After hearing from a number of Z owners, I guess its no fluke. I was hoping that it would be decent for a factory system, but looks like it really sucks. Is it THAT much worse than the 300zx BOSE or similar?

 

I'm curious as to whether the problem with the Bose is just with the radio, FM, or the CD player as well. Help, I'm picking up my Bose POS in 2 days.

 

FM and CD player both sound bad.

 

I'm SURE it's just the mast antenna that's causing all the BOSE problems.

 

Can anyone elaborate on the problem more than its "just sounding bad"?

I've searched "bose" threads and no one's really gotten into too much depth about what they don't like. I've heard that it has muddy midbase and that the auto-volume is a real nag. Is there something other than this that someone can add?

But I'm driving a Pathfinder with the stock Bose system in it. I think it sounds great. I've heard the Bose in the Z and thought it sounded good too.

I'm no audiophile, is this really as big of a problem as it seems to being made out as??? From my scanning, the majority of people complaining about the systems have some good knowledge of sounds systems and what not.

 

I'm just curious, but the BOSE sounds bad compared to what? What about it sounds bad?

 

It's not that it's Bose per se, it's this application, the Bose in the 350Z. There is something seriously wrong with it and will need to be addressed by both Bose and Nissan. I'm not talking about sound quality as that's subjective from person to person. The issue at hand is that the volume will raise and lower WITHOUT the car even running and the sub will go in and out. It's the head unit. It's f*cked up, plain and simple.

 

Droid...your sight looks great, but it's only been 7 months 11 days, not 8!

 

DOH! I'm no mathmetician, that's for sure. BTW, it's "site" not "sight".

 

I'll do the math, you do the spelling and together we might get it right!

 

To me the radio sounds worse than the CD, but the CD still sounds really bad. My volume goes up and down sitting at a light. There is no rhyme or reason to it. It also seems that when I turn the volume down manually, the subwoofer volume isn't really effected.

It's embarrassing when I give someone a ride and they ask to hear the stereo. I usually say, "it really doesn't sound very good, I've read online that there may be a problem with it."

I really hope Nissan addresses this problem soon. If not, I hope some of our resident audio gurus can come up with a fix.

 

For what it's worth -- the Bose system in my RSX-S sucks too. No bass at all despite the "subwoofer" in the wheel well. I've heard 6 x 9 coaxils that can put out more bass than it. While it sounds nice at low volumes, it sucks when turned up.

 

Thanks! I fixed it. You're the only one to catch that...

 

Glad I could help.

 

In my experience so far (picked up the car last friday) the Bose system has performed fine. Admittadly the Bose system in the C5 Corvette I owned previously did sound noticably clearer at high volume and was also noticiably louder. But I haven't found the automatic volume increase/decrease to be a problem at all. In fact, i think it is kind of cool. I sometimes play music relatively loud and shut the car off without lowering the volume. When I start the car the stereo gradually raises the volume to the previous level allowing me time to lower it or shut off all together before it starts blasting.

As for the over sound quality, that's subjective. I was a little let down by the overall performance of the system. I had expected it to be slightly better then the system in the C5 because of the subwoofer, and it isn't as good as the C5's system but it's not so bad that i will change it.

 

Ya know...for the last 3 years..I have lost my FM reception. I will bet anyone here any amount that the Bose system will sound great to me! Any takers? mmmm

 

The Bose system in the 350 should be an embarassment to both Bose Corporation and Nissan. The auto-leveling stuff is just about ready to drive me mad. This is the only stereo where you have to turn it down by increasing the volume. Yes, that works sometimes, and yes, that is about the most screwed up thing I have ever heard of.

The point is that the Bose amps and speakers "might" sound okay if you could ever get them tuned to something you like. Unfortunately, the head unit absolutely guarantees that the radio can not be tuned. In fact, it works against you in every respect. I have to just leave the damned thing off now. Even at low volume I can pull to a light and suddenly there is this horrendous droning as the HU has decided to crank the bass to "I want to simulate my head in a steel drum with someone beating on it" levels. The passenger and I have to start shouting. Turning it up actually lowers the volume. Also, it goes up and down for unknown reasons that don't seem to have anything to do with ambient noise. In fact, sometimes it seems to actually scare itself quiet. Other times the bass is there, the bass it gone, the bass is back, etc....

In case you didn't notice, the Blose stereo is a sore subject for me. I would be happier with an AM/FM receiver and a single 4x10 in the dash than this crap.