I have a 04 touring with the bose and i love it. The sound is great.I read alot of bose bashing,and just wonder why you guys and gals dislike it.Just back from a sunday drive with the bose cranked,nothing else like it.

 

The original amp, actually the first two amps, were replaced on the Touring Editions. The volume would rise and lower and give you a horrible sound from the radio moreso than the cd player.
The '04 had the problem fixed before production as well as the later '03 models.

 

Go and test the BOSE system in an Audi. After you listen to that one, you'll know why ours suck.

 

First let me say that if you like your Bose then that is great news. Be happy and don't worry about others. However, since you asked . . . .

I have a 2004 Roadster. It is true that the audiopilot volume fluctuation problem appears to be gone. In fact, you can also turn off the audiopilot if you want.

However, I still think the Bose has sub-standard sound quality for a "premium" unit. The laugable woofer seems to only produce a cluster of notes around a certain frequency. (Bose signature "one note bass") There is no attempt at imaging, and the entire frequency range is full of holes and hot spots. Thanks to the non-standard impedances (used in the pursuit of cost cutting) upgrading this stereo can be very expensive.

The premium infinity on my 1998 Durango (yes a SUV) sounded better than the Z's bose stock. Plus, it had a standard amp and speakers so I was able to drop in some nice speakers and really improve it for not much money.

Stereos are a funny thing. It seems to depend a LOT on the person and their expectations. Most of the people who are unhappy with the 2004 Bose (or upgraded 2003s) seem to be people who also have good home stereos or have had other cars with good stereos. It depends on what your expectations are and how good your ear is. Compared to everyother car or home system I have owned the Bose has the lowest fidelity. Compared to the stereo that comes in many cars it is better than many of them.

 

This is terrible advice!!!!


If you like your Bose system you should NOT go listen to better systems. The only possible outcome would be to become less happy with your Bose.

 

I have a 2003 model and i love my Bose-it sounds great and jams. I do notice the volume going up and down sometimes when i drive at low speeds though. Whats up with that? Should i have it looked at?