Swapping out the Bose...any point?

dropkick13 · November 4, 2006

My truck has the Bose system in it. I will definitely be adding a new head unit so i can hook up subs easier and more importantly, i need something more MP3 player friendly. My buddy is telling me that Bose is a pain in the ass to mess with...he said something about each speaker having its own amp and i will need special adapters to put new speakers in etc... he kind of runs his mouth a lot so i can never tell if hes BS'ing or not....does what he say have merit?

firefighteremt3100 · November 5, 2006

My truck has the Bose system in it. I will definitely be adding a new head unit so i can hook up subs easier and more importantly, i need something more MP3 player friendly. My buddy is telling me that Bose is a pain in the ass to mess with...he said something about each speaker having its own amp and i will need special adapters to put new speakers in etc... he kind of runs his mouth a lot so i can never tell if hes BS'ing or not....does what he say have merit?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have the same problem. As do a lot of people on here. Do a search of the forums. Theres been lots of posts. Yes it will be confusing, I'm still confused even after reading most/all of the posts. Basically the head unit, if you replace it, you'll need to get an adapter to keep your steering wheel controls operational. I believe you have to get another adapter to keep your door chimes and stuff with OnStar intact. After you change the head, you'll have to get rid of the AMP. As for the speakers, might as well swap them out too. At least this is my understanding after reading all the posts, repeatedly. If I am wrong, hopefully someone will correct me here. I know WingNut swapped out everything on his BUT the head unit. I cant remember what hes running, but like I said if you do a search, you'll see his setup. Good luck. Let us know what you plan on doing. I need to find more labrats to test stuff before I jump in and change what I have

dropkick13 · November 5, 2006

My truck has the Bose system in it. I will definitely be adding a new head unit so i can hook up subs easier and more importantly, i need something more MP3 player friendly. My buddy is telling me that Bose is a pain in the ass to mess with...he said something about each speaker having its own amp and i will need special adapters to put new speakers in etc... he kind of runs his mouth a lot so i can never tell if hes BS'ing or not....does what he say have merit?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have the same problem. As do a lot of people on here. Do a search of the forums. Theres been lots of posts. Yes it will be confusing, I'm still confused even after reading most/all of the posts. Basically the head unit, if you replace it, you'll need to get an adapter to keep your steering wheel controls operational. I believe you have to get another adapter to keep your door chimes and stuff with OnStar intact. After you change the head, you'll have to get rid of the AMP. As for the speakers, might as well swap them out too. At least this is my understanding after reading all the posts, repeatedly. If I am wrong, hopefully someone will correct me here. I know WingNut swapped out everything on his BUT the head unit. I cant remember what hes running, but like I said if you do a search, you'll see his setup. Good luck. Let us know what you plan on doing. I need to find more labrats to test stuff before I jump in and change what I have

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

how hard is it to hook up amp/subs to the bose head unit? anything different then hooking them up to any other factory head unit?

firefighteremt3100 · November 5, 2006

My truck has the Bose system in it. I will definitely be adding a new head unit so i can hook up subs easier and more importantly, i need something more MP3 player friendly. My buddy is telling me that Bose is a pain in the ass to mess with...he said something about each speaker having its own amp and i will need special adapters to put new speakers in etc... he kind of runs his mouth a lot so i can never tell if hes BS'ing or not....does what he say have merit?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have the same problem. As do a lot of people on here. Do a search of the forums. Theres been lots of posts. Yes it will be confusing, I'm still confused even after reading most/all of the posts. Basically the head unit, if you replace it, you'll need to get an adapter to keep your steering wheel controls operational. I believe you have to get another adapter to keep your door chimes and stuff with OnStar intact. After you change the head, you'll have to get rid of the AMP. As for the speakers, might as well swap them out too. At least this is my understanding after reading all the posts, repeatedly. If I am wrong, hopefully someone will correct me here. I know WingNut swapped out everything on his BUT the head unit. I cant remember what hes running, but like I said if you do a search, you'll see his setup. Good luck. Let us know what you plan on doing. I need to find more labrats to test stuff before I jump in and change what I have

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

how hard is it to hook up amp/subs to the bose head unit? anything different then hooking them up to any other factory head unit?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dunno hopefully someone else can chime in here.

Wingnut · November 6, 2006

I have the same problem. As do a lot of people on here. Do a search of the forums. Theres been lots of posts. Yes it will be confusing, I'm still confused even after reading most/all of the posts. Basically the head unit, if you replace it, you'll need to get an adapter to keep your steering wheel controls operational. I believe you have to get another adapter to keep your door chimes and stuff with OnStar intact. After you change the head, you'll have to get rid of the AMP. As for the speakers, might as well swap them out too. At least this is my understanding after reading all the posts, repeatedly. If I am wrong, hopefully someone will correct me here. I know WingNut swapped out everything on his BUT the head unit. I cant remember what hes running, but like I said if you do a search, you'll see his setup. Good luck. Let us know what you plan on doing. I need to find more labrats to test stuff before I jump in and change what I have

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's pretty much it. You'll need to replace all of it AND spend a nice little chunk of $$$ on adapters to keep your factory chimes/onstar/airbag/controls working.

My last setup, I replaced everything but the head unit, but it was non-Bose. Made things 10x easier.

My current setup is completely stock Bose/Navigation, with an Audio Planet amp and two 10" Kicker Comp V/R's added to it.

Doesn't sound nearly as good as my '02 Z71 did. Not even close.

As I've said in many a thread...I hate Bose. Their home stuff is just as retarded and hard to upgrade as well...not to mention the fact that you can (in just about every instance) spend less money and get a better product and better sound than what you get with them. They suck.

dropkick13 · November 6, 2006

I have the same problem. As do a lot of people on here. Do a search of the forums. Theres been lots of posts. Yes it will be confusing, I'm still confused even after reading most/all of the posts. Basically the head unit, if you replace it, you'll need to get an adapter to keep your steering wheel controls operational. I believe you have to get another adapter to keep your door chimes and stuff with OnStar intact. After you change the head, you'll have to get rid of the AMP. As for the speakers, might as well swap them out too. At least this is my understanding after reading all the posts, repeatedly. If I am wrong, hopefully someone will correct me here. I know WingNut swapped out everything on his BUT the head unit. I cant remember what hes running, but like I said if you do a search, you'll see his setup. Good luck. Let us know what you plan on doing. I need to find more labrats to test stuff before I jump in and change what I have

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's pretty much it. You'll need to replace all of it AND spend a nice little chunk of $$$ on adapters to keep your factory chimes/onstar/airbag/controls working.

My last setup, I replaced everything but the head unit, but it was non-Bose. Made things 10x easier.

My current setup is completely stock Bose/Navigation, with an Audio Planet amp and two 10" Kicker Comp V/R's added to it.

Doesn't sound nearly as good as my '02 Z71 did. Not even close.

As I've said in many a thread...I hate Bose. Their home stuff is just as retarded and hard to upgrade as well...not to mention the fact that you can (in just about every instance) spend less money and get a better product and better sound than what you get with them. They suck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

so even if you scrap all those bose stuff, you still are going to have to buy special adapters? stupid Bose. they sound 'ok' but no where near an aftermarket setup. and it really angers me that its not mp3 player friendly. where to get these adapters

FCAndrews71 · November 7, 2006

Guys, go to www.jpcustoms.com. The sell the harness needed to allow the Bose system to work with an aftermarket head unit. On top of that, you can hook up RCAs to the head, and still run a seperate sub setup as well. Just make sure you look at the site real well, or decide what you want to get out of your current setup plus a new deck, and theyll point you to the right products.

dropkick13 · November 7, 2006

Guys, go to www.jpcustoms.com. The sell the harness needed to allow the Bose system to work with an aftermarket head unit. On top of that, you can hook up RCAs to the head, and still run a seperate sub setup as well. Just make sure you look at the site real well, or decide what you want to get out of your current setup plus a new deck, and theyll point you to the right products.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

is it possible to get something that allows you to hook up an mp3 player to the bose head unit without showing wires draped accross the console

Wingnut · November 7, 2006

If you have an iPod, go to ipodcarparts.com, they have a thing called the Neucleus that will interface with the stereo (requires a wee bit of wiring).

And I agree with JPCustoms, that's where I've bought most of my adapters.

dropkick13 · November 7, 2006

If you have an iPod, go to ipodcarparts.com, they have a thing called the Neucleus that will interface with the stereo (requires a wee bit of wiring).

And I agree with JPCustoms, that's where I've bought most of my adapters.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

no ipod... i have a dell...but ill see what i can scavenge up

firefighteremt3100 · November 8, 2006

I know what you mean. I think I posted this somewhere else, but like I burned a custom cd with some mp3s, I believe they were encoded in the 340? range. They sound so much better than fm stereo. I mean it pounds nicely like Bose should. But on the radio, it sounds like crap. I'm not looking for pound the shi* out of the cab so the windows rattle, but I want to hear and feel the bass. I dont subscribe to XM, but the steering controls are nice to have. Having to buy an 80 dollar adapter for that, and the door chime is really pathetic. But it seems GM keeps going towards this with all their parts. Have to go back to the dealer to get a new guage cluster since its a sealed unit. Gonna be pissed when a bulb goes out after the factory warranty is up. Basically what I got out of all the posts, if you got the money, rip all the Bose crap out, and put new stuff in. I'm not really a stereophile, but I like my tunes. Guess I need to do more research hehe. Good luck and let us know what you do.

-Brian

dropkick13 · November 9, 2006

I know what you mean. I think I posted this somewhere else, but like I burned a custom cd with some mp3s, I believe they were encoded in the 340? range. They sound so much better than fm stereo. I mean it pounds nicely like Bose should. But on the radio, it sounds like crap. I'm not looking for pound the shi* out of the cab so the windows rattle, but I want to hear and feel the bass. I dont subscribe to XM, but the steering controls are nice to have. Having to buy an 80 dollar adapter for that, and the door chime is really pathetic. But it seems GM keeps going towards this with all their parts. Have to go back to the dealer to get a new guage cluster since its a sealed unit. Gonna be pissed when a bulb goes out after the factory warranty is up. Basically what I got out of all the posts, if you got the money, rip all the Bose crap out, and put new stuff in. I'm not really a stereophile, but I like my tunes. Guess I need to do more research hehe. Good luck and let us know what you do.

-Brian

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

any ideas on how to get a non ipod mp3 player to work with the bose head unit (without those lame fm transmitters)

WyldChyldCustoms · November 9, 2006

Hey guys.....We did an upgrade in our 04 Suburban shop truck with the factory Bose setup. We replaced everything EXCEPT the head unit. Replaced everything with Kicker. Sounds 100 times better than Bose. New speakers all around with tweeters, 5 channel amp, 2-10" subs and an adapter from PAC which wa completely plug and play. Drop me an email if you want part#'s or to order parts diretly from me. Everything works as factory such as door chimes, XM, OnStar, steering wheel controls just sounds a whole lot better.