Car Stereos: Car stereo for new style silverado, rca cables, amplifier installation

Question
Hi I have an 2007 Silverado LTZ with the Bose sound system, one of the new body styles and id like to add an amp and sub to it but keep my stock head unit. What all do i need to do to install it?

Answer
Hi Evan,

You need a standard amplifier installation kit including a power and ground wiring, fuse and fuse holder, RCA cables and speaker wire.  In addition, you'll need a device called a line output converter.  This allows you to make a connection to the factory speaker wiring, and convert it to a low-level output signal that can be connected to the new amplifier via RCA cables.  

In your truck, you'll want to use a line output converter that includes a remote trigger option.  This allows the new amplifier to turn on automatically when the converter senses an audio signal. There's no other way to make the new amp work with the stock head unit, and turn off automatically when you're not using it.

An example of a line output converter with this function is PAC Audio's SNI-45T or SOEM-T.

In your case, you'll want to connect the line output converter to the factory subwoofer wiring, between the center console subwoofer and the factory amp.  I worked on a similar vehicle recently, and found these wires very easy to access under a center console storage pocket (although your truck might not be quite the same).  There's no need to remove the stock radio; you won't find any useful wires there.  

Hope this helps!

Brian