Speaker upgrade

[8ball_99]

Has anybody upgraded their speakers in their ZR2 yet? I ordered some stuff and am going to give it a go. Talked to a local stereo shop the other day and they said the truck was unsupported currently. Basically no installer information on refreshed trucks yet so they won't even do them yet lol. Installer did tell me that just upgrading the speakers would make very little difference. The factory Bose "Upgraded" system has the channels filtered in the bose amp. Bose amp adjusts and filters out certain frequencies to keep the crappy speakers from blowing. Basically a different speaker in the same spot will sound the same.

After doing some research I also figured out we can't just bypass the bose amp. Only output from the head unit is data for the bose. So I ordered an amp that does signal summing. Basically merges several channels together to try and replace the frequencies the factory amp has filtered out on various channels. Also got all new speakers. So I guess I'll see how turns out lol.

 

[wutang61]

Has anybody upgraded their speakers in their ZR2 yet? I ordered some stuff and am going to give it a go. Talked to a local stereo shop the other day and they said the truck was unsupported currently. Basically no installer information on refreshed trucks yet so they won't even do them yet lol. Installer did tell me that just upgrading the speakers would make very little difference. The factory Bose "Upgraded" system has the channels filtered in the bose amp. Bose amp adjusts and filters out certain frequencies to keep the crappy speakers from blowing. Basically a different speaker in the same spot will sound the same.

After doing some research I also figured out we can't just bypass the bose amp. Only output from the head unit is data for the bose. So I ordered an amp that does signal summing. Basically merges several channels together to try and replace the frequencies the factory amp has filtered out on various channels. Also got all new speakers. So I guess I'll see how turns out lol.

New drivers would still make a difference. The factory amp utilizes crossovers to keep the speakers in the design range of the driver. Signal reproduction would still be improved in the given range.

 

[BigSky]

Had a kicker amp and speakers installed. Sounds great.

 

[landpilot]

Nav TV is working on a signal decoder that will take the Bose sound signal, flatten it out and send it via RCA to a DSP and amp(s).

Nav TV Zen AVB-GM Processor

 

[8ball_99]

New drivers would still make a difference. The factory amp utilizes crossovers to keep the speakers in the design range of the driver. Signal reproduction would still be improved in the given range.

I'm sure it would help some. I went a head and got the Amp though. If I'm going to pull the dash and door panels off anyway. Might as well

 

[8ball_99]

Nav TV is working on a signal decoder that will take the Bose sound signal, flatten it out and send it via RCA to a DSP and amp(s).

Nav TV Zen AVB-GM Processor

That's cool, I didn't know that was a thing. A little pricy, but cheaper then a full DSP and tuning. I'll keep an eye on it. If the equipment I have coming doesn't give me good results. That nav TV seems like a great option to ditch the bose stuff all together.

 

[wutang61]

Having actual tweeters in the truck would make a big difference.

In typical Bose fashion, every single speaker is targeted at midrange sound reproduction. The dash speakers are midrange 2.75’s and the doors are 4.5”ish midrange with a 6” “subwoofer” in the console.

These 2 way pioneers would do wonders to brighten the sound in the dash corners. Currently on back order but for 60 bucks I’ll swap mine out.

Pioneer TS-A709

A-Series + 2-3/4" 2-way car speakers

www.crutchfield.com

 

[landpilot]

I’m going to try some Audiofrog GS25 replacements in the dash corners.

 

[8ball_99]

Having actual tweeters in the truck would make a big difference.

In typical Bose fashion, every single speaker is targeted at midrange sound reproduction. The dash speakers are midrange 2.75’s and the doors are 4.5”ish midrange with a 6” “subwoofer” in the console.

These 2 way pioneers would do wonders to brighten the sound in the dash corners. Currently on back order but for 60 bucks I’ll swap mine out.

Pioneer TS-A709

A-Series + 2-3/4" 2-way car speakers

www.crutchfield.com

I'm putting in 3 ways up front. 6x9 in the door 2" mid in the dash and a tweeter in the apiller. I got the tweeters and mids in today. Plus got some of the wiring done. Stuff didn't show up till this afternoon so I wasn't able to get it all done before the game lol.

 

[8ball_99]

Just a heads up. I still don't know what the OHM rating is on the factory speakers. They don't say anywhere lol. The dash speakers seem decent. Actually pretty heavy. Front doors are 6"x9". The 6"x9" in the doors feel pretty flimsy. Small magnets, light weight and trpical paper oem cone.

scratch that i just put a meter on them. The doors are 2 ohm and the dash is 3.2? Lol

 

[GearheadSS]

I'm surprised they actually say Bose on them.

 

[wutang61]

Just a heads up. I still don't know what the OHM rating is on the factory speakers. They don't say anywhere lol. The dash speakers seem decent. Actually pretty heavy. Front doors are 6"x9". The 6"x9" in the doors feel pretty flimsy. Small magnets, light weight and trpical paper oem cone.

scratch that i just put a meter on them. The doors are 2 ohm and the dash is 3.2? Lol
View attachment 1008View attachment 1009View attachment 1010View attachment 1011

Such high quality speaker arnt they? Being 2ohm, stepping up to a 4 will lower the output of the factory amplifier even more. Seeing the dash @ 3.2 is good news as a .8 jump is much easier then a doubling of impedance.

Also I stand corrected with the front speaker size. I only took one of my rear doors apart for some PDR work.

The rear speakers is where I pulled my size spec from.

 

[subflyerc]

How is it to replace the dash speakers? Sometimes it can be a pain. Any advice?

Same with doors (any advice)? Those are usually straight forward though. Remove the panel......

 

[landpilot]

Such high quality speaker arnt they? Being 2ohm, stepping up to a 4 will lower the output of the factory amplifier even more. Seeing the dash @ 3.2 is good news as a .8 jump is much easier then a doubling of impedance.

Also I stand corrected with the front speaker size. I only took one of my rear doors apart for some PDR work.

The rear speakers is where I pulled my size spec from.

The front doors are 2ohm, but I'm not sure what the rears are... @8ball_99 can you check those when you get them out? I'm going to put a Focal 6 1/2" component in the front door and I got this interesting mount from Amazon that lets you mount the tweeter and the midrange in a 6x9 space. We'll see how it goes when the speakers get here. I'm also going to use the standard Metra 6x9 mount for our doors and just put this on top of it. Not sure what kind of modifications it will take but I'll report back.

 

[8ball_99]

Such high quality speaker arnt they? Being 2ohm, stepping up to a 4 will lower the output of the factory amplifier even more. Seeing the dash @ 3.2 is good news as a .8 jump is much easier then a doubling of impedance.

Also I stand corrected with the front speaker size. I only took one of my rear doors apart for some PDR work.

The rear speakers is where I pulled my size spec from.

Lol, yep they are high quality.

I added a amp so not to worried about the factory ohm difference, but with that said the speakers I got actually have 2.8 ohms rating.

Yes I'll check the rears when I get them out. I've got the Amp in. Basically got everything wired and the dash done. I just need to put the door speakers in. Waiting on a couple wire harness to come in then I can install those.

 

[8ball_99]

Factory Rear doors are 3.6 ohms. So front doors are 2.0 ohm. Dash speakers are 3.4 ohm. Dash speakers are 2.75". Front doors are 6"x9". Rear doors I guess are technically 6 1/2"" by the enclosure. I'd say the actual speaker is more like a 5 1/4" though. Here is the factory Rear beside an aftermarket 6 1/2". The actual speaker on the aftermarket is obviously larger. The speaker plug adapters for a 21 chevy silverado with bose works even though it's not listed for the refreshed models. Polarity is also the same. HTH

 

[NebraskaZR2]

Forgive me if I missed this earlier in the forum.

What speakers did you end up going with? I had infinity kappas (albeit a budget speaker they worked well) in a previous vehicle and loved them. Those look like some version of an infinity speaker if I'm not mistaken.

Will be curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

 

[landpilot]

Factory Rear doors are 3.6 ohms. So front doors are 2.0 ohm. Dash speakers are 3.4 ohm. Dash speakers are 2.75". Front doors are 6"x9". Rear doors I guess are technically 6 1/2"" by the enclosure. I'd say the actual speaker is more like a 5 1/4" though. Here is the factory Rear beside an aftermarket 6 1/2". The actual speaker on the aftermarket is obviously larger. The speaker plug adapters for a 21 chevy silverado with bose works even though it's not listed for the refreshed models. Polarity is also the same. HTH
View attachment 1015

Super helpful, I really appreciate it! That’s typical for Bose, your replacements look great though. I’m about to be out of town for a week so i’ll get mine in when I get back in town. Can’t wait to hear what you think of them!

 

[8ball_99]

Forgive me if I missed this earlier in the forum.

What speakers did you end up going with? I had infinity kappas (albeit a budget speaker they worked well) in a previous vehicle and loved them. Those look like some version of an infinity speaker if I'm not mistaken.

Will be curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

Your right, I didn't ever post what equipment bought.
Front speakers are 6"x9" Infinity Kappa 693c. They are component speakers and come with tweeters and crossovers.
Dash speakers are Infinity Kappa 203s. These are 2" mid range speakers that also include a cross over. This allows them to be used as 3 way speakers when you connect the crossovers together with the 693c. Which is how I'm using them.
Rear door speakers are Infinity Kappa 63xf. These are 6 1/2" two way speakers.
Amp is Audiocontrol LC-4.800.

So I went with these speakers for a couple reasons. One I've had Kappa speakers before and I liked them. Good mid priced speakers imo. But also because these are 2.8 Ohm. If the audiocontrol Amp didn't work out because of the factory bose amp. I figured I could just use the Kappas with the factory Amp with out losingto much volume. Also the dash speaker limits you quite a bit unless you just stick a tweeter there. Only a handful of speakers listed to fit the dash. Infact Crutchfield says these infinity speaker don't fit lol. Technically they don't, but going off the measurements I knew they were so close I could make them work. What ever brand went in the dash I also wanted in the front doors. Just because completely different brand speakers don't always blend together well. Heck even same brand but different series is noticeable sometimes.

Everything is in and working except the 6x9 door speakers. I'm waiting on a set of plug adapters that weren't shipped the first time. They should be here tomorrow. Even with the factory door speakers still in the front it does sound a lot better. But I haven't really adjusted the Amp much or messed with any settings yet because of the door speakers. As soon as I get those in I'll post what I think.

 

[8ball_99]

This is where the Factory bose speaker wiring is for anyone looking. The red is the factory harness and the path it takes from the Amp to each speaker. Ignore the teal. That's my Amp and where I tapped into the factory harness for line inputs. I roughly drew up where I added wires and the cross overs, ect, This one was an early one though with out all the other stuff, but still has the extra Amp in it. BTW, There isn't any room on the back wall for another Amp. I ended up putting mine under the front passenger seat. Course that was after I removed the back seat and realized there was no room lol. I know my tablet note skills aren't great lol. Good enough for me to keep up with where I put what 6 months from now when I forget Figured this one might be good enough for others to figure out the factory wiring.