Stereo & Electronics - Can you change the head unit and keep the Monsoon?

I heard you can't do this from a guy at Best Buy but wanted to check here. Basically what I want to do is, just replace the factory Monsoon CD head unit with an aftermarket head unit and be able to keep the Monsoon amp and the sound quality without having to buy anything else. I just want to replace the headunit and nothing else. Is this possible?

Yes it is possible. It just requires you to change some wiring. Not a very hard job, but I couldn't tell you that much of the "How" and "Dont' do" parts, other guys know alot about this than me. Someone else will probably chime in sometime soon. Goodluck bro.

yeah, all you need is the wiring harness and mounting kit to install the new headunit and should be fine. if your going to that best buy in florence they dont know shit, i could hook up the headunit for you no problem. im in independence kentucky and gonna be installin my headunit in my car actually sometime soon just shoot me a pm is you need any help.

oh yeah and of course the antenna adaptor.

Lesson of the day:

Do not listen to stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.. So many people will get ripped off or dissapointed.. Just ask on your friendly forums about it.. I remember a buddy of mine was changing out the Monsoon in his 2001 Grand Am Gt and putting kickers and a diff head unit in it, they told him that he had to buy all sorts of adapters like 2 diff harnesses and the antena adapter had to be special ordered for like 110$.. Buncha bs..

Anyways, good look on your system bro, hope it sounds great.

I kind of figured he was full of it, that is why I have you guys here! I didn't want to go out and buy something and have it not work. From what I have read through searches you just have to get a factory wiring harness and there is also something out there that will make the controls on the wheel still work. Still need to clear that up and get some recommendations on head units. Then I will give it a try!

all you need for the factory steering wheel controls to work is another adaptor plug. Search is your friend.
http://www.logjamelectronics.com/pacswisteerw.html
http://ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=539010&highlight=steering+wheel+controls
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2743514&postcount=2

Well, there are some things to clear up which will help you:

- The deck install is the same as any other standard GM install, a straight wiring harness install with an antenna adapter plug and dash kit like 5 billion other GM cars. The monsoon amp and system runs off of the high level outputs of your new deck, so it could care less what deck is there so long as it is sending out speaker level signals.

- Because of this, do try to choose a head unit with a strong internal amplifier. Any of the common 15-20 rms head units in the mainstream will be fine, but you should take care to avoid really junky $50 head units that have bad 5-10watt internal amps.

- To retain steering wheel controls you need to be sure your new radio has a remote sensor. Obviously the easiest way here to know is if the radio comes with it's own remote control. You'll also need a PAC unit as linked above, costing about $30-50 depending upon how you get it. There are some different versions of the PAC unit which will work hardwired (better) to certain Alpine and Pioneer stereos, but most people just stick with the generic PAC unit, which can be programmed using your radio's remote control. If you use this programmable PAC unit (which most likely you will) you do have to mount the IR emitter somewhere in the car. This requires an extra step, possibly same drilling or creative mounting somewhere in the car. The emitter needs line of sight or reliable reflective line of sight to the radio's IR sensor.

- It is also worth considering a head unit with built-in active crossovers for the speakers. The monsoon system can be made to sound quite a bit better if you have the ability to filter out 40-60hz signals before the amp sees them. The factory speakers can't handle this range anyways and distort just trying. Effectively you are just tossing bass blockers on without the hassle.

Pick the right head unit up front, get your install stuff and PAC unit at the same time, and you'll be done in no time. You'll spend more time dialing the PAC unit up and mounting the sensor than the rest of the radio.

If you're not too picky this will work for you.

If you are, the head unit will open up a big can of worms... You won't be satisfied until you've redone the whole system.

I started out the same way. First the HU, then figured I'd get away with just replacing the speakers... Still didn't sound good to me... Ultimately, everything you see in the sig got installed.

I am more than happy with the way the monsoon system sounds, I just want to get a different head unit because my display is screwed and I don't feel like fixing it, and I want something that will play MP3 cd's and connection for my iPod all built in. So if I don't lose any sound quality by changing the headunit, I am content with that.

I am more than happy with the way the monsoon system sounds, I just want to get a different head unit because my display is screwed and I don't feel like fixing it, and I want something that will play MP3 cd's and connection for my iPod all built in. So if I don't lose any sound quality by changing the headunit, I am content with that.





Yes I hear you. My display messes up at times and dosen't show the numbers. I am thinking about an upgrade to.

ok i got the wire harness and the plastic dash adapter and a new alpine HU but in the back of my monsoon HU there is 2 wire harnesses one is the regular one and the other has 6 wires coming out of it how do i hook it up or do i just leave that one alone? im lost

The extra connector is for the external CD changer. It's there whether you have a changer or not. You can just leave it disconnected.