myco01975

sorry aren't. Didn't use spellcheck

ZX1100F1

Replacing the front tweeters with a high quality brand such as Polk or Infinity Reference will produce a much cleaner and crisper high end, I have the Polk db1000's in my Tahoe and they make a noticeable difference.

The "Bose” 6.5” drivers in the Tahoe system are marginal at best, but they are very efficient (big sound with little power), keep this in mind.

As for the rear doors; it depends on whether you want to tailor the sound for the rear seat passengers or for the driver and front seat pax, if your kids are into headphones and the only time that you crank it up a bit is when you're alone then you can replace the rear door speakers with a pair of Bose mid-woofers even though in the end it will make little discernable deference up front, a better solution is to go with a high end (and efficient) co-axle speaker.

What I have done in my Silverado is replace the factory door speakers and a-pillar tweeters with a set of component Hertz MLK-2 6.5” speakers (Italian high end stuff), I installed a Nakamichi 4-channel amp under the passenger seat and replaced the 4x6” B-pillar speakers with a set of cap'd Polk db460's, No sub but you'd never know it due to the small cab size.

I bring this up because you could easily replace your OEM speakers with a set of high-end component speakers in the front and similar co-ax types in the rear doors of your Tahoe and get a much improved sound quality while utilizing the factory amp, sub and rear mid's.

One thing that you want to make sure of during a speaker upgrade is to avoid metal-to-metal (speaker basket to door panel) contact apply a thin insulator or you will get reverberation galore and make sure to mount the speakers as securely (tight) as you can.
I use foam speaker baffles to protect the speakers and enhance the low-end.


I agree with myco01975 but if you are unhappy with your current sound system the above may help.

73shark

Thanks for the info. I think I'm going to start working on this.

Hardin Thicke

Let's just say that I'm very, very, very familiar with the Bose GMT9XX systems......in fact I'm a little too familiar with all of the Bose automotive audiosystems. When you compare the Bose system in the Tahoewith any aftermarket system, you have to compare apples to apples. The price point of the Tahoe system is established by GM, not Bose. The system is designed to meet that price point, and includes speakers, and amplifier, and wiring harness. It's extremely difficult to design a decent system for four hundred and fifty dollars. An enormous amount of time goes into designing, and EQ'ing a Bose system. Each system even though it's the same basic amp is EQ'd for each vehicle that it goes into. The amp itself is more than a power amplifier. Signal processing is performed as well. About8 years ago, Bose switched to digital processing instead of using the old analog networks. Spaceconstraints were getting smaller and smaller, but more channels were demanded from GM, so amps began to emerge with DSP's and quasi-digital amplification. The goal of any Bose system is to reproduce the audio recording as faithfully as possible without coloration. Once the Bose audio engineers decidea system meets their specs, it is then auditiioned by a board of "approved listeners". These people are a jury of sorts. They'recompany volunteers who hone their listening skills by attending a required number of live concerts per year and who develop a skill set for listening, just like a critic who may taste and comment on wines, or food. A final tweaking of the EQ firmware may be performed based on the comments of the listening board. The EQ is loaded into flash memory within the amp. Each time the system is powered up, the EQ is loaded into memory, and that's basically how it works. Bose does its absolute best to build a system that the vehicle owner will enjoy, but there is only so much you can do when working with a rather limited budget. But, I can tell you that by doing a little "reverse engineering" of competing systems in other vehicles, the parts and quality that go into Bose systems are second to none, except perhaps the Mark Levinson system. That is an amazing amp, although basic in what it can do.

To kernalwho commented on the "speakers". I assure you that all of the transducers are assembled by Bose. Some of the basic components like the spider are fabricated by subcontractors. But the voice coils, magnets are fabricated at Bose facilities inthe US, and Mexico and then assembled creating a "speaker".

Although admittedly deeply biased, I like the Tahoe system. I know personally that the best possible sound was wrung out every penny of that system, and there are millions of them out in the field.In closing, let me say that I'm not here to defend the system from critics. Listening is very subjective. But when you compare systems, keep in mind the $450 price tag of the Bose system.

jojokealoha

any system using paper cones is worthless. especially if you live near the ocean or in a region with high humidity.
i wouldn't make general statements about the bose company, but the hardware they make specifically for GM vehicles is utter crap. my advice, replace the factory components with something worth the money (i have diamond audio hex series) and save the originals in ziplock for re-sale.
GM was definitely pinching pennies when they hooked up with bose.

Gman

You guys are spoiled. I grew up in the 60's listening to Hendricks, Zeppelin and the Stones on believe it or not 4 track and later 8 track tapeplayers thinking they were cool sounding. Now I'm still listening to the same bands on CD's with my so call no good Bose systems in my truck and Hoe but hearing things that I have never heard before. There may be better systems out there but for now my Bose units are good enough for me.

P_RsTahoe

For all the guys stating that they dont like the bose speakers, are you listening to the FM/XM or CD's? I will tell you there is such a big difference going from the radio to a CD. The CD"s sound so much better. Like some have stated here, aftermarket have and will always be better than stock system. All I did was install a 12" sub and amp and I'm satisfied with the sound for now.

ZX1100F1

No high's? No low's? Must be Bose.

negra07

ok coming from some that has competed in iasca and usac sanctioned events,and being adn audiophile we have come a long way on factory systems, a long way. here at a car audio shop that we have,we have insatlled a premier 880 h/u wich come with 16 bands of equalization front and rear crossovers with diferent cut off points,wich helps a lot with factory speakers, then used a an aftermarket sub,and the whole system takes on a difrent life. it is very basic but one of the major components in youre system is the head unit and that premier unit does wonders for the tahoe ssytem. i know zx said tha pioneer has becomed a very comercial unit which i agree, but they have the upper level units,dex-p9 $1,300 and then you haveth 880 and th 780, which are very comon on the competition scene.my point is it will all depend on the head unit you go with.but heres the but, i would and i did change the speakers as soon as i could, but ifyou are in a budget a really good h/u will make a world of difrence.

negra07

zx nothing but love man, i dont want to get into an arguement with you.have nothing but respect for you.