I wrote up this article.. got kinda lengthy, but i think it offers some decent advice and information. I will also be working on a Bose FAQ. Let me know what you guys think of this.. I hope to start doing more articles like this in the future.. if anyone else wants to post articles, please let me know...

Here is what i have so far:

Bose Information
First of all, if you are reading this to decide if you want the Bose system in your Z or not, I will be the first to advise you: DON’T GET THE BOSE SYSTEM. I really started writing this article with the intention on laying out the basics of the Bose system and offer advice to those who have it. However, since I am constantly asked questions about the Bose system and read new forum threads complaining about it almost on a daily basis, this article has become more of a ***** session (with some technical info thrown in the mix). I hope to offer some insight as to why I think the Bose sucks in addition to giving some advice on how to get better sound from your tunes. Ok now that I got that out of the way, let’s take a look at the Bose system in a little more detail.

Bose has done a great job in marketing their products. Almost every electronics store you walk into has a special “Bose Booth” setup in some fashion. This has turned Bose into a household name, even for those with no experience with the company or the systems. They have done a similar job moving into the automotive world. Bose does not offer aftermarket automotive stereo equipment, so how they have become the premier OEM automotive stereo supplier is really beyond my little brain.

Bose automotive systems use a separate amplifier to power the four stereo speakers (See diagram). In addition, you get the benefit of a 6 disc in dash changer and an oversized 10” subwoofer.

Head unit
The head unit is probably the shining feature of the Bose system. Although far inferior to 99% of the aftermarket units currently available, it does offer the benefit of having a 6 disc in-dash CD changer. This is great feature. You can load it up with a few discs and have a few hours of music at your fingertips. Never fumble dangerously in traffic with your CD case again! Unless you just listened to the last track on Disc 6. Overall the head unit is on par with stock head units, and is not really a major player in the problem that is Bose.

Speakers
This is where the big mistake of Bose is exposed. Industry standard for automotive speakers is a 4ohm impedance rating. The engineers at Bose were either smoking crack or shooting craps the day they decided to deviate from this established standard. Bose systems come in a range of impedance ratings (depending on what side the die landed on that day), but most typical is 1 ohm per speaker. In simple terms, impedance is equivalent to resistance. Lower resistance equals higher current. If you are pushing more current through a speaker you would expect to get more power out of it. Well yes and no.

The stereo must be designed to the specified ohm rating. Without going into a physics lesson, you can and will burn up an aftermarket head unit if you hook it up to a 1, or even a 2 ohm impedance speaker. Aftermarket head units are designed to the industry standard 4ohm speaker. Because Bose decided to do things differently, you cannot simply change the head unit, and conversely you cannot simply change the speakers (leaving all other components stock)

Amplifier
The amplifier takes a weak input signal from the 6-Disc head unit and “amplifies” it before sending it on to the speakers. Get it? AMPLIFIER…. This amplifier is designed to work with the Bose speakers, so will not function properly when coupled with standard 4ohm aftermarket speakers.

Subwoofer
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Upgrades
Now let’s talk about something that will most likely affect you if you have the Bose system: Upgrades. With the base Z stereo, if you want to upgrade any part of the system, such as add amplifiers, change speakers or head unit, or add a subwoofer, the process is easy and inexpensive. This is not the case with the Bose system. They have designed the system so that you must replace ALL of the components or spend a lot of money getting around their proprietary setup.

There are a few options for those wanting to upgrade:

Replace Head Unit Only
This is the most basic upgrade for the Bose system. This method will allow you to keep your stock speakers, amp, and subwoofer. You will need a special Bose level converter in order for everything to play nice. This converter will take the strong signal from your aftermarket head unit and weaken the signal so it can be safely fed into the stock amplifier. These converters are not cheap. If you buy them at a local stereo shop they can cost over $100. Look around on the internet and see what kind of deals you can find. This will be a necessity, so don’t try to skip this and hope for the best.

Don’t expect a huge improvement in sound quality. You are still playing through the stock paper cone speakers and the stock amplifier is doing all the work. This might improve sound quality slightly, but could offer a lot more versatility and adjustments depending on which head unit you choose.

Replace Head Unit and Speakers
The next option is to replace the head unit and the speakers. This is a much better solution. Take that $100 that you planned on using for the Bose level converter and spend it on a decent set of front speakers. Your ears will thank you.

Going this route is not without its issues. You will need to take the stock amplifier out of the equation. It will not work with the head unit or the speakers, so you need to bypass it in one way or another. I would suggest running speaker wire directly from the new head unit to the new speakers (going into the doors). Some places may charge extra to run speaker wire, but you can also do it yourself by following some of our Tutorials .

Replace Head Unit, Speakers, and Amplifier
This is the most involved and expensive stereo upgrade. Many people choose this path because the end result is far superior to the other two options. Pick your head unit, speakers, and aftermarket amplifier. Then wire them all up with fresh power and speaker wires. The best way to wire the amp is to run new speaker wires from the amplifier to the new speakers. The factory wiring is useless for this type of upgrade but some of the speaker wires can be used. It is possible to tap into the speaker wires at the factory amp location, but this not ideal.

I have tried to cover most of the Bose information in this article. I will be putting together a FAQ also that should cover more specific questions. If you have Bose specific questions please post them in our forums, email me directly, or PM me. If you feel I have stated anything in error, or want to tell me how wrong I am, then shoot me an email or PM.