# 2014 Chevy Silverado by Musicar Northwest



## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

A longtime client of ours picked up a 2014 Silverado crew cab for hunting and skiiing sled duty. Nice truck (with a cool interior!) but he wasn't happy with the Bose audio system. He also needed a unique storage solution - a locker for his shotgun storage, and that made this system design tougher than usual. The shotgun locker completely prevented us from using any of the underseat area in the second row for any audio gear. 

*OEM Source Signal*

The stock audio system consists of a MOST 50 (MOST digital over copper) databus connecting the nav system to a number of other devices, including the Bose amp. The Bose amp is thus acting as a D/A converter and an analog preamp, as well as integrating audio from other sources, such as rear parking sensor chimes and door chimes. There are three active-noise-cancelling mics in the car as well (which often cause issues with subwoofer adds). We had to leave the Bose amp in place to perform D/A and preamp duties, and we had to correct the signal processing happening inside it. 

The Bose amp has dedicated output channels for:

- Dash "twiddlers" (high-passed)

- F door 6x9 midwoofers (band-passed)

- Rear midwoofers (band-passed)

- Center-console 5.5" subwoofer (band-passed)

The door woofers and the console subwoofer actually had identical "subsonic" high-pass filters - if we had wanted to, we could have driven our sub with the signal from the doors without any problem. Either way, we had to boost the sub-bass in the Bose subsonic's stopband to extend the bass capability. 

The output of the deck did not change its frequency response appreciably with changing volume settings. There was a bit of boost at 50 at lower levels, nothing objectionable (it looked like auto-loudness, which is nothing to "fix"). 

Electrical signal responses from the Bose amp's output channels (full-range pink-noise in):

_Dash_










_Front door_










_Sub_










The signal out of the Bose amp would not clip. We hit 7.75V on the dash channels and 8.85V on the door and the underseat channels at full max volume without clipping. 


*Install and Fabrication *

_By Tom Miller and Rich Clapp at Musicar Northwest_

So our mandate from the client was to keep everything looking stock. 


*OEM amp integration*

We had to relocate the amp so our amp rack could fit there. 



















When we cut into the stock wiring, we prep it to return to stock in future, by planning ahead and installing matching male and female Molex connectors:










The signal goes into a Mosconi DSP processor. Since the signal equalization is pretty constant at various volume settings, we did not install a controller for the DSP. OEM volume control is retained. We did correct the signal equalization from the roller-coasters seen in the initial pics above - using the DSP parametric EQ settings in the Mosconi. 

*Amps*

We used two Mosconi AS100.4 and one AS200.2. The 4-channel amps powered the front tweeters, the front mids, and the front midwoofers in a fully-active configuration. The 200.2 was bridged to the subwoofer. 





































*Speakers*

We used a Morel Elate 6 woofer in the front doors for midbass, a Morel CDM-880 dome midrange in the dash location, and the Morel MT-250 tweeter fabbed into the door "sail" trim. We built all the speaker adapters out of HDPE:










The sail trim tweeter mounts turned out very well:

















































































































The dash mids:





























The door midwoofers (replacing Bose 6x9s with HDPE spacers which duplicate the seal up to the backside of the door panel):



































































We didn't want the rear doors to damage the front stage, but rear-seat occupants are pretty common in this truck. We used Morel Integra 602 point-source drivers for the rear seat occupants. These have a 28mm silk-dome tweeter inside the 50mm voice coil:





























The above speaker uses the only passive crossover in the entire system - all else is fully active through the Mosconi DSP. 


*Underseat storage locker*

When we say "locker", we mean it!










































































*Subwoofer*

Here's the massive stock sub (mounts inside the center console):










We replaced it with the Focal WX21. This has higher-than-average power handling, a great rep for SQ, and still fits under the console limits!





































A truly invisible sound system that sounds amazing!


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Wonderful read and excellent amount of photos to tell the tale. Where did you install the 6to8 processor ?


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

Thanks! It's where the stock amp was, under/behind the amps. Sorry, we failed to snap a pic of it


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## vulgamore89 (Oct 27, 2013)

Looks awesome. I love truck builds


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## mark620 (Dec 8, 2010)

Very nice ..


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

One of our customers just ordered one of these and is trading his Benz in. He wants us to move his exisiting amp/sub over to it. We hadn't had one in the shop yet, so it's nice to see there's a little bit of room behind the seat for amps. We figure we might have to build a box into/where the console is too...so thanks for the heads up! That gun locker is SICK! Looks better than stock while looking, well, stock. lol

Jay


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## trumpet (Nov 14, 2010)

Great work, Tom and Rich!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Love that storage locker. Very nicely done!


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## mobeious (Jan 26, 2007)

how are u running a 3way front stage off a 4ch? also how are u powering the rear speakers and can u turn them off at any given time?


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

Two 4 channels. Half of one is for the rears. 1.5 are for the fronts. OEM fader works.


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## evo9 (Jul 6, 2005)

Excellent execution! Love the use of HDPE over treated MDF.


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## colled96 (Feb 2, 2010)

Awesome work guys. The locker under the rear seat is SICK. Nice stealth system install.


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## Midwestrider (Aug 10, 2007)

Nice install, any more pics of the center console?


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## bigguy (Apr 13, 2010)

Nice work


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## The Performer (Aug 12, 2012)

Dear God...

Excellent work guys. 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK!!!!!


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## win1 (Sep 27, 2008)

Awesome


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## Matt34 (Dec 15, 2009)

Very nice, subbed!


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## blackknight87 (Jul 11, 2011)

Awesome. I was waiting for an install on a 2014 GM truck


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## mrmill (Feb 11, 2013)

very nice work....i love the gun locker


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## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

looks GREAT!!!!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

What everyone else said times two. Great work, especially the locker.


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## iYota (Jan 6, 2014)

impressive build. thanks for sharing.


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## NeverEnuffBass (Oct 25, 2007)

Very nice. Much nicer than the box I built for the one I did last week


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## zuhl555 (Feb 20, 2014)

I joined this forum because of this install just to say how much I like it. I would love to see more information on the sub install in the center console. Very nice!


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## ktmkev_74 (Jan 29, 2014)

That's a truly beautiful build!!! I'll be getting one of these soon. Still trying to figure out my set up...this helps out alot!!


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

zuhl555 said:


> I joined this forum because of this install just to say how much I like it. I would love to see more information on the sub install in the center console. Very nice!


Thanks very much. What questions do you have? I will relay them to Tom. Here are some more pics:


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## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

Out of curiosity what size is that enclosure? Been wanting to do that to my Tahoe. Wanting to use a sundown sd2 8". It calls for .25-.4cubes


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## zuhl555 (Feb 20, 2014)

Thank you for the photos! the box looks relatively simple to make and incorporate. Dimensions would be very useful if available. Also, I could not tell for sure, but was the console itself modified? It looks like the deep part of the storage tray may have been removed and filled in to accommodate the box. 

I had been considering fibergalssing a box to to allow for use of all the space inside the console. But if you can get this 8 to fit that easily, a good old wooden box may be the way to go.

Do you think that the 8" is the absolute limit? Would a shallow mount 10 fit? I have done an 8" solobaric in a similar console box and it sounded killer. I may try it in the new truck. 

Why was it carpeted? To prevent vibration to the console?

Again, thank you so much for posting!


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## VP Fiberglass (Jun 19, 2010)

Hi, thanks for the kind words everyone!! You guys are awesome.  The enclosure was under .40cf. Pretty small. You could definitely get some more volume by glassing it, but it's still going to be pretty tight. 

The exterior dimensions (going off memory here) were like: Height - 5.5" at the front and 6" at the aft end, Length was around 15.5" IIRC, Width was 10.5", but if you notice the "scallops" on the top side, it had to be reduced in that area by .50". The entire box is .50" Baltic Birch and the baffle is reinforced to 1" around the woofer. There's also minimal bracing inside the enclosure.

The console was modified by removing the front pocket...that's where I built the logo plate. 

Yes, the box was carpeted to avoid vibrations. 

It's certainly possible to put a 10 in there, but I wouldn't do it. If we wanted more, the rear of the center console is enormous, and could easily house a 10. But I had already used that area to build him a secure storage compartment.


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## VP Fiberglass (Jun 19, 2010)

zuhl555 said:


> I joined this forum because of this install just to say how much I like it. I would love to see more information on the sub install in the center console. Very nice!


Welcome to the forum!! I feel honored that you would join just to comment on this. Thank you!


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## Lunchbox12 (Sep 4, 2011)

Fantastic! Client must be v happy, I would be!


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Awesome! It's great to see a detailed build like this going into the new Silverado's. I'm a big fan of the new body style and to see a build like this done is great! Keep up the good work!


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## Tonyguy (Nov 15, 2007)

What kind of scope is that in the first few pics?


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

Acoustilyzer AL1 - Acoustic Analyzer


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

Yep.


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## Funkkenstein (Feb 27, 2014)

How did you combat the noise cancelling mics?


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## gutterswine (Jun 9, 2009)

Also, running into issue with Active Noise Cancellation.
Any help on disabling it?


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

There is a small plug on the Bose amp with three mic cables into it. It also has the data for the backup sensors and chimes. We had zero issues with the ANC but test with the plug unplugged to make sure that's your problem. If that solves the problem you can cut the mic wires going into the plug and plug it back in.


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## gutterswine (Jun 9, 2009)

Definitely the ANC. I have the High Country with 6.2L. The ANC settings may be different on them. Thanks for the quick response. Now I just need to figure out which wires are for the mics.


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## Fast Hot Rod (Apr 19, 2007)

Sweet build... inspired me to start my own. That storage box is dead sexy. Thanks for sharing.


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## ktmkev_74 (Jan 29, 2014)

Very nice! Gives me a good idea about what I'm up against.


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## JoeHemi57 (Mar 28, 2006)

Awesome install, i have a Cadillac ATS with the Bose and ANC. You can barely tell the 10" sub is there. Any thoughts on swapping it for a different sub and adding an amp to power it?


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## evo9 (Jul 6, 2005)

*If you don't mind me asking. Is this bondo or plastic repair filler? *


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## The Performer (Aug 12, 2012)

evo9 said:


> *If you don't mind me asking. Is this bondo or plastic repair filler? *


Looks like either vette panel adhesive or the new sonus body filler. 

I'm gonna bet on the latter. 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## evo9 (Jul 6, 2005)

^^ Sonus Evolution VERT??


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## VP Fiberglass (Jun 19, 2010)

That's a cocktail of body filler (Matter from Sonus), polyester resin and milled fibers. Holds better to plastic and feathers out nicer than filler by itself.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Milled fibers? Like fiberglass or ABS?

Jay


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

Did you guys get a whiff of the actual mounting depth in the dash?


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

And also where did you ground the amplifiers?. Having a ground issue in mine I think.


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## henrypbui (Apr 1, 2015)

do you guys still have the plans for the speaker adapters and sub box to be able to reproduce them? If so, I am interested if possible.


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## mmarker696 (Jun 11, 2014)

How did you guys mount the dash speakers? Did you epoxy the HPDE onto the dash panel. then crew the speakers through the bottom?


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## TxHouse (Nov 7, 2010)

I know I am reviving a dead thread but I was just curious about how the subsonic filter was bypassed. It seems you wouldn't get those last few hertz or would it not be of concern because it is an 8?


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## jamrock (Sep 26, 2017)

Nice build man.


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## slevy951 (Nov 1, 2017)

Couple questions is you guys are still watching this...

1-I'm thinking of a similar build but using an Audiocontrol lc7i. So you can get all frequecies from just the front doors and dash, minus the subsonic, correct?

2-Pics of the back wall of the cab. You removed the seats and then the insulation?

3-Don't suppose you want to give up the wiring diagram for the harness you made to pull signals off the Bose amp??????

Thanks,
Scott


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## Chevytruck_83 (Nov 3, 2017)

i love how you countersunk the woofers into the adapter you made. Thats just showing off...


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## mrichard89 (Sep 29, 2016)

Wow. Great looking install.


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