NOW... The lux amp works completely differently.
It is a "smart amp" in that is has a full on-board computer and DSP
(digital signal/sound processor). It is fully integrated with the
vehicle in that it communicates with everything in the vehicle over
the Class II data bus. (like a computer LAN) Now.. the head unit in
"lux" vehicles sends a VERY low level constant signal to the amp that
does NOT change. EVen when you turn the volume and play with the
fader/balance. The head unit does NOTHING to audio. It does not apply
bass or treble changes, it doesnt fade/balance it, nothing!! It just
sends a constant low level left and right (it doesnt send rear
signals) audio signal to the amp. The amp receives this and the amp's
DSP "optimizes" the sound to do whatever Bose does to it etc.. AND the
amp constantly talks to the head unit over the Class II data bus to
receive volume, fader, balance, bass, treble and mid-range
information. So, when you turn the volume knob up in a lux vehicle,
you are not simply increasing the output of the low-level signal from
the head unit. You are sending a signal directly to the LUX amp that
says "hey turn up the volume a bit". And then the amp just increases
the output level to the speakers. Same thing with the fader, because
remember the head unit does not output separate "rear" channels. The
amp is smart enough to "make up" a rear channel (for the rear
speakers) based on the fader setting that the radio is sending it over
the Class II network. its really pretty cool how it all works! Same
thing with Bass and treble too. You press some buttons on the radio to
increase the bass and the radio says to the amp "hey, adjust your EQ
for some more bass". Running the LUX amp this way keeps the audio
signals coming from the radio at a constant low level so not a lot of
interference can come in from power wires running along side... Also,
think back to my "water faucet/hose" analogy. Its like instead of
keeping the end valve wide open and controlling flow with the faucet's
knob, you are doing the opposite. You are keeping the audio signal low
and constant while just controlling actual volume of the music with
the "gain" control on the LUX amp. ANDDD thats why the LUX amp sounds
50 times better than the Premium, or DUMB amp!! Another nice thing
about the Lux amp is that it does not need an "amp turn on" wire or
anything because that is all done with Class II data. And you can
program a lux amp for which vehicle it is in and it will alter the
sound processing sequences to make the sound perfect for the size
cabin it is in! (for example, it is going to have to be programmed
differently if it is in a huge cabin Escalade ESV versus a smaller
extended cab Sierra Denali (thats the only truck that gets a lux amp
from the factory...if you dont count the Escalade EXT as a truck)
Sorry again for the lonnngggg description, but now you're an
expert in the verry confusing field of Bose/GM speaker and
entertainment systems!!! And now you can wire in a lux amp, make your
truck sound like a *REAL* Bose system, and show your dealer something
that he would have thought was impossible!! Explain to him how the lux
amp works and how its different from the dumb amps and ill bet he'll
be scratching his head after the second sentence!
