Amplifier suggestion please?

    I’m looking to upgrade the stock stereo system in my 2016 SL, and I could use a suggestion for an appropriate AMP.


    My plan is to mount a pair of Bose Double Cube Speakers inside the black humps under the roll bars & behind the seat headrests.



    I know it’s an unconventional speaker choice, but I have 5 speaker cubes on hand from my old Bose home theater system, and the size of these speakers would fit nicely in the humps.(I’ve already installed a pair in my golf cart and they work great as the front speakers on a four-channel car stereo).I’m not concerned about great Bass sound output, I just want an overall better music volume (without distortion) when driving at speed.



    My thought is to wire the stock stereo unit to input to the AMP, with 2 front outputs to the stock foot-well speaker units, and 2 rear outputs to the pair of Bose speaker cubes.


    Couple of considerations/questions:


    • I would like the AMP to be “outdoor capable” (damp environment, a Marine amp?) and a size that will fit under the driver’s seat
    • AMP would definitely need to be adjustable for front/rear volume balance control
    • Not sure what the impedance is on the SL stock speaker units, are they 4 ohm or 8 Ohm?
    • I realize the stock speakers are not the best; my “phase two” plan would be to upgrade the front speakers later with something better that will still fit in the stock enclosures.
    • The Bose speaker cubes measure at 8 Ohms; will this be an issue if the stock front speaker units are 4 Ohms? (Can the amp run front and rear speaker sets with different impedance levels?)
    • As far as wiring and connectors, I have no problem grabbing the soldering iron and attaching the appropriate connectors, etc


    Thanks in advance, I would appreciate benefiting from someone that has done something similar in their SS with good results.

    This is an odd set up being that I was always told the difference in home speakers vs whats in your car could never be mixed. Something with output and ohms or some sort...either way Im not a stereo guy but Im sure if they have a minute (like at Midnight their time due to the Maggie Valley event!) @SlingTunes could help you out with this!


    Good luck brother! Hope to get some riding in with you soon!

    Owner of Three's Da Life Fenders and Three's Da Life Apparel


    Proud supporter of S.O.G. (Slingshot Owners Group) :thumbsup:


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    I like the unconventional thinking and use of the Bose cube speakers but you may run into a problem without someone suggesting the appropriate amplifier. I'm pretty sure the SS stock speakers are 4ohm but I'm always subject to being wrong. That's your mismatch...I'm not saying that it can't be done, you will probably sacrifice a bit as they are not built for open air, let alone to be played for great sound at +45mph speeds. I'd never considered repurposing these to run in my golf cart and now I'm actually curious....


    Either way, I hope someone pops in to give you some real world experience and guidance. Good luck on the mod and I hope it works out for you.

    Quote from Zorasmiles

    I like the unconventional thinking and use of the Bose cube speakers but you may run into a problem without someone suggesting the appropriate amplifier. I'm pretty sure the SS stock speakers are 4ohm but I'm always subject to being wrong. That's your mismatch...I'm not saying that it can't be done, you will probably sacrifice a bit as they are not built for open air, let alone to be played for great sound at +45mph speeds. I'd never considered repurposing these to run in my golf cart and now I'm actually curious....


    Either way, I hope someone pops in to give you some real world experience and guidance. Good luck on the mod and I hope it works out for you.

    ...4 ohms or 2 ohms...?

    @MADDMOE thanks...in my haste in replying while on the cell I should have been a bit more careful. Normally anything 2ohms would be definitely a subwoofer load at quick glance...with the SS 4-8ohm would be what I'd think the stock speakers were without measuring them as I have yet to do so. If you have 4 stock speakers running at 2ohm...talk about overheating and shutting down...hence why they are normally 4ohm or higher. With the home speakers vs car audio..people have run home audio components in car audio setups and it's worked but I wouldn't say it's been the best sounding setup. I think people tend to forget when we start to talk about ohms we're talking about impedance...than we have to think about the magnet sizes of the speakers and so many other things that can contribute..as well as the amplifier in the setup. As I tend to type too much I tired giving a short answer..and with this response I feel as if I should be typing like two more pages lol I won't say that the cubes won't work, I'm curious as to how they'd sound from standing to highway speeds...from hot..rain..to cold conditions over time. As stated before I hope someone who's possibly has some real world experience pops in with this setup because I'm always open to new ideas. Heck, I'm thinking about pulling my current speakers on my golf cart to see how the Bose cube sound :D

    I installed hundreds of the Bose cubes when I sold built-in stereo and home theater systems in new-construction, and the biggest issue I see is that the cubes are not a full range speaker and are not capable of producing any low range frequencies. They are designed to work exclusively with the Bose subwoofer that comes with all of the cube speaker configurations. If you use them alone they are very tinny sounding. That being said, your ear is the one that matters and if you like the way they sound, you'll be happy. I don't see an issue running them from an automotive amp if there are separate front and rear outputs. Where you might have a problem is when you run multiple sets of speakers in parallel off a single output which reduces the impedance and can cause overload/overheat/protection status.

    Remember folks - this isn't a rehearsal, this is The Show!8)

    Thanks to everyone for their inputs and suggestions. Using Bose Cube speakers are not typically the first idea that comes to mind when adding speakers to the SS, but I'm trying to think outside the box (or inside the hump so to speak ;) )


    What got me thinking of this as a potential SS option is I have them on hand, and last year I've installed a pair in my golf cart, working as "front" speakers. Surprisingly they sound pretty good running off a cheap $99 4-channel car stereo (the rear speakers are some cheap waterproof patio speakers I found on Amazon, which provide more of the Bass). I know the rules; pics or it didn't happen. See my "Woody" Golf Cart keeping my SS company, and where I have the Bose Cubes mounted under the roof next to the stereo.


    Since the Bose are relatively near the passengers heads in the Golf Cart, this got me thinking of how near my head is to the rear humps in the SS, and maybe they could work inside the humps also. I've found some 4" speaker grills I can put over the hole I would cut on the front of the humps when I mount the cubes inside. I know these wont provide any Bass to speak of, and I'm not looking for premium sound quality when blasting tunes at the car-show parking lot. My real goal is just more volume (without distortion) to help overcome some of the wind noise when driving around.


    Guess my real question is still: what AMP might do the job, and can I combine a pair of 8 ohm Bose Cube speakers with the SS's 4 Ohm (?) front speaker pods?


    Thanks Again!



    Thanks Again !