Bose Audio

[ZR2NYC]

How hard is it to add an Amp and replace the speakers on this truck with the new large screen system? I leased mine and can't believe how weak the sound is. I have Focal speakers from my old truck, Fosgate Pro amps and some Alpine 10" subs and would love to use them on this truck but I can't butcher the wiring up too bad. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

use the search. lots of info from ZR2 audiophiles here. Bose doesnt connect to anything. you can spruce up the ZR2 crappy Bose. what you are suggesting sounds like remove and replace. good luck and welcome.

 

[8ball_99]

How hard is it to add an Amp and replace the speakers on this truck with the new large screen system? I leased mine and can't believe how weak the sound is. I have Focal speakers from my old truck, Fosgate Pro amps and some Alpine 10" subs and would love to use them on this truck but I can't butcher the wiring up too bad. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

You can buy a harness that will plug into the factory harness and allow you to add a amp. It's called a bose integration harness. I didn't use one, but you can get them.

 

[Nme007]

You can buy a harness that will plug into the factory harness and allow you to add a amp. It's called a bose integration harness. I didn't use one, but you can get them.

Thank you!

 

[APHZR2]

I've posted a couple threads about speaker upgrades. I changed all mine our in my 1500 and now in my HD. They are the same Bose speakers and amps in all the refreshed trucks. I did add a Amp with built in DSP also.

You could try just swapping speakers, but I don't know how much that would help. It's definitely not going to do much for volume. If you get standard 4 ohm speakers it will make that worse actually. The factory speakers are 2 ohm in the front doors and the others are around 3.5 ohm. I don't remember off the top of my head, but I posted it in the thread. To be louder you would need to add a amp or go with lower Ohm speakers.

The other problem is the crappy eq curve the bose amp puts out to try and make the cheap paper speakers sound good with out blowing them. For it to really sound good, I think you need a DSP to off set what Bose does to the sound.

Any recommendation for a reasonably priced amp that will help - keeping the same speakers though..
Thanks in advance.

 

[securityguy]

Any recommendation for a reasonably priced amp that will help - keeping the same speakers though..
Thanks in advance.

Highly recommend changing out the speakers...the "Bose" OEM speakers are crap! Easy to do and will make a ton more difference than replacing the amp by itself.

 

[8ball_99]

Any recommendation for a reasonably priced amp that will help - keeping the same speakers though..
Thanks in advance.

Like securityguy said. New speakers would be the better choice. The bose speakers aren't going to handle more power. To me the factory system could get pretty loud, it just didn't sound good at any volume level though.

 

[theGrooveTime]

I found that the default EQ and Fade/Balance settings sounded pretty subpar for sure. Just with some adjustments to all three (EQ, Fade, and Balance) I found the sound was greatly improved. Who knows, maybe I'm just convincing myself it sounds better

 

[Relic]

I found that the default EQ and Fade/Balance settings sounded pretty subpar for sure. Just with some adjustments to all three (EQ, Fade, and Balance) I found the sound was greatly improved. Who knows, maybe I'm just convincing myself it sounds better

Seems like that until the next song comes on at it needs to be completely readjusted. That has been my experience anyway.

 

[CaptCUNextTues]

I mean they aren't great lol. Small/lightweight magnets and pretty cheap feeling overall. But yeah I think bose/chevy did a weird EQ curve on them. Probably to make them go louder with out blowing/distorting.

View attachment 10289

I went this route, definitely saw a difference, but you need to do your time on the EQ. Is it worth it?….Not sure yet

 

[geddyflea]

If you're streaming from your phone, the phones built-in EQ makes a HUGE difference. On Galaxy phones there is a 10 band EQ and Dolby Atmos that can be set. If you're streaming from Amazon music it has its own EQ also.

 

[FuzzLife]

How hard is it to add an Amp and replace the speakers on this truck with the new large screen system? I leased mine and can't believe how weak the sound is. I have Focal speakers from my old truck, Fosgate Pro amps and some Alpine 10" subs and would love to use them on this truck but I can't butcher the wiring up too bad. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I do agree the audio is definitely lacking on the ZR2. I had a 2017 2500 Sierra Denali HD few years back and that trucks stock system kicked! The system in my 2019 1500 Sierra Denali 6.2 was even better and that one was a Bose.

You can always add a sob box with an included internal amp wired to a bass control knob you can place anywhere you like within reach. Cost would probably run anywhere from $500 and up. I did that a few years ago to a leased vehicle I had and it cost me $700 I decided to go a little higher for the better box, amp and sub. They are also easy to remove when trading in your vehicle....same business that installed can also remove.

Chevy should have hooked up with Harmon Kardon. They only work with 12 vehicle manufacturers.

 

[JoshH]

I guess I'm just about the only person that is happy with the factory stereo. It sounds pretty good to me. It's nothing to brag about for sure, but it gets loud enough to enjoy, it has good clarity with enough bass to know its there. I even mentioned something the other day to my wife about people being unhappy with the factory sound system, and she thought it sounded pretty good too. I wonder if they changed something in the '24 trucks.

 

[securityguy]

I guess I'm just about the only person that is happy with the factory stereo. It sounds pretty good to me. It's nothing to brag about for sure, but it gets loud enough to enjoy, it has good clarity with enough bass to know its there. I even mentioned something the other day to my wife about people being unhappy with the factory sound system, and she thought it sounded pretty good too. I wonder if they changed something in the '24 trucks.

They have not. Everyone listens to things differently. I don't mind it either. I am not 18 years old any more. If I did anything, it would be to change out the speakers for better clarity and frequency response. But, for now, it works for me. 50 different people will all hear something differently. It's not "great", but it isn't horrible either.

 

[AXE]

I guess I'm just about the only person that is happy with the factory stereo. It sounds pretty good to me. It's nothing to brag about for sure, but it gets loud enough to enjoy, it has good clarity with enough bass to know its there. I even mentioned something the other day to my wife about people being unhappy with the factory sound system, and she thought it sounded pretty good too. I wonder if they changed something in the '24 trucks.

My 24 2500HD sounds a little better. I think the bass is a tad better. It is now starting to fade out once in a while just like 22 1500 listening to Sirius. 22 starting to fade out a lot after January update. 23 Tahoe is still the best performing and sounds the best, I believe cause it has the center channel speaker and a larger cabin. Doesn't have notable operating quirks either, but I'm not in it much.

These poor performing infotainment and audio systems are not a flaw, they are a feature. It's intended to allow people to interact negatively about their vehicle on forums.

 

[DNZR2]

It’s not as good as the Bose in the wife’s corvette but it sounds alright to me.

 

[Busa Dave]

One of the problems is with the satellite radio. When I use the HD FM stations in the DFW area sound is MUCH better. The issue with XM is the compression that the signal goes through. This is a well-known issue and has been around for years.

 

[securityguy]

One of the problems is with the satellite radio. When I use the HD FM stations in the DFW area sound is MUCH better. The issue with XM is the compression that the signal goes through. This is a well-known issue and has been around for years.

100%

 

[ZR2NYC]

One of the problems is with the satellite radio. When I use the HD FM stations in the DFW area sound is MUCH better. The issue with XM is the compression that the signal goes through. This is a well-known issue and has been around for years.

sirius, bluetooth.....all of it sounds flat. new rear speakers helped my system out.

 

[8ball_99]

I guess I'm just about the only person that is happy with the factory stereo. It sounds pretty good to me. It's nothing to brag about for sure, but it gets loud enough to enjoy, it has good clarity with enough bass to know its there. I even mentioned something the other day to my wife about people being unhappy with the factory sound system, and she thought it sounded pretty good too. I wonder if they changed something in the '24 trucks.

The 24s are the same as the 22s. Atleast hardware wise. Now they could have very well changed some tuning some through software. But I spent 7 hours in my 22 then jumped in my 24 and spent another 7 hours in it all in the same day. Between my two, nothing really seemed to change to me. In fact I left a set of tweeters in my a pillers of my 22 that I had added. Just those seemed to make it sound better on the drive up then my 24 did on the way back. So it wasn't really factory vs factory.

Sound is subjective though. If the oem bose sounds fine to you, then run it. To me it sounds flat and tinny. Basically no mids and no lows, it must be Bose There is a reason that's a common saying when it comes to Bose stuff.

 

[Relic]

The 24s are the same as the 22s. Atleast hardware wise. Now they could have very well changed some tuning some through software. But I spent 7 hours in my 22 then jumped in my 24 and spent another 7 hours in it all in the same day. Between my two, nothing really seemed to change to me. In fact I left a set of tweeters in my a pillers of my 22 that I had added. Just those seemed to make it sound better on the drive up then my 24 did on the way back. So it wasn't really factory vs factory.

Sound is subjective though. If the oem bose sounds fine to you, then run it. To me it sounds flat and tinny. Basically no mids and no lows, it must be Bose There is a reason that's a common saying when it comes to Bose stuff.

I just spent the day in mine. I will say that on the right song it sounded quite clear and crisp. But even then I was having to listen to it way louder then I would have liked.