Bose system amp install with factory head unit.

[BigDaddyMDOBgyn]

New to the group and hope someone can help. I have been installing audio systems in cars since the eighties with no problem, but this new stuff is a pain in my rear. I have a 2017 Chevrolet Suburban Premier with the Bose system. I would like to add an amp and subs to the factory head unit. I found a couple of videos on YouTube showing me how, but I wasn't satisfied with the outcome. I hooked it up every different way they showed. I tried connecting it with the LC2i Pro and the PAC APSUB-GM61. Still sounded like crap. Being that I used to do installs with my eyes closed, it would really hurt my soul to pay the shop $400-$650 to do it. Please help!!

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[CarAudio.com - Hal AI Bots]

New to the group and hope someone can help. I have been installing audio systems in cars since the eighties with no problem, but this new stuff is a pain in my rear. I have a 2017 Chevrolet Suburban Premier with the Bose system. I would like to add an amp and subs to the factory head unit. I found a couple of videos on YouTube showing me how, but I wasn't satisfied with the outcome. I hooked it up every different way they showed. I tried connecting it with the LC2i Pro and the PAC APSUB-GM61. Still sounded like crap. Being that I used to do installs with my eyes closed, it would really hurt my soul to pay the shop $400-$650 to do it. Please help!!

Let's work through the issues you're experiencing with your audio installation. What specific problems are you experiencing with the output, and how are you currently trying to connect your amplifier and subs?

 

[BigDaddyMDOBgyn]

Let's work through the issues you're experiencing with your audio installation. What specific problems are you experiencing with the output, and how are you currently trying to connect your amplifier and subs?

I bought the PAC APSUB GM61 to hook up my amp to the factory head unit so I wouldn’t have to cut any wires. I was told by Crutchfield that it was needed to do so. Once everything was hooked up it sounded like crap. By the way I’m running two Skar 10s and a Skar 3500 watt amp. Mind you, I transferred this system out of my Ford Taurus and it was operating properly. The only difference was I had to use the other device to be able to keep my factory head unit. The factory sub sounds better than my setup.

 

[Deiimos]

To help keep the thread going, what exactly is the issue when you say sounds like crap? Low output, distorted, no sound at all, lower frequencies drop off fast? This detail may help people understand a little more.

What exact factory wiring for the Bose system are you tapping into with the line out converters input (PAC APSUB GM61 or LC2i Pro)?

There is a chance the factory Bose amp has active crossover network, so you need to tap into the correct wiring for the sub or it may not sound right.

 

[BigDaddyMDOBgyn]

To help keep the thread going, what exactly is the issue when you say sounds like crap? Low output, distorted, no sound at all, lower frequencies drop off fast? This detail may help people understand a little more.

What exact factory wiring for the Bose system are you tapping into with the line out converters input (PAC APSUB GM61 or LC2i Pro)?

There is a chance the factory Bose amp has active crossover network, so you need to tap into the correct wiring for the sub or it may not sound right.

There is low output, very little bass, and can’t turn it up without distortion. I removed the head unit connections and plugged the PAC connections into the head unit and plugged the factory connections into the PAC. The PAC comes with a factory amp bypass that I connected to the amp.

 

[Mitchell Fosgate III]

Is that PAC like some kind of module? It’s a switching device. It switches signals between devices. Used in engineering purpose. The TR7 PAC is one of them. I’ll have to check again. But, the signals are not switched. And the factory head unit was kept. How much watts to the amp and how much watts to the loud speakers? It should be matched at 4 ohms. Otherwise at 2 ohms, the power looks like it’s doubled the power. Even though it’s not. One amplifier? Mono amp was used then. Did you take the specs into account first?

Okay, I saw the wiring harness and module that comes with it. $179 dollars from crutchfield. So just the amps and the loud speakers. It should be at 4 ohms. The factory door speakers may be lower than 4 ohms. Chevrolet makes or uses their own OEM module? Ford used Sony. You used GM. So not sure if that was the correct module to use on a Chevy. If in all likelihood your Chevrolet doesn’t have steering wheel controls, the module is not needed anyway. So take it out. LOC may be needed. There is a factory amp? One more harness to add. The signal wires from the factory amp connect to the speakers wires input of the power amp. + wires. Signal wires are the red, yellow, black, blue, blue-white, …​

 

[Deiimos]

There is low output, very little bass, and can’t turn it up without distortion. I removed the head unit connections and plugged the PAC connections into the head unit and plugged the factory connections into the PAC. The PAC comes with a factory amp bypass that I connected to the amp.

I looked up that PAC unit, seems like it integrates into the OEM system somehow, not really sure about it other than that. Seems a bit more complex than a typical line out converter I thought it might have been. Seems like a plug and play kit, but obviously something isn't right.

Have you tried leaving the factory system as it is, don’t use the PAC unit, and tapping the LC2i Pro inputs to the OEM subwoofers speaker wire as more of a standard line out converter setup?

Although, while looking up the PAC unit to see what it is, I see in the manual about Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) Bypass. So the LC2i Pro unit may not work right by itself if the vehicle has the ANC without the bypass.


Hopefully others might have some ideas. I stick to old vehicles which are easy to swap stereo stuff in and out of. Adding a line out converter is usually fairly simple if it is a decent one, which the LC2i Pro is, but the bypass kit and possible ANC make it a little more complex. The one modern vehicle I helped hook up a LC2i, I tapped into a full range rear door speaker without doing anything else and it worked, but it was not a Chevy.

 

[Jimi77 5,000+ posts]

Have you tried a Suburban forum? Sounds like you're not getting the sub frequencies. If you have the ability, I'd try running a full range amp and speakers just to see what happens.

 

[RedlineRaptor]

Have you tried a Suburban forum? Sounds like you're not getting the sub frequencies. If you have the ability, I'd try running a full range amp and speakers just to see what happens.

What are they selling on Suburban forum?

 

[Jimi77 5,000+ posts]

What are they selling on Suburban forum?

Somebody on there may have stumbled on this problem already and know a solution.