Factory Bose Door Speakers and Amplifier, Options for Upgrade

[Icehawk]

Poking around it turns out CDT sells potentially the perfect center speaker for our dash too - the ES-03DVC, it's a 4ohm DVC so you can wire it to 2ohm AND it's a single speaker not a pair. I will pick this up soonish to add to the front door speakers already on order. Still undecided on tweeter replacement choice, I may go with CDTs this time to keep it in the family.

Any leads on 5.25 2ohm speakers or tweeters? I asked CDT and they don't offer them.

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[ForcedInductionFL5]

Poking around it turns out CDT sells potentially the perfect center speaker for our dash too - the ES-03DVC, it's a 4ohm DVC so you can wire it to 2ohm AND it's a single speaker not a pair. I will pick this up soonish to add to the front door speakers already on order. Still undecided on tweeter replacement choice, I may go with CDTs this time to keep it in the family.

Any leads on 5.25 2ohm speakers or tweeters? I asked CDT and they don't offer them.

Haven't really gotten that far yet. But I did see that 3" by CDT, definitely want to include that. I also peeped the Es-52 and hd-52 5.25" but they are $399 for the set. What I do think I need to add to my cart is the ACD-5Ch amp. That price seems to good to be true. It ain't DSP but with the $500-800 cost difference, I'll have plenty left for crossovers. The specs look really good tho. What do you think?

 

[ForcedInductionFL5]

Poking around it turns out CDT sells potentially the perfect center speaker for our dash too - the ES-03DVC, it's a 4ohm DVC so you can wire it to 2ohm AND it's a single speaker not a pair. I will pick this up soonish to add to the front door speakers already on order. Still undecided on tweeter replacement choice, I may go with CDTs this time to keep it in the family.

Any leads on 5.25 2ohm speakers or tweeters? I asked CDT and they don't offer them.

Oh I also meant to ask you, why not coaxials for the doors?

 

[ForcedInductionFL5]

Oh I also meant to ask you, why not coaxials for the doors?

Ok wait one more thing, I was just looking at the product page from the link you sent me, and I see they have a refurbished set of both the ES-5 and CL-5 5.25". Will those not work for us?

 

[mbaapk]

I included pics of how it first sat in the trunk. Absolutely no useable space remaining. So, until I get a setup with a smaller box, I did manage to get a few more inches of space by propping it up on the ledge just behind the back seats. This of course required strapping it down to keep it in place. I also installed a quick disconnect plug so that it'd be a little easier to pull the entire box out with the amp mounted on the back of it if I ever need the space, or want to cut the weight... speaking of which, this setup is not light. If I had to guess, I'd put it at just a little over 100 lbs.

Oh man I though the head unit couldn’t be tapped to do external subs. How did you do this?!?

 

[ForcedInductionFL5]

Oh man I though the head unit couldn’t be tapped to do external subs. How did you do this?!?

It can't be tapped into in the traditional sense, meaning you can't use an isolated channel for you amp signal nor can you get an RCA signal direct from the head unit. However, you can use a line output converter to convert speaker wire signal to RCA. These range in price but a very reliable option would be AudioControl's LC2i. You'll just need to tie in the LOC to the factory sub wiring, and you've got a decent signal to work with.

 

[Icehawk]

Oh I also meant to ask you, why not coaxials for the doors?

They aren't coaxials now so I don't want to add another set of tweeters to the mix.

Ok wait one more thing, I was just looking at the product page from the link you sent me, and I see they have a refurbished set of both the ES-5 and CL-5 5.25". Will those not work for us?

They could but they are not 2ohm, so volume would be lost using 4ohm speakers like are typically available.

The whole issue with Bose systems is that they are A) pervasive and B) 2ohm. Ripping out the Bose system entirely gets costly very quickly so I go with the option of "OEM+" where we use upgraded 2ohm drivers where possible.

 

[mbaapk]

It can't be tapped into in the traditional sense, meaning you can't use an isolated channel for you amp signal nor can you get an RCA signal direct from the head unit. However, you can use a line output converter to convert speaker wire signal to RCA. These range in price but a very reliable option would be AudioControl's LC2i. You'll just need to tie in the LOC to the factory sub wiring, and you've got a decent signal to work with.

Thank you!!! Can’t wait for the old school ice cube lol.

 

[ForcedInductionFL5]

They aren't coaxials now so I don't want to add another set of tweeters to the mix.



They could but they are not 2ohm, so volume would be lost using 4ohm speakers like are typically available.

The whole issue with Bose systems is that they are A) pervasive and B) 2ohm. Ripping out the Bose system entirely gets costly very quickly so I go with the option of "OEM+" where we use upgraded 2ohm drivers where possible.

Didn't realize they were components but after going back and looking at list of speakers I realized they are. No use adding more tweets, I agree. The more I look at doing this the more I think I should just replace the entire system. I think if using CDT components, you can build a nice system at a fairly friendly price point. Idk, a lot to kick around. But I appreciate all ur info And input. I'm sure you'll see my posts if I can get it done.

 

[ForcedInductionFL5]

They aren't coaxials now so I don't want to add another set of tweeters to the mix.



They could but they are not 2ohm, so volume would be lost using 4ohm speakers like are typically available.

The whole issue with Bose systems is that they are A) pervasive and B) 2ohm. Ripping out the Bose system entirely gets costly very quickly so I go with the option of "OEM+" where we use upgraded 2ohm drivers where possible.

Just be glad we don't have a fiber optic system, lol, I've had a couple Benzs wit the fiber optics Bose system and those were a true PITA. I ended up just not even bothering with it and kept system stock.

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