Hey guys,
I just bought my Z on saturday, and already have a question regarding audio, I'm far from an audio expert so bear with me. I have an Enthusiast model with the regular OEM sound system (non-Bose).
Yesterday while driving with my GF, she commented how she only heard sound from the front. Then it hit me that I haven't heard much sound coming from the back myself...
I went ahead to the fade menu on the unit and made it so all the sound would go to the rear. Well the front speakers stopped, and music did come out of the rear but VERY low (compared to the front-only option). Once i leveled it back to the middle for both, then sound filled the car again (mostly from the front)
Now i remember in my old car the rear speakers were the loudest ones..it makes sense that the rear speakers being so close (to my ears) and at such height that I should be able to hear them even more than the front ones right?
Sorry for the noob question, but as far as I know there's no subwoofer in the non-Bose OEM system, so those 2 big round covers behind the seats ARE indeed the rear speaker housings...if so they look like they should be decently powerful and I should be able to hear music coming from the back just as loud/louder than the front? Am I right? or this is normal and the rear speakers are so underpowered?

Thanx!

 

Louis21,,,,the rear speakers are located on the rear hump right behind your head....Yes, the factory speakers are 32ohms....If you change them to a basic 4ohm speaker you will hear a huge difference. The big square cover directly behind your seat is the panel that covers the mounting bracket for the bose sub. Most of us who have upgraded our sound systems,,,have removed the metal bracket,,,and have mounted our amps/crossovers/ ect. ect...there. Its a great place to mount "said" items out of view and stealth.

Now, Nazar (site member) makes a fiberglass box that fits that area as well,,,if you decide to add a sub and want to use the stock location...

 

Thanks for the info Lsmith!
Yeah I guess I'll definitely have to upgrade at least the rear speakers....didn't know they were 32 Ohms. Are the front ones 32 Ohms as well? They do seem much louder than the rear...
Guess I'll replace regardless...again thanks for the info!

 

Louis,,,I think the front speakers were 4ohm's,,,if I remember correctly....I changed mine out about 9mths ago...

 

Ok, great....that definitely makes sense then. They sound decent enough compared to the puny rear ones.
Again, thanks for the help!

 

actually front and rear are same size 6.5's

 

But are they the same impedance? 4 vs 32 Ohms would explain the front being louder......

 

What your hearing is pretty standard I think. I've always assumed the balance between front & back speakers is weighted toward the front ones.

I finally replaced my rear speakers with the same JLs I had installed 3 years back in the front and still don't hear the backs that much.

 

When I replaced my rear speakers with the Alpine 17C's,,,,I could hear a huge difference. Although, now I have the faded out more than half,,,,I started with all non-bose...Now, all Alpine.

 

I thought only the Bose upgraded sound system utilized the 32ohm speakers? OP has the standard.

 

The rear bose speakers suck. I put in 6.5" 3-way hifonics speakers all around with a hifonics Zeus amp and the sound quality/level just destroys the bose setup.

 

I had the non-bose set up and my rears were 32ohms...

 

i replaced my bose (everything but HU) and i love how much better it sounds

 

So...

What is the Ohm load for all the BOSE speakers?

 

Just changed out my rears this afternoon. Going from the stock 32 ohm clarion crap speakers to a pair of Polk Momos is no comparison. The volume level itself, aside from the clarity, makes this an essential upgrade.

Installing the speakers is very easy and is the first step in fixing one of the what I feel is the biggest shortcomings of the base model... a terrible audio system.

Rob

 

Did you only upgrade the rears and left the front speakers stock? Which Polk did you get?MC6500? I've never replaced speakers on a car but doesn't should like it should be much of a hassle....

 

Yes, the front speakers are stock for now and it sounds really strange. The rears drown out the fronts badly. The fronts basically make the car sound like crap now but I can't deal with having *all* the sound in the rear.

The Polks I picked up are the MMC650s. I'm thinking about the 6500's for the front. I was able to get them cost for a little under a hundred bucks. If you look around you should be able to find them well under the 200 dollar msrp. I really recommend them.

PM me if you need help.

Rob