So this all started with my disappointment with the standard OEM speaker system in my 2009 H2. Despite having the Lux version (7.1 Y91 UQS coded system) I felt the punch / bass just wasn’t there. Initially I tried to find an interface that would allow me to take an RCA out of the back of the head unit, or the amplifier and then run an aftermarket amp and sub from there. Had I had found one, I would have been happy. However, GM seems to have made this near on impossible, and there are many threads and many different forums where you can read up on it. My next step was to look towards an Android head unit. Some of them come with 5.1 (so I wouldn’t lose my center speaker in the middle of the dash), have RCA, but no HDMI out. One of my requirements was that I wanted to be able to run KODI in the car. HDMI in head unit is common place nowadays, but I wanted to find a method for running video to the overhead screen (I didn’t want to rip that out, I wanted to keep it looking stock).
I then made the mistake that most guys do, I went to a couple of tuner’s shops to see what they thought and what could be done. Once there and I could see what projects others were doing, I fell into the trap. By the time I left the second shop (and the guys I opted to go for), I was signed up to full interior strip out, sound deadening, custom subwoofer moulded into the rear quarter trim. Hidden amps, component speakers all the way round, 2 extra cameras (front and rear number plates, alongside the oem hitch cam), and an HDMI head unit capable of video out for the rear roof screen. Job done!
I opted to go for :
Pioneer head unit AVH-X8800BT
Hertz MPK165.3 Pros in all doors
HX300D subwoofer
HCP-1D
HCP-4D
The amplifiers were placed where the stock amplifier/subwoofer would reside. The 16cm Door speakers were placed in the stock positions using MDF (weather coated) rings to give a solid foundation, the front tweeters were placed in the front stock location, and the rear tweeters were placed right at the back of the truck, effectively next to the rear hatch on the rear wall (again, MDF spacers used to make them fit). I was very pleased with the way the Fiber glassed subwoofer came out. I lost my rear jack mount in the process, but that’s no drama, it fits under the middle captain seats.
I am extremely impressed with the sound deadening. I’ve never had this done in a car before, and the effect is strange to say the least. The stuff that was removed from the doors, was already pretty good quality by all accounts, but this has made the car feel totally different. It still has the growl from the airdoc and my borla exhaust, but sat in traffic (I live bang in the center of Moscow) it’s almost silent. On the motorway of course you still hear the wind as it’s an aerodynamic brick, but pootling around town, you can really feel how much less road noise there is. I’m still tempted to get the inside of the hood lined (wondering whether it might be detrimental due to heat build-up), and the wheel arches (again not sure given the size of the tyres if it’s worth it), but am really pleased with how it turned out. I think if you had a more budget conscious car, like a Renault, Peugeot or ford etc., the difference would be even more noticeable. Would definitely do it with my other cars in the future.

One of the requirements for this build was for me to have the ability (when parked of course) to see a film on the front head unit, and mirror the film on the rear. I wanted to use Kodi for this, given CDs/DVDs are a thing of the past. I opted for a raspberry Pi 3, running one of the openelec nightly builds, with a wireless dongle. This set up allows the raspberry pi to become a wireless access point in itself, and any android or iOS phone/tablet can connect to it, and control the system using Kodi Remote (free app). This sits in the center arm console, and is connected to the 12v power via a USB adaptor. I also plug into this pi a portable hard drive or usb key which contains media, films or music etc. I have one limitation. At present if I want to watch HDMI quality in the front, I use the HDMI to plug straight into the Pi. This doesn’t pass back to the roof screen though due to limitations with the Pioneer deck (licensing limitations surrounding HDMI pass through). If I want to use the Rear screen as well (if going on a long journey or have friends in), I remove the HDMI and plug in a 3.5mm 4 pole RCA into the pi instead. This shows on the front head unit as well as the rear screen. It’s a small annoyance, as the PI wont output to both at the same time, but something am more than happy to live with.
Also another quirk, is the increase in the number of cameras I have. I have the front number plate camera stuck on AV2 input (no sound), and is selectable only when I choose that input, which is handy as I don’t want it on whilst driving. The rear cameras work as follows: On the head unit, when in reverse, the new rear plate camera comes on the head unit as designed, at the same time the OEM hitch camera comes up on the mirror. I was much happier with this as it gives me better coverage for parking in the city center. I did consider a bird’s eye view system, but couldn’t be bothered to drill in all the mirrors etc at the side to install.
As for the quality of the system, am very pleased with it. The quality of the speakers is great. If you turn the subwoofer off, the mid bass in the doors, is really punchy, especially for electronic music (dance, drum and bass etc.). The sound stage is clear, without being excessively loud. Together with the sound deadening, I hardly ever listen to the stereo above 15-20%, although I’ve had it above 60-70% before with no signs of distortion. The sub is tight, and plays low when needed. To be honest, I would have liked the sub to drop a tad lower, but I think given the shape of the enclosure, and the confines it was created within, I am more than pleased with the results. The head unit has Apple Carplay which works great for navigation etc., (in English even in Russia!), and if someone wants to watch a film (whilst parked!) it’s simple to switch across. The only thing I’ve yet to test is whether the rear headphones work with the overhead screen now that I’ve swapped out a lot of the OEM bits. I’ll get round to trying it one day, but for now, am happy as it stands.
See below for build pictures, all shots and work carried out by Pro-Service – great bunch of guys. Give me a shout if you have any questions. The only thing left for me to do now is to put my OEM stuff up for sale (Head unit, amplifier, subwoofer, door speakers etc.). Anyone have any idea how much that stuff is worth ?!
Baldfox

 

Enjoy!

 

WOW! Fantastic job. I bet it sounds great.

 

I got a look at this & waited for everything to be uploaded. This is great! I was strongly considering this this myself. After looking at the pics, should be fairly straight forward.

Questions:

1. Do you know how much insulating material they used?
2. What was the mill/thickness?
3. Do you think that someone could get away without installing a sub (i.e. the speakers have enough bass that I won't be wishing for the sub.)
4. What are your thoughts on the double din unit as a whole? It looks like it has lots of options.
5. What is the location of the pic w/ the amps & all of the AV hookups? I can't tell!
6. Not that you have a massive power draw increase, but did you add a second alternator or consider adding one? You'll most likely gain 0.5mpg out of it, lol.

First & foremost, awesome writeup. I appreciate the time & all of the pics. This has already helped me tremendously. I didn't realize just how quiet sound dampening would make the vehicle. Your explanation clarifies the value for me.

As for the raspeberry pi setup, there are option for dual monitors & such, but I don't know if there's a daughter board for a 2nd hdmi port. I'll have to do a little research. A second option is an HDMI splitter. Did anyone mention installing one? They can be had for fairly cheap & would do exactly what you need.

Can those speakers be installed using the standard amp or are they, by themselves drawing too much for the stock amp? I know you needed the amps with the extra sub.



Non-audio questions.

1. Are those the stock headlights? Man they look like bubbles, they are so clean!
2. How are you liking the bushwacker flares?

NIce looks H2. Man that is a clean ride. You're making me want to put my stock 20s back on.


Again, solid write up. I'll probably come up with more questions.

 

This is spectacular - great job man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

Questions:

1. Do you know how much insulating material they used?

Three layers, thicker material initially in sections not over the whole panel, then the backed gold foiled stuff you mainly see, this is the main barrier, then after that there was the lighter white material on the doors. Then we had fabric installed on the back of the door cards etc with gold material (for want of a better phrase) also on the door cards where susceptible to vibration.

1. What was the mill/thickness?

Tough to say, variable, G Line - Comfortmat
Scroll to the bottom you can see the specs (sorry in Russian)

1. Do you think that someone could get away without installing a sub (i.e. the speakers have enough bass that I won't be wishing for the sub.)

For midbass it was great. The beauty of this system is that you have the RCA out from the amps so you can try without the sub and add it if needed, but personally if you’re going for all that trouble.

1. What are your thoughts on the double din unit as a whole? It looks like it has lots of options.

Love it, easy to use, does everything I wanted it to. Good with iOS (car play). Shame I lost my center speaker for surround sound but for how many times I watched a film versus listened to music, it’s no real loss.

1. What is the location of the pic w/ the amps & all of the AV hookups? I can't tell!

Under the center console, photo from the passenger side footwell.

1. Not that you have a massive power draw increase, but did you add a second alternator or consider adding one? You'll most likely gain 0.5mpg out of it, lol.

Not even thought about it. Not worth it


First & foremost, awesome writeup. I appreciate the time & all of the pics. This has already helped me tremendously. I didn't realize just how quiet sound dampening would make the vehicle. Your explanation clarifies the value for me.

As for the raspeberry pi setup, there are option for dual monitors & such, but I don't know if there's a daughter board for a 2nd hdmi port. I'll have to do a little research. A second option is an HDMI splitter. Did anyone mention installing one? They can be had for fairly cheap & would do exactly what you need.

Problem with the Pi is that it can’t output HDMI and 4 pole RCA at the same time, it’s one or the other. So the only real solution in this case is an HDMI splitter, with one HDMI going to the headunit and the other then going into a converter to down convert it into RCA. This will also need power I presume, and to be honest, for how often I have people in the back watching films, it’s not worth it. If they make a way to force the pi to output both at the same time, I’m golden.

Can those speakers be installed using the standard amp or are they, by themselves drawing too much for the stock amp? I know you needed the amps with the extra sub.


Can’t imagine why they wouldn’t be able to work, but I have no idea how much power they’d need or would be drawing from the amps.


Non-audio questions.

1. Are those the stock headlights? Man they look like bubbles, they are so clean!

Nope, truck-lites in mine, well pleased with them, they just dropped right in, I got the anti flicker harness also.

1. How are you liking the bushwacker flares?

I love them. Mine are actually E&G classics, and I ordered them from Dave at the Hummerpartsguy. Nice place. Really upgrade the look of the vehicle. Mine only had 19km on it, it’s really clean and new still, so was a little apprehensive, but glad I went with them.

 

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I now have some parts to sell! Anyone have any idea how much this lot is worth ?

Codes Y91, UQS


X2
Speaker Assy, 134mm, GMX
25725733 Bose

X2
Speaker Assy, 50mm 9Xx LUX 3.2 OHM
15186672 Bose

X2
Speaker ASM – RDO FRT S/D
15236987 Bose

X1
Encl Assy
15177436 Bose

GM Headunit, DVD, DTS, with AUX
25999294

 

Thanks for the lengthy response! I appreciate it!

The reason I asked about the sub is that I'll be doing that work myself. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with cutting into that rear area to install a sub. I have no fabrication tools for fiberglass. If I could get speakers that output "enough" base, I'd be happy.

I did just find this while doing an image search:
SB-GM-HUMRH2/12W6v3/DG - Car Audio - Stealthbox® - Hummer - JL Audio
Now I just need to see if an 08/09 model exists.



Any other plans or is that it for a while?

 

I looked at the JL stuff and couldn't find anything which fit. Also the interface with the oem radio just wasn't going to work so easily. You could go for an audison processor and use that to output to a separate subwoofer but them things just get a bit over the top (in my opinion).

As for mine, I'd really like a low profile custom roof rack and some new wheels/tyres but will chill for now. Am heading to the sema show at the end of the month and will also be paying predator a visit - let's see what ideas I come back with

 

Any ideas ?