I am having the worst time with this install, I ask a bunch of questions and get a little or no responses... I am so frustrated with this Bose deck.

does any one know what product I can use to take balanced inputs and make them unbalanced or regular or whatever?

help

 

Just tap the rear speaker-level ouputs into speaker-level inputs on an amp. A good number of amps have them, and are easier to come by than balanced input adapters.

 

Use a JL cleansweep. It can take the outputs, equalize them and give you good RCA outs. You're still stuck with the Bose DSP in the radio, but that would be the case pretty much whatever you did.

 

^bad recommendation... the stock radio puts out a clean signal, so no need for a clean sweep, and adding a cleansweep is adding unnecessary components which have the probability of adding more noise into your system.

tapping into the speaker level outputs is not really a good idea as this give your new system (whatever it my be) the same characteristics as the old, as all of the processing is done at the amp...

check out the Rockford BLD... it's a balance line driver that will convert the signal to rca, AND will amplify the low level signal at the same time, helping reduce noise

 

The Bose radio does put out a non distorted signal if that's what you mean by clean. What it doesn't put out is a flat signal. The Bose system is designed with a DSP that varies the internal EQ as you raise and lower the volume. In a completely Bose system it works well because the factory amp is designed for that change. Aftermarket amps, specifically ones running subs, tend to show the effects of the DSP because as the volume goes up, the low frequencies are drastically reduced. The Cleansweep not only gives you strong and balanced outputs, but it fixes the crazy EQ that Bose puts in their radios. It's a good all in one solution, and does not add noise if you install it correctly.

 

I dont really know all the technical lingo but I just cut a twisted pair RCA cable in half, spliced the one end directly into the audio signal coming from the stock HU prior to it reaching the factory amp and plugged the RCA end into my amp. I havent had any problems since and that was over a year ago

 

have you tested the outputs to prove your theory, or is this pure conjecture? don't need to answer that though, because I have and I know that you are still wrong... at high voumes, the HU does take the bass down a notch and up the highs, but VERY minimally, not drastically. If your working within the 5 to 20 volume range on the stock HU you won't notice it at all. I know, because that's how i have my setup. I ran the stock HU wires into a set of JL slash series amps, and everything sounds ship shape. You may think that a cleansweep works because it sounds good in your car, but did you try it without the cleansweep first to see if it actually sounds just as good.

Again, all the crazy eq-ing is done at the amp, and the signal that comes out of the HU is flat, full range, and clean. There is absoultely no reason to suggest a cleansweep, unless all you want to do is to modify the signal to regualr RCA's, which, in this case, the Rockford BLD Balanced Line driver previously mentioned will do this and better and cheaper.

 

I'm not here to make enemies of anybody based on a difference of opinion. I am just offering advice based on 10 years of car audio installation experience, and having dealt with Bose systems in various lines of cars. It's well known in the car audio community that the Bose system is drastically EQd behind the scenes and is plainly audible to someone who knows what they are listening for. In my personal opinion, no one should ever use any element of that sound system as it is meant to work with itself and that's it. Any change will give undesirable results to some degree unless you go all aftermarket.

That being said, for those of you who have a setup you like in your car and it works for you...power to you. If what you hear is pleasing, I'd be the last to tell you to change it. Maybe GL35 should listen to your car and see if that's what he wants.

 

i also have many years in the car audio world, and one thing that i have learned is that my previous experience doesn't always mean that I don't know everything, or that I can't learn anything new. Car audio is always changing, so no matter if you were an installer at three different shops and now run your own show, it still doesn't mean you know everything. I have met plenty of installers that "know" everything and offer up bad advice all day long, so in this industry, time spent doesn't really equate to knowledge.

If you plan on helping here in this forum, it would be helpful to have an open mind, and don't close off your mind to new practices that might help you in your professional life. Any elementary installer will tell you "if you want to improve the bose sound system, you have to change everything out as it's all meant to work together". Research and experience shows that this is simply not correct. I am writing this simply to let you know that an open mind can only improve your ability to help people, and research goes a long way to helping reinforce good values. If you really don't believe the "clarion" HU that is installed in the G35 Bose system doesn't put out a good clean and un-eq'd sound, then you should go invest in a RTA and find out for your self.

Good Luck to you.

 

Well what can you say to that? I have to question so many things now. I need to test a few more things...you know I saw a guy in a movie fly...I think there might be something to it if I just want it bad enough....

leap....

Sorry I couldn't help you GL35.

 

Hey ungarocd, why don't you just test the outputs as mattyjman has and see for yourself instead of assuming that all Bose systems are the same. I appreciate your experience in the field, and hope you continue to share that knowledge with all of us, but in this particular case, you might be wrong. Many people have kept the G35 Bose HU and upgraded everything else with great success. I doubt so many would continue doing it if the output was as bad as you claim.

 

So, you reccomend using this and have it be used before the Bose amp? Is it really going to be that much better than if I used a regular LOC after the Bose amp, or go into speaker level inputs on the after market amp I am using?

 

UPDATE!

Fixed it FINALLY! I put a MTX REQ-5 in. It takes balanced differential inputs and spits out unbalanced RCA's. It sounds soooooooo much better now. What was happening was it was clean, until about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up and then it crackled and popped and distorted horribly. Now after the REQ-5, it is actually rather good sq.

I picked my REQ-5 up for $88 on Amazon. Anyone having this problem can PM me. I have really gotten to know this well at this point...

Thank you everyone for your input.

gl35 driver-

 

you can do what the OP did, which apparently works well, or you can use the BLD as I suggested. The problem with a regular LOC, is it's designed to convert high voltage signals to low voltage signals that amps can read. The Bose HU outputs already low level signals, but it's the signal type thats the problem. You can use any device that switches a balanced signal to rca, or find one of the many amps manufactured that has balanced input circuitry. But simply using a LOC will normally do nothing but harm the signal and introduce more potential noise and distortion to your system. It's not the right component for the job.

 

This one has a low level input option, so it is doing what it should.