Hi Guys,

Quick question. Using the factory Premium Bose HU. Adding aftermarket speakers (6.5 components up front and a 12 inch sub) and amps (to power my mids and highs and sub), in comparison to using aftermarket HU, is there a big difference in sound quality/loudness/etc? Also, my installer will be running a line driver to my system.

Thanks in advance.

Jiunn

 

lol do you want ME to answer this one?

IMO yes, you do loose a bit of SQ with the stock HU, what you loose even more is the added visual features and expansion features. and also, if you get a HU that has some good internal EQ, that would relaly help as well...

the line driver we are doing will help, but honetsly, i dont think it will be like a normal aftermarket HU...

is it worth the extra what ever dollar for the HU plus about 350 for the double din finisher? thats for you to decide hehe

but better decide quickly hehe, cuase i am about to order the line driver soon

 

hahah. Yes, you answering that question was perfect! hahaha. Oh man. I need to think (quickly) about this one. Lets chat via e-mail. I'll send you a quick e-mail very soon.

As always, thanks Bing.

 

jiunn, lets talk in person about it sometime this week if possible, its easier to explain it in person versus email hehe

i will giv4e you a ring this week

b

 

If I can add my 2 cents....

Just to clarify.....
Stock "non-premium" Bose system AND "Premium" Bose system has the SAME HU. AND IT IS NOT A BOSE, its a Clarion HU.

The only difference between the "non-premium non-Bose" and "Premium Bose" systems is that the "Premium" system adds a ~220W Bose amp and 2 Bose 6x9" "subs" on the rear shelf.

The front component speakers and backseat side speakers are stock Nissan speakers, NOT BOSE. Again, the only Bose speakers are the rear shelf 6x9"s. AND HU's for both systems are the same Clarion HU, NOT BOSE.

Its a common misconception that just b/c one gets the "Bose Premium" system, you get all Bose speakers, Bose amp and Bose HU. This is certainly not true. Hope this helps....

doc

 

acutally, this statement is not fully correct. And i am going to keep calling them bose ucase honetsly, OEM clarion to me means nothing, as all the manufactueres use some speaker brand name to OEM for them, it doesnt mean these stock sepakres or HU are anyhting like the brand name's aftermarket stuff, so calling them clarion or pioneer or alpine etc etc to me doenst make too much sense hehe

anyway

the non-bose headunit and the bose headunit are NOT the same headunit. This makes a rather large difference in overall SQ when tapping into them.

to sum it up...

the stock BOSE headunit has no real built in internal amp, just a pre amp of sorts, and sends a VERY weak signal out to the bose amp to be amplified. this means if you hook up a speaker directly to the output on the back of hte bose headunit, you will barely get any volume, this also means that when tapping into the bose system before the bose amp, its best to add a line driver to boost hte signal.

the stock NON-BOSE headunit has a built in amp to power the spekaers directly, there for it has a much higher voltage coming out of it (line level). this acutally, interms of signal strength, make the non-bose headunit a better candidate as a signal source for an aftermarket system, than the bose headunit.

Though imo from having done a few with stock headunits, the overall SQ of either HU isnt really up to par with even a mid level aftermarket headunit...

b

 

well, if you want to get technical about it, than you're right.... But I do believe the HU is made by Clarion, its just not badged as one. But really its a matter of semantics like you said.

But we can both agree that the stock HU in either stock system is not the best. Also, most buyers will elect to buy the G with the "Premium Bose" system under the illusion that the Bose system will rock and tell their friends "I have a Bose Premium sound system" Also, I think you lose the HomeLink rearview mirror and a couple other good options if one elects not to get the Premium system. (That's how they get you on that extra $2K(?)...)

But, in any sense, doesn't really matter, people will say that the Bose system sounds decent. I think these people, medically professionally speaking, are in denial (Kubler Ross reference), and/or either have not heard a completely upgraded system or unfortunately, are saving up to upgrade their system....lol.

I hope this halts the start of new threads of "How can I upgrade the stock Bose HU???"

Always a fun topic to rehash/recycle every 3 months or so. This kind of thread is how I learned about the stock system and how to upgrade it back in 2004.


Does this look familiar??????
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<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7162/deck20explosionbj1.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a><br/>



doc

 

oh i wanst disagreeing at all definetly i think the stock HU leaves something to be desired...

hehe domnt show me that pic, i have seen the same thing about 30 times now in Gs i work on and it haunts me in my sleep hehehe espeically the 03-04 as you have

b

 

So you're telling me even if let's say the JL Audio clean sweep is connected to the non Bose HU, the SQ will be subpar to a decent aftermarket HU?
Us 2007 Sedan owners are stuck with the OEM HU. Your last sentence just tampered my enthusiasm towards adding components and a sub to the stock non Bose HU.

 

Since you're stuck with the OEM HU, you have to work with what you have. The system will still sound better with an aftermarket amp and speakers compared to stock.

 

Deleted

 

^ The rear deck speakers are the subs in the Bose system.

 

Yea, I just got the car on Sat. and sitting at my desk I had a false memory that there were 2 6x9s in the rear deck with the sub in between. They should have put them back there though and done away with the lousy speakers in the rear door. So I deleted the dumb post... Too bad, I thought I had a pretty good idea.

 

Congrats on the new purchase. I don't know if you were talking about the sedan or the coupe. I referred to the coupe.

The pre-07 sedan with Bose has a sub in the middle of the rear shelf and speakers in the front and rear doors.

The 03-07 coupe with Bose has speakers in the front doors and rear side panels with 6x9 "subs" in the rear shelf.

 

I was also thinking of using a JL Audio Cleansweep and adding a sub but not messing with the components.
One of the main reasons I dont want to mess with the stock HU is because I think I read on here somewhere that if you have dual climate control they dont make double din that is compatible with having dual climate control. Is that true? What about a single DIN?