# Cruze Sound system Upgrade



## Gdubs (Apr 23, 2011)

Hey everyone! I just thought I would let everyone know about my sound system upgrade in my 2011 Cruze 2LT with Nav and Pioneer sound system.


While the Pioneer system that is optional on the Chevy Cruze is a great upgrade from the non-pioneer system it is still lacking. It lacks high notes and good low end bass that doesnt distort. So i set myself on a mission to make it better than it was. I know my biggest limiting factor is my head unit.... But since the car came with NAV i AM NOT willing to change the head unit. So Speakers were the next obvious choice.
I like Pioneet alot and think that they make a great product for the money you spend. There are a lot of other options but if you are looking for a budget way to update your speakers this will cost you less than $300 and will change the sound system like you wouldnt believe.


According to crutchfield the Pioneer system on the Cruze puts out around 40-50W RMS. Additional Information can be located here 


Chevy Cruze | Pioneer Electronics USA


Now, onto what I bought.



After alot of reading and research on what was good for the cash you spent without breaking the bank I decided on Pioneer -D series speakers. You can read about them here Pioneer TS-D1602R 6-1/2" 2-way D-Series Car Speakers
and
TS-D6902R - 6" x 9" 2-Way Speaker | Pioneer Electronics USA


Now i gotta say, that the improvement over stock is night and day, There is almost zero distortion (except when you get a song with a TON of deep BASS) and the clarity is that of what I have herd from the best of JL speakers. I would reccommend this set up to all!


Enjoy,


GDUBS


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## NyteSnyper (Jan 30, 2012)

Good to hear. I dont have the pioneer upgrade (but i wanted it) but will be installing all of my pioneer gear here soon and hopefully have results similar to yours. I ended up going with 2 sets of TS-D1720C for the doors, hope they end up sounding pretty good... heard the tweeters are a little loud so i may go without them at first.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Nice job. 

Did you keep the factory tweeters in the pillars?

I can guarantee you the system does not provide 40-50W RMS per channel. Perhaps for the rear subs, but not for all channels. You need a very beefy 6-channel amp to provide that kind of power.


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## Gdubs (Apr 23, 2011)

NyteSnyper said:


> Good to hear. I dont have the pioneer upgrade (but i wanted it) but will be installing all of my pioneer gear here soon and hopefully have results similar to yours. I ended up going with 2 sets of TS-D1720C for the doors, hope they end up sounding pretty good... heard the tweeters are a little loud so i may go without them at first.


I initally had the TS ones i ordered and they bottomed out way too much. nothing but distortion at half volume. So i returned them and got the D series


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## Gdubs (Apr 23, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Nice job.
> 
> Did you keep the factory tweeters in the pillars?
> 
> I can guarantee you the system does not provide 40-50W RMS per channel. Perhaps for the rear subs, but not for all channels. You need a very beefy 6-channel amp to provide that kind of power.


Yup i kept the factory tweeters. With the new speakers you barely hear the tweeters


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Gdubs said:


> Yup i kept the factory tweeters. With the new speakers you barely hear the tweeters


You barely hear which tweeters? The ones in the Pioneer speakers or the ones in the pillars?


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

Gdub, you listed a 6x9 speaker there as well. Was that for the back deck? I thought the wiring for the back deck only supported bass and changing speakers would be useless.


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## Gdubs (Apr 23, 2011)

I changed the 6x9's in the rear deck. and all they do is supply bass. it does distort a tiny bit when u get real high in volume.


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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

I don't understand why so many dislike the Pioneer system, I think it sounds incredible. I don't turn up volume past 30 cuz its a little ridiculous after that lol, but with the right tweaks to treble, mid, and bass, you can make the Pioneer system sound very good! I use 1-2-5 for the three. And its a great combination for the rock genre.


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## Gdubs (Apr 23, 2011)

OnlyTaurus said:


> I don't understand why so many dislike the Pioneer system, I think it sounds incredible. I don't turn up volume past 30 cuz its a little ridiculous after that lol, but with the right tweaks to treble, mid, and bass, you can make the Pioneer system sound very good! I use 1-2-5 for the three. And its a great combination for the rock genre.


HAve you ever herd an aftermarket system on a daily basis?? you will notice a huge difference


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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

? The Pioneer system's only rated at 250 watts, even then for that power it sounds great(with the right adjustments). I'm not really into sound systems and 4 12" subwoofers with a 1500watt amp, just sounds ridiculous to me(no offense if you're into that). I'd rather spend the extra grand or more on the performance side of cars. Not knocking anyone, just my opinion.

Regardless, it's cool that you're upgrading that. I'm just gonna run the speakers til they die, as replacements are free.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Gdubs said:


> HAve you ever herd an aftermarket system on a daily basis?? you will notice a huge difference





OnlyTaurus said:


> I don't understand why so many dislike the Pioneer system, I think it sounds incredible. I don't turn up volume past 30 cuz its a little ridiculous after that lol, but with the right tweaks to treble, mid, and bass, you can make the Pioneer system sound very good! I use 1-2-5 for the three. And its a great combination for the rock genre.


See the quote above yours. You will only think something sounds great until you hear something better. Once you train your ears to hear what it should sound like, everything will sound like crap. 

My ears are trained to hear things most people wouldn't be able to point out. To you, something might sound "off." I could take a poorly built speaker, crank it up to higher but moderate volumes, and you'd reach for the remote to turn it down. I'd ask you why, and you'd say "because it was too loud." I'd ask you in return, well, was it really, or did it just fatigue your ears?

The truth is that most retail speakers are very fatiguing to listen to. You can't listen at louder volumes for very long without listening fatigue. Try cranking up your car sound system a bit and listening for 3 hours straight. You won't be able to because your ears will get tired. It's not the loudness that tires you out, but the poor frequency response. I can listen to a sound system and tell you exactly why it sounds bad, why it sounds shouty, boomy, shrill, thin, or lifeless because as a home speaker designer, I've trained my ears to hear these things based on the precision measurements I've taken and the crossovers I've designed for my speakers. 

The Cruze Pioneer system falls short in a number of areas. To start, the doors aren't deadened well, so the whole sound system will sound "thin." Vocals sound lifeless because there is no real low end midbass presence, a range between ~200 and ~700hz. You may notice that female voices such as Celine Dion may sound good, while male voices such as Garth Brooks may not sound as good. This is why. You need that midbass frequency response in order for it to sound full. 

The other issue is one of cone breakup. Almost all Midbass drivers have a breakup, which is a high frequency ringing above the frequency at which it should be playing. Here's a frequency response chart that shows what I'm talking about:










Notice the peak in the frequency response that starts at 3000hz. The factory Pioneer system does not tame that breakup or eliminate it with equalization. They hope that since the speakers are off-axis, it won't bother you, but I can hear it and it is bothersome. 

Another issue is that of directivity. The higher the frequency is, the more important it is for it to be on-axis, which is why the tweeters are up in the pillars instead of down by the midwoofer in the doors. However, these tweeters don't play nearly as low enough of a frequency response to get rid of the issue entirely. What you get as a result is higher frequency sounds being played by your door speakers that shouldn't be playing that low, and a limited frequency response in the tweeters in the pillars that aren't playing as low as they should. Perhaps it's that they're too cheap to do it without sounding distorted. Whatever the reason, it contributes to a poor sounding system. I'll be measuring these midwoofers and tweeters when I hook up my sound system to show you what I'm talking about in more detail. 

Now, based on what I've heard form this sound system, it is fatiguing for the reasons above and also because the frequency response isn't anywhere close to flat. I can distinctly hear the dip in the midbass region as I mentioned earlier, but there is also a harshness in the tweeter at around 6000-8000hz likely due to a peak in the frequency response. There is also a terrible absence of sound above 9000-10,000hz, so your triangles, cymbals, and acoustic guitar plucks don't "sparkle" like they should. Then you have the issue of bass, which in the non-pioneer system is disappointing. In the Cruze, you don't really hear any tonality; all you get is a boomy bass type sound that's similar to a kick drum. However, you won't be able to easily distinguish each note on an electric guitar because the speaker simply cannot reproduce them due to a limited excursion. The Pioneer system helps that cause with the rear deck subwoofers, but only to a degree as the Qtc of those speakers will be rather high and you'll hear a lot of "boomy" bass. This system is designed to impress people who know nothing about sound systems. "Lots of bass" doesn't equal good sounding bass. the Pontiac GTO with the integrated 8" subwoofer did a much better job of producing accurate bass. The trunk is not sealed off well enough to allow those subs to play with any accuracy or linearity below 70 or 80hz. 65hz would be pushing it. The only way to fix this is to install a well designed subwoofer, preferably one that works well in a sealed box. Something as small as an 8" Alpine Type-R sub ($95 for the sub shipped) and a .5 cubic foot box you can build yourself would do the trick nicely. You don't need a whole lot of sub to get good bass. 



OnlyTaurus said:


> ? The Pioneer system's only rated at 250 watts, even then for that power it sounds great(with the right adjustments). I'm not really into sound systems and 4 12" subwoofers with a 1500watt amp, just sounds ridiculous to me(no offense if you're into that). I'd rather spend the extra grand or more on the performance side of cars. Not knocking anyone, just my opinion.
> 
> Regardless, it's cool that you're upgrading that. I'm just gonna run the speakers til they die, as replacements are free.


I can guarantee you it's not 250W RMS. I'd say the rear speakers might be getting 25-40W RMS each, and the rest of the speakers in the car may be getting 10-15W RMS if they're lucky. That's probably the peak rating, with the continuous power rating being somewhere between 100W and 150W RMS.


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## pntballer925 (Feb 27, 2011)

what's funny is that my cruze without the pioneer system has the same exact speakers and the amp in the trunk

Sent from my Nexus S using AutoGuide.Com Free App


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

pntballer925 said:


> what's funny is that my cruze without the pioneer system has the same exact speakers and the amp in the trunk
> 
> Sent from my Nexus S using AutoGuide.Com Free App


You sure you don't have the Pioneer system? Mine doesn't have it for sure and there are just open holes in the rear deck where the factory rear deck speakers would normally be.


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## pntballer925 (Feb 27, 2011)

Lol I meant minus the 6x9s and center channel speaker, all 4 door speakers are the same as the pioneer system, and it also has the amp on the right fender well in the trunk

Sent from my Nexus S using AutoGuide.Com Free App


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## chuck5330 (Oct 1, 2011)

I have to agree with Xtreme. The speakers they put in these cars are "good" but by no means "great", at least to a trained ear. I also agree with his statement that once you hear quality aftermarket speakers, you notice a difference. I just ordered my speaker brackets from Crutchfield last night so I can replace my door speakers with my Polk Audio components. By no means a top end speaker (cash strapped thanks to owning two cruzes, lol) But no the cheap ones either. They do reproduce a lot cleaner sound, and having the separate crossover allows me to fine tune them somewhat. What puzzles me is why Chevy would put a "brand new design" on the speaker connector. With all the variety of vehicles chevy has, surely they could have used a currently used design. The thought of chopping off the factory connector is bothersome to me. Someday I will pass this cruze on to another loyal owner, but not sure if the speakers will go with the car. My .02 cents


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

I got a thread up about my up and coming install. It's the first link in my signature. 

If anyone wants to see what goes into an SQ install, you'll want to tune into my updates in that thread.


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## chuck5330 (Oct 1, 2011)

Hey Xtreme, was thinking about doing a "how-to" on replacing the door speakers when my adapters come in, whatcha think? Has someone already done one with photos?


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

chuck5330 said:


> Hey Xtreme, was thinking about doing a "how-to" on replacing the door speakers when my adapters come in, whatcha think? Has someone already done one with photos?


I haven't, but I was going to include it in my writuep for my SQ install (first link in my signature). You're more than welcome to document the process though.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

Definitely agree with Xtreme on this one. I own some high end equipment and nothing compares. Something you can listen to for hours, at near full volume that allows you to still hold a conversation in the car without raising your voice. When I first heard something like that, I was totally amazed. 

The installer I bought the equipment from was a friend that owned a shop that carried it. It was a little pricey, so he wasnt into having anything out as a floor model. When he installed it, I let him listen to it while I hung out and talked to friends. He spent 6 hours in the car listening to every CD he had hearing things in his music he had never heard before and was completely amazed. I have some Al Dimeola that I like to listen to, sounds nice with a good system.


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## tecollins1 (Nov 6, 2011)

Just wanted to share my upgrade and install.
Bought a pair of Power Bass 
S-1S 1" Tweeters
Rated @ 50w RMS 100w peak
3-20khz
91db
4 ohms
Also has a crossover in the wiring.














Just pull the panel off, it's held be two clips and the retaining band. Slide off the band and disconnect the tweeter.







Pull off the tweeter. Then in stall the new tweeter.














I let them play on low for about 15 min. Didn't really tell a difference.
But when I cranked it up to 25, WOW big difference! Awesome $40 upgrade. Install only took 30 min 

Adding a Sub & tweeters have always been my favorite upgrade they make the biggest difference.

Sent from iPhone 4


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

The greatest difficulty in upgrades like this is SPL matching. Every speaker has a specific sensitivity. The crossover network occasionally pads the tweeters with resistors, but not always. In this case, there's a capacitor that serves as a simple protection circuit. It is not uncommon to have upgraded tweeters that sound "hot," especially if they are low impedance tweeters and the stock midwoofers are not very sensitive. 

That said, I'm glad yours sound good, because making them sound good isn't particularly easy.


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## tecollins1 (Nov 6, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> That said, I'm glad yours sound good, because making them sound good isn't particularly easy.


But I don't have the trained ear like you do, so you might find something. 

But to me it sounds just fine. Im Wanting to install that other amp I have laying around to give it its full potential. The amp is a kicker 350.4



Sent from iPhone 4


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

tecollins1 said:


> But I don't have the trained ear like you do, so you might find something.
> 
> But to me it sounds just fine. Im Wanting to install that other amp I have laying around to give it its full potential. The amp is a kicker 350.4
> 
> ...


Well, as long as the tweeter doesn't sound too "hot," you'll be good to go. If it does, grab a variety of resistors from 5ohms to 20ohms and cross the leads of the tweeter with them. They'll damp the output a bit if it's too loud. The factory tweeter has a really jagged frequency response and falls flat on its face trying to play anything above 8khz, so I have no doubt that your upgrade sounds better.


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## tecollins1 (Nov 6, 2011)

Can you define the term "hot" for me. Not really sure what that is referring to.


Sent from iPhone 4


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

tecollins1 said:


> Can you define the term "hot" for me. Not really sure what that is referring to.
> 
> 
> Sent from iPhone 4


Too loud, or bright. If you're drowning out the deeper male vocals with higher pitched guitar string plucks and cymbals, your tweeters are probably too loud.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

Gdubs said:


> Hey everyone! I just thought I would let everyone know about my sound system upgrade in my 2011 Cruze 2LT with Nav and Pioneer sound system.
> 
> 
> While the Pioneer system that is optional on the Chevy Cruze is a great upgrade from the non-pioneer system it is still lacking. It lacks high notes and good low end bass that doesnt distort. So i set myself on a mission to make it better than it was. I know my biggest limiting factor is my head unit.... But since the car came with NAV i AM NOT willing to change the head unit. So Speakers were the next obvious choice.
> ...


Effectively you just bought speakers? I have the speakers in the doors only and I have the stock stereo in the LS. Wouldn't mind upgrading to something a little more "beefy". All I have now is the Bazooka 50 watt in the trunk and it sounds OK but...... From what I know about this stereo I don't know if speaker replacement will improve things that much. It doesn't make sense to me that replacing the door speakers would yield that much difference. Maybe Xtreme can give some insight. I don't know much about modern stereos anymore.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Patman said:


> Effectively you just bought speakers? I have the speakers in the doors only and I have the stock stereo in the LS. Wouldn't mind upgrading to something a little more "beefy". All I have now is the Bazooka 50 watt in the trunk and it sounds OK but...... From what I know about this stereo I don't know if speaker replacement will improve things that much. It doesn't make sense to me that replacing the door speakers would yield that much difference. Maybe Xtreme can give some insight. I don't know much about modern stereos anymore.


New speakers will probably get you a better frequency response and may sound more full. The issue is finding ones sensitive enough to sound good with the stock stereo's power. Otherwise, you need to amplify them, and that's a new can of worms as you need the PAC, the amp, the power wiring, speaker wiring, and RCAs. 

What is it that you feel is missing? I replied to your PM by the way.


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## Clay101 (May 9, 2020)

Gdubs said:


> Hey everyone! I just thought I would let everyone know about my sound system upgrade in my 2011 Cruze 2LT with Nav and Pioneer sound system.
> 
> 
> While the Pioneer system that is optional on the Chevy Cruze is a great upgrade from the non-pioneer system it is still lacking. It lacks high notes and good low end bass that doesnt distort. So i set myself on a mission to make it better than it was. I know my biggest limiting factor is my head unit.... But since the car came with NAV i AM NOT willing to change the head unit. So Speakers were the next obvious choice.
> ...


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