I am going to upgrade my speakers and sub woofer on my bose system. I am keeping the headunit for the voice navigation. My question(s) are. How do I know what wattage amp to buy for all my upgrades? What is the formula you installers use? Do I need a separate amp for the subs? This is what I want to do. I want to install two 10 inch sub woofers in the back and replace the door and rear speakers with a better quality. Now what do I need to know? If my subs are 700 watts each do I need an amp that is 1400 watts just for them or can I get by with a 500 watt amp. I am clueless on all this. Need Help!

 

Im not an audio guru - but ill try to shed some light.

Take a look at the other systems that some of the people have, see what looks really good to you, then take a look at the manufacturer and see how they compare, some of the audio equip looks really cool - but sounds like junk.

Once youve decided on a brand ( or brands, they dont have to be the same ) then start to plan out youre system. you dont have to buy it all at once, but its better to have a plan, so you dont blow all of youre money on the subs and have none to spend on good front and rear replacements.

after you decide on the speakers, then take the recomended wattages and go look for a 4 channel amp and a 2 channel amp -

the 4 channel amp will power the front pair and the rear pair of speakers, and the 2 channel will power the subs, i think its better to have a set-up like this, but they also make 5 channel amps that have 4 lower wattage outputs and one larger output with a crossover for the sub.

You dont need to max out the power going to the sub - so a 500 watt amp will do just fine for 700 watt subs, but there is usually a minimum that you can power them with , so read the info on the speakers.

hope that helps out a bit - Also try to go out and listen to the front and rear speakers that you plan to buy - some sound bright or dull, so even if the price is right you may not get what you expect.

Good luck on youre upgrades, make sure to do as much research on prices, and read over some of the car audio forums to see what works and whats junk.

 

If you have the BOSE HU, be certain to read the threads regarding the appropriate output converter. Non-BOSE HU's have speaker level outputs, so LOC's are the dime-store variety.

If you have the BOSE HU, be certain to eliminate all of the BOSE amps and speakers. THe BOSE Amps are where the patented BOSE Sound Mangling Technology exists.

THere are a number of excellent threads on this forum that should guide you through almost anything you want to do with your audio system.

 

I just got back from Car Toys and I am now thinking about trashing the whole Bose System and Wire the Navigation system to it. I found some threads which explained this....I just emailed all the information to the store for the installers to mull over. I hope their up to the challange.

thanks for your input

 

Best advice I can give...

Go out and LISTEN. Although soundboards are not the best environment for listening, you can get SOME idea of how the speakers will sound. IMO, you should NEVER judge midbass from the sound board, but tweeters and midrange you can get a pretty good idea. Unless you can REALLY trust someone's opinion (I have some friends who compete in SQ who give me good ideas without actually hearing the spekaers), you should go listen.

As for the sub, don't worry about giving it massive amounts of power. Something like a single Image Dymamics IDMax 12 will be LOUD off of as little as 300w, even though it's rated for 1000w rms. Some subs are power hungry (w7), but others like the IDMax, or even the IDQ, don't need much power to sound phenomenal. Remember: our interiors are small, so you don't need that much power for the sub to get loud. SQ of the sub is subjective, but IMO 75% of all subs are the same. Unless you're looking at high-end, just get something decent (Image dynamics IDQ or ID, Infinity perfect, etc.) in a sealed box and you'll be happy.

For system power, that's reliant on the interior speakers. You shouldn't really need more than say 50x4 for the interiors, then 300-600x1 for the sub(s). Some people like to throw TONS of power to their speakers, but you don't really need to. Spend more money on the head unit and speakers than on the amps and sub. They're most important IMO.