more bose grief

[chevy bob]

Hello,I've been having all kinds of speaker problems on my 90 coupe.Naturally I have the infamous bose gold system and one by one the speakers are going out.The amp part is the part that fails.My question is- can I run a regular stereo speaker[without the amp],run directly to the radio?Will this setup work and sound O.K.?I would mount the new speaker on the original board in place of the old one,and remove the amp and wiring.My goal would be to hve a simple 2 wire speaker and no amp.Don't know if this radio needs speakers with amp or not.Can anyone out there help me out?Thanks in advance.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Rip it all out and go aftermarket. There are several good threads on the subject.

 

[Billybeau1]

I'm not familiar with that particular model but, I doubt that unit has enough power to drive a speaker without an amp. If your tired of failing amps, you would need to go aftermarket on the whole system.

 

[Chris Kennedy]

Rip it all out and go aftermarket. There are several good threads on the subject.

I agree---these Bose systems are absurd, and even when they are working I don't think they sound better than a good modern system.

/s/ Chris Kennedy

 

[chevy bob]

what about the rockbox

I'm not familiar with that particular model but, I doubt that unit has enough power to drive a speaker without an amp. If your tired of fail ps, you would need to go aftermarket on the whole system.

You say this unit doesn't have enough power to drive speakers without an amp then I would need to repair or replace the amp.I did a search found a replacement amp for the bose speaker called the rockbox 103a that costs only $20.00.This seems like a cheap fix,which is what I'm looking for now.Has anybody heard of this or tried them?I'm going to eventually replace the bose system,but for now I just need a quick fix.Anybody have the rockbox or info about installing it?Thanks,I'm down to my last speaker now.

 

[NT Vettman]

There is a post about installing the Rock box somewhere in these forums. It fits right inside the speaker housing. I bought one to try replaceing my drivers front but it doesn't fit in the speaker housing, Wired it in and tried just leaving it under the seat. It work but created a buzzing in the all the speakers that increased with engine RPM. Must be picking up interference from the ignition. Buy replacement amps or change to an after market system.

 

[WhalePirot]

The amp part is the part that fails.

The capacitors on the amp's circuit board can be changed to fix this; quite common.

My question is- can I run a regular stereo speaker

Yes.

Will this setup work and sound O.K.?

No, not really. The BOSE output needs amplification, which is different than most other systems. The outboard amplifiers are not in the head unit, but in the individual speaker enclosures. Running a 'normal' speaker from the Bose head unit, w/o amplification would sound horrible, if you got much sound at all.

Check the Audio forum (below here) for either a rebuild source or a kit source, if you wish to self-repair, plus much more info on this issue. I am in the middle of changing to aftermarket and it is a PITA due to the mounting techniques of today's cars and the uniqueness of the Bose. Other speakers don't just bolt in; not even close.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

The 90 up speaker enclosures are much easier to mod than the 89 back. Epically the front ones which are part of the doorsill carpet assembly.

All you have to do on the front of the 90 is take out the bose speaker box and mount the new speaker directly to the carpet assembly – it is made of fiberglass and more than strong enough to hold the weight of a good 5 – 6 inch speaker. I have Infinity speakers in the front of Thunder.

In the rear the bose boxes are really big. After ripping out the bose guts you can cut the top off and epoxy on a new one to fit any speaker you like. The box is molded as a base reflex unit so you can leave the port open for booming lows or plug it and have a really tight air suspension system.

The most difficult part is finding a head unit short enough to fit in the dash without too much overhang. I ended up cutting a dash support bracket but I had the dash out anyway so it was no big problem but I would hate to try it with the dash in place. I had enough room in the right rear unit to mount a Fosgate 200 watt power amp that is driving the rear two speakers as Subs. I was a bit worried about the amp over heating but it has been going for a year and a half with no problems.

Running all new wires and leaving the factory harness in place will make your life easier. You can also leave the bits of the bose that are under the right side of the dash in the car unless you need to lose that last ¼ pound to get your ETs down.

 

[chevy bob]

Well,I've really learned a lot about the bose sound system.You can't repair it yourself,you can't mix other components with it,you can't use regular speakers without amps,and the general concensus is to change the whole system.I love my vette,but I have to say Chevy really dropped the ball with the bose system!Sinse there is no easy fix for this problem,I've decided to send the speakers to doctor don's for repair.Thanks all for your input.

 

[tyrel]

Well, there is this fix on the other forum:

http://corvetteforum.com/techtips/viewsubtopic.php?SubTopicID=58&TopicID=2

I tried this and it didn't work for my amps. As others have said, I don't think you can just wire up some unamplified speakers to the Bose, my guess is it will sound horrible. And I wouldn't know where you would get 2-ohm 4-inch speakers, but they must exist somewhere. I've read the Rockbox amp thread too, but that didn't seem encouraging. I'm afraid your options are either no music, fix the amps, or go aftermarket. The C4 Bose was quite the sound system in its day, each speaker individually amplified in its own ported enclosure, no wonder it was a $1,200 option. But spending just half of that these days will get you a system that sounds ten times better.

 

[gmjunkie]

Hello,I've been having all kinds of speaker problems on my 90 coupe.Naturally I have the infamous bose gold system and one by one the speakers are going out.The amp part is the part that fails.My question is- can I run a regular stereo speaker[without the amp],run directly to the radio?Will this setup work and sound O.K.?I would mount the new speaker on the original board in place of the old one,and remove the amp and wiring.My goal would be to hve a simple 2 wire speaker and no amp.Don't know if this radio needs speakers with amp or not.Can anyone out there help me out?Thanks in advance.

Go to Salvage Yard's and buy Bose Speaker's out of outher car's!! that's how I repair older Corvette Bose Systems!! Bose system on outher Vehicle's are the Same,just the housing are deff.!! Import and Dom. to name a few!! Mazda 626,929, Infiniti G20,G35,Q45,Nissan Maxama, Camaro,Fire Bird,Chevrolet full size car's and truck's alot of GM car's and Truck's not all but a lot!! I buy compleat set's for $50-$100 at salvage Yard's and take speaker's and amp's out and put them in Corvette housing's!! And Thump,Thump,Thump!!! gmjunkie!!P.S. not all are the same, Just look at them!!

 

[Daryllawman]

Toss the BOSE out and go with a good aftermarket ( Name Brand ) Then add you a good amp....the results are great.....your system is to old.....the modern stereo is so much better IMO.....good luck

 

[milehigreg]

Just had an aftermarket system installed this weekend. Kenwood head unit, Alpine amp behind the driver's seat. Alpine 6 X 9s in the rear and Boston Acoustics 4 inchers in the doors. Not cheap but WAY better than the old Bose system. I'm sure it was fantastic in it's day but no comparison to the new stuff. The junkyard solution sounds interesting but remember, those componenets are old too.