Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?p...p;dept_id=1011

anyone ever try something like this to link an aftermarket stereo to the stock Bose speakers?

Why can't the aftermarket stereo be hooked up to the original Bose speakers?

I know the 'amp isat each speaker story' .. but I would love a more technical discussion about it.

Any opinions are welcome.. thanks

J

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

I did it in my '87. It works fine as long as I don't run the volume up on the head unit too far. It has it's own amp and in conjunction with the speaker amps the extra power will make the speakers cut out. It took all of about 20 minutes to do and the only problem was finding the main power wire to the speaker amps with no wiring diagram. That was 15 minutes alone, LOL! It turned out to be a pink wire and once hooked to a source,(stereo antenna power feed), It worked great.I did it in the parking lot of the stereo store I bought the dash panelkit from. No problems to date. (knock on wood). Not very technical but .....

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

The Bose system was already gone when I boughtmy car,but I'm still curious about this. I know most head units you buy now a days has a "pre out" which is only a preamp, that connects directly to an external amp via RCA jacks.Being that theBose speakers already have their own amps, could you maybe use RCA jacks too on the speaker wires and connect them directly to the pre-out on the head unit. Blueshark, in your case, you have the amp on the head unit driving the amp on the speakers, the reason you can't turn the volume up much on the head unit, I assume.

Do the Bose speakers have there own power source?

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

That's my take on it too. It gets plenty loud at level 3 on the head unit. and Yes the Bose speakers have a seperate power soursce. One lead for the lot.

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

Hey Shark, I am struggling with the HU replacement on my '87. I'm using the SVEN4 to handle the non-bose to bose issue.

No sound... Please tell me more about the pink power wire for the speakers. Which one is it and where should I connect it to?

Like you I have no wiring diagrams for the bose system but I may not be as creative as you are...

Thanks for any help!!!
John

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

Got it working!! I had to apply power to the pink wire, as indictated in various other posts. With the radio I am installing, I used the antenna power lead to fire up the bose system.

Thanks!
John

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

John, Sorry I didn't get back sooner. You seem to have sussed the cure. If I understand you right you did the same thing I did with the power antenna feed. Glad you got her figured out. Cheers.

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

Hello,

An aftermarket head unit can be connected to most Bose systems if the proper interface adapter is used. I have a '92 and '99 Corvette and I have not had any problems connecting to theBose speaker system(s). An adapter is required because the Bose amp uses an usual input circuitry topology. An off-set voltage (-4 volts) is present on the Bose amp input wires, which means you cannot connect directly to the head unit speaker wires or RCA line output.

Any seasoned installer (or knowledgable DIYer)should be able to interface an aftermarket head unit to a Bose system. The main obstacle, is getting past the installers prejudice about Bose equipment. I have built my own adapters without any problems.

CG

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

THANKS CG...

This is more like what I was after..

some technical info...

can you elaborate on 'a diy'r building it himself'.. this is where I am and would like to take a shot at it.

would you be willing to share your 'adapters' with the community?

teach us how you built them?

thanks in advance for any further info

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

Got a pioneer for a few hundred from Midamerica and it installed right up but it said specify Bose or Non-bose so it hooked up fine to the Bose. Very good unit. Pioneer is my favorite brand by far. Kenwood is pretty good to.

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

Hey i have a c4 and i am also replacing the head unit. i found a wiring harness adapter that has the same plugs as the reciever that comes stock in the corvette (GMDA). i was wondering if i remove the reciever and wire this plug to the new head unit and everything that was plugged into the stock reciever should plug into the harness adapter to the head unit, am i correct in this? if not how do i wire this up. also i read something about inline gain adjusters so you dont blow out your speakers. thanks

RE: Non Bose stereo with Bose speakers
 

I totally missed this request. I do not frequent the boards that much because work keeps me very occupied. I am looking for a diagram / schematic, that I made, and I will post it ASAP.

The adapter parts can be purchased from Radio Shack or similar parts source. They are very common parts. The transformers are from "ground loop" isolators. Radio Shack has a two-channel ground loop isolator, which actuallyuses fairly decent transformers. What I mean by this is that they have good bandwidth, which means the adapter will not limit the sound quality of your system. (In theory anything in between your head unit and amplifiers will affect sound quality, but in this case 99% of us will not hear it) You will need two ground loop isolators because you need to make a four-channel adapter for the C4 Bose interface.

The ground loop isolators are usually packaged in plastic or metal cylindrical enclosures. They are fairly easy to get open. After you open the enclosure, unsolder the transformers and RCA wires from the small circuit board. All you need are the transformers and RCA wires. You can discard the rest. A small plastic enclosure will also need to be purcahsed from Radio Shack in order to place the transformers and capacitors inside to make a nice adapter. The only part that is tricky is wiring ALL the transformers the same way. If the transformers are not wired in the correct manner, some of your channels may be "out of phase" with one another. Phase is a relative term and as long as everything is "in phase" this is all that matters. (I am certain that some people would disagree, but for the purpose of this adapter we will not go there)

Theory of Operation
The transformers provide isolation from any dc-offset (from the head unit) and also prevent thumps / pops from being injected into the system. The capacitorsblock the dc-offset from the Bose amplifier input circuitry and provide an AC signal path. The 20k resistors provide a return path to ground for proper operation. A small voltage is present on the negative side of the capacitor due to the dc-offset coming from the Bose amp and the 20k resistors "bleed" it to ground.

I have made two of these adapters and both have worked great. I installed one in my '92 and one in a buddy's '96.


CG