Factory Delco Bose Stereo
05-25-2014, 08:30 PM
#1
Factory Delco Bose Stereo
I wanted to know what equipment came with the Delco Bose stereo. I know about the speakers in the trunk on the folding shelf and that's about it. Did it have more power output than a UX1 head unit or an amplifier?
05-26-2014, 08:02 AM
#2
Moderator
Re: Factory Delco Bose Stereo
I wouldn't say it has more power. The Bose system was designed around sound designed specifically for the interior of the car. The factory sound system blasted sound straight out of the speakers while the Bose was designed to encompass the driver and passenger in sound. It was good when it was new, but in these days, you don't hear much, if any, difference.
The only thing the system came with that was different from factory was front amplifiers/speakers in the kick panels instead of the speakers in the dash and the rear amplifiers/speakers in the tray instead of the B pillars.
The only thing the system came with that was different from factory was front amplifiers/speakers in the kick panels instead of the speakers in the dash and the rear amplifiers/speakers in the tray instead of the B pillars.
05-27-2014, 06:23 AM
#4
TGO Supporter
iTrader: (7)
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 3,462
Likes: 0
Received 5 Likes
on
2 Posts
Car: 83 bird
Engine: 305/383
Transmission: WC T5
Axle/Gears: 3:42
Re: Factory Delco Bose Stereo
I have a spare radio if you're trying to piece a system together... 
I've never seen a factory install before. Only pictures, and even then, those aren't posted often!
I've never seen a factory install before. Only pictures, and even then, those aren't posted often!
05-27-2014, 09:34 AM
#5
Re: Factory Delco Bose Stereo
Ha ha yeah I haven't seen them too often either. No I'm not trying to piece together a system right now. The shelf for the speakers in the back takes up a lot of room. The well in the trunk is a good place to store stuff and dosen't let the load move around. I have to replace the weather stripping between the hatch and the glass. Ha ha if I did have the bose system the water that comes in around that blown seal may short it out.
05-27-2014, 05:21 PM
#6
Supreme Member
iTrader: (101)
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Levittown Pa
Posts: 1,916
Likes: 0
Received 20 Likes
on
18 Posts
Car: 89 Iroc Convertible
Engine: 305 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.27 Posi 9 bolt PBR
Re: Factory Delco Bose Stereo
I got a bose setup from guy on craigslist about 2 years ago.Included the radio,2 kick panel speakers,rear shelf tray and the wire harness.It was too good to pass up for the price
Trending Topics
06-11-2014, 09:15 AM
#8
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Doghouse ······································ Car: 1989 Formula 350 Vert Engine: 350 L98 Transmission: 700R4 Axle/Gears: B&W 3.27
Posts: 14,241
Received 165 Likes
on
120 Posts
Car: 87 Formula T-Top, 87 Formula HT
Engine: 5.1L TPI, 5.0L TPI
Transmission: 700R4, M5
Axle/Gears: Sag 3.73, B&W 3.45
Re: Factory Delco Bose Stereo
One thing you will find with BOSE radios,
1) the parts are not all interchangeable for all BOSE Systems. Some speakers were 2ohm, others were 4 ohm, others yet were even as low as 1ohm.
2) The Amplifiers were mounted directly to the back of the speakers, or in proximity to the speaker, unlike the standard radio where the amplifiers were all in the dash.
3) I believe that the BOSE system cars typically came with more acoustical insulation as well.
I have owned 3 cars with BOSE (no third gens) and the one thing that I notice is sound is clearer, It is not louder overall, but it has better control. For example in my 1990 Riviera I could turn up the radio up all the way, and it would not distort the speakers, the bass would be slightly subdued to keep in all in check.
Another thing I notice is the regular FM Radio portion sounds a little better, but the real advantage came when you got the CD player, it was amazing how good it sounded, every car I owned up until I got a BOSE radio, I changed the radio because I have a discerning ear to quality music.
In the systems I have worked on, the speaker wires are basically the same exact wires as the regular (non BOSE) system, BUT they shielded the pair to reduce or eliminate noise. You can actually use coax cable to run your speakers and it works fine (ask me how I know). If you use regular wires, you will pick up on a little noise from other electrical things in the car mostly from the alternator.
Obviously the Head unit is different for a BOSE system than the regular unit. Obviously the BOSE puts out a low level signal vs the higher power of the standard ERS system. That can be changed, as many of our factory radios came with a removable amplifier.
You will have BETTER results by taking a BOSE radio and putting a standard GM amplifier on it and wiring up regular speakers, than taking the BOSE amplifier and wiring up BOSE speakers (ask me how I know)... The BOSE radios are a better system all around, that is all there is to it. If you do a swap, you almost have to get everything (sans the wires you can work around that) to do a swap.
The swap is not hard, it takes time. Most places like your local car stereo place will not even touch it because they do not understand it. But it is pretty simple once you start looking at the pieces and parts.
The neat thing about the late 80's and early to mid 90's GM radios is everything were components. IE the CD mechanism on the factory CD player from 1989-1995 seemed to be the same no matter if you got a 1989 Pontiac CD Player of a remote CD player from a 1995 riviera. You have to be willing to disassemble the radio and do some plugging and unplugging to swap them out, but 1 or 2 hours of work should cover it. This changed with the Double DIN versions of the radios, everything kind of went away. They probably re still similar year to year, but no longer interchangeable with the earlier models. If you have any questions PM me and I will do my best to try to remember what I can, its been about 15 years, but It still seems fresh in my head.
1) the parts are not all interchangeable for all BOSE Systems. Some speakers were 2ohm, others were 4 ohm, others yet were even as low as 1ohm.
2) The Amplifiers were mounted directly to the back of the speakers, or in proximity to the speaker, unlike the standard radio where the amplifiers were all in the dash.
3) I believe that the BOSE system cars typically came with more acoustical insulation as well.
I have owned 3 cars with BOSE (no third gens) and the one thing that I notice is sound is clearer, It is not louder overall, but it has better control. For example in my 1990 Riviera I could turn up the radio up all the way, and it would not distort the speakers, the bass would be slightly subdued to keep in all in check.
Another thing I notice is the regular FM Radio portion sounds a little better, but the real advantage came when you got the CD player, it was amazing how good it sounded, every car I owned up until I got a BOSE radio, I changed the radio because I have a discerning ear to quality music.
In the systems I have worked on, the speaker wires are basically the same exact wires as the regular (non BOSE) system, BUT they shielded the pair to reduce or eliminate noise. You can actually use coax cable to run your speakers and it works fine (ask me how I know). If you use regular wires, you will pick up on a little noise from other electrical things in the car mostly from the alternator.
Obviously the Head unit is different for a BOSE system than the regular unit. Obviously the BOSE puts out a low level signal vs the higher power of the standard ERS system. That can be changed, as many of our factory radios came with a removable amplifier.
You will have BETTER results by taking a BOSE radio and putting a standard GM amplifier on it and wiring up regular speakers, than taking the BOSE amplifier and wiring up BOSE speakers (ask me how I know)... The BOSE radios are a better system all around, that is all there is to it. If you do a swap, you almost have to get everything (sans the wires you can work around that) to do a swap.
The swap is not hard, it takes time. Most places like your local car stereo place will not even touch it because they do not understand it. But it is pretty simple once you start looking at the pieces and parts.
The neat thing about the late 80's and early to mid 90's GM radios is everything were components. IE the CD mechanism on the factory CD player from 1989-1995 seemed to be the same no matter if you got a 1989 Pontiac CD Player of a remote CD player from a 1995 riviera. You have to be willing to disassemble the radio and do some plugging and unplugging to swap them out, but 1 or 2 hours of work should cover it. This changed with the Double DIN versions of the radios, everything kind of went away. They probably re still similar year to year, but no longer interchangeable with the earlier models. If you have any questions PM me and I will do my best to try to remember what I can, its been about 15 years, but It still seems fresh in my head.
Last edited by okfoz; 06-11-2014 at 09:23 AM.
06-11-2014, 09:26 AM
#9
Re: Factory Delco Bose Stereo
One thing you will find with BOSE radios,
1) the parts are not all interchangeable for all BOSE Systems. Some speakers were 2ohm, others were 4 ohm, others yet were even as low as 1ohm.
2) The Amplifiers were mounted directly to the back of the speakers, or in proximity to the speaker, unlike the standard radio where the amplifiers were all in the dash.
3) I believe that the BOSE system cars typically came with more acoustical insulation as well.
I have owned 3 cars with BOSE (no third gens) and the one thing that I notice is sound is clearer, It is not louder overall, but it has better control. For example in my 1990 Riviera I could turn up the radio up all the way, and it would not distort the speakers, the bass would be slightly subdued to keep in all in check.
Another thing I notice is the regular FM Radio portion sounds a little better, but the real advantage came when you got the CD player, it was amazing how good it sounded, every car I owned up until I got a BOSE radio, I changed the radio because I have a discerning ear to quality music.
In the systems I have worked on, the speaker wires are basically the same exact wires as the regular (non BOSE) system, BUT they shielded the pair to reduce or eliminate noise. You can actually use coax cable to run your speakers and it works fine (ask me how I know). If you use regular wires, you will pick up on a little noise from other electrical things in the car mostly from the alternator.
Obviously the Head unit is different for a BOSE system than the regular unit. Obviously the BOSE puts out a low level signal vs the higher power of the standard ERS system. That can be changed, as many of our factory radios came with a removable amplifier.
You will have BETTER results by taking a BOSE radio and putting a standard GM amplifier on it and wiring up regular speakers, than taking the BOSE amplifier and wiring up BOSE speakers (ask me how I know)... The BOSE radios are a better system all around, that is all there is to it. If you do a swap, you almost have to get everything (sans the wires you can work around that) to do a swap.
The swap is not hard, it takes time. Most places like your local car stereo place will not even touch it because they do not understand it. But it is pretty simple once you start looking at the pieces and parts.
The neat thing about the late 80's and early to mid 90's GM radios is everything were components. IE the CD mechanism on the factory CD player from 1989-1995 seemed to be the same no matter if you got a 1989 Pontiac CD Player of a remote CD player from a 1995 riviera. You have to be willing to disassemble the radio and do some plugging and unplugging to swap them out, but 1 or 2 hours of work should cover it. This changed with the Double DIN versions of the radios, everything kind of went away. They probably re still similar year to year, but no longer interchangeable with the earlier models. If you have any questions PM me and I will do my best to try to remember what I can, its been about 15 years, but It still seems fresh in my head.
1) the parts are not all interchangeable for all BOSE Systems. Some speakers were 2ohm, others were 4 ohm, others yet were even as low as 1ohm.
2) The Amplifiers were mounted directly to the back of the speakers, or in proximity to the speaker, unlike the standard radio where the amplifiers were all in the dash.
3) I believe that the BOSE system cars typically came with more acoustical insulation as well.
I have owned 3 cars with BOSE (no third gens) and the one thing that I notice is sound is clearer, It is not louder overall, but it has better control. For example in my 1990 Riviera I could turn up the radio up all the way, and it would not distort the speakers, the bass would be slightly subdued to keep in all in check.
Another thing I notice is the regular FM Radio portion sounds a little better, but the real advantage came when you got the CD player, it was amazing how good it sounded, every car I owned up until I got a BOSE radio, I changed the radio because I have a discerning ear to quality music.
In the systems I have worked on, the speaker wires are basically the same exact wires as the regular (non BOSE) system, BUT they shielded the pair to reduce or eliminate noise. You can actually use coax cable to run your speakers and it works fine (ask me how I know). If you use regular wires, you will pick up on a little noise from other electrical things in the car mostly from the alternator.
Obviously the Head unit is different for a BOSE system than the regular unit. Obviously the BOSE puts out a low level signal vs the higher power of the standard ERS system. That can be changed, as many of our factory radios came with a removable amplifier.
You will have BETTER results by taking a BOSE radio and putting a standard GM amplifier on it and wiring up regular speakers, than taking the BOSE amplifier and wiring up BOSE speakers (ask me how I know)... The BOSE radios are a better system all around, that is all there is to it. If you do a swap, you almost have to get everything (sans the wires you can work around that) to do a swap.
The swap is not hard, it takes time. Most places like your local car stereo place will not even touch it because they do not understand it. But it is pretty simple once you start looking at the pieces and parts.
The neat thing about the late 80's and early to mid 90's GM radios is everything were components. IE the CD mechanism on the factory CD player from 1989-1995 seemed to be the same no matter if you got a 1989 Pontiac CD Player of a remote CD player from a 1995 riviera. You have to be willing to disassemble the radio and do some plugging and unplugging to swap them out, but 1 or 2 hours of work should cover it. This changed with the Double DIN versions of the radios, everything kind of went away. They probably re still similar year to year, but no longer interchangeable with the earlier models. If you have any questions PM me and I will do my best to try to remember what I can, its been about 15 years, but It still seems fresh in my head.
Thanks for the information. That was very helpful.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
