camaro2k

for a stock system is pretty good I work on car audio everyday and pretty much i hear the bm's and the mercede's..lexus etc ... it's not SO bad compared to some prices you pay for some higher model cars and you get somewhat a little bit better sound.. but if your into the sound of your car definetly switch it out when the time is right... i was happy with mines till the driver side speaker started to go out... (this is refering to the 500w monsoon.. )

98SuperSport

iTrader: (1)

bad stereos could be a result of abuse by other owners...mine sounds really good, no rattles. maybe some people's rattles were just caused by stupidity

CJDZ24_Z28

iTrader: (75)

Maybe not everyone listens to Folk Music Its no question that over time paper speakers will give way. Broken rear ends or uneven tire wear due to excessive burnouts are more what i associate with owners stupidity

rotwiler

iTrader: (1)

The Pac swi-x like said in earlier post is simple to put in and works great to keep the steering wheel controls. I just bought a aftermarket Kenwood x790 hu for $190 off ebay(new) and even has the plug in the back to connect the pac swi-alp that doesn't even need the eye to work, just a 3 wire hookup and program it like a universal remote.

sercastiK

iTrader: (11)

hmm. I listen to mostly rap, never a blown monsoon speaker,turn the bass left instead of right. it helps

jkichline

iTrader: (1)

I think its sounds really good for a factory system without using an amplifier but reliability SUCKS ***! I'm on my 3rd monsoon head unit here . I wish I knew how to fix 'em.

CJDZ24_Z28

iTrader: (75)

??????? The monsoon does use a amp dude.

jkichline

iTrader: (1)

Your right. It does use an amp for your car. But I have a 95 that didn't come with the monsoon system. Therefore, I don't have an amp. I put the head unit in becuase my old delco quit putting out bass. The head unit alone (without the amp) sounds pretty good in my car. I looked into adding the amp but it seemed that it was more trouble than its worth. I've gone through 3 Monsoon HU's since christmas. The first one had problems with the CD player. The second one would not work with my GM9-AUX adapter, and the 3rd one developed volume surges. I now have a fourth one in that seems to be working very well right now. Oh yeah, 3 out of 4 of them I had to replace the display bulb. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this unit lasts for a while. If not, I might actually go to an aftermarker HU. I just don't think any after market HU matches the interior like the stock one does (not that the interior is anything to look at anyway).

ohsofast

iTrader: (6)

When I got mine in 99 the monsoon was nice but compared to the cars today it is not. I did not replace my stereo system until my factory head unit started to go crazy.

Firehawk526

iTrader: (1)

Option #3 cause sooner or later you'll have issues

LCD burnout, blown speakers due to high EQ gains/volume, etc.

If you ever strip out the OEM system, you'll see there isn't much too to the Monsoon system.

CJDZ24_Z28

iTrader: (75)

Oh i didnt notice you put that into your LT1 powered TA The Bose I had in my 94 Z28 was the ****! Too bad it went bad and had to replace with aftermarket.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Then basically you don't have a Monsoon. The "Monsoon" head unit is just an ordinary Delco radio with a Monsoon sticker on it. There is absolutely nothing special about the head unit - the Monsoon system is all in the amp and low-impedance speakers.

Not that that is a bad thing - the head unit is no better or worse than any other GM radio and the Monsoon speakers aren't known for their quality. The amp isn't too bad for what it does but it's what we used to call a "booster" because it takes speaker-level input rather than line-level. So it amplifies all the distortion as well as the signal. As you've found out, you can get pretty decent sound (for a factory system) from just the head unit (too bad they're not more reliable).

jkichline

iTrader: (1)

I often wondered about that. Thanks for that info. But I can tell you for sure that the new "Delco" radios (with the monsoon sticker on) have more output power and more capability. By capability, I mean that I can hook up the GM9-AUX for my own Auxilliary input or the CD changer. My old Delco couldn't do that but it did last me 8 good years. These new delco's have been giving me nothing but problems.

Sounds to me like the "amp" is more of an impedance transformer rather than an amplifier. Are all of the speakers hooked to the amp or just a few?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Yes, you're right - I should have said that the Monsoon head unit is no different than any other upscale Delco radio (such as the so-called "extended range" systems). It has more power and features than the typical base model GM radio so it makes a pretty good stand-alone radio.

The ability to use the GM9-AUX adapter was based on whether the head unit could control an external CD changer. All of the Monsoon cassette head units could do that but the single CD head units didn't get that capability until the middle of the 99 model year.

The amp powers the subs and woofers in a Monsoon system - the tweeters are powered directly by the head unit (coupes only - convertibles are wired differently).

jkichline

iTrader: (1)

So...
I guess becuase the Delco unit does not have pre-amp level outputs, there was no choice but to run the amp off of signal level outputs. But if they would have given the amps more gain and a higher P1dB compression, they could have at least amplified a less distorted incoming signal. I guess I had to be there when they designed the thing to understand why they did what they did.
IMHO, they came up with a really good sounding system from stock. In my older cars, I could never get sound like that until I added all kinds of crap. Too bad they weren't built to last

Josh_101

Yeah my bro had a 95 z28 with the bose cd player. It sounded good for a stock system, most any vehicle I got in that was around the mid 90's year model sounded like **** compared to the bose system in the z28's. At high volumes, the mids and highs were good, but the bass wasent because of the small mid bass speakers in the sail panels. My brother has since sold the Z because of a blown motor not to mention 232,000 miles on it, he now has a 92 Ford Ranger and a 2004 Dodge Dakota quad cab, the Dakota has the standard 4 speaker system with a cassette player (why couldn't car makers get rid of those damn things, no one uses them anymore!!) and the Z's bose system still sounded better

THE LAST Z

iTrader: (5)

Should be replaced sooner or later. I liked it for about a month.
I dont know where they get 400 watts from. I replaced the whole system and i have 1 five channel amp (35w x 4 & 160 x 1) and it sounds 3 times louder.
If your into audio, even a little, you know that stock systems are a joke- always was, always will be.

YoungGunLs1

I guess I am not sure as to why you dont like the monsoon and liked the bose. I had the bose system in my 94 Z28 and compared to the 500w monsoon it sucked ***. Maybe the Monsoon in the camaro's isnt as good or something being you dont have an equalizer? Cuz my Monsoon in my T/A is great, and makes the bose system in my camaro sound like crap.

LS1Aggie09

iTrader: (25)

I think they sound pretty damn good for a stock system, however, i have looked at several used 00 to 02 Camaros and they all have blown at least front speakers except for one auto that was driven by a female who took care of her stuff. The car i bought is going in for warranty work and im just having them replace all the speakers (every single one is blown except the hatch rear 2) since its covered in my GM warranty anyway. Just dont crank em too much!

LS1Aggie09

iTrader: (25)

randomn...the two far back speakers are full range and the two that are in the middle, by the backseats, are for bass or do i have those flip flopped?