2018 Silverado stereo upgrade??

[RACERX7775]

All the 8" radios have chime volume adjustability in the settings but i heard others even at he lowest adjustment, it was still loud.

[RACERX7775]

Finally found a pic of the subs i have in my Excursion.

[TimothySheriff]

On 10/6/2018 at 7:25 PM, RACERX7775 said:

Lookin good! Ive never been much of a fiberglass/bondo guy on my sub boxes. I think thats due to me wanting to just get it done. Thats why i just do carpet. 

 

Side note---

For all of you guys adding amps with just a cheapo(no disrespect) line out converter, have your chimes gone like crazy loud? The reason i went with the Nav-TV converter was to give me true clean optical output right at the head unit and all chimes stay at factory levels. I have heard that the chimes are amped when you do the line output converter. Just want to justify in my head if it was the right choice to spend $850 on the converter.

Wow.  I had less than $600 in changing the entire radio to something with far more functionality than the factory unit.  

[gabbygenier]

On 10/6/2018 at 7:48 PM, RACERX7775 said:

All the 8" radios have chime volume adjustability in the settings but i heard others even at he lowest adjustment, it was still loud.

with a rockford LOC, I can confirm that even with it set to lowest possible. the chime still gets amplified so when you start the truck the 4 chimes it does are really loud. The flasher doesn't though for some reason.

[RACERX7775]

Ahhh. Thanks for the confirmation. Glad i went with the Nav-TV unit.

[DEV1ST8R]

On 10/6/2018 at 10:46 AM, 15 Z71 said:

A friend of mine has non Bose and he just changed the factory speakers. It sounds really good he did nothing else. Stock head unit did not add any amps.

Do you know what speakers he went with?

[NeighborN8]

Those are some great setups y'all are running!

 

I used to be big into and pretty good at stereo swaps and audio installs but that was 15yrs ago... 

 

I bought a 2019 non-Bose Z71 a couple of months ago and am ready to begin upgrading. I'm not even sure what the factory head unit (or whatever it's called nowadays) puts out to the oem speakers for power or if there are any pre-amps. 

 

Do any of you know or have a link to where I can find the factory radio specs? It's damn cold here in WI right now so I'd rather not pull the dash apart just for that.

 

Second, with all of the technological changes and system integration that I've overlooked in the last 20yrs, I'm looking for advice on how to go about my build and avoid any pitfalls or uncompatable purchases. Any (useful) advice will appreciated. 

 

As for the direction I'm looking to go... All I really want to do at a minimum is upgrade all of the factory speakers, add in a sub and filter the frequencies to each accordingly. I don't "need" to change the head unit but if it's worthwhile, it's not out of the question. I always loved the clean tight response of tri 10's but I think that's overkill for what I'm after. I'm thinking newer appropriately powered door/dash speakers with a single 10" or 12" will put me in the ballpark for good quality crisp sound (rock, rap, country) at any volume. 

 

Links, thoughts, tips, tricks, wisdom? Thank you in advance.

[1SLOW1500]

It is important to spec the system out but also the settings on the amp. You are correct the smaller subs can have faster response and sound crisper or tighter. This is why I have 10". If I was doing it again I would have got 4 8". And i have the subsonic on and the frequency low. Also I have small air space sealed box. It is 1000watt sub amp but gain is set at 60%. Allows for a cleaner sound,easier on equipment and more flexibility in different songs.
I also still have the bose center console sub but hate it. Nothing more the a air mover to simulate bass.
Also be careful what dash speakers you add to bose. Mine scream. Almost need a block inline.

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[NeighborN8]

Have you had a tri 8" setup before? It's an interesting idea but I didn't think the smaller subs could reach the lower frequencies..

[1SLOW1500]

Have you had a tri 8" setup before? It's an interesting idea but I didn't think the smaller subs could reach the lower frequencies..

No the 8" I wanted where not out yet and I wanted 1000watts rms. So two at 500w on the 10" or 8" are 250watts.
Buddy had a truck with 4 8" Vega and it was loud and tight.

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[petie23]

I had reservations about my upgrade till i completed it.  I thought of going the easy route and get a LC6 converter and hooking up an amp and changing out all the speakers.  But after pricing it all out the few hundred dollars difference to change out the factory radio was the better option.  I used the Idatalink Maestro kit.  I still have Factory camera. Stearing controles. Vehicle info. Onstar. Sirius. Climate controle on screen. All work. Bonus you get full digital guage cluster on the radio radio now. And android audio brings all google assistant functions through the phone to the truck. 

Negative. In console usb dont connect to radio anymore. And you cant change the theme of the cluster LCD.
 
I have full voice control of Google assistant. I can make phone calls, text, reply to text, open waze, enter navigation, open spotify, amazon music, pandora and Sirius, Just by hitting the steering wheel button and asking. The resolution of the back up camera is better than the factory screen which was something i was curious about. I can add Kenwoods Dash cam which plugs directly into the radio, I have the option of adding a second rearview camera, A front camera, and radar detector. It has a full crossover built in for amp control, And i didnt have to cut a single factory wire in the truck.  The Kenwood really cleaned up the factory speakers.  Im completely ok with leaving them in for now untill after i add subs.  

Do you have more info on your install? It's been a long time since I've done car audio so I'm not up to par on the latest integration for newer vehicles. What do you mean by you still have vehicle info? And is the climate control on screen the same as the stock radio?

I want to upgrade the audio system some. I figured I would change out the speakers and do some sound deadening and call it a day. But if it's worth doing a head unit and maybe a sub I might go for it.

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[Jesss]

I have a 2018 Silverado non-bose and im looking to upgrade the stereo. I would prefer not to change out the head unit. Im looking to start with the door speakers. Im gonna do JL 6x9 C1-690x in the front and JL C2-650x in the rear. I also dont want to add an amp just yet. I know without changing the head unit I wont be able to fully control the sound of the speakers, is there a way to add something to control them? I should add this is not my first install but I am still a beginner. Im not trying to add a 5k stereo but I do want it to sound better than stock.

[Tpradit]

hi guys, i have a 2017 gmc sierra with bose and all i did was add an audio control lc2i and a pair of rockford 12" shallow under the back seat with a rockford punch 1200w amp. it sounds great until I'm driving at a higher speed, i then lose the bass....does anyone know what i can do to not lose the bass? any help would be appreciated.

[Kyleorsini]

That’s the oem bass roll off to prevent damage. Audiocontrol epicentre should work I believe if you just have add on subs , however if you plan on doing a full audio upgrade be prepared to get a pac amp pro or nav tv piece.


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[fsuguy92]

I have the kicker soundstage upgrade for anyone who's interested! Comes with 4 channel amp/DSP that fits in a factory mounting location in the driver's footwell, and powered sub. Everything is plug and play and super easy to install. Having to get rid of my truck unfortunately. It's for the double cab, let me know if you're interested - need to sell it ASAP.