Bose system head unit swap
 

I have just purchased a 2000 SSEi Bonnneville with a bose system. The display bulbs have burnt out and i was about to replace them when i thought of replacing the head unit with a monsoon unit. Does the monsoon head unit have more watts then the bose, or does it need the monsoon amp to make more watts?

Re: Bose system head unit swap
 

WELCOME to the Bonneville Club!

I wouldn't switch head units. Monsoon radios are in 2002 and later. The power to drive the speakers comes from the amplifier behind the rear seat and has nothing to do with the head unit. What are you trying to accomplish?

If you just want the lights to work, you can fix that. Changing head units will require a Tech 2 scanner to setup the TheftLock so the unit will work. This is almost exclusively a dealer task and will likely cost money.

well i was trying to get more watts out of the speakers because i think that something might be wrong, when im just driving down the road normally the volume has to be 75% turned up just to hear it at a normal level. maybe the amp is not working to its full potential or not working at all. i dont know much about it so i hope someone can give advice

More likely the speakers than amp are weak.
Here's a link on how to change out the bulbs.

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=50300

The head units are the same, its the amp that determines the premium sound offering..

I am just now finding that there doesn't seem to be any difference in the head units as you state. This implies that there should be no problem with swapping, which is different than what I implied in my previous post (although it doesn't solve your problem).

This is currently being revealed and expanded upon, in this thread also:

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=92446

near the bottom . . .

now that the head units are not different is it possible to switch to a monsoon amp just with removing the existing and replacing it? also has anybody found any aftermarket speakers that have good bass but still keep the clarity of the system now?

The Monsoon amp uses a combination of 2 and 4 ohm speakers. I'm not certain about the Bose amp. Other than this I believe it's possible. When I looked into this before it seemed reasonable but I'm double checking a few other details. I've been posting some related information here as well:

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=92446

Is there something you want to gain by switching to a Monsoon amp? I don't get what there is to gain - the Bose system is designed to be an integrated system and the components are matched together. I assume the Monsoon system would be the same way. Mixing and matching components from two different systems that were designed as a matched set, makes no sense to me.

If you just want a different amp, why not replace it with an aftermarket amp? It would probably be easier to find. Also, you ask about speakers, if you are going that route, you are clearly breaking up the matched set. There is no need to stay with the amp.

My personal approach is to replace the speakers with more durable and higher power components and add aftermarket power amps with passive equalizers (one in front and on in the rear). I will characterize the system for a flat response curve with the equalizers (similar to what you do with a home stereo and EQ with a spectrum analyzer). Or even tailor the sound to my personal taste. The Bose system was designed essentially the same way but the EQ characterization of the system was built directly into the amp. There is a fancy aftermarket black box for several hundred dollars that is specifically designed to be able to do what I just described (I don't recall the brand but I saw it mentioned in this forum several months ago).

Since the EQs are to characterize the entire system, I don't need to have them mounted in a place that I'll have easy access to them (since I wouldn't change them anyway) and that avoids making it look like a hack job under the dash. It also keeps the factory look because I will still have the OEM head unit.

I am in the middle of this process right now with the Bonneville, I did this with my '92 LeSabre and was VERY happy with the results. I had several favorable comments about the audio system.

FYI - I am also integrating an iPod adapter and a bluetooth hands free phone into the system. It will automatically mute the radio / iPod when operating the phone, use the microphone in the rear view mirror and still work with OnStar fully functional (as I allude to in my signature).

well i was looking to switch to a monsoon amp for more watts but if it wont be a direct plug in because of the 4 ohm and 2 ohm combination of speakers it might be a better idea to go all aftermarket. but to wire in the aftermarket amp do i need to get rca cables that have the plug on one side and bare wires on the other?