Noob to the forum here. Got a 2006 w/ Bose, no navi, Touring model last week. I had driven a 2003 Track previously, but it seemed to have tranny problems, along with that weird hum when slowing down for stoplights (coming from the front end). Anyhow, the Bose in the 2003 sounded great. The 2006 system really sucks. I don't expect a lot from Bose, but this stereo is really pathetic. Bass is on 5, Treble on 2. Balance +2 to the right, and fader +1 to the rear. Adjustments don't help, source doesn't really matter. Poor highs, crappy lows. This is a low mileage car, and probably spent most of its life sitting in a garage. Looking at replacing the HU, speakers, everything at this point. Any advice? I read the 2003 thread about amps, Clarion replacements, etc, but figure that surely they would have fixed the issue by 2006.
TIA
Jeff

 

Buy
Other
Stereo
Equipment

 

The Z is a sports car delivered with a minimal CES (the Clarion setup). And, the Bose “upgrade” does not add much (it’s mostly a marketing feature providing a “better” but more expen$ive A/V option). Remember that this is a performance car, and many (most?) buyers are mainly interested in its performance, handling and engine upgrade options, and track ability.

Obviously Nissan’s intention is that buyers who want a better CES do a complete replacement. If you look at the Bose amp and the Bose SubW in the Z, you see my point.

--Spike

 

Yeah the Bose sucked... That's why I scrapped it.

 

I have an 06 with the Bose set up also. I find that it realy sucks at low volume. If you turn the base down to about +3 and treble to about +4 and crank it up it sounds better. But then I like rock from the seventys. Before all the concentration on big subs and load bass. I do plan to repace the bose system with Alpine.

 

Can't argue with that. Any recommendations on retaining the steering wheel controls? Use the PAC convertor? Will search the forums, but there is sooo much stuff here.
Thanks again
Jeff

 

I know in the 03 model, the 10in. is one of those slim subwoofer.
It weighs about the same as one of my new Rockford 6.5s

I don't know why they didn't use a full size sub. There's plenty of room back there. I guess Bose had a good deal going when Nissan showed up.

 

the BOSE speakers aren't bad, the problem is in the headunit (as several threads can attest)...i kept my oem speakers and put in a kenwood headunit. man, the speakers/sub came alive (needed to use the PAC-BOSE adapter box though.) highs came through clear and seperate from the mids and lows

 

PAC Model#SWI JACK comes with a set of resistors that you need to wire between the box and the third harness...i think there are two of these modules floating around (a small blue one and a large black one)...get the small blue one as its easier to stow behind your center console.

 

i spend alot of time in my car stereo upgrades come before performance for me usually.

 

Same here. I tried a Mickey Mouse solution to the crappy Bose system on my 2008 Touring and wasn't happy with it. I basically added a free-air 300W Kicker sub in the factory sub location along with a 300W Kicker amp and 4 Infinity reference speakers running off the Bose amp in the factory speaker locations. I also installed a Pacific Audio PAC-NIS1 ipod/aux adapter under the head unit and feel totally ripped-off over that; it's garbage.

I took a long hard look at these "upgrades" and decided to ditch the idea of going cheap for good sound and bought the following:

JL Audio Clean Sweep
JL Audio 6.5" components for front
JL Audio 6.5" subwoofers for rear
JL Audio 250W 2-channel amp for front
JL Audio 300W mono amp for subs in back

I'm ditching the 10" sub behind the drivers seat and am putting my amps back there. I had a chance to listen to the components and subs in a friend's car and was very impressed by the setup. I'll be ripping my car apart again over the weekend to take out the Infinity/Kicker system and replace it with the JL Audio setup. I'll also be adding a 5-band Kenwood equalizer between the Clean Sweep and the 2-channel amp.

The 6.5 subs are pretty strict about how much air volume they require, so I'll be doing the spray foam insulation / Dynamat thing in the rear speaker spaces. Other than that, I'm guessing it'll be a fairly straightforward install. I'm giving myself 3 days to get it all done.

If this doesn't work, I'm driving the car off a cliff.

 

I'm very interested in what you think of the 6.5 SubW's in the rear speaker mounts.

I still do not have a SubW in the car since I need all the rear cargo space. I have Focal components and they sound great, but no SubW is a glaring deficiency since most modern recordings require this.

Please let us know how your project turns out. If you have the time, pics with a narrative, and a new thread in the Audio Builds section would be great.

Subscribing…

--Spike

 

Spike, will do. PM sent.

 

^^ I received your PM, and your plan definitely rocks. It’s a unique solution that hasn’t been done before.

That’s all I’m saying for now, and have no other comments until you reveal the solution (which looks very good to me).

Forum members should watch the “Audio Builds” section here for your solution (which is still a little ways away, but soon to come).

--Spike