350z 2003 non bose. What can I do to upgrade my stereo? I want to keep the same look it has now. Please advice. Thank you! ( I don't know much about audio)

 

Does that mean you want to keep the factory head unit?

There are unlimited possibilities. But I would recommend an Alpine HU with a 2 channel amp to power a pair of 6.5" Boston Acoustics Pro60s in the front and coaxials powered off the Alpine HU in the rear as fillers. If you want a sub there are just too many good ones...just depends on what your looking for.

 

Is that going to look the same as I have now? Thanks for your answer!

 

Your stock headunit is a double-DIN headunit, meaning it takes up two "spaces" (imagine cutting your headunit in half now, reducing the height by half). You can go with a single-DIN aftermarket headunit and put a "filler" in for the remaining space which you can put anything you want there like your cell phone, remote, etc. I will try to post or find pics of what I'm talking about for you.

I'm not sure what you mean by upgrading your stereo. If you are going to replace the headunit, you will have to take the WHOLE thing out right now and put in a new deck. There are endless possibilities about what you can do. The first and most essential upgrade is obviously the headunit and then you can do the speakers, amplifier, subwoofers, etc.

 

yes, I mean replacing the head unit first, and then the rest. If you have some pics that would be great, thanks !

 

Okay, I have managed to steal pictures from some members' previous posts to show you.

Note one headunit is double the size of the other. This is a "double-DIN" headunit. "Double-DIN" just refers to the space the headunit takes up, that's it. Single-DIN is, well, just takes up half the space of a double-DIN headunit. The stock Z deck is obviously a double-DIN headunit. There are advantages/disadvantages to both. The main difference being that double-DIN headunits do *not* have "detachable" faces (true in general, I'm sure there are exceptions). I'm assuming you know what that is? You know.. have you ever seen people carrying around part of their stereo? They detach their "faceplate" so that theives won't steal the stereo. I mean, they still can, but just stealing half the deck is worthless without the faceplate, right?

Also notice that in the picture of the single-DIN picture, there's a little "pocket" or "tray" below the headunit where you can put stuff like a cell phone or whatever. This will come with the "kit" needed for the install. You'll have to buy the kits seperately, or the audio shop will always have one too. Don't worry, they're really cheap... like $10. Double-DIN headunits are generally more expensive as well. Single-DIN headunits are vastly more popular and you will have much more selection to choose from. There are plenty of reputable companies that make headunits (Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine, Eclipse, etc.) so the possibilities are really endless as to what kind of headunit you want to buy. All depends on what you're looking for (features, price, quality, etc.) Let me know if this helps.

edit: Where are you in CA? If you want, I can meet up with you if you're close to me and show you my system and let you listen to it.

 

Thank you for your help, now I understand! I just checked out the double-DIN unit by ALPINE and there is another cool one by Clarion..so I will see what I can do..Thanks a lot... I am in the Central Coast, down from you.

 

What brand is that double-DIN head unit in the picture above?

 

Eclipse

 

Arias if you are anywhere near SoCal there is a shop called TNT audio in Rowland Heights near Nogales and Colima. The shop has done my upgrade with a alpine head unit and it works like a charm. The guys at TNT made a harness so I can use my new headunit with the Bose amps and speakers however to really upgrade you'll need to swap out the speakers and amps. If you need the exact addy let me know and I'll search for you if not go see either Will or Tae and they should help you ......tell them Ed with the orange Z sent you .

 

Eclipse makes a VERY nice DD (double din). IMO it's the best, but alpine, pioneer and kenwood also make very good dd units. Be aware that the non bose (like mine) systems have really high resistance rear speakers (the ones behind you head). I don't remember the exact resistance, but it was way up there like 32 ohms or something. What I'm saying is that you need to replace the rear speakers when you change out the head unit or else you can BARELY hear anything coming out. The fronts are fine, though. BTW I've installed car stereo/electronics for 8 years.

 

When I was talking to my installer friend at best buy today, he said he had just put some speakers in a Z the other day. The rear speakers are 32 Ohms. You cant even hear them if you put the fade all the way to the rear.

 

Thanks Ed I have an Orange Z too!