OK to upgrade Bose speakers???

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kerlyb

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Looking to upgrade all the Bose dash and door speakers in my 2023 Tahoe HC for improved sound. Don't want to spend time n money on a full custom system or even adding sub box. Looking for cleaner highs and just a little more bass. Is Bose is still using 2 ohm speakers??? If yes, will the aftermarket 4 ohm speakers still be an improvement?
 

Joseph Garcia

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As far as I know, Bose still uses speakers with lower impedance than most aftermarket speakers. As such, a standard aftermarket speaker will be an impedance mismatch with the Bose amp, won't draw as much power from the Bose amp, and this will most likely result in the deterioration of sound quality.

There are speakers out there that are specifically 2 Ohm impedance, and they would be a better match for the Bose amp. Go to Crutchfield.com and see what they have for 2 Ohm impedance speakers.
 

Doubeleive

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ya, if you are not doing a full upgrade then you are pretty much wasting your money, the best easiest thing to do is a add a sub, and perhaps disable the ANC if you have that feature, that brightens it up a little.
 

K5-Z71

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Adding another opinion to this, I recently spent $250 on Crutchfield to replace all the speakers with coaxial 3 ohm speakers and believe they sound much better on the top end. Mids are still muddled, not much if anything added to the bottom and everything still falls apart at higher volumes but doing this and adding a modified esky sub box has brought my 9 speaker Bose system to an acceptable level. Swapping all the door and corner speakers took about 2 hrs.

3 ohm speakers on a 2 ohm amp may reduce sound quality but in comparison to the already lackluster Bose amplifier / speaker combination it will still be an upgrade. This has been discussed and experimented on in many other platforms with the general consensus being its worthwhile as a minor upgrade and can still be driven by an aftermarket 4 ohm amp in the future.

Audio quality is highly subjective and objectively never vary good in a vehicle anyways so I just went for it and am happy... for now.
 
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kerlyb

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Adding another opinion to this, I recently spent $250 on Crutchfield to replace all the speakers with coaxial 3 ohm speakers and believe they sound much better on the top end. Mids are still muddled, not much if anything added to the bottom and everything still falls apart at higher volumes but doing this and adding a modified esky sub box has brought my 9 speaker Bose system to an acceptable level. Swapping all the door and corner speakers took about 2 hrs.

3 ohm speakers on a 2 ohm amp may reduce sound quality but in comparison to the already lackluster Bose amplifier / speaker combination it will still be an upgrade. This has been discussed and experimented on in many other platforms with the general consensus being its worthwhile as a minor upgrade and can still be driven by an aftermarket 4 ohm amp in the future.

Audio quality is highly subjective and objectively never vary good in a vehicle anyways so I just went for it and am happy... for now.
Which 3 ohm speakers did you install??? Did the front and rear door speakers require speaker adaptor kits??? Any plans to upgrade to dash corner speakers???
 

K5-Z71

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Go to the Crutchfield vehicle selector and put in your truck. I don’t know if they have anything on the HC. If not you can put in the standard model to help select speakers in each position.

When ordering from Crutchfield this way they will add in the proper wiring, speaker adapters and detailed installation instructions for free! Plenty of open box discount available too.

$20 discount referral link below with the speakers I used


Infinity Reference REF607F​
Infinity Reference REF697MF
Pioneer TS-A70​

The base Bose equalizer is a bit sharp after replacing the paper cones so I’m running the at Bass 0, Mid -3, High -2.

After changing the speakers the turn signals even sounds better with a hint of a metallic click coming through rather than the knocking sound from before.
 
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kerlyb

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Go to the Crutchfield vehicle selector and put in your truck. I don’t know if they have anything on the HC. If not you can put in the standard model to help select speakers in each position.

When ordering from Crutchfield this way they will add in the proper wiring, speaker adapters and detailed installation instructions for free! Plenty of open box discount available too.

$20 discount referral link below with the speakers I used


Infinity Reference REF607F​


Infinity Reference REF697MF​
Pioneer TS-A70​


The base Bose equalizer is a bit sharp after replacing the paper cones so I’m running the at Bass 0, Mid -3, High -2.

After changing the speakers the turn signals even sounds better with a hint of a metallic click coming through rather than the knocking sound from before.
Are you running the Pioneer corner dash speakers with or without the included crossover?

I went with Kicker KSC270 dash speakers based on reviews, specifications, and thinking Pioneer's might be too bright. Unfortunately the Kickers don't work with the included crossover....only works without them. Spoke with Crutchfield tech and thinks Bose system sees a change in resistance with the crossovers and therefore won't send power. IMO, they still sound better than the OEM Bose speakers.

Installing JBL stadium 6x9 and 6.5 door speakers this weekend.
 

K5-Z71

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@kerlyb

With the crossovers. I tried both configurations and didn’t notice a difference in loudness but did find a huge improvement in quality and separation with the crossovers in line. I could hear the woofer being overdriven at higher listening levels.

Strange you don’t get anything with the capacitor installed in line. Should be taken in account when publishing the 4 ohm rating.

Am I right in assuming you hardwired the speakers without the crossovers to get it working? Maybe it’s a problem with the supplied harness adapters
 
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Doubeleive

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the bose system is really hard to beat and/or defeat. If you disable the ANC as I previously noted you will hear a difference, otherwise trying to "filter" the sound will result in NIll, the amp already filters each channel for sound, so you can't make it "re-create" something that is not there. what people usually do if you are retaining the factory radio is run it through a audio control like a lc7 to a seperate amp. changing the speakers alone is not going to give you better results for the most part. Idealy you want a multi channel amp and a sub amp. Part of the reason is the division of the various vehicle alerts, bluetooth, backup sensor, etc each is fed through a different channel. Even on my silverado it takes 7 channels to make everything work right
 

K5-Z71

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Well I suppose that’s the difference between the two systems being discussed here. I have the basic 9 speaker Bose which apparently wasn’t given the infamous ANC possibly because the Z71 “off-road” package.
 

JayceeP

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Surprised these higher trim levels don’t have better audio. $100k for a Yukon XL SLT and the sound system is ok. Much prefer the B&O Unleashed in my F150 Lariat. Not the end of the world but kind of bizarre. Aside from looking amazing, I do find the interior of the SLT to be “ok”.
 

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Well I suppose that’s the difference between the two systems being discussed here. I have the basic 9 speaker Bose which apparently wasn’t given the infamous ANC possibly because the Z71 “off-road” package.
the "standard" bose in my 18 was garbage, I had to replace all of the speakers, put a adapter in behind the radio to bypass the amp and used 2 JL audio amps, sound 100x better now. I know it's a different gen I but I can't see gm getting "better" they like to pinch penny's
 

SavageDad

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Are you running the Pioneer corner dash speakers with or without the included crossover?

I went with Kicker KSC270 dash speakers based on reviews, specifications, and thinking Pioneer's might be too bright. Unfortunately the Kickers don't work with the included crossover....only works without them. Spoke with Crutchfield tech and thinks Bose system sees a change in resistance with the crossovers and therefore won't send power. IMO, they still sound better than the OEM Bose speakers.

Installing JBL stadium 6x9 and 6.5 door speakers this weekend.

Any updates since the install?
 
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kerlyb

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Any updates since the install?
Kicker dash speakers work fine w/o the bass blocker capacitors and IMO sound dramatically improved compared to stock. I learned my 10 speaker Bose system already has built in active crossovers...no low frequencies to the Kicker speakers.
 

SavageDad

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Kicker dash speakers work fine w/o the bass blocker capacitors and IMO sound dramatically improved compared to stock. I learned my 10 speaker Bose system already has built in active crossovers...no low frequencies to the Kicker speakers.
How did the door speakers you used turn out?
 

kozzy45

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I'm jumping in the thread late. I just got a 2024 AT4 with the BOSE system, not really impressed with the sound, its OK, but the Harmon Kardon in my RAM I just traded was way better, and obviously a custom system would rock. Trying to decide if i want tro and what to upgrade. I am partial to JL Audio, had their stuff in many vehicles, and my boats. Are the BOSE spoeakers in fact 2 ohm? I am seeing confliciting info when I look. I do see that the sub in the rear poanel is 2 OHM, and JL makes a stealth box with a dual voice 4 ohm SUB wired for 2 OHM. These seems to be a direct replacement for the factory, and I am curious if that alone will solve my base issue. I don't mind doing a full system install, but want to retain the factory head unit for sure due to its integration. Starting to explore options though, would love some input as it seems many of you have been down this road. I have had RAMS for 20 years, and this is my first GM so I am not familiar with the wiring, setups, etc. Lastly anyone know how to disable the annoying scroll lock while driving on the radio? I can scroll through my list of songs on my playlists more than 2 pages without the message coming up. Most annoying thing ever!!
 

Doubeleive

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I'm jumping in the thread late. I just got a 2024 AT4 with the BOSE system, not really impressed with the sound, its OK, but the Harmon Kardon in my RAM I just traded was way better, and obviously a custom system would rock. Trying to decide if i want tro and what to upgrade. I am partial to JL Audio, had their stuff in many vehicles, and my boats. Are the BOSE spoeakers in fact 2 ohm? I am seeing confliciting info when I look. I do see that the sub in the rear poanel is 2 OHM, and JL makes a stealth box with a dual voice 4 ohm SUB wired for 2 OHM. These seems to be a direct replacement for the factory, and I am curious if that alone will solve my base issue. I don't mind doing a full system install, but want to retain the factory head unit for sure due to its integration. Starting to explore options though, would love some input as it seems many of you have been down this road. I have had RAMS for 20 years, and this is my first GM so I am not familiar with the wiring, setups, etc. Lastly anyone know how to disable the annoying scroll lock while driving on the radio? I can scroll through my list of songs on my playlists more than 2 pages without the message coming up. Most annoying thing ever!!
you could talk to whites audio & video about any radio unlocks, but if you really want the audio to shine your going to have to replace the amp & all speakers. you should be able to adapt the factory radio to aftermarket amp without issue.
all this takes is MONEY
your going to want a good multi-channel amp (atleast 6ch) and a separate sub amp
some higher end Infinity Kappa series are not a waste of money they normally are made well enough that you are not replacing speakers a couple years later.
JL subs are great as well
 

kozzy45

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you could talk to whites audio & video about any radio unlocks, but if you really want the audio to shine your going to have to replace the amp & all speakers. you should be able to adapt the factory radio to aftermarket amp without issue.
all this takes is MONEY
your going to want a good multi-channel amp (atleast 6ch) and a separate sub amp
some higher end Infinity Kappa series are not a waste of money they normally are made well enough that you are not replacing speakers a couple years later.
JL subs are great as well
Thanks for jumping in quick. Money is not an issue, don't mind spending to get what I want. A few trucks ago I installed a LC7 and bypassed my ram amp, used it to drive all new front door and rear door speakers and a JL Sub. Used a nice JL audio 6 channel amp, worked great. I did lose the ANC though, and that caused issues. I actually like that feature since it keeps the road noise down and would like to retain it. I did want to try and not replace everything, only because I have done a lot many times and just want to avoid all the labor LOL I hate to have people do things I can do myself, very good at these installs, just takes time that I don't have anymore. My thoughts so far on this design is similar...replace the 4 doors and the sub, bypass the BOSE amp and install 6 channel JL amp to drive all of those, through an LC7PRO. Swap the pillar and dash speakers with upgrades but leave on the BOSE amp. Would love your opinion on that...Also, whites ahdio and video? Is that a store I can contact, or do they have a website? I need to get that damn scrolling deal disabled...
 

Doubeleive

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Thanks for jumping in quick. Money is not an issue, don't mind spending to get what I want. A few trucks ago I installed a LC7 and bypassed my ram amp, used it to drive all new front door and rear door speakers and a JL Sub. Used a nice JL audio 6 channel amp, worked great. I did lose the ANC though, and that caused issues. I actually like that feature since it keeps the road noise down and would like to retain it. I did want to try and not replace everything, only because I have done a lot many times and just want to avoid all the labor LOL I hate to have people do things I can do myself, very good at these installs, just takes time that I don't have anymore. My thoughts so far on this design is similar...replace the 4 doors and the sub, bypass the BOSE amp and install 6 channel JL amp to drive all of those, through an LC7PRO. Swap the pillar and dash speakers with upgrades but leave on the BOSE amp. Would love your opinion on that...Also, whites ahdio and video? Is that a store I can contact, or do they have a website? I need to get that damn scrolling deal disabled...
The issue with ANC is that when you add a Subwoofer (alone) this is going to cause the ANC to freak out and you will get audible feedback in the form of Humm because it cannot compensate for the extra bass. Adding just a stealth box may or may not cause issue's with the ANC, it could possibly compensate for a "slight" increase in bass, but in my experience adding a large box with 2X12" and a high power amp caused massive feedback, had to disconnect the ANC mic's
yes whites automotive has a website
 
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kozzy45

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The issue with ANC is that when you add a Subwoofer (alone) this is going to cause the ANC to freak out and you will get audible feedback in the form of Humm because it cannot compensate for the extra bass
yes whites automotive has a website
Found their website and sent them a message thanks!! Yes, I remember the ANC freaked out in my RAM and I had to disable it. I am assuming I would have to disable it as well in the Yukon. Do you happen to know how? Once I install an aftermarket AMP that will kill that feature anyways i believe. In the RAM, I just had to go into the headliner and unplug the microphones and that solved the humming issue. Not sure if it would be the same here. Thank yiou again all this information you are providing is very helpful.!!
 

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