By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Sony: Xm-754HX/R $199.99 75watts X 4.
Pioneer: GM-x354 $168.95 50watts x 4.
Alpine: MRPF306 $129.00 30watts x 4.
The amps above are well known name brands. I did a search for them on the Internet; there will be many sites to look at. But I recommend checking out your nearest car audio store that stocks the brands in question.
Go to the stores to demo the amp, take some music you know very well and listen to it at the store with a display that approximates your car (front speakers: 2 way separates up front 6x9 rear (no sub). There are many different amps and makers. And price ranges. The amps I suggested are just the beginning. Just take a look at my previous post. That system I am putting in my car is going to cost in excess of $4,000.00, Yes, It is crazy to spend that much money on a car audio system.. But I am a stickler for EXTREME sound QUALITY.
I don't recommend to everyone to go to the extent that I am. I am only saying that anyone considering replacing the amp should stop and think about it. Make an informed decision. You don't have to accept the auto manufactures bland attempts at car audio.
While some may have the time and day to pursue warranty claims, time is money. The time to drive back and forth to the dealer, cost of gas, the anguish of talking to brick walls (service rep), dissatisfaction with the car because of one lousy amp, and overall grief with their experience dealing with inept GM service, can all be resolved quickly and painlessly by going to a small mom and pop audio stores and buy a decent amp for $75 or less.
My mission is to enjoy my Impala as much as possible. If I had problem with my amp (which I don't believe) I would immediately replace the amp myself and be done with. If I had to replace the amp, I would prefer aftermarket amp anyway.
My happiness is more important then dealing with something that cost miniscule to replace. While some people prefer to spend top dollars for Zaino products to keep their cars nice and shine, why not spend extra $$ for an amp replacement and be happy?
Different strokes, for different folks.
GO LAKERS!!
Now, I'm not advocating "frying" your Amp by running power down the wrong lead or anything like that, but I'd be curious if there might be some way for owners to have it fail by, uhhh, "accident".
Sorry for venting folks, and I apologize, Hvan for wanting value and for helping others to get satisfaction. I don't own GM stock, but if I did I'd be angry that the company treats their customers this way.
Licavy, glad to hear there are more service dept. out there that are customer driven, your story should also help others who are getting the cold shoulder, print them out and bring them in to show your dealer.
later
wwnf
Now my new '01 LS has the excellent '103' AMP and my radio head unit doesn't feel no where near as hot as the old radio did.
Another reason why the '104' is a piece of junk AMP.
Most of the problems reported here regarding with the radio AMP warranty swap are caused mainly by BAD dealers whose primary mission is to screw the customer real good. Some others have not encountered this resistance to obtain the new '103' AMP at no charge under warranty.
Suggestion: Post the bad dealer's name, location and contact names that way people can stay away from these businesses that don't want to provide the minimum standards of customer care and satisfaction.
You are accusing GM of conspiracy theory that they "knew" about amp 104 being inferior, and thus, the superior amp 103 replacement on 2001 Impala.
Well, have you ever heard of "continuous process improvement"? Whether you're buying a car, TV, computer, or electronic gadgets, every model tends to be improve in product features, styles, and performances year after year. Does this mean that everytime a company improves on a new product that they must "replace" existing products from their customers? Absolutely NOT! If it's NOT a liability issue, then they do NOT have to do anything (unless they want to satisfy their customers).
So if next year, Chevy improves on the Impala (more hp, quieter, faster, sleeker), are you going to request Chevy to "replace" your 2001 Impala because they "knew" that the 2001 vehicle is "inferior" to 2002? (same analogy as the amp).
Folks, this is not conspiracy theory created by GM. Lets stop this nonsense before this rumor gets out of hand.
GO LAKERS!!!
With the 104 amp, radios did/do get abnormally warm.
With the 104 amp, the sound quality was/is poor at best, especially for something called a "premium audio system" and costing an extra $220 or whatever it was.
GM did get a barrage of complaints or they would not have changed it. Because it a somewhat subtle but very real defect and nobody was getting killed by it (like Firestone SUV tires) GM hoped the amp issue would fall through the cracks, unnoticed. Corporations do things like that all the time.
The sound with the 104 was thin and tinny but GM did nothing for those of us who filed complaints. Instead they quietly fixed the design and never notified us who had brought the defect to their attention.
There is no way that GM would have changed the design if they had not gotten plenty of flack about the heat build up and the bad sound on the 104 amp.
Note that GM changed ONLY the amp - NOT the RDS head end unit in the dash NOR the speakers. To anyone thinking clearly, that serves as incontrovertible proof that the 104 model amp was "the weakest link" in the system, that it was defective in design and therefore replaced.
Your "more hp, quieter, faster, sleeker" argument holds no water. They are NOT defects. No one would expect a replacement vehicle if those things changed. That's ludicrous.
However, the 104 amp is defective in design and/or manufacture. It is absolutely
NO DIFFERENT than the engine cradle weld problems, the intermediate steeering shaft problem or replacing the early version rear wheel liners - ALL of which many of us have had done under warranty. Because the amp is defective, it too should be replaced - UNDER WARRANTY.
Lakers? Who cares?
Consider it a blessing that GM "recognize" the inferior 104 amp, and replace it with 103 amp on most of the 2001 Impala. They did what every other companies have done....they IMPROVED on their products from previous year . The KEY point is "IMPROVE"!! Does this mean that everytime a company "improves" on a new product that they must "replace" existing products from their customers? Again, absolutely NOT! If it's NOT a product liability issue, then they do NOT have to do anything (unless they want to satisfy their customers).
As for "premium audio system", that's all relative. I dont hear anyone complaining to GM about the poor quality of the antenna. That's another "inferior" product that needs to be improve. Maybe we need to open up another forum with 600 messages or so on "poor antenna" LOL
Yeah, how bout them LAKERS!
Just don't read it if you find it ludicrous that people should want to waste their time on this issue. You were probably one of those that thought this shouldn't have been raised on the main board, so I've tried to keep my comments here, now if you don't like it, just don't read them!
I won my case with GM and it wasn't a hard fight, because I had a dealer who cared about customer satisfaction. To try and help others get the same satisfaction is all I hope to do. All you want to do is come up with arguments against what we are trying to do. I'm done arguing...
I still remember the days when people would stare at my car and wonder what it was.
later
wwnf
Oh well. Later
wwnf
That's my two cents.
As for Hunter and Dura, I have no problem with either of your arguments. It's not worth getting worked up though. You have both contributed greatly to the value of this forum and I sure appreciate it.
BTW did you notice the owner's manual says to wash/wax the alloy wheels just like the paint? I remove the wheels and clean them up really well/wax them each time I rotate the tires (6000 mile increments).
Oops, I should put this on the main board.
WWNF, My girlfriends parents liked to make fun of me because I prefer 4 door cars. I'm 21 by the way. I told them I wanted an Imp and Her step-dad said, "What in the heck you want a big boat like that for". Welp they changed their minds when I pulled up in my 2001 navy blue LS.
BTW What are you talking about when you say center caps?
I like the idea of a new amp. A co-worker of mine recently bought a new 2001 Monte SS with the premium sound system. I told him the day after he picked it up that he would need to bypass the amp. He asked why, as he thought the radio sounded excellent. I assured him that it would get better. Then, on the way to lunch a few days later, he popped in this CD he wanted me to hear, and to my surprise, it sounded great. I thought it must have been a fluke. Just the CD sounded good, and I wanted to do a side by side comparison. Never got the chance to, but I think it's probably because he's got the new amp. I'm going to have to check.
All this being said, I have to visit my dealership and see what I can find out. I have to get my rear wheel well liners fixed (they installed them wrong...the pocket still exists...). If they can't do the liners right, I'm wondering about the amp. We'll see.
Duraflex was right, after all...the bypass was a band-aid...something else needed to be done, and I think that something has arrived...
As I remember - the idea of bypassing the amp came from a guy who used the nickname "humahuma". It made sense because the head end radios in the non-premium audio systems had no trunk amp and they sounded fine (also different speakers). HH e-mailed the factory schematic to me which I tried but did not decipher. I believe he was an Impala owner.
Another good fellow - jojo28 - aka jjmahler - did manage to figure it out and posted the jumping configuration. I believe he was the first to do the bypass and I followed his lead. Joe is an Impala owner.
Others jumped on board. The "AMP BYPASS" was never considered a real fix - rather a workaround or an interim solution. The new 103 amp seems to have solved both the issue of sound quality and the excessively warm radio when connected to an operating 104 amp.
BTW, in re-reading earlier posts, I thought the earliest version 102 amp sounded pretty good - especially compared to the 104.
I couldn't remember back that far concerning who might have proposed the bypass, either way it wa s fine fix until they came up with a solution, which I still believe they knew was a bad set up (the 104)when they put it in. BTW, I don't think Oswald acted alone either...
That being said, I am also a victim of the 104 piece of junk AMP. I heard about the bypass, performed it several months ago and have been happy with it ever since. I too did not go through the formal process of registering a complaint. Shame on me.
Since the 103 AMP appears to have addressed the issue, I'm doing what I feel is the only option I have available to me. That is lay out the $186 for the 103 AMP. Why, do you ask. Because my time is much more valuable to me than the $186 bucks. If you folks added up the time you spent complaining here, you'll find that you spent a bunch of cycles, without a solution. For me, my time is more important and it's far easier and cheaper for me to shell out the $$$. Even if I spent countless hours fighting with a service manager or writing letters, 2-hours worth of that effort cost more for me the the $$$ for the 103 amp.
By the way, you can get that booster amp from the source I listed earlier for 165.86, but I don't know what shipping will cost you, so Hutton might be the right deal for you at 186.00. Kim at Hutton has been pretty good to us...
I already paid my $186 and then some and got nothing but a worthless, unconnected, box mounted up in the trunk for my money. Not to mention the grief, agg and TIME I've already invested in something as simple as a radio. This should be a non-issue since car radios have been around for over 60 years.
And it's more than money - it's also a principle.
All I want is the product I paid for.
I feel I am close to having my dealer replace the amp in my '01, and that message from GM would really help. Thanks in advance!
At this level most music sounds OK I guess. But, as we get older the first part of our hearing that goes is the lower freqs. The bass response is even more important if your trying to listen to things such as talk shows, sports, etc.. at low volume.
I talked with my service manager about this last Monday and so far have not heard back from him. I doubt that I will. We all need to keep up the pressure on GM. I intend on calling him back. I paid for a "premium" stereo and I want it.
I feel I am close to having my dealer replace the amp in my '01, and that message from GM would really help. Thanks in advance!
At this time the install has been postponed due to the possibility I may be part of a "downsizing in staff" in my company. I will not know when until after July 9th (hopefully). So, as a prudent course of action I will postpone the install till august.
Also at this point all the equipment is in hand and awaiting the install. So this will happen, not just when I had planned.
I am disappointed I had to postpone this installation. But you can never be too safe. As the details emerge in this, I can then make a better decision at that time.
Thanks to all who may be following. And have a great day!
Chevy says that the LS can be equipped with an 8-speaker premium sound system with auxiliary amplifier. The Impala does have an auxiliary amplifier. So strictly speaking, they have provided what they said they would. What is the purpose of the amp? It could be boosting the signal to the back speakers to relieve the stress on the internal amp of the head unit. [We can (and have) discuss the finer points on what is a speaker, but I am concentrating on the amp issue today.]
It really comes down to customer service. The owners are not satisfied with the sound quality of the amplifier. Is Chevy willing to change out the amplifiers to meet their need?
Swapping an amp from a rental car may solve your immediate problem. However, it is the rental car company's fault that Chevy is not keeping their customers satisfied? Two wrongs do not make a right (but three lefts will).
Personally, I would like to swap out the factory amp with an aftermarket one. The thing holding me back is the unique connector in the harness. Sure, I paid for the amp, but I want MORE POWER. Arr, arr, arr! (Tim Allen impression).