Unfortunately, the base radio does not have pre amp outputs. It is also part of the GMLAN system, so if you replace it, you will lose On-Star, Parking Assist, warning chimes, blinker clicking, and maybe more. There are adaptors out there that retain some or all of these features but even Crutchfield (who sells aftermarket radios) does not recommend replacing the factory unit.

I did change out the speakers on mine (the factory ones are just one-way paper cones in plastic baskets- total garbage) with some Clarion units. They added a lot of upper range but the bottom is still lacking and they don't go very loud (which is OK for me). My next project is a subwoofer, though I'm not yet sure where I'll put it.

 

When you say 'base unit' which one are you talking about?? With the SLT2, the system is supposed to be a Bose system with Bose speakers. I would hope that the bose speakers are more than just paper cones - although I really haven't looked at them.

 

Mine is the standard single disc radio with XM in an SLE. It's not a bose system. I have heard but can't confirm that the Bose system does not have pre amp outputs either- it's just speaker level inputs to the subwoofer amp. There is a video that someone made explaining how to remove the navigation system and I don't recall seeing pre amp outputs on that one either. As to the quality of the bose speakers, I really have no idea but the standard speakers are definitely garbage.

 

How difficult was it to get to the speakers to change them out? Any pics?

 

jseck2:

Did you have speakers in the 3rd row? I have an SLE with the same setup jsut wondering if you added any speakers to that location and what wires you may have tapped into. If not I would assume you replaced front and rear door speakers only? What sizes are they 6.5"?

 

No speakers in the third row. It's just the basic 6 speaker system. (2 tweeters in the windshield pillars, and one mid range in each door).

I did take some pictures. It's not too tough, just a little scary popping the door trim off. It takes a bit of force and sounds like it's breaking but it's not. (Out of 30 or so plastic fasteners on the four doors, I did break two- one was still usable, one was not). I'll try and post pictures later, I just drove back from a job three hours away this morning and need to go to the office in a minute to find out where I am going today. Probably another long day for me.

The front speakers are a bit odd. They are in very tall plastic baskets (presumably to make room for the window when down), so I tore off the cones and made a bracket out of the old speaker. I then mounted the new 6-1/2" clarions to the old speaker "body". The rears are a lot lower profile and I just mounted the new speakers to the door directly (had to drill a few holes). Also, the front door speakers are 4 ohms and the rears are 8 ohms. I assume the tweeters (which I didn't touch because I was cocerned about the airbags) are also 4 ohms and wired in series with the fronts.

 

Were the speakers just plug and play? Did you need to do any splicing to wire the speakers in place of the factory units?

 

No, you have to splice or cut the factory wires. I just used Scotchlocks and they seem fine. Did it that way in my last car too and they were fine 6 years later. Someone like Scosche probably sells an adaptor but it really is not a big deal to just splice in.

 

I think for the $250 difference, I would have gone for the factory unit this way if anything happens, GM will fix it for 3 years. Don't know what you will need to do if something crashes with the unit you installed.

 

I didn't replace the main radio unit, just the speakers- the factory ones are garbage, they are paper and plastic and weigh about 6 ounces total. Not exactly quality stuff. If a speaker dies, I'll just buy another set- the radio itself is warranteed to 100K miles under my extended warranty, so that stays for now.

The car I bought was on the lot... didn't have a choice on the radio. As far as cost, two pairs of decent name brand upgraded speakers cost less than $100 shipped (They were closeout 2006 model year speakers). I would still like a small subwoofer, just haven't decided how I want to do it yet, which will probably cost anoother $150 or so. The Bose is probably a good system, though it looks like the only way to get it in an SLE is with the $2000 DVD or go up to SLT for $4000.

 

No, you have to splice or cut the factory wires. I just used Scotchlocks and they seem fine. Did it that way in my last car too and they were fine 6 years later. Someone like Scosche probably sells an adaptor but it really is not a big deal to just splice in.

Thanks for the fast response. I'm okay with splicing, had to do it on past cars too. I think I was actually getting it confused with an aftermarket headunit harness like you would get thru Crutchfield. Its been a few years since I have installed new speakers in a car and couldn't recall if door speakers were the same way as that. At least now I understand what I am getting into. Been very wary of touching anything on this car still, even though I've torn apart my last cars without hesitation ;D

 

Thanks for the responses folks, I opted for the Bose system and I guess I will just do like my last car and run a speaker-level input -> rca convertor if i cant tap into the stock sub connection. only thing left to really worry about is if my measly pair of RF 8" punch z's will actually fill the cab space

 

Fragsrus,
sorry, I replied to the wrong posting when I commented about a $250 difference between the factory and a user installed unit. It should have been in response to the person who spent $1850 on a DVD/NAV unit that he installed himself when the factory unit was about $2100.
Again, apologies if I confused things.

 

.....My next project is a subwoofer, though I'm not yet sure where I'll put it.

Boston Acoustics has Subs that only require 1.5 cubic feet of space behind them for maximum performance. I have one in my Sky and it is awesome. I hope to put one in my Acadia once I get it.

 

Has anyone who has replaced the factory door speakers with aftermarket (Pioneer, Alpine, etc.) noticed any decrease in volume from the factory head unit? If I'm not mistaken, the factory base radio pushes 22 Watts RMS. Most aftermaket speakers are in an around 50 Watts RMS. I'm thinking about swapping out the factory paper garbage speakers for a pair of Pioneer's but I'm concerned about volume.

On a separate note, has anyone here added a 2-channel amp for the front/rear speakers to their factory head unit? If so, how complicated was it, and were you able to keep the factory speaker wiring?

Cheers.

 

Has anyone who has replaced the factory door speakers with aftermarket (Pioneer, Alpine, etc.) noticed any decrease in volume from the factory head unit? If I'm not mistaken, the factory base radio pushes 22 Watts RMS. Most aftermaket speakers are in an around 50 Watts RMS. I'm thinking about swapping out the factory paper garbage speakers for a pair of Pioneer's but I'm concerned about volume.

On a separate note, has anyone here added a 2-channel amp for the front/rear speakers to their factory head unit? If so, how complicated was it, and were you able to keep the factory speaker wiring?

Cheers.

I am keeping the OEM head unit and adding speakers, subs, amps and headrestmonitors. Mine should be done by the end of the month. I will post pics and give you feedback once it is complete.

 

Did you ever finish?

 

Has anyone who has replaced the factory door speakers with aftermarket (Pioneer, Alpine, etc.) noticed any decrease in volume from the factory head unit? If I'm not mistaken, the factory base radio pushes 22 Watts RMS. Most aftermaket speakers are in an around 50 Watts RMS. I'm thinking about swapping out the factory paper garbage speakers for a pair of Pioneer's but I'm concerned about volume.

On a separate note, has anyone here added a 2-channel amp for the front/rear speakers to their factory head unit? If so, how complicated was it, and were you able to keep the factory speaker wiring?

Cheers.

I think you are confusing some of the terms. Aftermarket speakers have a maximum power handling rating (e.g. 50W) but this does not have much to do with the volume. The front factory door speakers are 4 ohms and the rears are 8 ohms. There are also separate tweeters in the front, which I would assume are also rated for 4 ohms (giving 8 ohms total if wired in series). How loud they are for a given power is expressed as SPL (sound pressure level). A speaker with a higher SPL will be louder hooked up to the same radio than one with a lower SPL.

So, assuming the efficiency (SPL) of the speaker is comparable, replacing a 4 ohm with a 4 ohm should be about the same "loudness". The power rating is more for determining compatibility with an aftermarket amp.

 

I think you are confusing some of the terms. Aftermarket speakers have a maximum power handling rating (e.g. 50W) but this does not have much to do with the volume. The front factory door speakers are 4 ohms and the rears are 8 ohms. There are also separate tweeters in the front, which I would assume are also rated for 4 ohms (giving 8 ohms total if wired in series). How loud they are for a given power is expressed as SPL (sound pressure level). A speaker with a higher SPL will be louder hooked up to the same radio than one with a lower SPL.

So, assuming the efficiency (SPL) of the speaker is comparable, replacing a 4 ohm with a 4 ohm should be about the same "loudness". The power rating is more for determining compatibility with an aftermarket amp.

I'm going to have to disagree with you, speakers do have an RMS Wattage rating. RMS is basically the minimum you want to drive a speaker at. A lot of distortion actually comes from speakers being underdriven. Speakers also have an efficiency/sensitivity rating which tells how many db you get when a designated amount of power is applied to it. A higher db sensitivity rating means it takes less power to drive the speaker. The maximum Wattage is just that the max watts that can be applied. Higher max wattage does not mean higher sensitivity, in fact it usually means just the opposite. Check out this website for info http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/learningcenter/car/speakers.html

 

RMS (Root Mean Squared) is the industry standard method for measuring power (wattage). It is used for measuring both Min and Max Power. A speaker will have a Min RMS wattage to get it to play and a Max RMS wattage it can handle.

Efficiency and Sensitivity are two different measurements but are similar in what they tell you. Sensitivity is in db and is usually between 85 - 95 db for typical speakers. Efficiency is usually between 1 - 10 % and since that number looks low, speaker manufacturers don't normally use it.

SPL (sound pressure level) is the measurement of how loud the sound is in dB. The Sensitivity rating in dB is actually the SPL (i.e. how loud is it) that you get out of an 8 ohm speaker when driving it with 1W RMS. The higher this number the better.

I agree that the Crutchfield link is a great resource.

 

I have a 2007 GMC Acadia SLT with a Bose Premium system 10 speakers adn 6disc cd changer with xm
I replaced the head unit with a Kenwood DNX7100 navigation multimedia head unit. I retained all of my door chimes and safty features. My onstar works fine and i can even use the turn by turn from onstar and it shows up on my new head unit's screen. I don't know who told you that it would cause you to lose features but if you get one of the new adapters it will work perfect. \

Oh by the way I got the head unit from crutchfiled they recommended the unit although the adapter they sold me was not compatable with my Acadia because it is a premium version of the stereo system. I got the correct adapter from another internet store. > :blob: :blob:

 

Can you post where you got your adapter? I have a 07 SLT with the 10 speaker Bose and just updated the entire audio system with

MTX XThunder 704X 70W x 4 at 4Ohms Amp (115W x 4 at 2 Ohms)
Rockford Fosgate P400-2 Amp
Blaupunkt Hamburg MP57 CD Bluetooth Receiver for the head unit
Infinity Kappa 32.7cf for the center channel (powered from the head unit)
Left the third row factory speakers (powered from the head unit)
Infinity Kappa 60.7cs Components up front (2 Ohm Speakers, powered off the MTX)
Polk Audio db5250 5-1/4" Component System for the second row (powered off the MTX)
Dual Rockford Fosgate Stage 2 Punch 12" Subwoofers (powered off the RF)

I bought the adapter that Crutchfield recommended, but my installer said that since I had 2 amps, I would introduce distortion into the system by using that adapter. I don't really care that much about the OnStar, but I would love to have my door chimes back. Also, there is not an accessory power on/off available without the adapter. I would enjoy not having to manually shut on/off my stereo.

However, it sounds 1000x better than the Bose did. The only thing I would do differently is to get a sealed enclosure for the subs instead of a ported one. Also, I mounted the tweeter portion of the front components in the a-frame. I would highly suggest that anyone else not do that. Mounting the tweeters as close as possible to the woofer portion of the component will yield better imaging.

 

I will get the location and I will post a copy of the receipt so you can order one. I would keep the onstar just for safety. so how did your installer do it without the adapter is beyond me unless you are not getting full use of all 10 speakers. anyhow give me until about 4pm EST to post it. I will do it when I get home.

 

My onstar works fine and i can even use the turn by turn from onstar and it shows up on my new head unit's screen. I don't know who told you that it would cause you to lose features but if you get one of the new adapters it will work perfect. \

Oh by the way I got the head unit from crutchfiled they recommended the unit although the adapter they sold me was not compatable with my Acadia because it is a premium version of the stereo system. I got the correct adapter from another internet store. > :blob: :blob:

Do you think it is because of the Headunit or the adapter? I have been looking for options to retain the Onstar text on an aftermarket headunit. Can you post some pics of Onstar navigation text from your headunit. Thanks.

 

I will get the location and I will post a copy of the receipt so you can order one. I would keep the onstar just for safety. so how did your installer do it without the adapter is beyond me unless you are not getting full use of all 10 speakers. anyhow give me until about 4pm EST to post it. I will do it when I get home.

No problem, whenever you get a chance is fine.

The third row speakers and center speaker are still run to the head unit. I had the speakers in the front and second row rewired back to the amps. So I have one preamp output coming from the head unit to the 4 channel amp then directly from the amp to the speakers. And I have one mono out coming from the head unit and going to the sub amp then directly to the sub.

 

look at this for more info

http://www.metraonline.com/downloads/2007-METRA-APPLICATION-CHART.pdf

I used the Metra Electronics Corp. - GMOS-LAN-05 it was easier to use for my navigaion unit and all my speakers work some people say the GMOS-LAN-02 works but it didn't work for me. Check your glove box and look at the numbers if any of your numbers (RPO CODES) say Y91 or Z75 you need to use the GMOS-LAN-05