I am looking to change out the factory speakers, but I've heard something about Bose having weird speaker impedences. Will I have any problem if I use 4 ohm speakers front & rear?

 

not sure what the bose ohm load is but you can use a multi-checher to test the ohm load.... i think

 

A multimeter will give you an answer that's close to the nominal impedance, but remember that a multimeter generally checks DC (0 Hz) resistance, not impedance.
A good rule of thumb is to take the DC resistance and multiply by 1.3.

If you want to be a bit more accurate, you'll need a multimeter, a signal generator/test disk, and a potentiometer (50 ohms, 5-10 watt should work). Hook up the speaker and pot in series, send a signal through, adjust the pot until the voltage drop (from the multimeter) across the speaker and pot are the same, then measure the DC resistance of the pot. This is the impedance at the frequency sent. You measure the DC resistance because most multimeters are optimized to measure AC at around 50-60 Hz, wall outlet frequencies.

These instructions were adapted from http://www.epanorama.net/documents/a...impedance.html

 

Or maybe one of the audio gurus can just answer his question, no?

Another way to ask : can you hook up aftermarket non-Bose speakers to the Bose amp?

 

No

 

I am checking into upgrading my stereo also. Was talking to an installer and his comments were that almost all of Bose new speakers are 1 ohm. Was shocked to hear that, I know most car speakers are 4 or 2 ohm.

 

There seems to be a lot of misinfo in this thread...

To clarify, I am 90% sure that the front speakers, mid and tweeter (6db bass blocker xover cap, no dedicated xover) are close to 4 ohms, and the rears are around 30 ohms. The Z uses Bose Class D amps (digital), which are efficient but extremely wimpy. The sub is a total joke too. Anyways, you can upgrade all speakers alone for a marked improvement in the sound. If you want improved sub bass, you will need another amp and a new sub other than what Nissan and Bose came up with.

I was extremely disappointed with the performance of my Bose Premium stereo even after adding amps, and I ended up removing all signs of the Bose, especially that crummy head unit, and replaced it with much better equipment. I have posted a couple threads here about how bad the bose was, and what I added as far as upgrades.

 

There are different needs and different apreciations. Not everybody can or want to go full "replace it all". To me, in my humble opinion and taste, the Bose is almost there, again, for me. I did see other threads and I do consider the stock speakers to be VERY wimpy.

So, I am one of those in the mild category, lets say. It is loud enough for me, I get enough bass "thump" because, really, how much thump you need for Paula Abdul or the Bee Gees!

But I do think the sound coule be more "clear", seems "muffled" to me.

Replacing the speakers only would fall under the extremely mild extremely simple mod level I can do in a few hours on a weekend, and it might just be enough to get to the level I would like, which again might not meet some of your standards.

If anybody can sugest a setup, like this tweeters + this speakers + this sub just plug them in and leave HU and amp, it would help some of us, vs going to the local sound shop and been at "their mercy".

 

I couldn't have said it better. All I wanted to know was if I could just change the speakers without changing the HU and amp?

 

dbpoet and slaponte...Yes, you can change the speakers without changing the amp or HU, but be sure to do it properly.

What I mean is this...if the impedance of your front speakers is 4 ohms, do not use anything lower than 4 ohm. Remeber that halving the impedance is like doubling the amplifier output (amp works twice as hard). If the speakers in the back are 30 ohms, be sure to use an impedance matching network to take the standard 4 ohms to 30 ohms. You could damage the head unit, or in this case the factory amp if you load it down to much.

During my upgrade I found the doors to come apart without too much toruble. You may want to get a FSM (factory service manual), to explain taking stuff apart, wiring schematics, and wire colors, plus other maintenance issues. PM me for info. The rear wall housing the rear speakers is difficult though, and you have to remove almost everything form the trunk forward to the wall.

All locations in the Z will hold 6.5" speakers, and the stock tweeter locations are 3/4". If interested, I have a brand new, never out of the box, set of MB quart reference speakers for sale (6.5" woofer and 3/4" tweeter), that are a perfect fit. Any speakers you add to the factory location of the doors will require a 1" trim ring to allow for proper window movement. The rear speakers are just drop ins, and no spacers are required. Be sure to not add rear speakers with a protruding tweeter, they will not fit !

Once you start removing hte Bose components you will see how cheap they are, and why the "Premium" system sounds so bad...


See the list of equipment below to see what I used.

As far as speakers go, I recommend:
JL Audio XR seperate
MB QUART reference or higher
Focal poly or better
Boston Acoustics Proseries
Infinity

there are a few others, but the above list are my faves...

 

Thanks Onecoolee, that was exactly what I wanted to know!!!

 

Yeah, my service guys had a few choice words of how much you have to take apart just to get to the AMP/ They replaced it per TSB, they didn't seem happy about what it took to get to it.

You would think by now designers would think about easier access to some of these components.

Thanks again for the great info!

 

Thanks for the info on the speakers and HU. I'm to the point that I don't want to change out the HU (more for cosmetic reasons) and I was willing to swap everything else out. You post helps alot.


Thanks