Chevy Silverado Stereo System for New Windsor Client

A client from New Windsor came by Westminster Speed and Sound for a 2015 Chevy Silverado stereo upgrade. After spending time looking over the truck and getting to know him better, we decided to do the audio upgrade in two parts. The first part was to add bass to the stock Bose system and the second round was to upgrade the sound quality and output of the front speakers. We’ll lay the work out in those two stages so you can see how it was done.

JL Audio Stealthbox Makes the Music Come Alive

If you’ve ever been to a live concert, you have felt the energy from a kick drum in your chest. It’s almost like the music comes alive, immersing you in the songs. Unfortunately, that experience doesn’t happen when you listen to the same music on a factory-installed stereo system. Companies like Bose do a good job of giving you a taste of some bass, but if you want the realism and impact of a bass guitar, you need a good subwoofer. Fortunately, JL Audio makes incredible subwoofer enclosures for many vehicles, including this Silverado. The fiberglass enclosure is molded to blend beautifully with the interior and includes a color-matched carpet. The enclosure itself gets bolted into place and even includes a spot to mount a pair of amplifiers in a recess on top of it. Inside the enclosure is a pair of 10TW3-D8 10-inch subwoofers that supply incredibly realistic bass, bringing the concert to your truck.

JL Audio HD750/1 Supplies the Power for the Bass

Any good subwoofer needs a great amplifier to make the magic happen. In this vehicle, we chose the JL Audio HD750/1, which supplies more than 750 watts of clean power in an extremely small chassis about the size of an average book. It is securely mounted in the cavity on top of the Stealthbox. We installed a bass level control knob, flush-mounted in a convenient spot for the driver, allowing him to determine the overall amount of bass in the music. With artists like Led Zeppelin, where there isn’t much bass, he can turn it up for more realism. And when listening to some modern country with lots of bass, it can be turned down as needed.

Jl Audio Fix82 is Perfect for Chevy Silverado Stereo

Mounting the processor next to the amplifier minimized the necessary wiring, for a more reliable installation.

The FiX processor helped us maximize the audio output in this Silverado.

To retain the factory features and cosmetics, the original radio was retained.

When it came time to connect with the factory Bose stereo system, our team needed a good quality interface. In addition to being divided into different channels, modern car audio systems often have lots of equalization added to the music. To extract the best possible sound, we wanted something that could strip away the equalization that the Bose engineers added to the music as well as get us back to a full range signal. We accomplished our goals with a JL Audio FIX82 processor. As you can see in the pictures, we mounted it right next to the factory amplifier. The signal output on the JL device gave us a beautiful, clean signal from which to generate beautiful music.

Round Two Includes Upgrading the Front Stage

Now it was time to go about round two of the audio upgrades. Since we had already installed the FIX82 processor, all that was needed to get more output was a second amplifier. We went back to JL, choosing its HX280/4, which is a four-channel amplifier. We bridged it to power only the front speakers, giving us more than 280 watts of clean power. We should note that JL recently made a cosmetic change on this model so the part number is now a MX280/4, and the only difference is the color scheme on the amp itself. We were able to mount it right beside the other amp that powers the subwoofers.

Hertz HSK165 Front Speakers Bring Realism to the Music

The client initially kept the factory Bose speakers in the truck.

Hushmat was used to reduce the resonances in door.

Speaker adapter plates were fabricated out of plastic to ensure reliability.

High frequency detail was drastically enhanced with the Hertz tweeter upgrade.

After we were done with the bass upgrade and the client had driven the truck around for a month or two, he realized that the sound and output of the front speakers weren’t as good as he initially thought. Our staff knew he was going to want to do these upgrades, so we designed the system to work in stages right from the beginning. We chose the Hertz HSK165 component system which includes a 6.5-inch woofer and a 1-inch tweeter. Both speakers were mounted in the factory locations on custom composite mounts built in our fabrication room. We applied Hushmat sound damping material to the doors to eliminate the possibility of buzzing or rattling that can occur when a high-performance speaker is installed.

Final Tuning Makes All the Difference

After all the equipment was installed, our technicians went about tuning the system for maximum sound quality and output. While many shops tend to utilize a “set it and forget” approach, we prefer a process where care is taken to extract every last ounce of performance from the system.

A Happy Client Means Repeat Business

We were excited to deliver the truck to the client because we knew he was going to love the sound. And we were right. In fact, he loved it enough that he had us do an audio upgrade on his awesome toy box trailer. So, if you would like to upgrade the sound system in your vehicle, we invite you to contact us HERE or simply stop by at your convenience. One of our folks will look over your vehicle, talk though your goals, and help you design the audio upgrades you have always wanted. Let us show you why we are the Mid-Atlantic’s most awarded vehicle customization facility.