As most of you know (if you've read my posts), my wife bought a Cobalt. I have the stock base radio and she does also. BUT, her sound is FAR superior to mine. Great base sound from the rear speakers which are mounted on the shelf behind the seats like the older cars. Much much better base than mine. So, if I add a speaker in the woofer indention in the back, would that help my bass and is the wiring already there and hooked to the radio. I don't want amps and 1000 watts of power. I'm just an old codger who likes to hear bass were bass should be. I'm also not technically minded. Working at a desk for over 30 years takes away my "youthful patience",

 

keep the stock radio, buy a cheap 4-channel amp, buy 4 sets of 6 1/2" door speakers and you'll be set. If you dont want too much bass you wont need a sub on the back. This upgrade will set you back about $180-$250. If you need to have someone install it for you it will cost more.

 

I've asked some of these questions myself. But I'll give you my take on what you are asking.

The sound is different due to the configuration of the car. The rear door speakers are down so low, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with the difference in sound. I've fooled around with the bass, treble and fade controls and have been pretty pleased with what I have attained. It's just a matter of coming up with a happy medium with your adjustments.

As for the area in the back where the factory subwoofer was place, I'm not sure how much room is back there for speakers. I have been told that the wiring is not back there unless you got the 7 speaker system with the car.

We're pretty much in the same boat...I'm older and like the bass...and I'm also challenged when it comes to electronics like this. You might want to check out the Basic Stereo questions thread I started which is HERE.

 

Can you give us more details on this PNOY? This sounds like something I might want to do. Can the amp be put up front somewhere? If our HHR came with stock system, don't we need trim rings for door speakers? Going off what I remember from other threads. Thanks

 

The rear speakers in your wife's Cobalt sound better because they are mounted on top of the trunk. In other words, they are using the trunk space to resonate their sound - it's the same idea behind a subwoofer box: the speaker is mounted onto the box in order to enhance and amplify the sound that the speaker is making on its own. The airspace in the trunk is being used in conjunction with the speaker, and together they produce a better sound. Hope that helps.

 

all i know is that with the amp and woofer when i crank mine up the base is and the rear view mirror vibrates

 

My rear view mirror vibrates too on some songs with the 6 speakers and the 6 disc stock radio I added. It really does it when I crank up Lenny Kravitz "Where are we runnin?"

 

I believe it's also because the Cobalt uses 6x9"s in the back not 6 1/2"s like we have in the HHR. If I'm not mistake that is.

 

You're kidding me right? When I had the factory box hooked up even with the box packed with polyfill and an aftermarket sub I could turn it up all the way and it wouldn't vibrate anything. I fixed that. Not saying that it didn't sound OK but it definitely doesn't hit hard at all. Remember the factory system is only 260 watts peak for all speakers. That's pretty weak!

 

Shopping around ebay right now for a 4 channel amp (about $100 including shipping). I will also need a 4-channel line output converter (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-O8PpLSH...=721&I=142SLC4) to connect the 4-channel amp to my existing stock radio. I bought two sets of Audiobahn 6 1/2" speakers and they came with mounting trim rings that I used on my car (cut a piece off the trim ring and everything worked). I dont know about other brands and their included trim rings but you will definitely need them if you dont have the premium sound system in your car. I purchased a set of trim rings from crutchfield but didnt need 'em so I will post them here in the "for sale" section when I get done taking pics. The amp will have to be small in size if you want to install it up front. I saw a small area behind the fuse box that can fit an amp.