Stereo & Electronics - What's invloved in upgrading radio in C5 to play iPod?

I know nothing about electronics/radios. All I want to do was to upgrade head to be able to use iPod or have a USB port for playback.

Went to a BestBuy and they wanted $400.00 with a $179.00 radio. Seems high to me but I understand the Bose is a 3 amp system and most others are 4 amp.

Is there an inexpensive work around?

i just did a quick search, this looks like a real cool system, its supposed to be able to connect to your factory head unit

Linky (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ZYekFGJPbjZ/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=227450&I=108DP1US)

:)

whatever you do, post your results, cause id like to do the same eventually

I should have been clearer but I would just as soon replace the current head unit. I like the idea of being able to plug in my iPod or a USB FlashDrive.

Even wired FM modulators are not very good. They are prone to the same limited bandwidth and distortion as FM radio is. They are a set up from the wireless FM modulators but not by much IMHO.

I know nothing about electronics/radios. All I want to do was to upgrade head to be able to use iPod or have a USB port for playback.

Went to a BestBuy and they wanted $400.00 with a $179.00 radio. Seems high to me but I understand the Bose is a 3 amp system and most others are 4 amp.

Is there an inexpensive work around?

i pod has a device that plug into the cig lighter and tunes into a set radio station. then you put the ipod into the device cradle it will place right through you existing radio.

Why not get an adapter such as the iPod2Car to connect your iPod to the factory head unit through the CD changer port? It lets you control the iPod using the factory head unit controls and also keeps your iPod battery charged.

It would be a lot easier and cheaper than replacing a Bose head unit.

Why not get an adapter such as the iPod2Car to connect your iPod to the factory head unit through the CD changer port? It lets you control the iPod using the factory head unit controls and also keeps your iPod battery charged.

It would be a lot easier and cheaper than replacing a Bose head unit.

I checked this out on Crutchfield and the reviews were not that good.

Why is upgrading a stock Bose System such a PITA??

I checked this out on Crutchfield and the reviews were not that good.

Why is upgrading a stock Bose System such a PITA??
The Bose system uses a special head unit and speakers that have individually attached amps. The wiring is a little odd in that they have to provide power and ground to each speaker (for the amps) and the speakers use a floating ground configuration. Replacing the head unit can be done with an adapter to match the Bose wiring. Replacing the speakers shouldn't be done without also replacing the head unit and rewiring. Also, the amps are low-level, high-impedance but the speakers are an odd 3.2 ohm setup.

I'm sure that Best Buy was quoting you on replacing the entire system (for that price they'd better be). If all you want to do is replace the head unit you can get the PIE HRC-GM21 adapter to allow you to connect your aftermarket head unit to the Bose speaker system. It's about $50 online. This would be a pretty simple do-it-yourself installation but if you want
somebody to do it for you I would find someplace other than that Best Buy.

There are other adapters besides the iPod2Car that you can use with the factory head unit to add an auxiliary input or an iPod specific input. The auxiliary adapters will give you good sound but won't give you control of the iPod from the radio or iPod battery charging. I'm surprised that the iPod2Car got bad reviews at Crutchfield - around here everybody seems to like them.

EDIT: I read the reviews on Crutchfield's site and they aren't bad. 3.5 out of 5 overall with several individual 5 out of 5 ratings is pretty good considering that people are usually quicker to complain than to praise.

How about this. This has a good review and can be hooked up to your factory radio. I am thinking of picking one up for myself.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-l3VSlrw4RyB/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?I=108DP1US




-Mike

How about this. This has a good review and can be hooked up to your factory radio. I am thinking of picking one up for myself.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-l3VSlrw4RyB/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?I=108DP1US




-Mike
If you get that one make sure you also get an auxiliary input adapter for your factory radio because the default wireless FM modulation sounds terrible and works very poorly in any area that has a lot of local FM stations.

The Bose system uses a special head unit and speakers that have individually attached amps. The wiring is a little odd in that they have to provide power and ground to each speaker (for the amps) and the speakers use a floating ground configuration. Replacing the head unit can be done with an adapter to match the Bose wiring. Replacing the speakers shouldn't be done without also replacing the head unit and rewiring. Also, the amps are low-level, high-impedance but the speakers are an odd 3.2 ohm setup.

I'm sure that Best Buy was quoting you on replacing the entire system (for that price they'd better be). If all you want to do is replace the head unit you can get the PIE HRC-GM21 adapter to allow you to connect your aftermarket head unit to the Bose speaker system. It's about $50 online. This would be a pretty simple do-it-yourself installation but if you want
somebody to do it for you I would find someplace other than that Best Buy.

There are other adapters besides the iPod2Car that you can use with the factory head unit to add an auxiliary input or an iPod specific input. The auxiliary adapters will give you good sound but won't give you control of the iPod from the radio or iPod battery charging. I'm surprised that the iPod2Car got bad reviews at Crutchfield - around here everybody seems to like them.

EDIT: I read the reviews on Crutchfield's site and they aren't bad. 3.5 out of 5 overall with several individual 5 out of 5 ratings is pretty good considering that people are usually quicker to complain than to praise.

So, you are saying that if I can find a radio, all I need is the $50.00 adapter to install a new radio in my C5? Sound quality is not critical to me. (My hearing is shot) I just want to be able to plug in my iPod and/or use the USB slot for my flash drive & favorite music.

Why not get an adapter such as the iPod2Car to connect your iPod to the factory head unit through the CD changer port? It lets you control the iPod using the factory head unit controls and also keeps your iPod battery charged.

It would be a lot easier and cheaper than replacing a Bose head unit.
thats what i have and it works awesome!!!

I'll check it out @ BestBuy.

TX

So, you are saying that if I can find a radio, all I need is the $50.00 adapter to install a new radio in my C5? Sound quality is not critical to me. (My hearing is shot) I just want to be able to plug in my iPod and/or use the USB slot for my flash drive & favorite music.
Well no, not exactly. The Bose adapter will allow you to connect an aftermarket head unit to the factory Bose speaker/amp combination. You will still need the usual aftermarket installation parts. That means a mounting kit unless you get a 1.5 DIN head unit (available but not common), a wiring harness adapter so you can connect the HU without cutting the factory radio harness, and an antenna adapter because GM uses a smaller antenna plug than aftermarket equipment. None of that is terribly expensive - say about $35 for all of them (plus about $50 for the Bose adapter).

What you will end up with is an aftermarket HU that won't look like it belongs in the dash but that has better sound (which you don't care about). There are very good reasons for installing aftermarket equipment but if your only goal is to listen to your iPod in the car then I would seriously consider just installing an adapter. A USB port is a different story - I don't know of any adapter that will let you connect a USB device to your factory radio.