Quote:
->1LT - non Bose- No amplifier in trunk
- 6 speaker system
- Best way to upgrade is to tap speaker line out (from where?)
- Door chimes will be amplified (what does this mean?)
- All channels receive full range of sound (???)
->1SS 1LE - Non Bose- No amplifier in trunk
- 6 speaker system
- Best way to upgrade is using the PAC audio or NAVTV module.
- These modules intercept the audio signal at the radio tuner module behind the glovebox
- Door chimes and turn signal chime levels can be adjusted seperately
- All channels receive full range of sound if you are looking to tap speaker outs (???)
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AFAIK, the 1LT and 1SS 1LE sounds systems are the same, except maybe for the display that you see in the dash (but which does none of the actual work of creating sounds). Since there's no amp in these models, all the actual audio work in these cars is done by the Radio Control Unit (radio tuner module) tucked up behind/beside the glove compartment. That's where the speaker outputs come from, and there's a chip inside the RCU that provides the meager amplification. BTW, the rear speakers do not get a full-range signal from the RCU - only the front speakers do. So you don't want to tap the rear channel signal for any purpose. In any case, I believe you can have the exact same bullet points for both the LT1 and 1SS 1LE systems.
Let's clarify what those bullet points should be. 2016-2018 Camaros use the MOST communication strategy. There are DSP options for them, such as the PAC Audio or NAV TV modules that you noted. IMO, those are definitely the
best way to go if you are willing to spend the money. Along with options for better sound quality, they allow the factory chimes to stay at their current level, rather than amplifying them along with the music. I think this is also true of the Bose systems, BTW. If you want to go
cheaper/simpler, then you can tap the speaker-level outputs from the RCU. This likely has worse sound quality, and it amplifies the chimes by the same amount of gain as it does the music (the amp determines the amount of gain). To go this route, ideally, you would use a T-harness that plugs into the RCU and then the factory harness plugs into that. It would break out the eight speaker wires that you could send to your amp and then feed them back to the factory speaker wiring. You wouldn't have to tap or cut any factory wires. I don't know of such a harness on the market right now, although you
might be able to use the Axxess AX-DSP-GMLAN09 in that fashion (I'm not sure). So I'd make a bullet point for the "best" way and the "cheap" way. Both have their places.
Given those changes, then the bullet points for the 1LT and 1SS 1LE systems are accurate up through 2018. But for 2019+, GM changed to an ethernet AVB communication strategy in the Camaro. That changes things. For now, the only processor-based interface I know of for these cars is the NAV TV
ZEN AVB-GM. But according to their site, it's only for Bose-equipped Camaros. So that sucks for the rest of us. Maybe one of these days... But for now, if you don't have Bose, your only option is to tap the speaker-level outputs from the RCU again. But now the connectors and pinouts are very different. I don't know of any T-harness that will help you avoid cutting/tapping factory wires at this time. I'm hoping there will be a solution to that soon, but it isn't simple or cheap. The factory connectors alone are expensive, from what I can see online.