GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

ebay auctioni dont wnat an aftermarketHU. i wnat something that looks stock with more output.i suspect Class 2 BUS will be the main discussion here?

My first concern would, of course, be the data bus.After that though, I think you would find that there's no more output to that unit than what you already have.I suspect from looking at it that it's nothing more fancy than the Vibe's stock stereo with a Monsoon logo. If I had to bet, I'd say the actual "Monsoon quality" part comes from the outboard amp and 8 speakers in whatever car it originally came in.

the monsoon in my TA was 500A i believe. you dont think these have higher output that a plain ol' delco?

You mean 500W, right? I would believe that, maybe with an external amp, but I don't see any way they could shove that much power into a head unit along with the rest of the equipment needed to make the thing work. I don't know, I'm just speculating based on the looks of it compared to the factory single disc in the Vibe. It looks much the same but for the Monsoon logo.

Quote, originally posted by millster »You mean 500W, right? yea, duh.i dont remember an amp but i just checked the f car service manual and it calls it a radio/amp etc. funny, they never mentioned it. i wonder where it was.frick. i dont want an afermarket HU.ugh

I'm not sure where they put the amp. A friend of mine had a '97 TA with the Monsoon audio system too. I never got too much into poking around that part though. Had too much fun just driving it.At any rate, I'm afraid an aftermarket HU might be your only choice if you want to upgrade.

Any Monsoon or Bose or anything else that is 'Premium' or 'Amplified' will not have an amplifier in the radio, they're always external, and they always work with funky speakers. So you'd literally have to rip all the amps, wiring, speakers, and radio out in order to add that to your vehicle. (Note that on the Vibe, it uses 2 Ohm speakers)You really need aftermarket or to at least add an aftermarket amplifier after the stock system.

You can't use any other GM stock radio in the Vibe. This is because they all depend on the Class-II connection to the car CPU, and this doesn't exist in the Vibe. The Vibe radios have been set up uniquely to not use this interface.I found this out when I was trying to hunt down a 6CD unit with BAND button so I could use an AUX adapter with it.PS- I think a speaker-to-line level converter and aftermarket AMP are the way to go.The Vibe speakers are only 2 Ohm if you have the M&T amp. The stock speakers without M&T are 4 Ohm.

well you guys are a bunch of negative nancys!!! i am not sure what the right way to go is becasue i technically havent figured out my problem. its in my speaker post. the ipod2car has all of a sudden gone were low while ther radio/CD is jsut a little effected by the switch.i dont know why.

most, if not, all. factory premeium sound systems have some sort of external amp. that's where the extra power comes from. so, yes, the radio shoould work juat as any other stock vibe rqadio. you won't see any increase in sound quality. you want better sound. get an aftermarket amp and switch the original with it.

Quote, originally posted by mcgusto82 »so, yes, the radio shoould work juat as any other stock vibe rqadio.Sorry, this is not accurate.As has been mentioned DOZENS of times, the Vibe is not a pure GM vehicle. It doesn't use the traditional DataBus system found in other GM's. It uses a traditional no-frills communication/electrical system. As was said above, the Vibe radios are in a class of their own (literally, most GM's use Class II, the Vibe is not Class II). Vibe radios will likely not work in other GM's, as other GM's will not work in the Vibe.

My 1996 Z28 350 6 speed Conv. Had either a Monsoon or ERS I forget what they called it.but it did have a seperate plastic covered amp.

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »Vibe radios will likely not work in other GM's,well we know they work in Grand Ams. that LT4 guy posted that he bought a vibe radio and it worked in the GA, thats what lead to teh whole steering wheel control project.oh well... since the output isnt much better, its a moot thread now.thanks all.

Most RDS stereo's read the Vin # from the CPU.The vibe use's a Toyota CPU and GM couldn't get them to work together.So the Vibe radio's don't have any kind of anti theif device like Most other GM's do.I could see a vibe radio working in any car with the correct wiring.But other Gm radios won't work in are vibes,That is how I was made to understand it.

It also depends on what year. Not all recent GM cars use the Databus exclusively. That model radio in the auction might not be a Databus version.Typically the Databus radios will have the two larger dials on the left.

in lookin at the ones on ebay, it seemed to me, and i can be corrected, that the older ones (read: using the different BUS) had a different connector in teh back.

I think the Vibe has the only non-databus radio that uses the newer GM24 plug. All others use the older black connector.