Hey guys,

As a disclaimer, I'm also a newbie in building a sound system that is why I'm asking for your expertise in building a better-than-stock-type of sound system.

I have a 04 350z with Bose System / no Navi. I'm looking to replace the whole sound system (Tweeters, Doorspeakers, speakers, amp, wiring and subwoofer). The type of sound system that i would like is the type that emphasizes in clarity and crisp sounds with a good heart throbbing bass to fill the cabin.

For starters, i have an Aftermarket HU: Pioneer 3400BH.

I plan on only replacing what needs to be replaced after installing an aftermarket headunit. I don't plan on adding box closures because i need my trunk for groceries, junk, and guitar amplifier.

The brands that I'm interested in at the moment are Rocksford gate, Boston Acoustics, Alpine, and Pioneer. However, i don't know the types of speakers i should be going for in the brands. Again, i need suggestions in replacing my doorpod speakers, back speakers, amp, wire, and sub-woofer. My budget is a little between $500-$800 (negotiable). Please help me!

 

in exchange for soul

 

Forget the rear speakers, they are in a terrible location and it throws off the sound.

Start with a nice set of components, I personally recommend CDT audio, you can get a nice set for $200-300ish. You can find some nice Bostons for around the same price as well.

There are a million and one amps to power these things, and its really all personal preference to a point. You will probably want something in the 80-120w RMS per channel. You can find alot of good deals on caraudio.com if you want to save a few bucks. Alpine/kicker/audioque/older eclipse/sundown are a few brands to look for.

Wire is wire, you will probably only need a 8ga wiring kit for an amp like that, you can either buy a kit or go to your local stereo shop and ask to buy some of their bulk wire for cheaper.

You will not be replacing the sub unless you want to get a box, look into the Zenclosure boxes. (they fit under the strut bar so you don't lose much space)

 

the pioneer 3400bh is a good head unit (except the 2v pre amp outs) but if you use a good class A/B amp you should be ok. i recomend a 100wx4 channel amp (200-250 ebay) for the front and rear stage. any good componet set willd do for speakers i.e. boston pro60se or focal.and i would get a JL audio sub powered by their class d mono amp. as for the wireing id use a 4 ga power and split it to 2 8 ga with proper fuses, along with a 100-150 amp circut breaker at the battery. look on ebay or sonic electronics for your sub and sound stage. but 500-800 is a bit low for good audio equipment i would guess somewere around 1000-1500 should do it. so save your money and get the better equipment.

 

I just picked up a Pioneer AVH-3400BH as well. That alone made a decent improvement over the crappy Bose system. Still need to pull the stock amp out and replace the speakers though. I've read where the stock speakers are 2 ohm, that's definitely worth looking into. The big thing to remember when you install your head unit (I found this out after the fact) is that although the Z doesn't have a power antenna, that doesn't mean you can leave the "power antenna" wire alone. The Z has an amplified antenna so you'll still want to hook up your power antenna wire to make sure the antenna amp turns on.

 

@AK48z: Thanks for your input, especially about the space under the strut bar. I'm actually thinking about that.
@BipJip: Thank you as well for your input.

With you guys recommend Crutchfield as a great website to find good deals? Let me know thanks!

 

Also, i recently noticed that my subwoofer hasn't been working. It just sorta died on me, does that have something to do with the wiring, fuse, or the subwoofer itself?

@Richee - Yes, I am the same as well, i noticed a bigger difference with regards to switching to 3400bh.

@To all: With regards to replacing the subwoofer and Amp, would keeping the subwoofer behind the drivers a good position? Also what about the positioning of the amp? I honestly dont know if i even have an amp on my Z.

 

From what I've read, most people here avoid the stock sub location like the plague. Apparently everything rattles and sound quality just plain sucks. There is an amp for the Bose system under some foam in the left rear corner in the trunk. I'm not sure whether the Bose system has one amp or two, however.

 

I'm not sure what you meant by?
Although i installed the headunit myself, i didnt notice any wire labeled Power antenna. I'll take a look at it again then. Thanks!

 

It's on the head unit's harness. It might just be labeled "antenna" instead of power antenna, I honestly can't remember. At any rate, I assumed since the Z doesn't have a power antenna that I didn't need to do anything with that wire, and my reception sucked. This thread is a good reference:

https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-v...u-install.html

You may have already wired everything up properly. I was merely just commenting on my own mistake.

 

I am in the process of updating my sound system as well... I will be starting on it this weekend and will post a build log. It will help ALOT if you read through other members build logs. That alone helped me on my path, and I am sure it will do the same for you. Look for sintaxerror's log, as well as anything by 16psibrick (he has done quite a few).

Like others have said, forget the rear speakers. Put that money into a set of good components for the front, you won't be disappointed. I chose the Boston Pro60SE because I know they sound great, and they fit easily with a small spacer. Our cars do NOT have a lot of room in the door for speakers with large motors. For this reason, I kept my search limited to speakers with "Neo" magnets, as they are much smaller.

Lastly, 1 more vote for forgetting about the stock Bose sub location. That is where I will be mounting my amps.

Good luck!

 

I've tried it with and without the rear speakers. Deleting the rear speakers is a bad idea IMO. There's a million threads on that argument though.

 

I would say get some rear speakers. They don't cost much. Infinity ref 6032si are great sounding and cost less than 50.00 on amazon. Listening preferences differ from person to person. Try them yourself. If you do not like them, just use Fader to fade to the fronts.

 

Here's my .02 on this.

After spending ALOT of money and time on my system, I can tell you some things.

Spend the majority of your budget on front components and a front amp. That's where you are going to hear the most difference. Don't, I repeat, don't buy a nice set of components and run them off a **** amplifier.

I've tried a LOT of components. From diamond audio, to cerwin vega, to Elemental, focal, you name it. Focals are far and wide the best sounding components I've ever heard. But for the money, CDT audio is unbeatable. They have the best selection price ranges. From a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand. So you will be able to find a set that suits your needs.

I have some nice rears but I eventually turned them down so low that you can't even hear them. Everyone is right, the rear location does nothing but distract you and muddy up your nice front components. If I had it to do over again I would have used that money on something else. My advice is to just leave them unhooked.

Now, when you get your nice new expensive components, don't mount those new badass tweeters in the stock location. The further apart you get the highs from the midrange, the more noticeable that separation becomes and the uglier the sound will be. The best place to mount the new tweeters are in the kick panels pointing up toward the seats headrests.

If you buy new additional tweeters and run them image in the high fill ranges, the stock location works fine, but it does require a ton of adjustment to get the right mix of staging and "ow my ****ing ears". Personally, it's really not that important, but if you can get it right it's worth the extra money.

 

Thanks guys! I appreciate your inputs.

 

Hey guys, I appreciate your help, but i have another dilemma. With regards to amps and subwoofers. First of all, I wll only be plugging in two speakers which are at the door panel, so now can i get a 4 channel Amp and use it to power my subwoofer too or do i need to get a mono amp dedicated to the subwoofer? Please let me know what you think based on your personal experience. Thanks!

 

Get a sub amp like jl 500/1. Here is the point. If you decide that you need to upgrade
just do it right the first time. Then move on to other stuff on your car. You do not have to buy new all the time. You can find good deals on used.

 

im selling a kenwood 4 channel amp, check out my fs thread. im willing to ship.

https://my350z.com/forum/south-east-...-for-sale.html

 

Here's my opinion with your delimma.

you CAN use a 4 channel amp. But you will have to bridge two of the channels to power the sub. Essentially turning it into 3 channels. Which leads to a small problem: Finding an amp with enough juice to run the sub and your components will be expensive, not to mention limit your choices.

Your best bet is to find a REALLY NICE 2 channel amp to run your components and a mediocre mono block for the sub.

Plus if you buy a 4 channel that's nice enough to run the components, it's a waste of money to send that same clean signal to a sub that won't use it anyway.

2 channel + mono block is the way to go. You can spend more money on the component amp that way.