I currently have both these cars and I'm able to listen to them back to back. I SWEAR the 03 Altima Bose sounds significantly better than my 05 G. The power seems better and the bass is definately more powerful.

I realize these are not identical systems, but did Infiniti actually take a step backwards here?

Same shet...different car.

Actually, no. Different speakers, different HU, and I'm guessing, different amp.

My point was why did they go backwards with the system instead of forward?

It seems to be the same line of question as to why they make it so hard to do an aftermarket stereo in the U.S. G35, but the Japan version is already setup for it (hence the JDN Double-Din conversion kit). What gives?

My guess would be that Bose is more popular here in the US (unfortunately) than Japan. People hear Bose and think luxury in sound. And I'll give it to them, their home stereo stuff is pretty bada$$, which is probably why people go "OMG BOSE IN THE G35, HOTS!" And you have to think about the thousands of people who buy Infinitis and probably think the Bose is the best thing since sliced bread.

So Nissan goes "hmm, we can market our premium car as also having a premium sound system by simply putting Bose in, because people equate that with premium quality." The downside? Bose gets to go it "their" way.

You also have to figure that companies don't design their cars going "hmmm.. I wonder how I can make this easier for someone to come in and change it." They say "What's good for me, so more people buy it?"

hmm not sure, but I think the system in the 05 Altima type R sounds better than ours.

BOSE is a joke when it comes to home theater too.

BO$E is crappy mid fi at best for the most part. The saying is, no highs, no lows, must be BO$E. Actually, the thoughts of us customers wanting bose vs JDM customers wanting it is backward. The US high end manufactures have a HUGE following in Japan. The Japanese people LOVE American high end audio brands. Following that, I would assume the JDM to have the BO$E line and the US to have basic clarion and double din. But NOOOOOOO, we have the damn integrated crapola.

Hate to burst bubbles - but they are Bose branded, built by Clarion. I know this from my experience w/ my Max. They had a defective head-unit and it was sent back for replace/recondition - to/from Clarion factory.

Bose requires their brand name to be on the HU for their systems even though they have nothing to do with the HU's usually. They usually only touch the amp and the drivers.

In some Acuras they only had an EQ module and speakers and didn't even touch the amp.