Bose stereo improvements?
05-20-2003, 02:02 PM
#1
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Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 3
Bose stereo improvements?
"No highs, no lows, it must be a Bose!"
Not my quote, but in our new 2003 Max SE it certainly applies. It sounds like there's a hidden EQ somewhere in the stereo that has the midrange cranked up and the treble and bass way down. And actually, on some Audi/Bose systems there IS a hidden EQ that can be adjusted for notably improved sound. Don't suppose anyone has discovered anything like this for the Maxima?
At any rate, starting with bass, I'm figuring on either a Rockford 8" in the rear deck powered by a Profile amp (Crutchfield says one of the Rockford woofers works as a free-air?), or just giving up the trunk corner and getting a single Infinity Perfect 10". Anyone tried beefing up the woofer (and amp) on the rear deck, and did the low-end improve notably? This is my wife's car (by my username you can probably guess what I drive
) so we don't need Techmaster-levels of bass, but more would be nice. She's used to a 12" JL Powerwedge in a Contour SVT, but that was a little overkill.
Moving to the highs, would a decent set of components in front help, or is the position of the tweeters too far forward? It SEEMS like they're in a decent spot, but I'll be darned if I can't hear much in the way of clear highs. I'd think with it saying 'Bose' on it they'd take some pride in at least the speakers, but this doesn't seem to be the case.
All in all it's a great car, but the stereo does leave plenty of room for improvement. First things first though, I need to reflash my WRX ECU and get rid of a cat or two (it has three!) so I can keep up with the missus on the highway
. . .
Phil
'02 WRX wagon
'03 Max SE 6spd
Not my quote, but in our new 2003 Max SE it certainly applies. It sounds like there's a hidden EQ somewhere in the stereo that has the midrange cranked up and the treble and bass way down. And actually, on some Audi/Bose systems there IS a hidden EQ that can be adjusted for notably improved sound. Don't suppose anyone has discovered anything like this for the Maxima?
At any rate, starting with bass, I'm figuring on either a Rockford 8" in the rear deck powered by a Profile amp (Crutchfield says one of the Rockford woofers works as a free-air?), or just giving up the trunk corner and getting a single Infinity Perfect 10". Anyone tried beefing up the woofer (and amp) on the rear deck, and did the low-end improve notably? This is my wife's car (by my username you can probably guess what I drive
) so we don't need Techmaster-levels of bass, but more would be nice. She's used to a 12" JL Powerwedge in a Contour SVT, but that was a little overkill. Moving to the highs, would a decent set of components in front help, or is the position of the tweeters too far forward? It SEEMS like they're in a decent spot, but I'll be darned if I can't hear much in the way of clear highs. I'd think with it saying 'Bose' on it they'd take some pride in at least the speakers, but this doesn't seem to be the case.
All in all it's a great car, but the stereo does leave plenty of room for improvement. First things first though, I need to reflash my WRX ECU and get rid of a cat or two (it has three!) so I can keep up with the missus on the highway
. . .Phil
'02 WRX wagon
'03 Max SE 6spd
05-20-2003, 02:40 PM
#3
Gut the whole thing out, burn it, and start anew. Bose is like any other company, the name has no value, they have good stuff and bad stuff. The good stuff is in the 35k+ Lexus and the crap is in the Max. Some simple upgrades and you'll have much better quality all around, but the easy solution is a new 8 and some new tweets. Your HU will still have poor quality sound, but at least the speakers will sound better
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