My biggest problem with the Bose system is the lack of clarity. So I decided to upgrade the tweeters in the f/ doors.
I used some tweeters I had laying around. I tried a set of McIntosh tweeters (6 ohm) and a set of Boston Acoustics Neo 1 (5 ohm)tweeters. I settled on the BA's.
I removed the crap Bose tweeter and Crossover (capacitor) The stock tweeter is a 4 ohm load. The crossover was a 4.7 uF capacitor which made the crossover point 8457 hertz. VERY high. (most speakers have a crossover point of 2500 to 4000 hertz)
I installed the BA's using the factory mount and wire harness. I used a 10.0 uF capacitor in line on the positive wire which made the crossover point at 3180. The capacitor is small, but there is plenty of room for it.
If you do this mod and are concerned about the lower x-over, then use a 6.8 uF cap which would change x-over point to 4676 on a 5 ohm load or 5845 on 4 ohm.
Again, most good speakers crossover at 2k to 4k.

The sound quality is now so much better and smoother. I am hearing so much more detail and crispness. I highly recommend everyone to get rid of the crap Bose tweeters and swap them for the 4 to 5 ohm tweeter of your choice. It will really wake up the system and make it much more listenable.

I just drove home from work, and was delighted to listen. It is so much less fatiguing.


BillR

 

Sweet. If you didn't have tweeters lying around which ones would you have purchased? (basically fishing for a tweeter recommendation here )

 

Thanks for the input. I have a very high quality home system that reproduces music as close to reproduction as possible (doesn't even have bass/treble adjustments). I find listening to this Bose premium sound system so fatiguing after a couple minutes that I have to turn the treble way down, which then hurts midrange and clarity. A good systems should need no sound equalization adjustments (they only exist to cover up faults in the system or recording). I can't stand Bose in home or car systems.

 

Well that is good to know.. Would to happend to know if I upgrade to the 4 or 5 ohm recomended but use bose ones do the same effect you got?

 

how much would that mod cost at an audio store? i'm not very good with electronics. thanks.

 

How do you determine the crossover frequency based on the speaker resistance and the capacitor...?

G35C - 6MT - DG/G - Premium

 

If you want something really nice go for MB quart Q series or if you have a few extra bucks laying around you are not gonna get better sound quality than Focal Audiom TLR. The MB quart P series still sound pretty good too and cost a few bucks less.

Life is too short to argue on the Internet!

04' 6MT Coupe (on order)

 

Lots of replies here.
Mani: I would have "listened" to alot. I would have looked a Focal 1st. MB Quarts are good, but too inefficient (sp?). I am not that "up" on car audio to recommend a particular brand. I would steer clear of Pioneer, Alpine, Sony, Kenwood, Clarion, etc. Those type of companies tend to buy cheap speakers, stick on their name and sell it for too much money. Plus they usually sound like crap. Just go listen. Your ears won't let you down. What "I" like; you may hate. YOU will make the best choice for YOU.

don1: Me too Krell, Soliloquy, Arcam. . . . . This mod gives more detail from upper mids all the way up. It is so much more enjoyable. Now I will focus on the muddy mid bass and lack of low bass. I DO NOT want one of those huge woofer boxes in my trunk. No clue on how to persue that avenue as of this writing. Will make a post when I get it right.

deadmanincbh: What???! I don't understand what you are asking. If you mean change the caps which will change the crossover . . . . why bother? You can't get make a flower out of a turd.

areddy14: Not much, Tweets $90 labor $35 is a good guess.

eykim: To determine the crossover frequency a certain amount of capacitance will give you, use the formula:

0.159/(C x Rh) = F

Explanation of Terms
C - is the capacitance value (in Farads) - to convert to Farads divide the value shown on the side of the cap in uF by one million.
Rh - is the impedance of the load (speaker) you will be using.
F - is the crossover frequency you will get.

dgussin1: I agree that Quarts sound really good, but they tend to be too inefficient (sp?). To blend with the relatively efficient Bose stuff, I think sensitivity needs to be 90db to 95db. If you go lower, I think the highs will be detailed but too muffled (and over run by the Bose) to enjoy.


BillR

 

What I asked was if I used a 4ohm bose tweaders would it do the same effect you have?

 

hello: BillR...
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"Now I will focus on the muddy mid bass and lack of low bass. I DO NOT want one of those huge woofer boxes in my trunk. No clue on how to persue that avenue as of this writing. Will make a post when I get it right."
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for the mid-bass...my i suggest an shallow mouting 8 inch driver in the door, it should fit without much cutting if any at all...as for the "name" brand that you put down, i tend to agree with you, but if you put those togather with Focal, MB, ADS...etc, with the stock set up in our car? i dont think you cant really tell them apart, as they all will imporve the stock bose enormously...s.w.


03 coupe 5AT DG/G premium,performance

 

Don1, in Car audio you still need an EQ in a car because the acoustics are very difficult to deal with. At home you can just position the speakers to your liking and maybe add bass traps or wall treatments to lower the reflections.

2003 G35 Coupe 6mt Diamond Graphite
AIM= bkchang79

 

deadmanincbh (Addict)
09/06/03 05:02 PM

What I asked was if I used a 4ohm bose tweaders would it do the same effect you have?
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I have no clue. Bose is NOT known for quality sound.

BillR

 

If you put the cap inline with the tweeter and left the woofer connected to the amp directly wouldn't the woofer get the full freq. range from the amp and hence not be an optimal setup. Would it be better for you to put a low pass crossover on the woofer equal to the highpass one on the tweeter?

Riv

 

I haven't messed with the woofer or it's wiring. Only the tweeter. I assume Infiniti/Blose has a crossover on the woofer.

BillR

 

I upgraded my bose system with all MB Quart components. New mids in the doors and tweets as well. Added an Eclipse amp for the MB Quart speakers, and then put 2 12" Eclipse woofers in the trunk, powered by a RF Punch Power 800a2 I had from my previous car. Sounds ten times better than the "premium" bose system, and I still use the stock head unit so I maintained my steering wheel controls.

2003 G35 Sedan
Brilliant Silver Auto
Premium, Winter, Wood
35% Tinted Windows
Clear Side Markers
Custom MB Quart / Eclipse Stereo System