Hey guys, I'm having a hard time finding the specs for the stock amp in my 2003 Nissan Max GLE. I bought the car with a already installed aftermarket radio and when the car is off but the keys in the ignition the sound system is great, then I turn the car on and any bass parts will distort the crap out of the rest of the song (even if the volume is turned down). I know the stock sub isn't the greatest and makes some unpleasant noises but it shouldn't be this bad!

So I'm thinking replacing the radio will help this? Any help is appreciated!

 

It sounds like the car originally had a Bose system in it. Bose runs their system on 2 ohm speakers and when you put in aftermarket stereos, they expect to see 4 or 8 ohm speakers. So the amplifier is being over-driven. You need to have an equalizer between the head unit and the Bose speakers.

Go to the Audio forum (http://forums.maxima.org/audio-electronics-21/) and check out the sticky "The BOSE Radio/Speaker Replacement thread".

 

Wouldn't I need to replace the factory amp to be able to run an EQ?

 

Calling the unit you need an equalizer is probably the wrong word. I don't know the correct name of the thing. What you need is an impedance matching device that also adjusts the power level.

If you read the audio forum, there are probably brand names and everything else in there.