I have a 2008 with stock oem radio. It has the 6 speakers with NO sub behind the seat. My 2003 with Bose has the sub of course.
First off I have replaced the whole radio/head with a nice Kenwood.
But I now want to add a sub and amp also. I'm looking at mouting it to the same place as the stock set up behind the seat or going with a Zenclosure.
Here is my MAIN question if anyone knows.
Are the individual speakers the SAME speakers on the Bose and NON Bose systems? All 6 speakers look alike but I'm not sure if they are the same.
I'm just really curious if the Bose and non Bose set ups use all the same speakers except for the issue of the sub woofer being missing from the base model.
thanks, Mike

 

Bose use OEM Bose speakers that are 2 ohms, unknown RMS watts and pretty sure its low, some where around 25 watts RMS.

Non-Bose use Clarion speakers that are 4 ohms, probably 40 RMS watts if i remeber correctly.

If you want to upgrade to Kenwood HU, non-Bose is the way to go. With Bose, it will sound a little better but the system will crap out soon (took my Blose 1 year to blow)

 

well that is great info pal, thanks for that.
Let me tell you and the other readers of exactly my situation.
A month ago, I had a new Kenwood HU installed in my 2003 350Z with a standard Bose set up. We retained all the stock speakers and sub and sub amp.
The sound is wonderful and perfectly fine for me, dont need to change a thing BUT, I just sold that car and bought an 08 Z with the NON Bose system.
So I had the Kenwood pulled out to put in my new Z.
But before I did, I needed to address the issue of having no sub and realizing I will have to buy an encloure, drivers and also an amp for it presumably.
Then the issue of the stock speakers. I assumed they would be of a lesser quality and power handling capability of the premium Bose system. You seem to be indicating they are better than the Bose set up.
So I guess, if I was happy with the Bose speakers and Kenwood HU, I should be happy with the Kenwood and the Non Bose speakers???
I hope you see my delima brother.
thanks, Mike

 

Bose is crap upgrade to after market and add a couple amps. Dynamat your doors

 

Thats good info BUT, I do NOT have the Bose now. I have the NON Bose. That is the whole point. The NON Bose coupled with a new Kenwood HU.
mike

 

for your non-Bose, if you want good sound, just add a mono sub and amp. That's it!! It will sound a lot better.

You will aslo need an enclosure for the sub. This site sell it for cheap, http://www.zenclosures.com/ and there is 10% off code if you look in the Marketplace > Vendor section.

You can mount the amp in the glove box behind passenger's seat. Good luck!

You lucky you didn't get the Bose because I had a Bose system, and I had to remove EVERY interior plastic pieces and door trims to replaced all 4 speakers, removed Blose sub and add new aftermarket parts.

The stock speakers are actually better than the Bose's speakers, they are low on the RMS watts but as long as your Kenwood HU doesn't put out too much, you should be good.

 

Ok great, thats good info.
I looked at that Zen site and it rocks.
I noticed they have set ups with a rack for mounting the amp or without. Do you have a feeling about this?
Also sounds good that the speakers I have are better than the Bose set up.
I'm not excited over the idea of tearing out all the speakers and replacing them. I'll bet thats a lot of work to pull those doors apart.
Did you go ahead and keep using those little tiny tweeters?
Say by the way, that avatar your using is one hot babe dude.
Mike

 

nvm

 

are you going to install everything yourself? if you install it yourself then get the one with amp rack since it will be easier. You can mount the amp in the glove box, it was made for that. Down side for that is you need to remove the rear plastic parts where the glove box is at.

if you want to have trunk space and look clean, get a sub box like this custom made. Mine was $200 and it fits great!

 

^ looks good!

 

Any aftermarket speaker will be better then the bose. Hell you can get cheap pioneer 6 1/2's with a 10" cheap pioneer sub w/ amp, and will sound great. make a bose sound like straight crap.

 

Wow! I think your question got lost in a lot of discussion that’s not what you are asking.

If your car does not have the OEM Bose “upgrade,” you have the OEM Clarion stock CES. Both are pretty cheap and “junky,” and they beg for replacement if you want decent sound. You follow different paths (depending upon whether you have Bose or Clarion) when replacing these systems with aftermarket products.

I’m not criticizing Nissan for installing cheap sound in the 350Z since many people buy this car for the track and could care less about the audio equipment. Nissan had to put a radio in the car, and the company chose to keep this cost low.

Since you have an OEM Clarion system, I keep my remarks to this installation. I think your system is configured this way: Your front speakers are two way components (tweeters and midrange speakers) and your rear speakers are coaxials. You do not have an external amp, and you do not have a SubW. Please correct me if I’m wrong here.

There are different choices you have when replacing this:

1) Replace just the H/U (and, I believe you already have done this)
2) Replace the H/U and add a quality external amp, keeping the OEM Clarion speakers
3) Replace the H/U, add an external amp, and replace the speakers
4) Replace the H/U, add an external amp, replace the speakers, and add a SubW


My thoughts:

1) Replacing the H/U is a good thing since it will provide better sound and features. You definitely want to do this (and, you already have).

2) Adding an external amp and keeping the OEM Clarions speakers is not a good thing. To see why you do not want to do this, look at the picture below.



Notice that the cheap Clarion speakers can only handle 40 watts. These speakers are not designed for anything past the low power you have in your H/U’s built in small amp. If you drive these with more power from an aftermarket external amp, you will shred the cheap paper cones in these speakers. If you add an external amp, you should replace the speakers.

3) You may want to simply disconnect the rear speakers. The cheap OEM rears will only pollute the sound. If you keep rear speakers, replace these with some decent coaxial speakers.

4) Adding a SubW will provide much better sound. You need an amp to drive this.

--Spike

 

thats sick.. where did u get it and where did u mount the amp.. i just got the type s zenclosure and had the amp mounted inside the box. it actually turned out really good but i like how much more space you would have with the one u have.

 

amp is mount in the glove box like most people do. The box was custom made using fiberglass by a local audio shop, so your price may varies. I still have a lot of space in the trunk for stuff. The sub is only 10" but it hits hard and can handle up to 500 watts RMS. It currently output 300 RMS which i think is wayyy too much.. sound really good too.

 

Apparently you are not a golfer, or at least not someone who takes a buddy on a golf trip.

Nice look though, and a good solution for a SubW.

--Spike

 

Those OEM non bose rear speakers are 16 ohms..

 

lol that was my only worry.. the Z's trunk is a perfect fit for 2 bags.. i chose the type-s box so i can fit atleast one bag. but i need to find something smaller.