I think the head unit is Delco ...I thought it was Bose since all of my speaker covers say Bose.

If the head unit is Bose ...then it's the crappiest piece of crappy crap that I've ever seen from Bose.

I've got a Kenwood head unit that I'm going to put in ...just don't have the time.

 

Nah its gotta be Delco. I hate the factory radios. I will never buy Bose either. My Dad paid $900 for Bose 901 home speakers that had a lifetime warantee on them. They blew up and all they did was give him a $200 coupon for new ones which by then were well over $1000.

 

I literally just finished the final touches on installing my new Kenwood Excellon KDC-X991, so maybe I can shed some light on this...

The factory radio is GM, not Bose (even if you have the Bose speakers).

The factory radio and speakers SUCK. (yes, even the Bose speakers)

Smoke: You can replace the single tweeter very easily. The factory HU will work with different speakers, but you may have to fabricate a mounting bracket for it due to the weird size of Bose tweeters.

Its true the Bose speakers are setup very strange. The door chimes, individual Bose speaker amplifiers, and a few other things are all controlled by the factory radio. If you buy a new aftermarket stereo to replace the factory one you MUST also buy an adapter called the Metra VT-GMOS-04 GM Class II Data bus Interface.

I also have the Bose system and it is true the Bose speakers sound better than the regular factory speakers, but they dont even come close to a decent aftermarket speaker, like say...Infinity, or Polk. I am waiting for the money to replace all my speakers with components and also add amplifiers to make them sound really awesome.

GM integrates the Head Unit with the amplified Bose speakers because they want you to keep GM parts. They want you to think nothing else is compatible with your truck's sound system so you will go back to the dealership and buy more GM speakers/stereos so they make more money in the long run.

Bottom line----If you want to really JAM with your truck stereo, you will never do that with Bose or GM equipment. But, if you are an old guy that just wants a clear and pleasant sounding stereo that doesnt go very loud, then the factory stuff will work just fine.

 

Onstar is also tied into the head unit. When I went to buy a new unit they told me it was an extra $100 to mount the factory unit under the dash to keep Onstar, phone, ect.
Does this Metra VT-GMOS-04 GM Class II Data bus Interface allow all these items to function properly?

 

Yeah, i forgot to mention the Onstar . It will also work with the Metra VT-GMOS-04 GM Class II Data bus Interface.

 

yeh i hate factory upgraded ****. you dont necesarally (hope i spelled that right) have to go to a different head unit but you do have to bypass the factory amps which i would definately take to an audio shop. thats why im happy i got base sterio because everything was replaced with memphis anyway lol. <--- memphis is the **** by the way, definately recomend them.

 

Yep, the easiest route is to let an audio shop do it for ya, but many of them will charge you an arm and a leg. I install all of my gear myself because its much cheaper and i enjoy doing it. I will give it to an audio shop, however, if I think the job is too complex for me to finish. Installing the stereo was not bad for me tho. Also, if you buy from Crutchfield they will give you directions and all of the equipment you need.

I have a coupon code for $20 off any order over $200 at Crutchfield.com . Enjoy

p7kz2-v84bb-dria0)

 

JohnAdamsR - does the factory bose radio have preamp outputs? I also saw this thing in the crutchfield magazine that says it can take the factory radio and adjust the soud to make it sound like aftermarket. I think it is called a sound processor. Then you just add amps straight too this new box, then to the speakers. It is meant to giveyou aftermarket radio sound while still looking stock. There were several different companies that make them (alpine, etc.). Anybody know anything about these?

 

I know exactly what you are talking about but I have never used one myself. The sound processors are supposed to work pretty well from what i hear, but they are kinda pricey.

The factory head unit does not have preamp outputs. If you wanted to run a subwoofer off the factory HU you would need to splice a speaker level wire with the sub's RCAs. I had my subs running off the GM HU for a while. It works ok, but every time i shut off my truck the subs would thump 3 or 4 times when the amp lost power. Not a big deal, im just trying to say this setup is not perfect.

Also, since the factory HU has very little power, the subs will not sound quite as good as they would if they were hooked up to an aftermarket HU with high powered preamp outputs (5 Volts or higher). The higher the volts and watts, the better your system will sound.

 

if u send the speaker back tobosethey have a really really good warrenty that no one really knows about