can i just purchase aftermarket tweeters and plug them into the factory location?

i think i blew out the tweeter on the driver side. the sound keeps going on and off.

any recommendations on tweeters?

 

do a search. yes, you can replace them. Also, why don't you just take it back to the dealer to have them replace them under warranty?

 

Yea you can replace them but if you buy aftermarket ones, you will need to re-do the whole radio/amp setup Bose has. Those speakers run on special voltage and ohm level that your aftermarket ones will never be able to handle or perform the way they should.

 

not 100% accurate.. (it was last year however) in 2K2 Bose did away with the seperate amps up front. The stock a-pillar tweeters are cheesy little Clarions rated at 4 ohms, and a number of people have replaced them. I have my replacements in the box (Polk EX3500) but haven't installed them yet. But I have tested one vs. the other when connected to my PC, and the Polk's sound much brighter.

But as far as your problem is concerned, in another thread people mention a front speaker or tweeter cutting in/out, turns out to be a fault in the head unit and not the speaker. Go see the dealer...

 

I know they did away with the front amps. It is now all run through the one amp in the rear desk. The tweeter is a clarion, but it does still run on a different ohm level and Voltage coming from the bose amp.

Dixit

 

Probably not a tweeter problem. If you have Bose 6 disc in dash, do a search for "head unit" and you will find the cause of your problem.

 

BDJ, are you sure you aren't thinking of the earlier models?
The 2001 and back Bose systems had the weird 1-ohm (or something)rated speakers, each with their own amps, but everything I've been reading says the 2K2/3 Bose has a plain old amp in the head unit for everything but the sub, which still has it's own amp. A lot of people have been swapping out their door speakers with 4 ohm speakers and matching the 4-ohm impedance.

As a matter of fact, I have my 2002 a-pillar tweeter in my hand.. it's a little black Clarion soft dome tweeter mounted in a metal frame, and it's marked '4 OHMS' on the back. Real cheep.

I think you are thinking of the non 2K2-2K3 Bose systems (the 2002+ systems sound like crap by the way.. no highs)

 

I have the factory service manual. They DO NOT have individual amps anymore. That was the case on 4th gens, not 5th gens.

The Apillar tweeter runs off of main front speaker, on the back of the tweeter is a passive highpass filter (bass blocker). Changing the tweeter out is not going to get you better highs, it will not automatically draw more power and get more juice to sound clearer.

Just wont happen

 

Nobody said it would draw more power.. but new tweeters might make better use of it. Face it, there are good speakers and not-so-good speakers. As far as Ohms go, I think the current draw from one to another is pretty much the same, if the Ohms are the same.

Anyway, a bunch of people on the .org have stated that replacing the tweeters (only) did make a difference in their 2K2s. And believe me, I searched this one, cause my 2K2's highs are way worse than my 00 or 93. In those previous cars, I used to keep both bass and treble controls set at +2 or +3, both even. In the 2K2, I have the treble up to +5 and the bass down to 0, and it still has no highs. If I put my ear up to the A-pillar tweeters, they sound weak.

Now I haven't installed my Polks yet, but I did hook one up to my PC and played an MP3, then swapped in the Bose/Clarion tweeter on the same channel and played the same MP3.. the Polk was definitely louder and brighter. (I had the balance turned completely to one side during the test, and I was only playing through the tweeter)

Once they're installed I don't expect the highs to be as good as the old 93 or 00 Boses I've had, but at least they will be a little better. do a search and you'll see that some people were happier with their highs after replacing the tweeters.. it can be done!

 

Since you researched this, perhaps you can provide a qick and easy answer. Can you also replace the front and/or rear speakers without any modification(like the tweeter) in the 2k2/2k3? I presume those are 4 ohm also(?).

 

Apparently (and this is based on what others on the org have said) the answer for 2K2/3 is yes. The subwoofer still has it's own amp however. And as BDJ pointed oput, the A-pillar tweeters are connected to the front-door speakers, not directly to the head unit.

I haven't personally looked at schematics or pulled apart my doors (yet!)

 

Although I'm a bit of a novice at both car and home audio, it is my understanding that you don't necessarily need more power to get better highs or clarity - rather, you can get better highs with LESS power when the speaker is more efficient. At least that is what I've learned about my home Klipsch speakers. That may or may not apply to our tweeters.