Review on my speaker upgrade

capitalst · October 19, 2022

I took delivery of my 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT with the Bose HD system two weeks ago. I was not very impressed with the Bose system so I decided to start upgrading the speakers first to see how it sound before considering adding an amplifier. So far I have replaced my front door 6x9's and back door 6 1/2's speakers with the JL Audio C1-690x and JL Audio C1-650x speakers. So far using the stock Bose amplifier these speakers sound 100x better. More crisp and adds some more base to the system. These really bring the sounds alive when you turn it up. The only issue which will be handled today is the dash speakers. They overpower these new door speakers at lower volume due to the doors being 4ohm vs Bose's lower OHM. I did decide to order the Kenwood KFC-X2C speakers to replace my dash speakers over the weekend which come today. These should complete the sound system and give a better balance along with a more crisp sound. I will add to this review tomorrow once they are installed. So far the JL Audio C1's are an excellent upgrade using the factory amplifier but If you go this route expect to upgrade the dash since it will not sound right til you crank it plus the dash Bose just ruins the overall sound experience IMO. Very muffled sound. Sounds like someone put a towel over a great sounding speaker. How they had no tweeter in this speaker basket is beyond me.

The original dash speakers really ruin the overall sound of the system and honestly Bose and GM should be a shamed that they put such crap speakers in these expensive trucks. I spent $70k on this SLT and have had other vehicles for far less money that sounds better. This is not an HD system as they call it and other manufactures like Ford and RAM have worked with better companies to put a lot better sound system into their vehicles. I think Bose is done in my book for speakers. The fact that this have no tweeters in them at all in this day of age is a shame. Ether Bose needs to up their game or GM needs to find a better solution with someone else as a upgraded sound system. I would pay for a HK upgrade or better.

Either way this is my two cents on what I feel so far was a very cheap upgrade given all in cost for 3 sets were under $500.00 and works great with the stock Bose amplifier.

UPDATE:

I added the Kenwood KFC-X2C dash speakers and all I can say is wow what an upgrade. Everything sounds sooo much better. It really completed the system. I feel adding a amplifier to really tune it right is the next step but I would say this is a 8/10 upgrade with the factory HD Bose amplifier. I highly recommend this setup to anyone looking to send under $500 bucks to upgrade speakers. All in all it took me about 2 1/2 hours to do the setup and Crutchfield gives you all the directions to do so.

Edited October 20, 2022 by capitalst

mjonesjr84 · October 19, 2022

Just an FYI, the Bose front door speakers are 4 ohm. The rear door and dash speakers are 3.5 ohm. You can check this yourself on the speakers you removed. I haven't had the factory Bose sub out of the center console to see what its ohms were.

I completely agree that the Bose system in the 2022 refresh trucks sounds lack luster compared to the 2019-2021 Bose. My '20 RST with Bose had great sound. My '20 Equinox with Bose sounds awesome. My '22 LTZ with Bose sounded horrible in stock form. To get any bass out of the system (with Kicker door & dash speakers) I have to have the volume 1/2 way up.

I plan on adding an amp to drive the door speakers after the first of the year using the loopback harness. Hopefully it helps with the audio.

GETGONE · October 20, 2022

They're called Blows stereos for a reason! On my base radio in my 21 Custom I replaced the dash speakers with some ribbon tweeters I had laying around and added a bass blocking capacitor and it made a HUGE difference in bringing up the sound stage. I still think it has some mid range missing. I have a pair of MB Quart Reference 6 1/2's to put in the front doors. Depending how they sound I may put them in the back and order the 6x9 version for the fronts or maybe go with the 6x9 component set and replace the ribbon tweeters in the dash with the component titanium tweeters.

capitalst · October 20, 2022

On 10/19/2022 at 10:07 AM, mjonesjr84 said:

Just an FYI, the Bose front door speakers are 4 ohm. The rear door and dash speakers are 3.5 ohm. You can check this yourself on the speakers you removed. I haven't had the factory Bose sub out of the center console to see what its ohms were.

I completely agree that the Bose system in the 2022 refresh trucks sounds lack luster compared to the 2019-2021 Bose. My '20 RST with Bose had great sound. My '20 Equinox with Bose sounds awesome. My '22 LTZ with Bose sounded horrible in stock form. To get any bass out of the system (with Kicker door & dash speakers) I have to have the volume 1/2 way up.

I plan on adding an amp to drive the door speakers after the first of the year using the loopback harness. Hopefully it helps with the audio.

Interesting. I never checked. Usually, in the past they were 2ohm roughly. I will tell you the JL Audio C1's were not as loud at the same volume. I just finished swapping the dash speakers with the Kenwood KFC-X2C speakers. I will be taking it for a car ride later to really listen to them and see how they perform. I can tell already that they are more crisp. I have a feeling I will be adding an amplifier shortly to really tune all these speakers better since they don't exactly feel very balanced right now and I feel an amplifier will add power and I can tune things exactly perfect.

Overall the upgrade was worth it but anyone looking to do this might want to invest in an amplifier to really set things right.

SPASierra · October 20, 2022

2 hours ago, capitalst said:

Interesting. I never checked. Usually, in the past they were 2ohm roughly. I will tell you the JL Audio C1's were not as loud at the same volume. I just finished swapping the dash speakers with the Kenwood KFC-X2C speakers. I will be taking it for a car ride later to really listen to them and see how they perform. I can tell already that they are more crisp. I have a feeling I will be adding an amplifier shortly to really tune all these speakers better since they don't exactly feel very balanced right now and I feel an amplifier will add power and I can tune things exactly perfect.

Overall the upgrade was worth it but anyone looking to do this might want to invest in an amplifier to really set things right.

I am interested to hear what you think now that you swapped the dash speakers. I have JBL Club622's sitting here to go in the rear doors, and CD Audio tweeters for the dash. Based on comments from mrjones, I haven't picked up any new 6x9s for the front yet.

mjonesjr84 · October 20, 2022

Just now, SPASierra said:

I am interested to hear what you think now that you swapped the dash speakers. I have JBL Club622's sitting here to go in the rear doors, and CD Audio tweeters for the dash. Based on comments from mrjones, I haven't picked up any new 6x9s for the front yet.

For my dash speakers, I put the Kicker ones in. I also installed a 600mHZ bass blocker. I can confirm that this setup changes the sound dramatically. Granted an amp will help, but the dash speaker change with the bass blocker made the biggest change. The only downside to the bass blocker is it will lower the volume on the turn signal and dash alert sounds that come out of the driver dash speaker.

capitalst · October 28, 2022

After a good week or so with the JL Audio C1's in the door and the Kenwood dash speakers I have to say they do sound great. I have decided my next upgrade is the GM Kicker subwoofer kit 19417164. Interestingly enough the bass is great on some songs but others very weak on others. I feel adding the kicker setup would really smooth out the bass response. My next upgrade if I feel that isn't enough will be adding the JL Audio XD600/6v2 to the 6 speakers to really fine tune things. Don't get me wrong just changing the speakers out was a HUGE improvement but I can see there is a lot more I can do to really get things right.

Sadly I really enjoy my 2016 F150 Platinum stock sounds system which was enough that I never changed things out. GM really needs to drop Bose as the speaker company or make that the base system not the premium. They are so behind and now with B&O and HK systems in others they suck IMO and also there isn't a very good balance of sound with the currently locations with the speakers but hoping if I do change the amplifier out this could fix that issue. Anyone have experience doing an amplifier upgrade with new speakers??

After a good week or so with the JL Audio C1's in the door and the Kenwood dash speakers I have to say they do sound great. I have decided my next upgrade is the GM Kicker subwoofer kit 19417164. Interestingly enough the bass is great on some songs but others very weak on others. I feel adding the kicker setup would really smooth out the bass response. My next upgrade if I feel that isn't enough will be adding the JL Audio XD600/6v2 to the 6 speakers to really fine tune things. Don't get me wrong just changing the speakers out was a HUGE improvement but I can see there is a lot more I can do to really get things right.

Sadly I really enjoy my 2016 F150 Platinum stock sounds system which was enough that I never changed things out. GM really needs to drop Bose as the speaker company or make that the base system not the premium. They are so behind and now with B&O and HK systems in others they suck IMO and also there isn't a very good balance of sound with the currently locations with the speakers but hoping if I do change the amplifier out this could fix that issue. Anyone have experience doing an amplifier upgrade with new speakers??

Dunn · October 30, 2022

i have the harmon kardon system in my 21 Ram and am not impressed to say the least......seems car audio is a fickle thing

am sure ill notice when i pick up new chevy on monday but even coming from a standard base system in 22 silvy HD to the HK system i was shocked it was only marginally better.....i changed speakers out of my 21 elevation thru crutchfield and again barely noticeable.......think you have to spend alot of coin to get noticeable stereo improvements

its exactly correct......depending on station and signal it constantly changes, so was left chasing settings and i just got sick of it.....its a vehicle for commuting so use it for that purpose and never be disappointed, lol

Edited October 30, 2022 by Dunn

capitalst · October 31, 2022

On 10/30/2022 at 5:28 AM, Dunn said:

i have the harmon kardon system in my 21 Ram and am not impressed to say the least......seems car audio is a fickle thing

am sure ill notice when i pick up new chevy on monday but even coming from a standard base system in 22 silvy HD to the HK system i was shocked it was only marginally better.....i changed speakers out of my 21 elevation thru crutchfield and again barely noticeable.......think you have to spend alot of coin to get noticeable stereo improvements

its exactly correct......depending on station and signal it constantly changes, so was left chasing settings and i just got sick of it.....its a vehicle for commuting so use it for that purpose and never be disappointed, lol

I think adding an amplifier that I can really fine tone things and the OEM kicker subwoofer will make everything sound better. Grant it would have been nice to have more than 6 speakers in the vehicle to have better surround sound. It feels like behind your ears is dead sound. Putting pillar speakers were the seat belts are could have made a world of difference IMO. I can only imagine how crapping things sound in the back seat.

Dunn · November 1, 2022

22 hours ago, capitalst said:

I think adding an amplifier that I can really fine tone things and the OEM kicker subwoofer will make everything sound better. Grant it would have been nice to have more than 6 speakers in the vehicle to have better surround sound. It feels like behind your ears is dead sound. Putting pillar speakers were the seat belts are could have made a world of difference IMO. I can only imagine how crapping things sound in the back seat.

Just picked up my new silverado with base sound system.....drove 6 hrs in ram to dealer and 6 hrs back in Silverado.....the HK system is better but it's not whole lot..better bass and just lil bit cleaner......maybe I just expect alot more than what is reality....

capitalst · November 12, 2022

I finally had a chance yesterday to install the GM Kicker subwoofer kit. First, let me tell you the instructions were not good when it came to splicing wires and more importantly what the wire was you cut into. I tried from videos to figure it out and cut the yellow and yellow/black wire and connected the green and brown wire of the kit going upwards. In the end nothing worked and realized my right door speakers didn't work. After looking at the Crutchfield instructions when I replaced my speakers sure enough the yellow and yellow/black are the door speakers. I called Kicker kit help desk turns out I was only suppose to tie into it not cut it. After fixing this all works.

As for the subwoofer kit its nice and does put out a lot more bass but its a bit more boomy than hard hitting. That might change after breaking it in which I will let you know about in a few weeks. Setting the bass as mid is about where the sub needs to be but than the rest of the sound from the speakers isn't rich enough. Luckily I bought the kicker bass knob which comes today so I can turn the base to about 75% which the speakers like and turn the sub down should bring it all together. Overall, the install wasn't too hard. As for sound quality I would give the Kicker so far a 6/10 since its too boomy right now. Again, this might change after a few weeks.

Updates to come.

SPASierra · March 5, 2023

When you installed your rear speakers, how did they sound initially? I swapped my dash speakers for the Kenwood today, and it was a huge change. I moved on to the rear doors where I installed JBL 622 Club speakers, and when I isolate them, there is almost no bass and the highs are barely there unless I turn it up over halfway. I have a set of JL C1-690x’s for the front doors to put in tomorrow, and wonder if they are going to make it all sound worse.

Update:

I installed the C1s this morning, and the whole system sounds better. I’m on the fence about grabbing the C1s for the rear doors (so they will match brands with the fronts). I’ll give it a couple of weeks and decide then.

Edited March 5, 2023 by SPASierra

Russ757 · March 5, 2023

For the in dash speakers, did you all just splice or did you use an adapter? If so, link?

SPASierra · March 5, 2023

22 minutes ago, Russ757 said:

For the in dash speakers, did you all just splice or did you use an adapter? If so, link?

I bought the adapters listed in another thread, just to find out that they didn't work. I cut them off, stripped back some of the fabric tape, and used posi-taps. Easy to reverse and I didn't have to cut off the plug. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_669PP502/Posi-Products-Car-Speaker-Connectors.html?tp=2610