[activepat]

So I actually have a brand new pair of Focal 690ACs. How do you think those will sund vs. Audiofrogs with the stock amp? I had these in my 2016SS but with an amp and when I traded it in I stripped the system out. I also have a pair of 6" rounds that were in the back. Seems easy enough to power those up with an amp.

[Thill444]

Originally Posted by activepat

So I actually have a brand new pair of Focal 690ACs. How do you think those will sund vs. Audiofrogs with the stock amp? I had these in my 2016SS but with an amp and when I traded it in I stripped the system out. I also have a pair of 6" rounds that were in the back. Seems easy enough to power those up with an amp.

It looks like those are coaxial speakers so you have a tweeter in them. My only concern would be having the tweeter firing so low (where the speaker sits in the door relative to where your ears are) and you would also still have the tweeter in the dash. So it could sound bright and fatiguing. But you could always pop one in the drivers side and do an A/B comparison to the passenger side stock speaker and see if you like it.

[activepat]

Originally Posted by Thill444

It looks like those are coaxial speakers so you have a tweeter in them. My only concern would be having the tweeter firing so low (where the speaker sits in the door relative to where your ears are) and you would also still have the tweeter in the dash. So it could sound bright and fatiguing. But you could always pop one in the drivers side and do an A/B comparison to the passenger side stock speaker and see if you like it.

I know this sounds kinda gypsy but could I snip the wires going too the tweeter? After all I own themand basically pretty good speakers.

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by activepat

So I actually have a brand new pair of Focal 690ACs. How do you think those will sund vs. Audiofrogs with the stock amp? I had these in my 2016SS but with an amp and when I traded it in I stripped the system out. I also have a pair of 6" rounds that were in the back. Seems easy enough to power those up with an amp.

I agree that I'm not sure how the tweeter in the door would work. My other slight concern would be that these Focals are 88db sensitivy vs the 92db of the Audiofrog GS690. That may not seem like a lot, but the decibel scale is logarithmic, and so it represents a big difference in sound pressure level for a given amount of voltage input. It would certainly work, but might not be ideal. But since you have them in hand, it's worth trying them if you do the install yourself.

[Thill444]

Originally Posted by activepat

I know this sounds kinda gypsy but could I snip the wires going too the tweeter? After all I own themand basically pretty good speakers.

You can actually just unplug the harness for the dash speakers. I would not cut them. But they are not just tweeters, they are mids/tweets.

I say give it a try. I would just do the drivers side door and then you can do an A/B comparison. The only concern is the Bose are like 1-2ohm speakers and your Focals are 4ohm. So you may lose volume unless you hook up a separate amp. GM does not make this easy

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by Thill444

You can actually just unplug the harness for the dash speakers. I would not cut them. But they are not just tweeters, they are mids/tweets.

I think he meant cutting the wire to the tweeters on the Focals. I really don't know how easy that is, or if it would have any effect because the crossover would still be working or not.

The only concern is the Bose are like 1-2ohm speakers and your Focals are 4ohm. So you may lose volume unless you hook up a separate amp. GM does not make this easy

Oh, I forgot about this! The non-Bose factory speakers are 4-ohm, but the Bose are rated at 2-ohm. So yeah, I'm afraid you're going to lose lots of volue in a straight swap.

[Thill444]

Originally Posted by Msquared

I think he meant cutting the wire to the tweeters on the Focals. I really don't know how easy that is, or if it would have any effect because the crossover would still be working or not.


Oh, I forgot about this! The non-Bose factory speakers are 4-ohm, but the Bose are rated at 2-ohm. So yeah, I'm afraid you're going to lose lots of volue in a straight swap.

Ahh.. Yeah I’m not sure what would happen if you try to disable the tweeter on the Focals.

Yes Bose does weird stuff. My C7 had the same issue but I used an external amp to power everything.

[activepat]

Originally Posted by Msquared

I agree that I'm not sure how the tweeter in the door would work. My other slight concern would be that these Focals are 88db sensitivy vs the 92db of the Audiofrog GS690. That may not seem like a lot, but the decibel scale is logarithmic, and so it represents a big difference in sound pressure level for a given amount of voltage input. It would certainly work, but might not be ideal. But since you have them in hand, it's worth trying them if you do the install yourself.

I guess I should try them as it first. I believe the sensitivity is 91.3 according to their specs.Is there no tweeter in the non-blose?

So the Audiofrogs 2.75 are midrange. I think I will get those and try it with the Focals. Heck, I own them. Nothing to lose.

When it comes down to it I am being cheap....

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by activepat

I guess I should try them as it first. I believe the sensitivity is 91.3 according to their specs.Is there no tweeter in the non-blose?

Looks like you're right, when looking at Focal's spec sheet that's the sensitivity. That's good. In the non-Bose setup, the door speakers are 6x9 single-cone woofers and the dash speakers are 2.5" single cone "twiddlers" (a driver that covers both midrange and tweeter ranges). They function as a component set of front channels. The Audiofrog GS25 is a similar twiddler, only it actually extends both ends of the frequency ranges and sounds way, way better than the stock dash speakers. You could add a true tweeter, but to do it right you'd need to set up a mount in the sail panels and figure out the crossover (I guess you'd do a three-way crossover). Going with just the GS25 to cover everything down to around 500hz is by far the easiest and cheapest route, and it sounds really good.

[activepat]

Originally Posted by Msquared

Looks like you're right, when looking at Focal's spec sheet that's the sensitivity. That's good. In the non-Bose setup, the door speakers are 6x9 single-cone woofers and the dash speakers are 2.5" single cone "twiddlers" (a driver that covers both midrange and tweeter ranges). They function as a component set of front channels. The Audiofrog GS25 is a similar twiddler, only it actually extends both ends of the frequency ranges and sounds way, way better than the stock dash speakers. You could add a true tweeter, but to do it right you'd need to set up a mount in the sail panels and figure out the crossover (I guess you'd do a three-way crossover). Going with just the GS25 to cover everything down to around 500hz is by far the easiest and cheapest route, and it sounds really good.

So I have had the car 3 days now and actually the sound doesn't suck as bad as I thought it would. At half volume it is loud enough. I think I am going to try the Audiofrogs first and see what it does. I believe only making one change at a time so you know what actually worked. Crutchfield has them for $229. Any where else better? And should I add this?:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_007BB1...z-cut-off.html

BTW I, too, came from a GT350 to an SS 1LE.

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by activepat

Crutchfield has them for $229. Any where else better?

When I looked around a few months ago, I didn't see a better price anywhere. Everyone has them for the same price.

And should I add this?:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_007BB1...z-cut-off.html

That's probably not a bad way to do it. Since they don't list the actual capacitance value, it's not clear what frequency they would cross over in our application (that depends on impedence values), but it's probably close enough to assume they are rating that at 4ohms. I think AF recommends a 200hz cutoff for the GS25, so these would let them run full-range and still provide protection. I used the much smaller factory 68uF caps, which give a cutoff around 600hz. In retrospect, if I didn't plan to put in the little Kicker amp with active crossover and equalizer, I could have left the dash trim off for a couple days and experimented with capacitor values to get the most even frequency response.

[activepat]

Originally Posted by Msquared

When I looked around a few months ago, I didn't see a better price anywhere. Everyone has them for the same price.


That's probably not a bad way to do it. Since they don't list the actual capacitance value, it's not clear what frequency they would cross over in our application (that depends on impedence values), but it's probably close enough to assume they are rating that at 4ohms. I think AF recommends a 200hz cutoff for the GS25, so these would let them run full-range and still provide protection. I used the much smaller factory 68uF caps, which give a cutoff around 600hz. In retrospect, if I didn't plan to put in the little Kicker amp with active crossover and equalizer, I could have left the dash trim off for a couple days and experimented with capacitor values to get the most even frequency response.

Thanks! You definitely are talking over my head on the numbers and I appreciate the help. I have them both on the way!

[Thill444]

I can only imagine those Audiofrogs will be a big upgrade, but you do need to watch the ohm difference between Bose and 4ohm Audiofrog's. You may have to turn the volume up more to get the same listening levels.

[activepat]

Originally Posted by Thill444

I can only imagine those Audiofrogs will be a big upgrade, but you do need to watch the ohm difference between Bose and 4ohm Audiofrog's. You may have to turn the volume up more to get the same listening levels.

If I have a 1SS 1LE I don't have the Bose, correct?