Upgrade Bose system with better speakers but keep the Bose amp?

[MajorPile]

There are a lot of questions about the Bose system on this forum, but I have yet to find one that answers whether or not the Bose Amp is good enough to keep in the system and just upgrade the door speakers. Maybe I've missed it somewhere.

I have an 05 Yukon and I installed a Pioneer 4660 NEX. I used the wiring harnesses from Crutchfield so the audio is running from the Head Unit, through the Bose amp, and to the Bose door speakers. I'll be adding a 10" sub in the back using the Sub/RCA outs from the Pioneer head unit.

I'm wondering if I can just upgrade the door speakers and tweeter and continue to have the Bose amp power those newer speakers. I can't find any specs on the amp so I don't know about the quality of the Bose amp.

Is the BOSE amp good enough for a moderate system (maybe $200 for a pair of door speakers and tweeters)? Is it worth upgrading the Bose door speakers?

 

[Doubeleive]

There are a lot of questions about the Bose system on this forum, but I have yet to find one that answers whether or not the Bose Amp is good enough to keep in the system and just upgrade the door speakers. Maybe I've missed it somewhere.

I have an 05 Yukon and I installed a Pioneer 4660 NEX. I used the wiring harnesses from Crutchfield so the audio is running from the Head Unit, through the Bose amp, and to the Bose door speakers. I'll be adding a 10" sub in the back using the Sub/RCA outs from the Pioneer head unit.

I'm wondering if I can just upgrade the door speakers and tweeter and continue to have the Bose amp power those newer speakers. I can't find any specs on the amp so I don't know about the quality of the Bose amp.

Is the BOSE amp good enough for a moderate system (maybe $200 for a pair of door speakers and tweeters)? Is it worth upgrading the Bose door speakers?

you need to find out the impedance of the existing speakers and match that impedance to the new speakers, keep in mind Bose uses a built in filter in the amp so finding "better"
compatible speakers is difficult, just adding the sub alone does wonders.

 

[corvette744]

I added alpine door speakers in front doors and tweeters in pillars sounds great.If you need technical info just call crutchfield im sure they have run into every solution.Yes make sure you get the correct ohm speakers again call crutchfield.

 

[MajorPile]

Thanks! Which Alpine speakers did you use? Mind sharing the model number?

 

[Joseph Garcia]

The Bose speakers impedance range between 1.2 and 2.5 Ohms, depending on the speaker types (midrange or tweeter). This is much less than industry standard aftermarket midrange/tweeter speakers, which are typically 4 Ohm. As a result, aftermarket speakers will only consume 1/2 to 2/3 of the rated power of the Bose amp, because the aftermarket speakers higher impedance will limit power consumption through the speakers. You can offset this difference by purchasing more power efficient aftermarket speakers (more sound volume per watt of power consumed). Unfortunately, higher quality speakers typically not as power efficient as lower quality speakers, so there may need to be some trade-offs here.

I'm not a fan of Bose systems, so I stripped out the entire Bose system and replaced it with a complete aftermarket system.

 

[corvette744]

Thanks! Which Alpine speakers did you use? Mind sharing the model number?

Cant find my paperwork but 90% sure they were these. Im not a fan of license plate rattling base but sure like clear music-which these give you crystal clear. https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-S-S65...ocphy=9021456&hvtargid=pla-573802186492&psc=1

 

[ahunn]

Make sure that you match the ohm load and you'll be fine. If you use higher than 2 ohms the volume will be very low.

I replaced mine with 1 ohm speakers, prior to ditching the bose amp and adding in my own amps/speakers.

 

[BigRed300r]

Pretty sure infinity makes a replacement speaker that has the same ohm specs. They are pricey though!

 

[Doubeleive]

the infinity's are good quality, the alpine's have really gone to hell and wont last, the old school ones would last you 10+ years easy, the new ones wont last even half as long, just my opinion....

 

[thingraylinetah]

The Bose speakers impedance range between 1.2 and 2.5 Ohms, depending on the speaker types (midrange or tweeter). This is much less than industry standard aftermarket midrange/tweeter speakers, which are typically 4 Ohm. As a result, aftermarket speakers will only consume 1/2 to 2/3 of the rated power of the Bose amp, because the aftermarket speakers higher impedance will limit power consumption through the speakers. You can offset this difference by purchasing more power efficient aftermarket speakers (more sound volume per watt of power consumed). Unfortunately, higher quality speakers typically not as power efficient as lower quality speakers, so there may need to be some trade-offs here.

I'm not a fan of Bose systems, so I stripped out the entire Bose system and replaced it with a complete aftermarket system.

This is probably what I am going to do in my 06.

 

[corvette744]

The alpine speakers i posted before are 3 yrs old sound fantastic compared to stock bose speakers and are 2 ohm speakers.The other big thing is their 115.00 bucks.Big upgrade in sound.Now if your saying they only last 5 yrs i guess we will see about that.If your right that works out to 23.00 a year for great clear sound im in.If they last 10 its 11 bucks a year we will find out.

 

[Bigkevschopshop]

Bose system stock was ok in those models, but it does wear out for sure. I never quite liked the frequency settings of those bose... The new 15 to 20 bose is a huge step up. I have numerous Sound Quality wins over the years, its not an sq system at all stock, but its ok... If I had to set up a cheap easy to run system for daily beating, Infinity Reference series mids and high and a Fosgate sub in the rear. Id get a 5 channel amp to run it all, Maybe JL or Mosconi if I wanted to get something more out of it.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Perhaps Alpine speakers have degenerated in quality in recent years, but I don't know, since I have not purchased Alpine speakers in the past 8 years. But, I can tell you that the Alpine speakers that I purchased 8 years ago for my '97 Yukon (RIP) worked great for 5 years in that Yukon, and when it was time to send the Yukon to the junker, I transferred them to my current '07 Yukon XL Denali, and for the past 3 years, these Alpine speakers still sound great.

 

[tRidiot]

Alpine has higher end stuff and they have stuff for the masses. The cheap stuff is just that - cheap.

Pioneer has always had cheap flea market stuff, and they've had the ODR incredibly top of the line stuff, too.

Lots of "you get what you pay for" when it comes to audio. There are some incredible bargain items you can find if you spend the time to learn, but off-the-shelf big box store stuff isn't going to wow you for very long.

 

[NoClue97]

The Bose speakers impedance range between 1.2 and 2.5 Ohms, depending on the speaker types (midrange or tweeter). This is much less than industry standard aftermarket midrange/tweeter speakers, which are typically 4 Ohm. As a result, aftermarket speakers will only consume 1/2 to 2/3 of the rated power of the Bose amp, because the aftermarket speakers higher impedance will limit power consumption through the speakers.

This is what I have heard also, Bose being much lower ohm speakers.
Either spend more money for lower ohm speakers and still be limited by Bose amp or spend more money for an amp to properly drive the most likely 4 ohm speakers.

 

[Mhale8999]

Make sure that you match the ohm load and you'll be fine. If you use higher than 2 ohms the volume will be very low.

I replaced mine with 1 ohm speakers, prior to ditching the bose amp and adding in my own amps/speakers.

What amp did you use to replace the Bose stock amp? Any issues getting everything lined out again?

 

[mountie]

5 months ago, I replaced all my door speakers with the same-size 5 1/2". Infinity dual-cone from Crutchfield, along with their adapter speaker plug. I un-plugged my stock tweeters ( front & rear). The Infinity has tweeters, and I didn't want 8 tweeters!
It took about 2 months for the new speakers to "break in", and then they sounded nice...
Except for a high-pitch 'twang' sound, the system seems to have, even before I changed speakers.... I wanted to get some sort of EQ, but that looks like a project. The low & mid sounds are nice enough.