Quick Question - Upgrading Bose Premium

[02Olds]

I have a 2005 Buick Rainier with Premium Bose which I purchased to replaced my '02 Bravada... Rest in peace.

For the new Rainier, since I had a decent setup in the Olds and miss the good sound, I ordered a JVC head unit and 5-1/2" Alpine Type-R component speakers (4 ohms) to replace the rear speakers of the Bose since, let's be honest, the rear speakers are embarrassing on the Bose.

I'm not sure whether the rear speakers are 4 or 2 ohms, however, so I don't know if I should keep the front speakers run off the Bose amp and run the Alpines off the head unit, or whether I should just put the Alpines in the place of the rear speakers and run all of them off the Bose amp.

Along with this, I plan to put my Alpine Type-S 12" sub with 1000watt Boss amp in the back.

Tips, help, concerns... Help me out please.

Thank you!

 

[MAY03LT]

I'm not sure whether the rear speakers are 4 or 2 ohms, however, so I don't know if I should keep the front speakers run off the Bose amp and run the Alpines off the head unit, or whether I should just put the Alpines in the place of the rear speakers and run all of them off the Bose amp.

Welcome to the site!

The bose amp has non adjustable crossover points for all 6 speakers, and for the rears, those points would really hurt the alpines performance in the high and low end. For that reason I think you'll get the best sound from the alpines by running them off of the head unit.

Since you've already tackled an install in one of these trucks, I think you know the "usual" stuff when it comes to adding audio gear....getting the right radio harness, replacing the factory positive batt terminal to accommodate the amp power wire, cursing the big grommet under the dash while routing power wire through it, etc.

 

[02Olds]

Welcome to the site!

The bose amp has non adjustable crossover points for all 6 speakers, and for the rears, those points would really hurt the alpines performance in the high and low end. For that reason I think you'll get the best sound from the alpines by running them off of the head unit.

Since you've already tackled an install in one of these trucks, I think you know the "usual" stuff when it comes to adding audio gear....getting the right radio harness, replacing the factory positive batt terminal to accommodate the amp power wire, cursing the big grommet under the dash while routing power wire through it, etc.

I actually had the same thought as far as the crossovers go, but wouldn't supplying less power, meaning head unit 20w power instead of the allotted power from the ~290w Bose amp restrict the performance of the alpines more? I know the end all of this is to put a new amp in, but money is tight right now unfortunately, so I'm weighing my options.

EDIT: Thank you for the reply! This is the first reply I've received on the site so far!

 

[MAY03LT]

I actually had the same thought as far as the crossovers go, but wouldn't supplying less power, meaning head unit 20w power instead of the allotted power from the ~290w Bose amp restrict the performance of the alpines more? I know the end all of this is to put a new amp in, but money is tight right now unfortunately, so I'm weighing my options.

Yeah man, we're walking the fine line between louder-but-crappier and quieter-but-cleaner. I guess the deciding factor for my choice was the alpine tweets. If their crossovers aren't getting any high frequencies (which the bose amp cuts off for rear signals) then they'd pretty much be decorations.

Keep in mind though that I'm biased toward good sound all around. I added rear components to mine so that the back seat didn't sound like an am radio lol.

EDIT: Thank you for the reply! This is the first reply I've received on the site so far!

No prob! Keep us posted with your install!

 

[02Olds]

Yeah man, we're walking the fine line between louder-but-crappier and quieter-but-cleaner. I guess the deciding factor for my choice was the alpine tweets. If their crossovers aren't getting any high frequencies (which the bose amp cuts off for rear signals) then they'd pretty much be decorations.

Keep in mind though that I'm biased toward good sound all around. I added rear components to mine so that the back seat didn't sound like an am radio lol.



No prob! Keep us posted with your install!

Everything comes friday! Cant wait, and I'll certainly share the progress, with installation pictures as well!

The big concern with the volume isn't that I want it to be incredibly loud (I would've gotten more than just one 12" sub this time around, since I had two 15's in the Bravada), it's that if the front speakers are amplified at a higher wattage, it would drown out the rears, and the upgrade would be useless, because I couldn't hear them (unless they're scaled, which I don't really know if that's true). The Alpines I got have crossovers with an adjustment dial for the tweets, so I'm not sure if that will rectify the internal crossover, if it does effect the rears, which seem as though they're full range, but just crappy, as well.