Okay, so Circuit City has an ad this week for a free install on all head units that are $99 or more. I want to take advantage of this but when I told him that I have the Bose system, he said it would require a rewiring because of the preamps. All I want to do is have a CD player, no need to keep the stock tape deck, so is there any validity to his claim, should I still have them do it, or should I go the crutchfield route and do it myself with their provided kit?

The reason I would go with Circuit City would be not only cuase it's free, but to have them insert a spacer underneath my head unit. All thoughts welcome, flame me for being lazy if needed! Almost forgot, this is for a 94 SE.

 

A special adapter is required due to the resistance of the factory speakers.

 

Yeap, that adapter will be about $15-$20. And you will also have to buy a wiring harness thing ($10). I remember when I bought my CD player, the store said "Free Installation". They meant labor is free, but you have to pay for all adapters or harnesses. My CD player was $159, plus tax and supplies. The total was $203.

So, no rewire is nessecary and don't let those guys tell you different. Three stereo shops told me that I need a rewire. That is before I found a decent stereo shop that knew what's up. Hope this helps.

 

Actually, they DO need a rewire of sorts.. you either need to switch your speakers and bypass your bose amps, OR you need to add an impedance matching device in line with the speakers in order to keep them from frying the head unit's amp. Otherwise, you'll be frying the new heat unit in no time.

 

You do not need to "rewire" you car if you replace the headunit and all 4 speakers.

I just upgraded my audio system earlier today. I had the stock Bose system in my '91 SE. I took out the Bose radio and installed a Sony CD/Receiver. I connected the harness and soldered the wires as if there were no Bose system at all.

Then I replaced each speaker with my own aftermarket speakers. I cut the large black cable going to each of the Bose amps. Inside the cable are 4 wires. The two thick wires are the ones that power the Bose amps. Just disregard those..tape them up because you are not going to need them anymore. The two thinner wires are the positive and negative speaker wires. Just hookup those wires to your speakers in the appropriate fashion.

Everyting works fine in my system. No Bose harness or rewiring needed.

 

I am in the process of hosting a webpage regarding this issue. I know there are some out there regarding Bose installation, but all of them seem to be missing one fact or another. Look for it this weekend at http://www.frysinsider.com/maxima

 

 

FYI
I kept the Bose speakers and got a new Sony HU. If you decide to do this, then you have to bypass the Bose amps for each speaker. Follow the procedure above.

PS, There needs to be a sticky for these Bose questions!

 

Hey, guys i know nothing about sound systems .i have a 90 se, but i wana learn, i stil have all factory bose stuff (a new head unit (out of a 91se) is comming in the mail soon because my other one broke)
my friend is giving me his old sound system.. just a BIg box with 2 SuBs i think they were like 1200 watts each what do i need to get them working with my system ? plz help ]
l8r
Chris

 

I watched the guy install my HU. He popped the old one out. Put in those two adapters (power antenna and Bose adapter) and plugged in the new HU. He never messed with any of my speakers. It works great.

 

Thanks for all the info, I didn't realize how much of a pain in the butt this actually has turned out to be. I plan on replacing the rear speakers soon, which I can do myself obviously. But to keep use of the other Bose speakers, it sounds like all I need to do is get the two adapters and I can still use my Bose speakers setup. I'm all for that.

 

Pdubs, check out my page..I hope you find it helpful:
http://www.frysinsider.com/maxima

Forget about keeping the stock speakers. I mean they are reaching 10 years old right? Yeah I know that there are some awesome audiophile speakers out there that can last for 20 years. But trust me, Nissan does not install those speakers into their mass produced vehicles

 

The sound will definitely better with new speakers, but I couldn't afford to upgrade my whole system at one time. So it's nice to be able to do the HU first and still have sound. Before, only my right front speaker was working. So keeping the Bose speakers is a good option if you're a little strapped for cash. Just a thought.