Nissan & Bose
 

Just was reading an article about the new 2004 Nissan minivan, the Quest. It features the first Bose audio system designed for a minivan. Apparently Nissan has a love affair going on with Bose. You would think if it is that good of a system they would do something to rectify the Z problems.

I got my new 350Z Touring last month and just passed 1,000 miles. Although the Bose system certainly isn't perfect, I think some have been overly critical. It sounds very good to me and I have no complaints. It's not perfect, but I would give it 3 stars out of 4. Not everyone thinks the Z bose blows.

You're right, not everybody hates it. A lot of us do, however.

For the cost of the upgrade to the touring, minus what leather is worth, I have to rate it pretty bad.

Imaging is bad, bass is muddy, adjustments are weird, and I honestly get listening exhaustion very quickly when listening to anything but talk radio.

I'm not even wanting audiophile quality. My 98 Pontiac GTP has a better stereo, and it isn't even really an upgraded system, just the CD with EQ before GM started putting "premium" systems in the GPs. I'd be happy with that quality, and it has quite a few weekness of its own. It just doesn't annoy my ears like this system does.

You also get Heated Mirrors and Seats, Power Seats and Cruise Control. :D

The whole BOSE fiasco was all about one guy saying it sucked and everyone jumped on the bandwagon. :rolleyes: It was like the in-thing to bash BOSE and it died out.

not so sure about the bandwagon
 

Gonna have to disagree about bandwagon. I am going by the polls that have been done on the Bose, even taking 10-15% away from the Dont Like selection, the numbers are still to high for not satisfied. As for myself, I could care less because I wear hearing aids in both ears and dont listen to much music at all. BUT the price of car included a PREMIUM sound system, did we get that? The polls indicate no.

Must have been some bandwagon to issue a TSB huh NissanNZ?

I am not at liberty to say, but you don't have ANY idea how high this problem climbed...

I would strongly disagree. Prior to purchasing the 350Z Touring I was under the impression that Bose 7 Speaker Premium System should sound better then the stock non-bose in my 300ZX TT. I did not have a predetermined anti-Bose bias. After purchasing the car I was so disgusted with the sound (especially the bass overboosting and volume fluctuations), that I started searching for 350Z message boards to discuss the problem. Prior to that I did not talk about this with anyone, since most people I know could care less about car stereo SQ nor do I know any other 350Z owners IRL. (I don't belong to any Z clubs.) Since I used to frequent twinturbo.net I started with their sister 350Z board. No one was talking about it there. Searching some more brought me to my350z.com and that is how I ended up here. So in a way the crappy BOSE stereo introduced me to this message board! Talk about a silver lining...

G.C.

I don't know why you would say that? The poll taken has identified over a hundred folks who are not happy. I for one, have an early vin car that is subject to the TSB, and have experienced a system with overwelming base, non existant highs, and fluctuating volume. It is sub-standard to say the least.

One of the reasons I purchased the touring was to get a good sound system. THAT WAS A MISTAKE!

My comments were based on the later VIN (and currently shipping) Touring Z's with Bose. I'm not disputing the early VIN issue.

My Touring was built 11/02 so supposedly had the "good" Bose. I have not complained about the sound yet, but this is the first car I can remember owning that I seriously considered replacing the whole unit. For 2 grand, very disappointing.

I did bypass the Autopilot mic last weekend with the $.20 resistor fix and have to say it's not all that bad any more. It's still not 2 grand worth, but much better than delivered.

I got to do the .20 cent fix.

my stereo sounds decent at high volumes but at low volumes the level jumps all over the place.

Let me say it this way.

If I had to do it over again I would not have got the touring 6 speed but the performance, added leather, the mirror with the remote and did a custom stereo install (that would BLOW away the bose) and save a few bucks to boot.

I would have lost the heated seats but I hear they are now available as an after market option and then I would have the same car with better stereo than the touring at a lower cost!

Oh well, maybe next year!

I still love this freaking car though.

Bandwagon my a$$... Both my wife and I discussed that the sound system in the Z sucked long before it was posted on this or any other site. If you had one of the early touring models you would have easily come to the same conclusion. The system didn't sound good and the auto-pilot feature was erratic at best.

We bitched, Nissan responded with the TSB.

Did it fix the autopilot issues, mostly yes.
Did it improve the sound, somewhat for cd's, yes for the radio
Is it a primium sound system. No, still not. And if you listened to one yourself, I think you would come to the same conclusion.

Do I hope Nissan address the issue better, yes. But I'm not gonna sit around and whine about it. But, I will probably replace the whole system before they get around to it. Which, by the way, will also be the first stereo system I've ever upgrade with aftermarket parts.

Does the resister mod also help the later Bose units where the amp was "fixed"?

I just picked up my 350Z last night and the dealer was telling me how much the BOSE stereo sucked, but said that he was expecting a recall on these stereos soon due to customer complaints about it.

Sounds good to me. I'm tone deaf though. :D

I see no advantage to heated mirrors, aftermarket leather and seat heaters can be added for less than $1000 at the right shop, and cruise is standard on all models above base. The power seat controls cut into my leg on trips, and only have two adjustments.

Not worth it all over the performance to me, but I got a great deal on a touring, so did it anyway.

I've got a vin right under 8000, and hate it. I suppose you are saying I'm making it up?

I appreciate it.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by all_bark
[B]I got to do the .20 cent fix.


If I had to do it over again I would not have got the touring 6 speed but the performance, added leather, the mirror with the remote and did a custom stereo install (that would BLOW away the bose) and save a few bucks to boot.

Exactly!! I have to assume that most of the users of this forum are value-conscious people, b/c the Z is certainly an outstanding sports car value. (Otherwise, why not spend insane amounts of cash on a Porsche 911 or a Ferrari or whatever tickles your fancy). And the fact is that the additional cost of Bose is NOT a value. To say otherwise implies ignorance of either the cost Nissan passes on to consumers for this Bose audio system or ignorance of the quality and value of aftermarket audio systems or both. To truely solve this debate once and for all, one need only listen to the Bose and calculate its cost and then listen to any of the systems on this forum and ask the owner what he/she paid for the audio upgrade. Question answered. Problem solved.

Time out, my mirror's are heated? Where's the switch?