I have a 93 SE Bose and I think the head unit is not working anymore so I want to buy a new one and install it myself. I've looked in sonicelectronix.com so far and I had seen so many unit that can fit my car. But according to some threads, it's recommended to replace the speakers as well. So my concern is, what HU I can get that will last and won't damage anything in my audio systems in the long run? I prefer an HU with a 3.5 Aux, FM, and a CD player.

 

I've read the same about the Bose amp damaging head units in the past as well. Ive installed a pioneer headunit in my 94 w/Bose speakers/amp and it worked great for about 3 years. The headunit never broke nor showed any signs of getting damaged. After the 3 years I put my car in the garage and reinstalled the Bose headunit because I wanted to use the pioneer on my 4th gem. I'm now driving the car again and the Bose works great..except for the display.

Overall, although I read it's bad to use aftermarket headunit with the Bose speakers, I've done it without any problems for along period of time.

If you get an aftermarket headunit, then also buy the harness that way you wouldn't be cutting your stock harness. It's never good to do so unless you have no choice and makes installation 90% easy.

As for the Bose speakers, you can always bypass the amp. Basically replace the speakers with aftermarket ones and find the signal wire going into the small amps and connect it directly to the new speakers. I believe there was a write up on which wires/colors are the signal wires etc. If anyone doesn't post it by tonight I'll find it for you when I get home. (Im posting from my iPhone at work)

 

I'll simply put this a bit differently, the problem installing an aftermarket HU with the Bose system is that many people forget that amps have two inputs, high (amplified by the HU) and low (essentially non-amplified - RCA out). The Bose (Clarion) HU sends a non-amplified (low) output to the Bose amps. If you "just" replace the HU, then essentially you are now sending a high level (amplified) signal to the amps. Doing this "feedbacks" to the deck and damages it, sooner or later. The appropriate way to install an aftermarket HU into the stock Bose speaker system is to purchase an High to Low converter.

It's been a while, I recall they once made one specifically plug and play for the Maxima...they may not anymore. However, they still make universal ones that work great, just wire it in between the aftermarket HU and the harness adaptor plug you have to buy in order to wire the unit in without cuttin wires. That should resolve your whole issue.

Actually, I'm certain I have a High/Low converter sitting on my shelf in the garage; $10 shipped.

 

you can wire up RCA plugs instead of hooking up the speaker wires.
Just make sure the radio you get has 4x RCA outs, and they are front/rear (as opposed to front/sub, or something....) 6x RCA will work, too.

 

^---- +1. Thought about going there, but didn't. Primary reason is that I tried it once and the output/sound was really low even at full volume. May have been the unit itself, but it just didn't work for me in my experience. When I used the high/low converter, I was able to get the volume I should had.

Still, a reasonable suggestion of you want to try that first before spending additional money on a converter, bypassing amps, or in replacing all the speakers.

 

Wiring an aftermarket deck to the stock speakers is both inefficient and counter productive, the speakers are rated at 1 ohm, aftermarket deck amplifiers are designed to push a 4 ohm load. Same goes for wiring an amplified, or a hi-low signal to the stock amps. All these scenarios technically work, but it is inefficient, sound quality is compromised and is bad for amplifiers and/or speakers depending on the situation.

 

The best thing to do is just pony up a little money and buy some new speakers.

You can buy or build pods for the front to hold 6.5s and 6x9s will directly mount to the back. You can use the crappy existing wiring or upgrade wiring.

Really, those speakers are not that expensive. I bought a pair of Infiniti Reference 6x9s several years back on ebay for $20 and some Diamond Audio 6.5 inch coaxials for the front from an .org member. I think those were $75?

 

You can get nice speakers for under $100 on ebay or bestbuy.

Heres a post about bypassing the bose amps

http://forums.maxima.org/6929262-post18.html

 

hmmm... looks like my edit didn't get submitted...

anyway, as hectic said, amp bypass with aftermarket speakers is always better than rigging something up with nearly 20 year old speakers.

 

OK. So here's my stock stereo:

So what do these sockets stand for?




So what all of you are basically saying that there is no same spec aftermarket HU to replace my stock?

 

The circular one all the way to the right is for the antenna. The white ones are the wiring harness for the front and rear Bose speakers. I found out when wiring up my aftermarket unit how my wires were crossed.

 

Exactly. Besides, there's no point in salvaging the stock speakers and amps, they just aren't high quality. Like Clavin said, pony up a little cash and replace the speakers.

The black connector on the back of the stock HU is for the optional CD changer. CD's were a metallic disc shaped medium that were once used to store digital information.

 

By the way, where can I locate the amp for SEs? is it different from the HU? Sorry for having a lot of questions. I'm still fairly new but I'm learning

 

each speaker in the bose system has an amp just by the speaker.

 

I replaced my 1993 Maxima's rear speakers a few years ago and the right rear speaker literally screams (like full volume screeching) if it is connected to the speaker wire. Would the amp unit be the problem? The HU got replaced a year before the speakers and there was no problem until I replaced the speakers (blown out by the new stereo, oops).