Stock Bose Radio for the Birds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kingman]

That's Funny

I thought my 76 sounded good, but l was young then! And in my 68 l never turned it on because all l wanted to do is hear the engine rev in order to hear the shift points. Again when l was really young.

And in my 64 l can't remember if it had a radio, only kidding.

alan

 

[Eric]

So whenever you get to it just let me know so that we can make arrangements.

Alan

Will do!

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Pete,

Curious, I swapped the tape deck that came with my car for a CD head unit and the CD changer still works fine. The buttons don't say the same thing but they do the same thing. Is this dependent upon the year the head unit was made?

I press the CD/AUX button once to play the CD in the head unit and again to switch to the CD changer (until I yank it).
I guess I am wrong about the radio being different. I thought they would have different functions to select disks.
- Eric

Sorry.

 

[Eric]

Sorry.

Don't be sorry, heck I figured for sure you were gonna say it was a year specific thing. I wouldn't put it past the general to do something like that. I have to admit, it took me a while to figure out that I could use the blank button to advance to the next CD in the changer. Found out by accident and felt kinda stupid for not thinking of it sooner.:eyerole.

However, if it will make you feel better, I'll take the 82 off your hands. I've always wanted an 82.

- Eric

 

[road_racefan]

I have to admit, it took me a while to figure out that I could use the blank button to advance to the next CD in the changer. Found out by accident and felt kinda stupid for not thinking of it sooner.:eyerole.


- Eric

Eric:

Never tried the blank button. Haven't had much time to play with it since I got it in December, but I'm sure I never would have found it. Thanks for the heads up.!

Mike

 

[kingman]

Hi Eric

My local dealer uses an independent shop for all radio problems and installations and he said it would be no problem.

He asked if l had the brackets that go with it if not he will order me a set.

So whenever your ready, l'm ready.

I tried a CD and it wasn't bad. I will gather up some money and after the summer l will up grade my system as long as it doesn't alter anything.

Thanks Again

Alan

 

[TheSearcher]

I agree that the Bose is rather poor. The system seems to be under powered and the range of adjustability of the tone is as poor as the AM radios of the 1950s.

 

[kingman]

How to Upgrade !!

Hi

In the next several weeks l will be receiving a the 12 cd changer and when l put it in l would like to upgrade my system even though the Cd's seem to play better then the radio.

What can l do while keeping the vette 100% stock and not spending a fortune??

Alan

 

[cruzer99]

Top down and the wind in your ears........that's the best sound!

 

[kingman]

l'm a coupe man !!!!!!!!!!

In my 68 l never even tried listening to the radio because of the loud exhaust and listening to the engine reving.

Those were the days. Now l have to listen to see if the engine is in fact on.

Alan

 

[Johnnykretentiv]

I have to agree the Bose system in the C5 is very poor. Home Theater and high end home audio is one of my vices. My experience in that field has taught me one thing. Bose is complete garbage. They are way overpriced. There are much better brands out there for car audio. That being said, the only music I need is the sound coming out of those 4 stainless steel pipes about 5 feet behind me!!!

 

[jrose7004]

No highs? No lows? It must be Bose!

 

[bwing]

The Bose system in my '03 sounds ok to me. I don't listen to the radio or CD very much when I'm driving, I'd rather listen the road, exhaust, transmission etc.

 

[Johnnykretentiv]

No highs? No lows? It must be Bose!

Right on. I mean come on they advertise with infomercials! I wouldn't buy a cd off of an infomercial much less spend $3K on a stereo.

If they spend more on R&D and less on marketing I am sure they could make so impressive pieces. Then again that goes for about any company. Note - I run the R&D dept at my company so I am a little biased. :L

 

[mylotcat]

Is there something wrong with my ears and is the radio as bad as it seems?
Can anything be done to up grade it to at least sounding like what a radio should sound like.

This afternoon l will try a CD and see if it's any better. My 96 C4 sounded better.

Alan

I've always put aftermarket systems in my cars, up until the vettes anyway. I too want to keep them stock. However, if you feel you can do the work yourself, or have an aftermarket stereo shop in your area that you trust, you might consider just upgrading the speakers. Since they're hidden it wouldn't take away from the stock look. I'm an old stereo nut, and learned that the speakers are as much a "component" as any other part of the audio system They can completely change the "sound" of a system, and could offer a lot of "bang for the buck."

Dave

 

[schmaltzr]

In my opinion the radio is bad. It isn't the radio's fault though. The radio stations are at fault. I seem to remember a long time ago I heard that in order to broadcast the furthest distance with the amout of trasmission power allowed by their license from the FCC they 'Compress' the music. Compression is a technique that removes the dynmic range of the music. Dynamic range is where the difference of loudest part and quietest part of the music are measured. Music always sounds better when there is a lot of difference between the loud and quiet components, but it takes transmission energy. Bass sound is the most expensive sound to transmit, so some of it is removed to afford more distance for the trasmission. Remember, The quality of the music isn't as important to the radio stations as 'Market Area'. Commercials are what the radio stations are in business for. They're primary buisness isn't sending quality music for free, that is just to get you to tuen into their station. So don't blame the radio, Yes, the tuner can make a difference, but the CD player is using the exact same Pre-amp, Amplifier and speaker system as the Radio. I have the same exact problem with my home stereo. I hope this helps - Ron

 

[Tony C]

Interesting comments by all. I'm getting ready to put in an Alpine CDA 9885 head unit. I'll see how that sounds before going further with amps and new speakers. Honestly though, the motivation for the change is to get a head unit that is capable of handling hands free blue tooth, sattelite radio and NP3's. The only otner things I was interested in were a nav system and back up camera. Could have had it all with one of the pioneer systems but it was a 2 DIN unit and the C5 has a 1.5 DIN opening. The Alpine still isn't a perfect fit as it's a 1 DIN unit. Anyone done this sort of mod?
Tony C.

 

[mylotcat]

A quick compare between a "strong" signal radio station and a CD, both playing your favorite and similar (ideally identical) musical material (e.g. classical, rock, jazz...) should help identify where to focus your attention. The public radio station in our area doesn't compress the radio signal, and I listen mainly to classical and jazz. If it's the radio that's crappy and the CD sounds OK, that suggests the stock speakers are acceptable, and you might try compensating for the radio by using the bass/treble and/or equalizer controls to compensate. Less than adequate receivers/amps often sport such controls to make up for poor audio engineering.

I've noticed when I switch between public radio and XM satellite, that the XM doesn't sound as good cuz it's compressed. So I usually listen to different material on XM, e.g. rock, unless I'm pushing the LS2 beast...then I listen to the Billy Boats.

The other thing you can try is to defeat the radio auto compensation feature if you have it, the feature that changes the volume level based on the speed of the car.

Dave

 

[rwpeders]

Bose System

I have read from others that the rear speakers, behind the seats, are not very good but are easy to replace. Perhaps that impacts on the quality of the sound. My Bose system in my 2000 sounds good but as others have said, the CD sounds better than FM.

Does anyone know if there is a sound system that is almost a plug and play that is a huge improvement over the stock Radio/CD?

I've always put aftermarket systems in my cars, up until the vettes anyway. I too want to keep them stock. However, if you feel you can do the work yourself, or have an aftermarket stereo shop in your area that you trust, you might consider just upgrading the speakers. Since they're hidden it wouldn't take away from the stock look. I'm an old stereo nut, and learned that the speakers are as much a "component" as any other part of the audio system They can completely change the "sound" of a system, and could offer a lot of "bang for the buck."

Dave

 

[peterd]

DUMP THE BOSE

Interesting comments by all. I'm getting ready to put in an Alpine CDA 9885 head unit. I'll see how that sounds before going further with amps and new speakers. Honestly though, the motivation for the change is to get a head unit that is capable of handling hands free blue tooth, sattelite radio and NP3's. The only otner things I was interested in were a nav system and back up camera. Could have had it all with one of the pioneer systems but it was a 2 DIN unit and the C5 has a 1.5 DIN opening. The Alpine still isn't a perfect fit as it's a 1 DIN unit. Anyone done this sort of mod?
Tony C.

Just finished gutting the terrible Bose system- installed a Pioneer time delay head unit w/ CD & Sat. Radio, Eclipse Amp, MB Quart front components (tweeters in Roof posts) and MB Quart 6.5" in rear.

In short the Bose system is over priced and junk. The Bose speakers are basically made of low grade paper/cardboard which is why they sound like well, paper and cardboard. Pleacement of tweeters is also an issue - the Bose system has them in the lower fron door panels- right in front of your legs so the sound goes nowhere. I had the 2" Tweeters installed in the roof posts angled to the windshield to reflect back to me. When I sell I can repleace the roof panel if it is an issue to anyone. When I replaced the rear Bose speakers it made a HUGE difference and it was very easy. Need to do the "Frost King" Insulation prioject for the full effect though.

Remember: BOSE = Buy Other Stereo Equipment.................................