I could consider myself an audiophile. Regaurding the "hi-fi" died with the tube amp, thats partialy correct, tube amps, while on the spec sheet look terrible and only deliver about 5-15 watts per channel, they sound very smooth. Same deal with the LP (record), on a good playback sytem, an LP will blow the pants off a CD. Now we're dealing with car audio which is pretty much a moot point IMO, since its not on the same level as home playback, but Bose is very much based in marketing. I give them credit or popularizing the sub/sat playback system and making people listen to the music not the specs, but they clearly aren't on the same level as most other well respected names. Their subwoofers or "acoustimass modules" dont produce any deep bass, only extending down ino the mid bass region, and delivers a very one-note quality. Also, bose doesn't really use crossovers for the tweeter/driver swection ,and whe thewy do, they are of low (iron core) quality, and the drivers themselves are of low quality. In general, they are concerned with selling more boxes than making a quality product. But this is a sports car, and even though I know the bose isn't audiophile quality, Im sure Ill get some enjoyment out of it, If i can ever get my attention off the car itself.

 

You have to really be careful when listening to "audiophiles" discussing how something sounds, because a lot of it is just BS that has nothing to do with the sound. (Not talking about anyone on this board! But home audio "experts" and worst of all salesmen.")

For example, they will swear that using different speaker wire will make a huge difference in the sound and go on to describe in intricate detail the sound that a certain type of cable supposedly creates, when in fact nobody has been able to ever tell the difference in sound between cables in scientifically set-up blind tests. But since an industry has grown up around these fallacies, there is a lot at stake and a huge impetus to push gullible people into swallowing this hogwash. (Yes, I am risking a massive flare-up here, but please remember I am not insulting anyone on this board, just stating my opinion. Don't hurt me! )

I agree with rouxeny: let your ears decide, not what your eyes read, especially not from "audiophiles".

 

Not to mention a moving car with engine and road noise is not the ideal environment to be evaluating the intricacies of an audio system. For most people, I think the Bose 240 will sound very good. Not perfect, but certainly acceptable.

 

Amen my brothers...Amen

 

Funny you guys mention this cause I had opted for the Touring because of the Bose system. Unfortunately none of the other packages carried Bose (dunno why?)

I had Bose in my '93 Accord SE and it was fine. Now I have something much better in the Accord and after all the new stereo equipment pains (and joys)... I decided to bite the bullet, not get the track, and get an audio system that I wouldn't have to futz with (based on my previous exp. with my previous factory Bose system).

Hopefully my decision was right. Now my Accord is my tinker car.

 

Thanks!

 

I'm not sure about this. Everything else being the same, I believe it is technically impossible for an LP to "blow the pants off a CD". One of the advantages of CD quality is frequency response. Better frequency response (broader range/with a flat line) typically equates to better sound. (This is given you stay in the frequency range of what the human ear can hear.) LP's do not have a better frequency response than CD sound. It's the nature of the source. Therefore, LP's can't have a better sound than CD.

 

There is the analog vs digital debate that will go on forever..here's the bottom line on sound folks...if you put ten engineers in a room and ask them to mix a session..you will end up with ten different mixes...If the system sounds good to you, keep it...if it doesn't, get rid of it...don't listen to anyone but your own two ears..but any way you do it...enjoy the music

 

No highs, no lows, gotta be BOSE.

Marketing-based audio that is the worst in the business, particularly when you consider the price.

My wife's 02 Maxima SE has BOSE, and it just plain sucks ***.

 

Yeah, right after I heard the one in the Altima I walked into the showroom and downgraded by order from Touring to Performance so I could go aftermarket.

There's certainly a big psychological component in lots of audio opinions, although I try to test my speakers in an A/B/C fashion. I have the salesguy switch between 3 randomly, and I pick the best one after listening with my eyes closed. Very often it's not the one I thought would be best. Recently I was quite disappointed with the Focal Polykevlar K2 components, even though they have received rave reviews. To each his own.

There are some "neat" things about Bose home systems, but they're all based around size, IMO. If you need a small, nice-looking, decent-sounding system, then go for it. Although, I'd probably go w/ the Mission electrostatic fx2 flat-panels for the same price, personally.

I think my own favorite home speakers so far are the B&W CDM9NT, though they're $2600/pair list price. I'll probably end up getting the CM4's, which are almost as good, but "only" $1500/pair. The Paradigms (which rpgonzalez owns) are awesome speakers as well. I liked the Monitors I heard but they're >$5000, which is not gonna happen.

I still haven't decided what to get for my car. Every time I listen to new components my price limit increases. First it was $1500... $2000... $2500... $3000... $3500... but road noise and acoustics are a big deal.

So I'm going to wait to see how loud the car is and decide from there. If it's hopeless I'll spend around $1500. If it's decent I'll dynamat the thing and spend around $2500. I don't think it'll possibly be quiet enough to justify a $3500 system.

If people are looking for a great system for the price that will fit the Z, FWIW here are my own recommendations. I've heard all the speakers numerous times but not all the amps:

Components: JL 650XR-CSi = $300-350/pair
Comp Amp: US Amps 2-ch or Cadence Z8000 = $200
Subwoofer: Image Dynamics IDQ = $200/each
Sub Amp: JBL 600.1 or Z5000HC = $150-250
Sealed Box: QLogic or other = $100-150
Head Unit: Any Alpine, Eclipse, Pioneer, or Clarion per your budget

If you're into online shopping, try www.shop4sound.com or www.sounddomain.com . The owner of shop4sound is "MichaelP" on www.caraudioforum.com and seems respectable and knowledgeable.

 

I don't want to step on any feet out there, but being the "Home Theatre and Car Stereo Guru" that I am, I have always changed out my stereo in EVERY car I've owned (and that's about 10!) The reason: I need clearer, stronger sound! This is not to knock the system in the Z, because to a many, it will be PERFECTLY fine! I'm just accustomed to GREAT sound and not average. And BOSE imparticular has "Rode the wave of commercialism" to the fullest extent and put out 'marginal' sounding systems (home & mobile) at best. Many of you here know (or should) that by simply adding new speakers and a amp to a factory head unit will significantly improve your system! And adding a head unit with stronger pre-amp, better tuning capabilities, and generally more power will completely BLOW AWAY any factory sytem! And for the record, out of any & all "factory systems", the Mark Levinson option in the LEXUS LS430 is "exceptionally good" (test drove one for an entire day) and has been rated in several audio mags as The Best in factory car sysytems.

 

Appreciation for a stock system also has a lot to do with what you're in to and listen to. Check my avatar. Slayer/Slipknot/Hatebreed/etc. was above average on the Bose system in my former CL-S and I expect the Z Bose will be slighty better than that system that didn't include a sub. Plus, I understand that the individual speakers are not tied down with their own amps as is typical with a Bose system and *could" be swapped at will.

I like to keep a stock HU appearance and the 6-disc in-dash of the Bose can't be beat for functionality. If I can swap speakers and add an amp to that system, I'm sure I'll go that route after I tire of the sound of the engine. Yeah, right!

 

rickski, I advise you read most audio publications...yes, LPs are very finiky, and on 95% of the players out there don't use them to their full potential. Played bak corectly though, not only does the LP beat the CD in frequency response but in just the overall musicality of the system. CD's promised "perfect sound forever" and that has now been laughed at. Digital is just another way of delivering information, no better or worse than analog. But the thing is that theres alot of great music on CDs, and you shouldn't be all pretentious and say, well since it doesnt sound the best I wont listen to it. I personally dont own an LP playback system for the fact that they are expensive and just about all of today's music is on CDs so whats the point. As far as cables...they are the arteries (sp?) of the system with the amp being the heart, bad cables can be equated to clogged arteries...yes you can hear small differences between cables, its a fact, but I recomend getting quality 12 gauge cable for a good price at Radio Shack, and putting that saved money into other things.

 

And actually, digital is somewhat worse than analog because it's just an approximation. That's why 24-bit SACD's are coming out, to get closer than the current 16-bit CD's. Digital is always a sampling that discards a certain amount of analog information, whether it's music, HDTV, computers, etc.

However, on the plus side, digital is "100% noise-free" because you can represent it mathematically, as opposed to analog which must be transmitted verbatim.

I will say I heard Pink Floyd's DSTOM on vinyl on a very nice setup one time and it was quite incredible.

Though I don't personally own a record player or any LPs...

 

 

Nice concise explanations... funny I had forgotten the name of the Nyquist Theorem... too many years since college...

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question487.htm
http://www.opus1.com/~violist/help/nyquist.html

 

Reminds me of the old catchphrase...

No highs, no lows, it must be Bose.

They're selling 15 year old technology at ridiculous prices. I have the Bose setup in my Pathfinder, and it's nice, but I agree that you can do much better in the aftermarket. Of course, the only sound system I'm really interested in is the 3.5 liters of pure joy mounted just in front of the driver...

 

Nilz, that just what I was getting at. Small corection though, DVD-Audio, one of the up and comming sources of music, is PCM digital (the same digital aproximation method as CD) can be run up to 24 bits, resulting in much better sound than CDs. SACD, the other up and comming format, developed by Philips/Sony, who created th original CD, runs on a differet aproximation method that uses only 1 bit but is procesed much faster than PCM, and uses noise reduction. Both of theese formats sound much better than CD and much more analog like, just without its downfals (possible hiss).

 

Sounds like Bose did a great job of marketing!!

 

Marketing brought me to the store, the speakers sold themselves!

Owner of: Bose 301, 201, 141, and VCS-10.

The only disappointment is the VCS-10. Bought it to match with rest. Not the best performer.