So I have a 2004 G35 with the factory Bose system. I installed an aftermarket head unit about 6 months ago, it's a Sony DSX B700. I can't really remember if there was a difference in sound quality or not. I installed the head unit to the factory wiring/ factory amplifier. Today I installed all new speakers. I installed DS18 6.5" midrange speakers in the front doors, Kicker KSC 6.5" component speakers in the rear seats (wanted to install skar speakers but they were too deep) and lastly I installed Kicker KSC 6x9 components in the rear deck.

I was surprised how much oomph the stock speakers had considering they barely weigh anything. With the new speakers in the system is overall quieter (level 40 volume is what 30 was with the stock speakers). But the quality is much cleaner and crisp. I can bring the volume much higher without any distortion. Unfortunately I feel like something is lacking or missing>? Is the stock amplifier ruining my setup? What should I do?

My question is, should I just run these speakers off the head unit and remove the bose amplifier? Will that be better or worse?

Or what is a good replacement for the stock amplifier. I would need a 6 channel amp right?

Or any other recommendations are welcomed. I want to add a sub eventually but I think the amplifier will be more of the priority.

 

From what I remember the Bose amp only works well with the OEM Bose head unit because it has some kinda “balancing” feature built in. I forgot what it was called.

Since u have 6 speakers that need to be powered, your best bet is to probably install an aftermarket amplifier.


In my car, I have my Kenwood head unit powering my door and side speakers. I have a separate amp to power my midrange speakers on the rear deck. Then another amplifier to power my subwoofer in the trunk.

 

Interesting... I had a feeling there was some kind of screwery going on with the stock amp/setup. I can crank the bass and it barely makes a difference. When I installed the head unit it came with this little box that made it easy so everything was just plug and play with the factory wires and amp but I remember someone or somewhere saying that the stock headunit or amp was no good and without using the little box I guess it made the speakers get very loud very fast?. Figures I just spent half of yesterday tearing apart the whole car to install these speakers and now I'm going to have to run new wires/amp anyway.

I have never installed amps/subs before, but I've done a million sets of door speakers wired straight to the radio and it definitely seemed like I wasn't getting what I should be out of the new speakers. I just need to figure out what my best options are for new amps/setup.

I almost always do all my own work but I may end up calling around to see what people recommend/charge for amp installation.
Any recommended amp brands? Or are they all pretty decent nowadays?

**EDIT**

So I was looking around for amplifiers and came across an eBay listing for a basically brand new Alpine R-A90S 6 channel amp. This amp runs channels 1-4 with 100 Watts and channels 5+6 with 250 Watts (or if you want I think you can bridge 5+6 for a subwoofer) But this seemed like the perfect amp to replace the factory one. I can run my new door speakers and use those last two boosted channels for my 6x9's. This amp seemed like it had a lot of features and many different ways to configure it.

Let me know how I did audio enthusiasts, this unit retails for $600 and I got it for $430. The only thing missing is a $30 remote bass control ****.

 

Yeah the 6 channel amp should be good for all the speakers. I dont think you will be needing the bass control **** if its not gonna be hooked up to a subwoofer. Looks like that amp has some really good reviews!

 

Can confirm. Bose doesn't use standard 2ohm, 4ohm or 8ohm speakers.
They use their own screwy odd system, with the matching pre-amps / amps.
They're not the best, and not the worst, but they are designed to be efficient and get the loudest sound possible from a small system.

 

Absolutely, that's exactly what I was thinking. I said to myself "damn, those paper thin, mini-magnet suckers put out some sound...they must've specifically tweaked every little thing to make them that way". I couldn't believe my new speakers didn't have the same power. I'm sure once this amp arrives I'll be a happy camper. I'm excited, I've never had a vehicle with amps/subs but have always wanted to. Just usually invested money into performance parts rather than the niceties, but I'm running out of performance modifications lol. The last few things left are big ticket items like turbos, differentials, and big brake kits.

What do must people run for subs? I was looking into boxes for the coupe and found a couple nice ones specifically made for our trunk for as low as $115 on ebay. They support two 10" subs. Is that the standard or is that overkill>? I listen to all diffferent kinds of music, rock, rap, EDM, acoustic, all of it sounds better with a sub I would guess. But maybe once the new amp is in it'll sound so much better I won't "need" a subwoofer. I guess "need" is relative huh?

 

Another dirty trick Bose uses is ; they manipulate or "filter" the sound so they can get more sound out of the system.
Once you get rid of the Bose amps, you'll have more accurate sound. Meaning, it will sound closer to a true representation of what the producers heard in the studio.