I just hooked up my new 9885. My right door has Focal components with pods and left door still has stock stuff still in it until I get to it. Holy cow what difference in sound just changing the HU. I still have an Elemental Designs amp to push the components and I don't even think I need it! The HU seems to have enough power for the components! Would the amp be overkill??

 

I too love my Focal 3-way i have, sounds soooo good.

 

Be kind to your focals and give them some decent power. Headunits driving speakers are ok for rear fill, but not for front stage. You will eventually damage the focals with distortion at higher volume levels.
Trust me, as good as it sonds now, providing real power will sound even better.

Congrats on the setup, I bet it sounds real nice.

 

how would an amp be overkill? HU power is very unhealthy for a high-end component set, of course it needs the amp.

 

I installed a 9885 in my Z as well. BIG difference over the stock HU!

 

Im planning on upgrading soon too. Just curious, if I only get the headunit for now, what happens to the Bose sub?

 

Also what about the bluetooth function of the car, can it be inegrated into the headunit?

 

It will work ok (If you get the correct adapter for a Bose equipped Z) and will probably improve the sound a bit, but eventually you should replace the rest of the components in the system. I doubt the bose speakers will react well in the long term to an aftermarket headunit

Don't know about the one. Never worked on a Z with OEM bluetooth. I would get a replacement headunit with bluetooth built in.

 

Ichigo,

Thanks for the replies, I've tried crutchfield & and at check-out it does not list any other adapter. I had previously planned to install my sound-system in parts, I might however now just install everything at once. I recall on an installation thread they showed that a Bose set-up had a brown plug that will no longer be required when upgrading the headunit. Do you know if this is for the sub?

 

i think the brown plug is for the lights and stuff on the stock deck. I didn't have to use it when i installed my deck either.

 

Bing has the knowledge in this post here:
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ne%2C+bose+sub

He's got a ish load of more experience than I and is a great resource on these boards. Most of my Z car audio experience is only with my own, but Bing has worked on all of the models bose/non bose throughout all the model years I'm sure.

And the exact models number and explaination is:

 

I've had mine a few weeks... luv it... :-) Great HU, but I would recommend not relying on the HU amp... A traditional amp(s) & heavy gauge cabling really bring this HU to life!

 

Ok I went ahead and hooked my Nine.2 ED up today and YES, the amp is needed. WOW. All I need to to do now is figure out how to adjust the LP/HP and Gain *****---any advice for settings on this or is it just a personal preference?? I have focal components 165v2's.