I have a few 4th Gen Bose questions......

FM still works, but sounds HORRIBLE! Antenna is rebuilt. Do the heads lose stability or has what radio stations put out degraded substantially?

CD player doesn't work anymore. But used to sound quite good for a Nissan offering.

The place that rebuilds these, do they address everything or only the CD function?

How do you all know when the speakers/(amps) are trashed (tweeters too) and the whole system needs a forklift upgrade?

I'd be quite happy with it performing like new and invest the money in other max upgrades for reliability and comfort.

Thanks for any help!

 

Modernize your 4th. The system is trashed when one thing fails to operate as it should. You can attempt to have it repaired however for what it may cost In time and money wasted just up grade all of it and be done. Buy Once Cry Once. Install Something with Bluetooth. Replace all Speakers and Wire it up. Mid entry level audio these days is somewhat In expensive. I can understand wanting to keep the oem, however better quality audio does exist.

 

Man, there's a lot of generalized assumptions in that post!

I'm looking at finding out how to confirm what is good and what is not before I throw stupid money at it. Head unit, two separate amps for a total of 4 channels (Stereo front and back), and four speakers that work with the places where they mount PROPERLY including in the trim panels.

The reason the amps are built into the speakers is because there ain't much room to mount decent amps between the head and front speakers. Which are separates with additional tweeters and crossovers built into the amps. That's how it's dome properly!

Bluetooth? I am NOT a fan of MP3. 10% the size of a CD or Wav file. No it doesn't sound anywhere near the same. Lossless compression is a completely different animal. And MP3 isn't even close. But over the last 10 to 15 years, people now believe what they want.

CDs rule!

 

It's too costly to pay and have it diagnosed/repaired properly to see where it is malfunctioning considering its age, but since you love the oldie Goldie system I have a bose head unit from a parts car incase you want to go used

 

CD's do rule! I whole heartedly agree. I have a massive collection and will never get rid of it.

I'd start by picking up a nice Bose head unit at your local junkyard and trying that. There is always Ebay (none currently at the moment).

Or perhaps install an aftermarket radio with cd player that is compatible with the Bose System. If you buy it from Crutchfield, they will include all the necessary adapters/modules/cables for the install. That's what I did.

 

I'm going to try a cassette to see if the speakers sound good and not staticy, like the FM does. If the Cassette sounds good, I know the FM on the head is dying a slow painful death and the speakers and amps still have life. If not..... OUCH! Just like ET said!

There's a place that reconditions heads for something like $180. Have to see!

Thanks as always!

 

Contact https://carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalNisMax2.htm and get an expert's opinion.

 

the bose system is an awsome sound system for our maximas even for being 20+ years. check out this place they rebuilt 2 of bose amps and added an aux port on stock radio for a reasonable price. http://www.willmanselectronics.com/nissan.htm

 

They do good work. A lot of my NSX buddies swear by them.

 

Keep us Updated On How this Works Out for You.

 

Thanks JS.... Unfortunately, as you click to get to the HU repairs, it now says they don't repair any of them anymore. Just the speakers/amps it seems!

Thanks Mike for that link. AND.... The Wiz hears many compliments about them as well! That's the kind of recommendation I was hoping for.

And RS..... I will take everybody along for the ride! Bring your best CDs! LOL

And I still might have to go forklift upgrade? Tune in next week...........

 

On a car I swapped in a Pathfinder unit and loved it. Worked well.

 

Hey Chris,

Bose (Clarion) head?

Did it plug right in and use the same mounting and trim? No Mods needed? Same year I guess?

Thanks!

 

****, it’s been a while but it was a plug and play and no mods needed. Do a search here you will find that others were doing it as well. I think around the same years is what worked.

 

Exactly. Crutchfield sells the Bose amp interface which is pretty much the reverse harness with a little box on it. Works like a dream with my kenwood head unit. I think it was around $50. Not sure if I needed the antenna cable adapter too but that wasn’t much more.

Didn’t touch my original Bose speakers/ amps at all.

 

Yup, exactly. Easy peasy.

 

Does anybody have experience in replacing the Clarion/Bose head unit with aftermarket only and tying into the existing Bose amp/speakers?

Seems there are two different head pre voltage outputs.... Some that offers 2.5 volt pre outs and some that offer 5.0 volt pre outs. What are the four Bose amps that are connected to the speakers looking for in voltage from the head unit?

Been looking at double din heads and this looks like it might be a contender. Depending on what the amps need....

Kenwood Excelon DPX594BT

Anybody use one of these?

 

Check my previous post. I am running a kenwood head unit with all stock Bose speakers and amps. I didn’t touch anything. Crutchfield sells something called a “Bose amp interface” that takes care of all the compatibility issues. It plugs into the stock harness behind the head unit just as a reverse harness would then you just splice that into the harness of your aftermarket unit. Crutchfield has fantastic customer service as well, on the phone they can walk you through everything you may need or if you have any issues.

 

I saw the interface. This one: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_541NIS...Interface.html

But it says absolutely nothing about preamp handoff voltages required for the 4th Gen Bose Amps. I always double check everything as so many places miss DETAILS that matter.

What model Kenwood do you have?

 

You have to adjust the converter levels yourself. Use a multi meter if you want to get it dial in just so. Too much signal will distort, not enough would be too quiet. I tried a few different setups and ended up wiring the 4v pre outs to the Bose amps. It was good enough with minimal effort. You'll also have to spend time tuning the EQ. I felt the aftermarket HU lost a great deal of bass. The OE setup is tuned pretty darn good for what it is.

 

DNX5160

I’ve had it about 10 years and installed it in my last two cars.

To my knowledge the interface takes care of everything and is plug and play. Worked for me and sounds great.

 

I'm not sure if I should start a new thread or not, but here's my problem: in my 97 Max every time I turn the car on the tape deck groans and clicks very loudly. The noise is so irritating that I have just pulled the fuse, so now I have no stereo and no clock

What I look for in a new stereo is CD, mp3, aux-in or USB, and NO bluetooth (or ability to turn it off). Price is a factor.

Another option that I would be open to is simply fixing the head unit I have and maybe wiring up an aux-in. Does anyone know how I would go about figuring out how to do that? I'm assuming doing it myself would be cheaper but a lot more time consuming than paying a company to do it for me - I have time!

At Crutchfield many of the units that fit the bill are out of stock due to the chip shortage. They have a $150 Boss one that has BT, and the cheaper ones without BT are out of stock.

 

For what you are looking for I would probably try to grab a used head unit off eBay or something. Lots are available with the features you want and don’t want as many people have upgraded for units with Apple car play/ Bluetooth and such.

 

Yes, @98maxBK that sounds like a good idea. But I am a complete car stereo newb, how will I know which ones will fit my Max without some kind of wiring harness? I think I have a "non-Bose" HU (no Bose logos anywhere). Are the connectors on the back of my unit just those red and white RCA plugs? Is that all I need on a replacement HU? Thanks.

 

No it is definitely not rca wires/ audio video cables. It is a special connector (harness) that only fits your stock unit. With an aftermarket head unit you generally want to buy something called a reverse harness. It is made to fit your vehicle and will plug right into the connection where you would plug the radio into the car. The other end is blank wires which you will splice to the ends of the wires of the new radio which will come with its own harness. It’s normally not a big deal the wires are color coded and match up. It can seem a little intimidating at first but it’s not hard once you get some confidence. You can use butt connectors and tape up with electrical tape to make clean splices.

You want to get a double din (4”x7”) head unit- same size as the original. Take the mounting brackets off the original unit and put them on the new unit. Aftermarket ones tend to be somewhat universal and will have a bunch of threaded holes where some will match up right.

Getting at the mounting bolts for the head unit is not too involved, have to pop out the center ac/ heat register to get at the upper bolts, pop off the bezel around the shifter and the ash tray to get at the lower ones. The radio/ trim around and the climate control will come out in one piece with the bolts to the radio bracket on the sides behind the trim.

 

Thanks for the tips!
I have watched some videos about installing a new radio but they tend to gloss over the wiring aspect. You've given me the confidence to wade in.

I think I'll probably be getting single DIN because they seem to be more plentiful, and I don't want to pay too much. I wouldn't mind having an extra pocket underneath the HU if I can figure out how to set that up as well.

 

Thank you JS. I was hoping it was published somewhere on a document. I did see 4 volts on one post somewhere (not you) and now you. Ignored everywhere else.

Thanks again! I know you are a believer in details and that is VERY MUCH appreciated! I know.... I'm old.

 

Adjusting the module/converter literally takes 30 seconds, and couldn't be easier. You can do eeeeeet! Crutchfield FTW

 

OK 98 and The Wiz,

You win! If the amps and speakers are still strong, I will use this in between! Let's hope so! $260 is enough. Speakers and maybe amps will bust the bank!

Years ago, almost 40. Had a Ford van I bought an Alpine Head Model 7347 (Top of the line with DBX for the cassette) A Nakamichi amp @ 75 real watts per channel and pristine clean. Then a pair of Infinity 6X9s 3 way with emit tweeters. $1200 in 1983/4 dollars. OUCH!

Everybody that heard it was blown away! Talk about a measuring stick?

I want to go BACK!

 

Tested an old cassette I had around. Just people talking in a forum (town water discussion) Not high fidelity. But no static when talking, which there is way too much of with the FM.

So there might be hope for the amps and speakers. I will have to find a HiFi cassette and see how real music sounds first. But there's hope!

Now either a used 99 Bose Head or mine repaired by Mike's suggestion, or that Kenwood HU above with the adapter from Crutchfield.

Just keepin you that are interested in the loop!

 

While on the aftermarket stereo topic, just as another data point, here's my experience with the process:

A single-DIN solution is certainly possible as well using the
Single DIN Trim kit (Amazon)

I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of these back in 2013
Pioneer DEH-80PRS head unit (discontinued... sad)

I'm also using the previously mentioned system adapter (get it from Crutchfield $40) in my '96 i30 that will allow after market units with pre-amp outputs to plug straight to the original Bose system. It's called the PAC ROEMINS-2 . It's extremely good at isolating ground loops (no engine noise) and allows the pre-amp levels to be adjusted depending on the levels that are coming out of your particular head unit.

If you tend to fall into the sound quality "nut" category like I do, then read on, otherwise, read no more, nothing to see here...
(And by "nut" I mean, others will just look at you with blank disbelief when they find out the hours you spent tuning your system

The DEH-80PRS is obviously quite special, and apparently becoming quite sought after now that it's been discontinued (used unit listed for $700 firm on ebay right now). Very minimalistic looking, but virtually un-matched with regard to sound quality capability. Each channel is individually controllable with regard to delay time, EQ, crossover, gain, etc. I left the original amplified Bose speakers untouched, and after a "fair amount" of tuning/tweaking (aka weeks of listening), the results were LIGHT YEARS better than the original head unit. I've been running this setup since 2013 and I still get surprised today by the freakishly good sound from the original Bose speakers. The KEY for this setup was to use the SUBWOOFER line-outs to the rear 6x9s with a LOW-pass 24db/octave cutoff at extra gain at 100Hz, AND conversely, apply a HIGH-pass (24 dB/octave, 100Hz) cutoff for the front speakers. The icing on the cake was the independent 16-band EQ and digital time delay capability. This is a HUGELY beneficial capability for car audio due to the complexity of having so many speakers coming at you from different distances as well having acoustically reflective surfaces everywhere. The cabin of your car will often have somewhat painful resonant characteristics at very specific frequencies (creating muddy, booming, or dull vocals). The ability to compensate for those characteristics with the EQ is huge. Also, with time alignment, you can get the bulk of the low frequency energy to converge at your listening position at the same time. This is what gives the system that feeling of kicking you in the chest with tight bass. It takes some trial and error, but once you hear the difference between a "standard" system and a "time-aligned" system, you'll never want to go back. In a non-aligned system, the sound can be "fatiguing" to your ears, and pretty "flat," whereas with the time-aligned system (at least for me), listening is effortless for long periods and the sound stage becomes very big and "live" sounding. Anyway, I'm a hopeless car audio geek, so take it for what it's worth.

One thing worth noting, when running a setup like this with the ORIGINAL Bose amps/speakers. It's definitely a "sound quality" system and not an SPL system. The volume is more than adequate, but you can easily over-drive the rear speakers without a little self-control. They weren't meant to be subwoofers, but at reasonable volumes do a surprisingly good job. Just don't expect much below 30-40Hz-ish.

Although not quite the sound quality powerhouse of the DEH-80PRS, Pioneer does have a few current models with similar capabilities in the double DIN size.
The looks very respectable. Still has time alignment, and an EQ, just with fewer bands.
Full specs from Pioneer HERE.

Although they say in the literature that you have to have an extra $20 microphone to do the time alignment, it can still be performed manually (by entering in distances from your listening position to the speakers). I found that my ears were a much better judge of this than the microphone anyway, and it was a big-time trial and error process.

Happy tuning