Do I have a defect in my stock radio system?

[Capt Curt]

Originally Posted by kmcd

Man! My ears would be bleeding at that level, and I've been flying airplanes and helicopters for 34 years.

Yeah, that is what I thought it should be like too and I don't normally listen to my music particularly loud.

[Shu71]

I rarely turn mine up over 17. I added a 12" sub and amp (via ******** harness) to the stock amp and now have plenty of thump in the trunk hwoever prior to that I was not impressed with the 6x9's in the rear deck or the balance of power front to rear as you state. I used to have to run mine on 2 or 3 faded to the rear to get balance but any more and it would take away so much from the front that the quality of the sound up front degraded tremendously. Now I run front to rear fade at 0. I am having another issue with mine though. The antenae sucks. My local radio stations signal is very poor. I'm not sure what is going on though and may have to take it to the dealer. I am probably going to have to pull out my amp and the ******** harness so they don't claim that is causing the problem.

[Capt Curt]

Sorry to hear about your antenna problem. Was it an issue before you added your amp? I suspect you are right that you will have to take your sub out before you bring it in for warranty work.

It sounds like the extra amp fixed your fader so it is making me think my stock amp could be part of my problem. I wonder if there is a way to test my stock amp to see if it is working properly? Does anyone know what the three sets of wires going into the amp are for? When I was checking the connection I unplugged the top white one first and it shut off all the sound from the radio so I suspect the amp is doing something. Can I test output by maybe removing just one and listening for a volume drop?

[kevin1106]

I dont know if you have a defective radio or not, all I can say is that I was never happy with the stock amp. The BA system lacks bass and quality. The stock radio in my gmc sierra sle sounds better than my BA system. I would serious check into upgrading the factory amp. check out ********.com They have kits that are plug and play. I purchased the infinity
amp with the 12" woofer and their harness. Cant remember the exact name of the harness, but the install was pretty simple. The stock speakers sound so much better and the one 12' make it have just enough bass. Hope this helps.

[Shu71]

I was just informed that a digital amp may interfere with the antenae signal. Since mine is located directly under the rear deck/rear window I believe this may be the source of my problem. Time to look for a non-digital amp to try.

[Capt Curt]

Originally Posted by kevin1106

I dont know if you have a defective radio or not, all I can say is that I was never happy with the stock amp. The BA system lacks bass and quality. The stock radio in my gmc sierra sle sounds better than my BA system. I would serious check into upgrading the factory amp. check out ********.com They have kits that are plug and play. I purchased the infinity
amp with the 12" woofer and their harness. Cant remember the exact name of the harness, but the install was pretty simple. The stock speakers sound so much better and the one 12' make it have just enough bass. Hope this helps.

That sounds like good advice! I am worried that if there is something wrong with my radio instead of my amp, I still might not get the full performance I should even with a sub upgrade. I think that a side by side comparison with another BA system will really help clarify if I have an issue or not. It is looking like rain this Friday so that could really mess up my plans to finally be parked next to another Camaro to compare to.

Originally Posted by Shu71

I was just informed that a digital amp may interfere with the antenae signal. Since mine is located directly under the rear deck/rear window I believe this may be the source of my problem. Time to look for a non-digital amp to try.

It stinks that you might need to get a different amp but I'm glad that you are on to a solution for your antenna problem! Good luck!

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Capt Curt, have you been able to get this issue resolved yet? Have you been able to better explain the issue to your dealership to see if they might be able help you in diagnosing the vehicle? Thank you for your time.

Jeff Morris, Chevrolet Customer Service

[Rolando]

I also don't like how mine sound they sound okay. But not as good as how they should sound. I'm in to car stereos and I will have to do an update on the complete system. I have heard many stock system and Chevy has been on the bottom ones. Not sure if there stock stereos or amps have the right watts to power there speakers. As ones they put a after market amp it makes a lot of difference on the sound quality.

I will be buying this head unit ALPINE INA-W900BT 7" and adding a after market amp but thinking on which amp. I have my previous system all crossfire amps and speakers but not sure if I should buy newer speakers as they been used for 4 years already.

Check out the Alpine Camaro is hook up real nice.

[Capt Curt]

Originally Posted by Chevrolet Customer Svc

Capt Curt, have you been able to get this issue resolved yet? Have you been able to better explain the issue to your dealership to see if they might be able help you in diagnosing the vehicle? Thank you for your time.

Jeff Morris, Chevrolet Customer Service

Hi Jeff, not yet. When I tried taking it to the dealership, they started with the problem I am having with the PDIM and misread corporate bulletin 09-08-44-013C so they didn't think my Zune was a supported device. When I picked the car up, I showed them that the Zune was on the supported list and once I explained that my Zune worked for the first several months, they were very willing to take another look but I needed the car for the weekend. I told them I would bring it back on one of my days off so I could sit with the tech and really show him the issues. Because they didn't think there was anything wrong with the PDIM and since the radio does work, they assumed the radio concern was tied into the issue with my Zune. As you say, I am trying to get some specific details so I can do a better job explaining the problem to them when I go back. I am not too worried about the PDIM issue, that is a well known problem with the '10's and I can show them what part number is needed in order to fix that. I am still worried about how I can demonstrate the radio problem, however, so I thought I would ask on the forum here to see if anyone else had has heard of a similar problem.

Originally Posted by Rolando

I also don't like how mine sound they sound okay. But not as good as how they should sound. I'm in to car stereos and I will have to do an update on the complete system. I have heard many stock system and Chevy has been on the bottom ones. Not sure if there stock stereos or amps have the right watts to power there speakers. As ones they put a after market amp it makes a lot of difference on the sound quality.

I will be buying this head unit ALPINE INA-W900BT 7" and adding a after market amp but thinking on which amp. I have my previous system all crossfire amps and speakers but not sure if I should buy newer speakers as they been used for 4 years already.

Check out the Alpine Camaro is hook up real nice.

Thanks Rolando! Actually, I really don't mind how most stock GM radios sound, I just don't think I am getting the same performance that it seems other owners are. I was thinking if someone else has run into something like this it might help confirm my suspicion and give me a clue on how to get it fixed. Thanks!

[Baldman]

What you need to do is buy a USB stick and record some of your favorite songs on it from your computer. Thats what I use (Sundisc) and I haven't had any problems. Try that then switch over to XM or the radio and see if there's any difference. I hope you get your problem solved because it sucks when it's in the dealers and you can't be enjoying your Camaro.

[Vgav1221]

i ride around with my radio at a constant 40, my rear view mirror shakes on some songs / radio stations and others i have no bass at all... im going to eventually install my 12" Ultras in the trunk (2) , but maybe it could be im so used to having subs that the sound is miniscule to me

[Shu71]

Originally Posted by Baldman

What you need to do is buy a USB stick and record some of your favorite songs on it from your computer. Thats what I use (Sundisc) and I haven't had any problems. Try that then switch over to XM or the radio and see if there's any difference. I hope you get your problem solved because it sucks when it's in the dealers and you can't be enjoying your Camaro.

There is a HUGE difference in the sound quality in the Boston system switching between CD, MP3, Radio and XM. Just listen to the volume change when swapping from one to another.

For mine the cleanest sound comes from the CD player. XM is the second cleanest but I will be dropping that come the end of my 3 month trial because I have heard the same 20 songs each of those channels plays enough already and $12 per month is crazy IMO. Radio and port imput are pretty close in third (last) for quality of the music. CD with volume at 17 is really loud, FM at 17 is not that load at all.

[Capt Curt]

I'll give a CD a try. I haven't actually tried my CD player yet and I've had the car for a year and a half. LOL. I was hoping to bring it back to the dealer for the PDIM issue and do a radio comparison with one on their lot this Friday but it looks like rain here all day so that will mess up those plans.

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Originally Posted by Capt Curt

Hi Jeff, not yet. When I tried taking it to the dealership, they started with the problem I am having with the PDIM and misread corporate bulletin 09-08-44-013C so they didn't think my Zune was a supported device. When I picked the car up, I showed them that the Zune was on the supported list and once I explained that my Zune worked for the first several months, they were very willing to take another look but I needed the car for the weekend. I told them I would bring it back on one of my days off so I could sit with the tech and really show him the issues. Because they didn't think there was anything wrong with the PDIM and since the radio does work, they assumed the radio concern was tied into the issue with my Zune. As you say, I am trying to get some specific details so I can do a better job explaining the problem to them when I go back. I am not too worried about the PDIM issue, that is a well known problem with the '10's and I can show them what part number is needed in order to fix that. I am still worried about how I can demonstrate the radio problem, however, so I thought I would ask on the forum here to see if anyone else had has heard of a similar problem.

If you ever get to a point where you feel it necessary to involve us here at GM feel free to contact me with your contact information (name, address, phone number) and I'll get you all setup. I hope they are able to diagnose and repair your vehicle to your liking.

Jeff Morris, Chevrolet Customer Service