Full Audio System Upgrade! Head unit, speakers, and 5 channel amplifier. 2005 Vibe with monsoon moon and tunes.

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VibeRader
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:28 pm

Full Audio System Upgrade! Head unit, speakers, and 5 channel amplifier. 2005 Vibe with monsoon moon and tunes.

Post by VibeRader »

Hey all,
I have found a lot of good information on here (and some other places) but it has been a slog. My intention is for this to be the one-stop-shop for info needed to replace head unit, amplifier (most importantly), and speakers. The system I am building is not top of the line, but will add power, clarity, and tunability.

Credits to those who precede me;
Derfs post: viewtopic.php?t=40421
samsonites post viewtopic.php?t=44984

I also learned a lot about general car audio stuff from watching videos from these two YouTube channels:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DIYAudioGuy
https://www.youtube.com/c/CarAudioFabrication

I purchased most of my stuff from Crutchfield.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE OEM MONSOON SYSTEM.
  1. There is an amplifier under the front passenger seat.
  2. The amplifier takes 4 channel input and puts out 8 channels. (2x front tweeters, 2x front woofers, 2x rear woofers, 1x dual voice coil subwoofer in the cargo area)
  3. The speakers are all 2 ohm.
  4. The output of the factory head unit is not speaker level, so if you only want to replace the head unit ONLY you will need a line output converter.
  5. The OEM subwoofer enclosure is 0.34 cubic feet. I measured this with water. RIght in line with sampsonites post as well.
MY INTERPRETATIONS OF THE SYSTEM
  1. 2 ohm speakers are uncommon and expensive. Replacing door speakers will require tying the speaker level outputs of an aftermarket head unit to the speaker output (as Derf had done), or replacing the amplifier. Otherwise the sound output will suffer.
  2. The OEM amplifier is probably under-powered for the stock subwoofer, which is itself struggles with feelings of inadequacy I'm sure.
  3. I have some hissing sounds that I believe are coming from the amplifier. Hissing is present whenever the engine is running. They go away if I turn off the head unit. An aftermarket head unit is already installed, remote wire would turn off the amp as well, so either the head unit or amp. Already replaced the garbage JVC unit from the previous owner with an Alpine UTE-73BT and hissing is still there (maybe even worse). Fingers crossed it will go away when the new amp is installed with clean battery power.
MY MAIN HARDWARE
  1. New head unit: UTE-73BT. I don't like touchscreens, and pretty much use Pandora or Bluetooth to stream music. Can also customize light color and has blackout mode.
  2. New amp: JBL Club A5055. This was a decent 5 channel that was on sale at the time. I was also looking at the Rockford Fosgate R2-750X5. The latter has distortion light which is a real plus for tuning. The JBL has lots of wattage on the 5th channel if I decide to upgrade my sub later on.
  3. Door speakers: Rockford Fosgate R1675-S, Rockford Fosgate R1675X2. These were on sale at the time as well.
    NOTE: After receiving these I found that the screw holes for the speakers don't line up with the speaker adapters that I got from Crutchfield (Metra 82-8148). I suggest using speakers with the correct screw hole pattern diameter. It looks like the Rockford 6.5" speakers fit from the reviews on Crutchfield.
  4. Subwoofer: Kicker 48CWRT672. This 6.75 inch sub should go into the OEM subwoofer enclosure with very little modification. This is also smack in the middle (logarithmically) of the suggested enclosure size. I didn't want to go through as much work as Samsonite to get an 8" in the box. The box is on the small end for an 8", so low end response could suffer.
OVERVIEW OF INSTALLATION PLAN (not necessarily in order)
  1. Use receiver wiring harness adapter and Crutchfield instructions to wire the head unit without the speaker level output wires. (I actually did put the line-output converter in on the speaker level outputs, but is only for the ability to revert the amp if/when I sell the car)
  2. Install the JBL amp in the factory amp location.
    • Run RCA cables from HU to passenger seat.
    • Run power wire from battery to passenger seat.
    • Use Metra 70-2054 to tie into factory harness for speaker outputs and remote input. This is NOT the correct kit for the 2005 vibe with monsoon and subwoofer, but it has the correct connectors (hopefully). It will be required to de-pin some of the wires and move them.
    • Run bass knob up to the dash somewhere.
  3. Install speakers in factory locations. Add sound deadening materials to taste.
COMPLETED ITEMS

HEAD UNIT INSTALL
I'm not going to cover this really since it is the same as any other vehicle. Thinks to note.
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  1. There is a lot of room behind the head unit to put wires and stuff.
  2. The dash kit (Scosche PT2049B) isn't the best fit, but better than the Metra one that the previous guy had installed IMO.
    20220902_133148.jpg
    20220902_133148.jpg (148.87 KiB) Viewed 1552 times
  3. If there is still static in the system after I Install the new amplifier I am going remove the ground from the harness and ground it the the chassis behind the dash.

SUBWOOFER INSTALL
This went even better than I anticipated. I used a pair of lineman pliers to tear off small sections of the ribbing where the speaker interfered. The screw holes lined up too!!! The OEM hi-low screws have too large of a head to fit in the Kickers screw pockets (8.3mm/.325"), so I found some that fit.
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I plugged the hole at the rear of the enclosure with dynamat from both sides. Time will tell if this is sufficient. I also added acoustic fill in the enclosure cavities as Derf had done.
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MORE TO COME
2005 Vibe Base, 5spd, Moon + Tunes
RichDGuy
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2022 10:48 am

Re: Full Audio System Upgrade! Head unit, speakers, and 5 channel amplifier. 2005 Vibe with monsoon moon and tunes.

Post by RichDGuy »

excellent thank you for the resources. i have a 2004 vibe with the moon and tunes stereo, i know it didn't come with the sub woofer. however i got a wrecked 2005 with the full moon and tunes w/ sub woofer. do you know if the 2004 amp has provisions for the sub? if now, does the 2005 amp with provisions just plug into place of the 2004 one? and run the wire for the sub from the 2005?

the head unit works in the 2005 that i have but the display doesn't show anything and i'm not sure if that is repariable or not.

thanks for your help and pointing me in the right direction. been searching this forum for a while.

my goal is to take the speakers from the 2005 (which aren't paper) and the sub from the 2005 and install them into the 2004 i have. swap amps if needed and hope the head units have the same output with both years. not looking to spend money other than sound deading for the sub, which i appreciate you posting this info.

thanks
VibeRader
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:28 pm

Re: Full Audio System Upgrade! Head unit, speakers, and 5 channel amplifier. 2005 Vibe with monsoon moon and tunes.

Post by VibeRader »

I'm not certain about the amp. I assume they are different. The pinouts do seem to be different. I have found a good number of resources online for the 2003/2004 pinouts, and they don't jive with the 2005. The stock subwoofer and enclosure probably isn't worth the hassle to "upgrade" into. I would go with a second dedicated amp and subwoofer enclosure if you can spare the room in the cabin.
2005 Vibe Base, 5spd, Moon + Tunes
chromelampshade
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon May 23, 2022 2:50 pm

Re: Full Audio System Upgrade! Head unit, speakers, and 5 channel amplifier. 2005 Vibe with monsoon moon and tunes.

Post by chromelampshade »

did changing amplifier ground location eliminate hissing? i have a hiss however isnt not noticable unless you physically listen to it.
i want to bypass the stock amp, do you know what bypass harness would work? im not in dire need of bypassing since i will be utilizing rca out instead of line out, which in theory should bypass the stock amp. if factory amp ground needs to be changed, it could be the reason for my ground loop, i have a turn off pop.
2003 pontiac vibe awd base
feel free to check my thread to see my audio project
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