Hey all,

There are many threads about the Bose setup and it's pretty conclusive, it sucks. However, we all know it's not a good system and yes an aftermarket setup would be better.

What I simply want to know is what makes this Bose system so bad? Is it the head unit? Speakers? What are the specifications on this Bose system? Would changing the speakers make the pinnacle difference? Or will the entire thing must be replaced?

Thanks!

 

Im pretty sure it has something to do with the head unit and the fact that it dosnt process frequencys right.. and has an issue with bass and loudness.. the thing that really sucks about this is that if you have nav and want to replace the head unit your screwed on the voice stuff.. that makes me pissed since i ordered the double din kit.. i think im gonna sell my double din kit and just get a nice amp and speakers.. and live with the stock head unit.. i really like having an aftermarket head unit so i can tune the frequencies to my liking tho.. so who knows.. ill wait till i get back from iraq so i can switch out the speakers and install a sub and look at it all in person and make a good choice on it..im def gonna switch out the speakers no matter what! aftermarket speakers always outperform what ever crap you get from the factory!

 

There is a saying it the business "If there is no highs and no lows, it must be bose" The "Bose" speaker and amp setup is horrible. The HU can sound decent with good amp, speakers and a single ten or two eight inch subs.

 

If like other Nissan products, the head unit is probably made by Clarion, not too bad. But the crappy amps and even crappier speakers in the system are the main culprits for poor sound.

 

The head unit has some pretty unruly gaps and holes in the output, the amp has totally whacked equalization to compensate for horrid speakers. I tried using the stock HU on aftermarket equipment, but I was totally unsatisfied. It really depends on the listener though.

 

having looked at the speakers (thinking like you guys) I can tell you THEY BLOW.
They may try and make it look like we are getting a good stereo, but those speakers SUCK.

I would start at the speaker and work back... the HU is likely not that bad

 

I'm an avid audiophile and I tend not to care for the Bose, but I still think the Bose is better than most of the factory audio systems out there... The only thing that are unique about bose I noticed is that they have a great "surround effect" which IMO is not needed while listening to music although all the Bose fans love it... They also tend to use cheap paper cones and material in their speakers. People like to bash Bose because their marketing campains convince all the ignorant that Bose is something special when its really just average.

Basically the lows tend to sound a bit "boomy" and the highs aren't as crisp as they should be. A good low needs to be powerful something you should feel, but it shouldn't overwelm the music as the bose system tends to do. A good high should be so clear that you would swear someone has the guitar in your back seat....

I would personally say its more the speakers than the head unit. If you put the right speakers in, it will clear up a lot of these equalization problems people feel the need to compensate for. The head unit produces a clean powerful signal and IMO its something you can easily work with unless your stuck on some major feature upgrade.

I'm a big fan of the top of the line Audiobahn speakers.

 

No specs? I want to know if replacing and upgrading the speakers will make the difference. Don't want to lose the flush, stock look of the interior so no changing the head unit/cd player.

Merely replacing the stock speakers so it looks like it was never messed with in the first place. However, if the head unit is the heart of the problem then it looks like I won't be messing with anything.

 

I don't see how getting the double din conversion kit would keep you from having a flush stock look. The panel piece is off of the Skyline and fits perfectly. Quite honestly, whatever you put in there looks like it belongs.

 

FIRST MODS TO MY G..

REMOVE all Stock stereo equipment..

I replaced them all with PG speakers, followed by a JL W6 10" false floor, 1 MTX 1501.1d and a 1000.4 Internal Amp... with a AVIC-N1... It sounds a million times better, but I might upgrade to something a little more high end, diamond audio...

 

Why does Bose suck? It's the way it amplifies the sounds. Ideally, you want a flat response over the frequency spectrum coming from the speaker. With the Bose setup, it over-boosts the bass and high frequencies, and leaves out any mid-range. Even w/ bass/treble at 0/0, sometimes some songs sound 'muddy' or 'hollow', because there is no mid-range. I rarely put my bass above 0 because then the music gets boomy and amplifies the muddiness.

What KILLS me is that the Bose "upgrade" is so expensive. Bose is a pure marketing machine w/ horrible, overpriced products. It is like Monster cable, except that Monster cables are somewhat decent, but not worth 3x the price of Acoustic Research AR Pro II cables.

Have you ever seen frequency response specs on Bose products? NO. Even though every other speaker company posts these specs (like 38 - 20k Hz, +/- 3dB), Bose does not, because I think their freq. response is so wavy that they go out of the +/- 3 dB range and therefore it is not continuous over the freq spectrum.

 

To make things even worse, the Blows factory speaker impedance specificaiton is 2ohm. What a joke. Apparently the Bose formula here is to maximize profits by overcharging for a low quality product.

 

I agree....

from worst to least worse (if that makes sense...lol)
1. speakers
2. speakers
3. speakers
4. speakers
5. speakers
6. speakers
7. speakers
8. poor planning by Infiniti design team
9. speakers
.
.
.
.
14. Bose amp (not toooo bad)
.
.
.
20. stock Clarion HU (actually pretty decent)

doc

 

Not to say the quality of the speakers in question are any good, but impedance is hardly a measure of quality. I actually thought it was 3 ohms in the bose system. In either case, the lower impedance does allow an amp to make more power, more easily as long as it can control the extra heat.

While from a true audiophile's standpoint, the Bose systems are less than ideal, I've read articles about some of Bose's strategy. The quality of materials is certainly an issue, but the sound is exactly how they intend it to be. They don't cater to what it really should be, but rather what people think is the best sound when listening to it. Their marketing is top notch. They also have a knack for designing gimmicky devices that are actually functional. And to be honest, the problem is not Bose. It's that people keep buying their stuff. What reason do they have to change? People are apparently happy with their products(mostly home products). They get what they want at a price they are willing to spend. You can't blams Bose for that...

 

I like the Bose low end response. I was quite surprised how strong the bass is. The mid to upper frequency reproduction is crap though. Very "muddy".

I personally have ordered tweeter replacements and will go from there.