthbox before putting center console back. It sounded just like a rattle and after going crazy trying to find it, I finally ran the stealthbox with center console removed. Could feel air being pushed out of enclosure.

I used the recommended JL 300x1v2 and a lc2i with signal off the Bose subwoofer connection.

I had disconnected my active noise cancellation since I have 6.2. But I recently hooked it back up and can’t tell a difference. Supposedly some people noticed overuse of aftermarket sub when ANC kicks in.

Where was it leaking from and what did you do to fix it. I have the same set up and have been dealing with annoying rattles

[2018GMC]

Where the woofer is screwed into the Fiberglass enclosure. I used some electrical tape, a few layers between the slight low spot and woofer. Screwed it back down and it’s now actually a sealed box like it should have been. 
 

of course you could use silicon as well but I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep it so I just used electrical tape. That was 2 years ago. It’s been good so far. I guess I could pull center console again and check, but it sounds good. 
 

Don’t get me wrong there are some rattles when bass hits but now it’s only stuff in the console or the occasional truck rattle, not the subwoofer leaking air. 

[Jkeeter725]

1 hour ago, 2018GMC said:

I’d recommend running your stealthbox before putting center console back. It sounded just like a rattle and after going crazy trying to find it, I finally ran the stealthbox with center console removed. Could feel air being pushed out of enclosure.

I used the recommended JL 300x1v2 and a lc2i with signal off the Bose subwoofer connection.

I had disconnected my active noise cancellation since I have 6.2. But I recently hooked it back up and can’t tell a difference. Supposedly some people noticed overuse of aftermarket sub when ANC kicks in.

Do you recall the rough cost of doing this?

[2018GMC]

Do you recall the rough cost of doing this?

Not cheap.

 

JL Audio stealthbox under front console $600-$700

JL Audio xd300 1v2 $300

LC2i sub signal to line output converter $100

Amp wire kit $40 - $120

 

You could go cheaper with amp or a all in one subwoofer like kicker or infinity bass link that sits under rear seat.

 

I toy with idea of adding the rear seat stealthbox as well but that’s a lot to chew.

 

 

JL Audio stealthbox under rear dual subs $1200

(I only did the front stealth box, it’s cheap compared to the $1200 rear)

[Jkeeter725]

2 hours ago, 2018GMC said:

Not cheap.

 

JL Audio stealthbox under front console $600-$700

JL Audio xd300 1v2 $300

LC2i sub signal to line output converter $100

Amp wire kit $40 - $120

 

You could go cheaper with amp or a all in one subwoofer like kicker or infinity bass link that sits under rear seat.

 

I toy with idea of adding the rear seat stealthbox as well but that’s a lot to chew.

 

 

JL Audio stealthbox under rear dual subs $1200

(I only did the front stealth box, it’s cheap compared to the $1200 rear)

I prefer to keep the space under the rear seat. I could go middle console if I can keep the factory radio and clean up other speakers

[Jkeeter725]

12 hours ago, 2018GMC said:

Where the woofer is screwed into the Fiberglass enclosure. I used some electrical tape, a few layers between the slight low spot and woofer. Screwed it back down and it’s now actually a sealed box like it should have been. 
 

of course you could use silicon as well but I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep it so I just used electrical tape. That was 2 years ago. It’s been good so far. I guess I could pull center console again and check, but it sounds good. 
 

Don’t get me wrong there are some rattles when bass hits but now it’s only stuff in the console or the occasional truck rattle, not the subwoofer leaking air. 

Do you recall how tight the fit was under the console? Now I'm thinking about buying an 8inch and building a box for that location. Doing a smaller amp for all speakers and sub.

 

So I'm guessing I would have to buy a harness to bypass the bose amp?

I would then want to add a processor and small amp behind the rear seat to keep everything hidden. Do you know if this would work? Never done a audio system before so alot to learn.

 

I would keep the door speakers to a max 60rms or so, so

 I can reuse favtore wiring from the bose amp location is what I hope for. 

[Scott Killman]

23 hours ago, 2018GMC said:

I added the JL stealthbox under center console. It’s expensive but they cram a 10” subwoofer under center console instead of the stock Bose 6” that hardly does anything.

The Bose amp now just runs the 6 dash and door speakers and it’s loud enough for me with finally some bass that doesn’t disappear after 1/4 volume.

Now my rear view vibrates and so do the front buckets if I have it turned up all the way. They also make a rear dual sub enclosure but that costs even more.

The stealhbox I received had an air leak. I contacted JL and after a lot of back and forth they said we have great Quality Control and our boxes don’t do that. Then they told me to open a case with customer support. They couldn’t refer me.

The sealed up the air leak with some electrical tape sandwiched between where the woofer meets the fiberglass enclosure.

So in the end JL audio support sucks.

That sucks to hear about their customer service because I just bought the stealthbox for under the rear seat of my 15 crew cab.  I'm deployed so won't have a chance to check it out for about another 5 months.  Crossing my fingers that it's all good.  

[Scott Killman]

On 4/30/2020 at 9:40 PM, Jkeeter725 said:

I have a 16 crew cab high country with the factory bose speakers and want to clean up the sound as best as possible without changing head unit. Look for recommendations from people that have done upgrades.

 

I know kicker makes a base upgrade but I'm looking at door and dash speaker upgrades. What di you install and do you think its work 250-500 dollars?

Like SWOYER said, $250-500 doesn't get you much.  I bought JL Audio C2-650 Components and C2-650x coax for a little over $500.  I've also purchased an Alpine i209 headunit, JL Audio Steathbox (crew cab so under rear seat) and waiting on my amps (AudioControl LC-4.800 & LC-1.800).  Minus the wiring kit and a few odds and ins, I'm at just under $5k.  

 

I originally intended to just replace the stock speakers......  Go big or go home!

Edited May 3, 2020 by Scott Killman

[Jkeeter725]

13 minutes ago, Scott Killman said:

Like SWOYER said, $250-500 doesn't get you much.  I bought JL Audio C2-650 Components and C2-650x coax for a little over $500.  I've also purchased an Alpine i209 headunit, JL Audio Steathbox (crew cab so under rear seat) and waiting on my amps (AudioControl LC-4.800 & LC-1.800).  Minus the wiring kit and a few odds and ins, I'm at just under $5k.  

 

I originally intended to just replace the stock speakers......  Go big or go home!

I'm not looking anything crazy. Now im thinking about just replacing factor speakers and doing a small amp and building a box with a 8 inch sub to fit inside center console.i think I can purchase all speakers and sub for under $500. Not sure of what amp and possibly processor I would need at the moment. But I do know I want to be able to use the factory speaker wiring and hook into behind the rear seat.

[2018GMC]

51 minutes ago, Scott Killman said:

That sucks to hear about their customer service because I just bought the stealthbox for under the rear seat of my 15 crew cab.  I'm deployed so won't have a chance to check it out for about another 5 months.  Crossing my fingers that it's all good.  

 

 

 

I’m happy with the sound but disappointed with to paying near retail for a product with issues and sub par support. 
 

It makes the stock Bose so much better with bass you can feel. 

 

The stock Bose leaves a lot to be desired. 
 

What amp did you go with and did you find a deal on the dual sub enclosure? I got my singe for 15% off on one of Rakuten codes. An authorized seller was remarkably selling JL on their site. 
 

I don’t need more bass but I’d really like to hear a dual stealthbox setup. I bet your rear will sound great! I’d recommend feeing for air leaks but maybe I just got one that was built on a Friday or Monday lol
 

Thanks for your service 

Edited May 3, 2020 by 2018GMC