Bose Stereo Upgrade ...

[Warren.Gleich@marcam.com]

     Well, I can speak from experience.  Mark Radelow was kind enough to 
     answer some questions over the summer when I was looking at the same 
     upgrade.  
     
     Fist off. The Speakers and amp combination is not bad at all when 
     considering car hifi.  The Boston Acoustic Rally Seperates do sound a 
     bit better in my passat but that is for another newsgroup.  The head 
     unit truly sucks.  You will be amazed how much better it will sound. 
     
     I upgraded my wife's GLX with a clarion head unit.  Very simple.  
     
     You need a antenna adapter.  See VW sends power to the fuba through 
     the center of the antenna.  I also used a VW wiring harness stereo 
     adapter.  I bought mine from crutchfield.  
     
     Then stop by your friendly vw dealer and ask them to remove the head 
     unit.  It requires a special tool that I heard varying stories over 
     being able to buy.  
     
     Now, hook all the wires for the head unit as described in the vw 
     wiring harness directions EXCEPT the grounds for the speakers.  Leave 
     those unconnected.  Also be sure to use whatever external device 
     (antenna,amp) connection to the bose amp.
     
     That is all you need to do.  I understand that you might need a 
     capacitor for some units attached to the grounds.  I did not encounter 
     that problem. 
     
     Sound is amazing compared to the old head unit.  FM is acceptable (and 
     I live in the boonies).
     
     The speakers seem to be a decent match to the amp.  I might replace 
     the amp a certain point.  
     
     Enjoy,
     
     Warren
     
     ps.  If you want some opinions about BOSE, check rec.audio.opinion in 
     dejanews.  It is not a pretty site.