i have a problem and i'd like your opinion if you've had experience installing an aftermarket headunit in a 2001 and up CL-S. ever since i had a shop here in houston install my brand new eclipse, i've had this faint hissing noise coming from my speakers. i PMed the shop owner on another forum and he had this to say:

i'm having some hissing noises after i had a brand new eclipse headunit installed by a shop. i spoke to the shop owner and he had this to say:

Re: eclipse HU
Well the stereo directly hooks up to the speakers in vehicles w/out factory amps. And there isn't an issue with that. But with vehicles with factory amps, after a few years the factory amps start to go bad, and it usually starts with that small hissing. I'm sure you think it's the radio that is the problem, but I've come across this before, and swapping the radio will put us in the same position as we are in now. I think your factory amp is "starting" to give out, it still probably has a long ways left, but thats probably the effects of the hissing.

hissing
also, may not exactly be the factory amp is starting to go out, just the age of it. Also it could be the factory amp is creating engine noise from the vehicle. It may have not done with your factory radio because it doesn't amplify it as much since it doesn't have nearly as much power. But all signs point to factory amp.

he has a pretty good track record as far as i know and so does his shop. do you think his explanation has any merit whatsoever? if it's not the amp, what could it be?

 

Link to his other thread for reference:
https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/hissing-staticy-noise-335980/

 

I'd say that if it didn't do it before, he just wants to sell you a new amp or bypass the Bose and then the gain mismatch will go away. Was any kind of adapter used? SVEN4, anything like that?
Of course, you should buy a new amp anyway.

 

I have told your story to two experienced pros and they laughed.

 

Eldude is he getting the run around from the shop or is it just me that thinks so?

 

The shop is telling him a story to get him to pay them to bypass the factory amp, because that WILL solve the problem.

I don't do much in the way of OEM HU replacement with factory amp retention - but I've heard of lots of people on this board who seem to have accomplished it, and they might need a specific LOC like the SVEN4 or they might not.

 

I've done it myself on a couple CL's with a metra wiring harness and dash kit and have never had a problem.. I don't believe the BS he's giving buiyahkah..

 

won't bypassing the bose amp render the bose speakers useless? everyone keeps telling me that the speakers won't work w/o the bose amp. how much would the SVEN4 be?

 

I said that would solve the hiss problem - I did NOT say that was the right solution.

Look, the whole Bose system sucks ass.

You can drive the Bose speakers directly off of the internal amp in the HU. It won't sound the same - Bose signal EQ in the amp is what makes Bose sound like Bose - but your old paper speakers are crappy anyway and Bose amp or not, they sound crappy.

He wants to bypass the amp to solve the hiss problem. That WILL effectively make your system not a Bose system... and it might not sound as good. Then he may tell you how Bose speakers are not very good and wear out quickly and you need new speakers. This is true.

You need to make a decision. Do you drink the Bose Kool-Aid? If so, get him to get the right LOC and get the hiss out.

But if you are like everyone else, the Bose system is way underwhelming after a while.

We actually make a speaker upgrade that uses the Bose amp - the amp is pretty good in the CL-S - and replaces the 6 speakers. But I wouldn't use that kit on the HU speaker output. It's tested as a Bose speaker replacement.

The best answer is to get an aftermarket amp and new speakers - a HUGE improvement in sound. We would use a DLS 4-channel amp, DLS UP6 in front, and MBQ or Genesis 6x9 woofs in the back.

 

yea i know bose is overrated...i was thinking about going with a kenwood 8452 amp, boston acoustics sl60 components and sl95 6x9's. i was wondering what you thought about that setup? how much would the setup you suggested run? thanks for your help.

 

The gear would run about $850.

 

someone refresh my memory, isn't the amp for the bose system on the CL built into the radio, or that just the TL?

 

i believe that is just the TL's

 

Just the TL. Bose amp in the CL is in the trunk.

 

damn i'm gettin rusty

 

hey guys, thanks to everyone who tried to help me out with my hissing problem. i took it to a specialty shop today and they fixed it for me. the problem was that the original shop just plugged the eclipse headunit with the harness directly into the factory amp and that was causing the hissing. the guy said it needed a bose converter, but since they didnt have any in stock he just soldered some monster rca's onto the harness and plugged them into the headunit. it sounds alot better now that's for sure.

 

So he bypassed your amp and the hiss went away. What I said

 

and now my memory comes back to me, in fact metra makes a harness that is essentially the same thing as what the installer did, it just integrates the amp. Glad to hear that everything worked out for you though.