The official BOSE thread!
 

Now that a few of us are taking delivery of our Zs, I believe it's time to start "The OFFICIAL BOSE Thread", the one-stop thread for all of your Bose system questions and complaints.

As high as I am after taking delivery of my vehicle today, I am EXTREMELY dissatisfied with the "BLOWZ" system in the Z. I'm not a Bose hater, and had a Bose in my Acura CL-S that I thought was a great system. OTOH, I'm mad as hell that I got hoodwinked into going with the Touring trimline thinking that it would save me the trouble of putting in an after-market system. I'm not a high-end audiophile, but I am a musician and have a "different" ear. The Bose in my car is lifeless and has ZERO depth. I've always heard, "No highs, no lows, must be Bose" and finally learned what that really meant. :( When Nissan calls to speak about my pre-order delivery and ownership experience, this will be my number-one priority for discussion.

In the spirit of this being an informative thread and not just a ***** fest, I've got two questions that maybe someone can answer.

1. How do you disable the speed-sensitive volume? I've got a new stretch of road out near my house where some of it has minute grooves, and the rest is silky smooth. The problem is that the stupid Bose system turns the volume up and down around ten times on this road and it's VERY annoying.

2. VAG products (VW, Audi) have fairly sophisticated Bose systems with hidden EQs that can really make a huge difference in sound quality. Has anyone heard of these hidden EQs showing up on other Nissan Bose systems?

Thanks for your participation!

On my I35 with the Blowz system you can disable the Auto Volume Control. You just hit "audio" and I think it is labled SCV.

The "hidden EQ" is at music store...:icon13:

droidekaus,

I am a musician/non-audiophile person myself and I HATE this system. I had planned on liking it but I just don't! My only complaint about the car.

You simply can't beat a hand picked aftermarket setup.

At least you have a nice spot for the sub.

I'm also unhappy with the sound. I have to wonder if there isn't something wrong with mine. Would a speaker upgrade take care of the problem, or is a whole new system needed?

I thought it would be the same sound as from the G35 I test drove. This one is not nearly as good. It is very boomy at low volume with zero treble and not enough bass when cranked. And as everyone has noticed the auto volume control blows, somebody please post how to cancel that in the Z!

bOSE
 

Hope none of you are surprised at the lack of sound quality. Bose is the biggest rip off in the automotive industry. Car makers keep putting that over priced stuff into our cars because YOU guys keep paying for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This sucks- you'd think Nissan would have taken some of that engineering talent and apply it to the sound system...

Will anxiously await some suggestions.

Just a friendly "I told you so." ;-)

As one of the early Z32 owners who ripped out the Bose system, all I can say is, it was god awful. Presumably the 350Z is wired in a similar fashion, although I believe someone mentioned it had a single external outboard amplifier... Regardless, to replace it and do it right, you will probably have to replace:

- the head unit
- run new wires from your HU or amp to each speaker
- Replace each speaker

Now, you may be able to get marginally better results replacing single components alone, but keep in mind that "Quality bose sound" was "specifically engineered" as a system. That is to say, the speakers are designed to work with the amplifier, is designed to work with the head unit.

I don't know if it's still like this, but back in the day, Bose applied active equalization to every speaker in a different way, and the eq was designed to compensate for both placement and deficiencies of the particular speaker... so just replacing the speaker itself is rarely an option.

Listen up people...I am an audiophile and I have spent tens of thousnads of dollars on custom car stereo setups. The Bose system is a very good system for the amount of money you spent on it. You are getting a 6 disc cd changer, midranges, component tweeters and a 10 inch sub for what--an extra 500 bucks? Don't act like Bose doesn't sound any better than a GM delco stereo or an factory Alpine setup. Although I haven't heard the Bose in the Z yet, I have heard them in a Corvette and in a Acura mdx. They are perfectly adequate for normal listening levels and do not start cracking up when you turn them up a little louder. You are not going to get an enormous amount of bass out of these, but you will get some pretty clear highs. If you want to be able to turn it up to 146db and feel tight bass cutting through your chest from the 10 inch sub behing the seat, then get your check book ready, cause you are about to spend 5K. The location of that sub is optimal for an aftermarket setup, but don't bash the Bose stereo because it doesn't sound like Mb quartsand eclipse titaniums. You get what you paid for and the Bose is better than average for that amount of money. Chicks that will be checking out your car will be like "Oh wow, you have a Bose stereo in here too?" I can tell you from experience, girls do not car about competition quality stereos. Aftermarket stereo equipment is worst mod investment you can make. And don't trying posting back, "Well I would just take out the stereo when I sell the car and use it in my next one", because it will not fit into your next car and the person who buys the Z off you is not going to give you a nickel for used stereo equipment. The Bose stereo IS going to hold its value though. So let's all calm down about the quality of the Bose and if you are itching to drop that extra 2K you have on something, make a quaddruple payment to your finance compnay and pay off the Z-peace.

Don't let this be you.........

You don't meet my definition of an audiophile if you like Bose! :) I agree that it's cheap, but if it's unlistenable and doesn't give you any listening pleasure, what's the point?

Oh yeah, I could care less about what some clueless girl thinks about my system. Both my vehicles have radically upgraded systems, but look stock or nearly stock (I like to keep the OEM head unit).

I guess I was lucky in already having learned my lesson with Bose on my previous Z32. My problem is not as much with the sound quality as it is with the reliability....believe me once something goes out....get your checkbook out. That "extra $500" you paid when you bought the car will be nothing when you have to replace a single speaker down the road! Rant over....soooo...I ordered the Performance because I didn't want all the other crap that comes with the Touring, just leather...so I'm getting aftermarket leather installed. Plus, the difference of going with that model is allowing me to spend a couple extra grand on some quality aftermarket stereo components. BOSE is all about marketing...which sets high expectations for a product, only to disappoint! Just my 2 cents.

Turcoupe,

I can assure you that this BOSE setup is not worth $500 soundwise. An Alpine receiver and a nice pair of speakers would sound better. I am very surprised at how poor it sounds. Until I heard it for myself yesterday I would have agreed with you but this system just sounds bad. I actually had the thought today that maybe my tweeters are just not working. You will be unpleasantly surprised when you hear it.

I hate to say "I told ya so, BUT.....!
 

There was a thread quite a while back where I discussed bose, and the "MARKETING BLITZ" associated with their products! I'm confident the only reason they are still in existence today, is all of the revenue generated by car makers! :rolleyes: I have not been impressed with any bose product whatsoever, be it home or car. This is a true example of "Buying a name" and not getting what you paid for. There is absolutely no depth whatsoever with bose! Now, I will say that I am a BIG AUDIOPHILE, and therefore able to judge such things as this.
I have changed out every single factory sytem in just about every car I ever owned (@7). Yes, it costs money, but it was/is well worth it! I would say to all who are dissatisfied, to first change out all of the factory speakers (MB QUART & JL AUDIO are my speakers of choice :D ) and run a 4-channel amp to power those speakers using your factory radio. This should easily satisfy 99.9% of you! ;) I did this very thing in my LEXUS and it is night & day! (although Lexus uses Pioneer for their factory head-unit ;) ) If anyone needs specific suggestions for their stereo let me know. :)
Now I personally am going to "overhall" the entire system in my performance with speakers, amps, and the following head-unit................http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/cwm/cwm/eek5.gif http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/cwm/cwm/eek5.gif http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/cwm/cwm/eek5.gif
http://pix.crutchfield.com/products/...0VRX925-f.jpeg
http://clarion.com/images/product/mu...multiicon1.gif

I haven't heard the system in the Z yet (my pre-order seems to be MIA), but the Bose stereo in my 2002 Vette sounds damn good for a factory system. I spent over $4000 putting a system in my '93 Z32TT, and of course it sounded much better than the Bose that came with that car, but when I sold the car last year there wasn't much point in pulling out and trying to sell an eight year old system. I no longer have the car and I wish I had just lived with the factory Bose and had $4000.00 back.

As a music enthusiast, but maybe not an audiophile, I completely agree with the description about the Bose system in the Z. I also had a 300ZX and ripped out the Bose system so I could enjoy some tunes. I also agree with the people who have invested $4 thousand and up on a stereo and not gotten that money back. I have a post in the modifications section about the stereo I am installing (myself) into the 350, it costs me total of $600 +/- and will be a substantial upgrade to the factory Bose, and even more so to the base stereo that I am getting in my enthusiast. I think it is very possible, with a decent head unit, and four very good speakers, to upgrade the whole system without spending thousands of dollars. People just have to understand what they are going to get for their money. I for one dont want to rattle my neighbors house, I just want to be able to listen to a well balanced, clean sounding system.
Just my $.02.

Turcoupe,

Perhaps you missed the part of my post where I stated that I had had an Acura CL-S with a factory Bose and was actually quite pleased with it. There's no comparing ANY other Bose system in use today that is as bad as that in the 350Z. IT'S REALLY THAT BAD.

I have a theory on the auto volume control as well that the sub is actually f*cking with the sensors that monitor road noise, in turn forcing the volume change. I found in normal driving today on smooth road surfaces that the system was just raising and lowering the volume for no reason even though I was maintaining a constant speed and road noise WAS NOT a factor. Whatever the problem, it's f*cked up.

Wow...if it's really that bad, I wish I'd ordered the "track' instead of the "touring."

My wife drives an Audi A-6 with a Bose system, and it's not bad at all. Not a lot of bass (the Vette has much more) but it sounds clean and full. I can't imagine how they screwed it up so bad. I guess if I ever get my car, I'll be able to judge for myself.

Droidekaus, I think you might be right that the stereo is messing with itself. I was sitting in line at the bank today, with the car idling listening to the radio. It would just change volume seemingly at random. Then I noticed it seemed to coincide with the bass heavy parts of the song. Shortly after the bass would start the radio would get quieter, then the bass would seem to cut out, then the radio would get louder. Weird. I don't necessarily want the auto volume to work, I would just like to be able to turn it off. I think the system would generally sound alot better then.