I've been into modding stereo's in all my vehicles I've ever had. I usually run two amps and some subs; however, in this car, I'd rather stay away from a speaker box in back (yes, the Zenclosures are nice, but I need the space). My wife and I travel a lot and have a tendancy to buy unexpected odd shaped things when shopping, so I just don't want to sacrafice a possible bargain purchase due to me not being able to haul it home.

So...I'm looking into Sirius radio. However, I don't know if I want to get a seperate tuner or just get a new deck put in my car. It's a '04 Touring (with Bose).

I know there's components up front, the speakers in the speaker bar, and then the sub behind the seat. The question is, if I get a new deck, what channel will the sub run off of? I am assuming that my decent sounding factory system will go to crap!

So, please give me some options/choices on what to do.

Also, if I simply go with the Sirius external tuner, would I get any better sound by replacing either the factory sub and/or the speakers in the speaker bar? I mean, the Bose sounds pretty good, but we all know that they are not the best out there. Would I get any better sound out of another brand of speaker?

The faster the responses the better. I have a $400 Xbox 360 that I'm going to return to Best Buy today that I'm goin' to turn around into some sort of audio stuff.

Thanks from a newbie!

 

There's a number of ways to add satellite radio, none of them are going to make the Bose speakers sound any better. If you use an FM transmitter to feed the satellite radio into the FM then your subwoofer will continue to sound like it does now. Of all the speakers in the stock Bose system the rear speakers are IMHO the best - and also IMHO they should be played at the lowest possible volume sort of removing that "best" advantage.

The Bose speakers are an example of what you get when you spend more money on advertizing and marketing then you do on engineering and product development.

Changing out the poor sounding speakers is only half the problem as the amplifiers are weak and poorly designed.

I've got a number of threads with pictures of both the amplifiers and speakers displayed. Looks are everything but they are good start into evaluating the system. Unfortunately I pulled my system out of my 350Z so fast I never got the chance to do an accoustical analysis with my audio spectrum analyser but just based on my decades of audio listening and engineering I know it was bad.

 

Okay, say I want to lose the factory sub, install an amp, and put another brand sub where the factory one sits. Will this work okay? What size sub is behind the seat?

Would it be feasable to do this? I mean, get a Sirius ready head unit, use it to push the factory speakers door and bar speakers, and then just pop in a new sub?

Again, I don't want to win any competitions, but going from the 1750 watts in my Tucson to what I have in the Z just kinda sucks. Again, I don't want to sacrifice space.

My other alternative -- a small cannon, or something of the sort, with an upgraded head unit.

If I were to do this, should I eliminate the factory sub or just parallel it into the factory rear channels?

 

Hey, I was the guy talking to you in the Lowes parking lot today. Next time I see you there, check the woofer pods I put in my 350Z .. see what you think of them.

 

I agree with Paul350Z’s advice.

Also, I’m in the same position you describe (your words): “My wife and I travel a lot and have a tendancy (sp) to buy unexpected odd shaped things when shopping, so I just don't want to sacrifice a possible bargain purchase due to me not being able to haul it home.” That means (the same as you say) I cannot sacrifice the “rear under-strut-bar space” to accommodate a SubW and its enclosure as is so popular.

Nissan’s OEM CES begs for replacement. The stock Clarion system is horrible, and the Bose “upgrade” isn’t much better. If you search and see Paul’s pictures of the OEM Bose components, you see why I say this. Paul’s pictures are worth “a thousand words” and show why you need to do a replacement to get decent sound.

You definitely do not want a separate Sirius tuner. That would feed to your CES using an antenna connection that results in worse sound (lousy OEM CES plus FM modulator equals a terrible result). I wouldn’t do this even with a new CES replacement. You want an H/U with an integrated Sirius tuner to get a decent result.

I removed all the OEM CES stuff in my Z and replaced it with this (not a recommended list, but only what I have in my car that works and sounds good):

-- Clarion DXZ745MP H/U with an integrated Sirius satellite radio receiver
-- Eclipse 4 Channel Amp Model EA3422
-- Focal 165 V Slim component speakers in the doors (tweeters mounted in the A-Pillars)
-- Infinity coaxial speakers in the rear speaker space

The sound is just great. As Paul recommends, my rears are turned way down and only there for fill.

I don’t have a SubW, but that is simply because I cannot figure out where to place this (keeping my cargo requirements in mind). I wired to accommodate a SubW, but just cannot find the right place to install this.

Hope this is helpful,

--Spike