I have a 2000 Maxima and the Bose system sounds horrible; voices strained and harsh, bass too boomy. I was wondering if the 2004 Bose system is any better. My '95 Bose system sounded much better than my 2000, and didn't have a sub. I've emailed Bose regarding this issue, with no results.

 

your replies are going to vary, some of us (me included) love the 04 Bose system, others hate it...

 

i just got my 2004 se today, and i lovew it, everyting about it, the bose stereo is great....so excited to drive it...

 

I have mixed reviews for the 04 Bose system. Overall, the system seems to be fairly competent. However, the bass is too boomy, so I have cut back where I normally keep the bass control (full boost) to no boost (flat). That has helped somethat with that problem, although I am used to requesting and getting more bass.

A complicating problem is that my SilverMax suffers from a common problem -- rear shelf buzz. With strong bass notes, the shelf tends to buzz. There is a TSB with a correction for this, just have not gotten back to the dealer to have them fix the buzz.

I don't have any experience with either the 95 or 2000 Bose systems, so can't make a valid comparison there.

 

I like mine very much!

 

My rear deck rattles too. Im gonna have to go in for some work soon and get some lil things done. Back to topic, I believe the bose stereo is Decent. Im about to installed 2 15s in my maxima because I do a lot of driving and listen to a lot of music. I have had my car for about 2 months and have 7100 miles on it. But Im wondering if I could unhook the 8 inch speakers? I really dont like the sound of it but the other speakers have decent highs so i wanna keep that.

 

two 15s? you gotta show pics of that install! are you going to put a box or free air? your rear deck isn't going to be the only thing rattling.

back to subject...there is a standing argument about this subject...there are people claiming that the 02-03 altimas have excellent sound systems compared to the 04 max...

this system kills the 01 maxima standard sound system, the 03 escalade sound system, and the 03 forerunner sound system...

bottom line is that it is good for stock, but if you are into car stereos, it is far from aftermarket stereos...

at high volumes everything flattens out like any standard bose system: home or car...this is caused by low wattage...

 

Agreed, I was just listening to it last night at 31 with the windows down, and it sounded pretty good until a bass note, then it sounded kind of strained. Sounds like it need more watts badly. At first it was ok with me, but now I don't think it's going to be loud enough for me.

I'm going with two Kicker S12L7's in a sealed box and definitely some new tweeters in the front. Don't know if the Bose are going to be replaced yet, I'll have to wait and see how it sounds. I don't think they are going to be loud enough, and I don't know how many more watts they can hold.

 

I've noticed that the bose systems with the amps on the speakers, rather than in the trunk, have better control over the speaker movement; over-all better bass response and dynamic impact.
My Bose system, in my 2000 Maxima, has the amp in the trunk for the front and rear speakers and the vocals are very strained and thin sounding. The closer the amp is to the speaker the better control of bass.

 

I think the system sounds pretty good for what it is... unless your wanting a bass buggy that all you hear is bass... im not ghetto.. so i dont want people hearing my bass from 2 miles away.. plus it sounds like **** if all you have is bass..

2 15inch subs on this stock system is overkill.. i dont know who had that idea.. i remember reading it, but shook my head thinking, ok? who bought their 16 year old kid a new maxima?

If i was to put something in there.. i would try and get a hold of 2 8" Nakamichi subs they made a while back. they were tight and good sounding for as small as they were... dont have to take up half the trunk to do it... i guess people who dont know stereos think bigger is better.. which isnt the case all the time, actually most of the time

Anyways.. thats just me

 

Thats why I got an Infinity Basslink. I'm hoping it will round out the system nicely. The only thing that is lacking IMHO is some low end. This should do the trick nicely in a compact install.

CM.

 

Not familar with that... is there a link you can send me so i can see what your talking about? Im not a fan of infinity at home, so i dont do alot of research on their car stuff, when it comes to adding on.

How much did this basslink thing cost also?

 

Someone in the forsale section was selling one at a sweet price. I think it was $150.

Linky to reviews: http://www.epinions.com/Infinity_10_...splay_~reviews

 

So how hard was it to install into the new Maxima? looks like trying to get to back of the stereo would be a real *****... but i havent had my Maxima more than 2 weeks now.. so i havent really looked that close to see how to really get to anything.

I assume that they put RCA plugs on the back of the Bose System.

I know when i listen to something with bass.. i listen to stuff that really hits.. does this Infinity Basslink puke out at higher levels? i know i went through like 5 subs for my home system til i came across the sunfire sub (which is made my Bob Carver, of Carver amps) and that held up. cause i know the Infinity sub i tried puked, along with the Velodyne, Kef, Polk and some other one i cant remember off hand right now.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?p=2321628

It takes a high level input or RCA's. Try taping into the rear speaker wires for an easy signal source.

CM.

 

Personally I would tap before it goes into the Bose AMP from the head unit. If you tap it afterward you will still be dealing with the issues that the Bose amp creates (distortion and flatness) since the signal is allowed to pass through the Bose. I know in my 2k2 the Bose amp is under the package shelf in the rear. The wires coming from the head going into the amp are thinner than those coming out.

 

You're right. Since you haven't had experience with the BOSE in the 95 Max, you can't do a valid comparison. Well, I have had experience with both, and I can certainly contest to the fact that the BOSE in the 04 Max sounds horrible, in comparison to the 4th generations. Those units only produced 200 watts, and yet hit deeper in the lower range and sound a lot more powerful. The new 04 BOSE supposedly has 320 watts and yet sounds weaker with no bottem end response whatsoever.

Even the new Altima and the Murano units with their lower wattage ratings heavily outperform the BOSE in the Max. See for yourself then come back to the 04 BOSE and you'll see exactly what I mean.

 

Yes, I can agree......the Bose in my 4rth gen (97) was much much better than the Bose in my 5th gen (02). I have not heard the Bose in the 6th gen.......so I cannot comment on it. Seems Nissan enjoys playing number games with the watts in their Bose similar to the games they seem to play with the hp figures in the 3.5 VQ.

 

I had a 2000 GLE and now have a 2004 SL. Yes the Bose in the 2004 SL is better.

 

If this can help anyone, I had that rattling noise very bad in my 04 Max and I took it to the dealer and they said something about my rear break light was lose and it needed to be replace, so they order the part. That was about 4 weeks ago, they left a msg. for me saying it was on back order. Anyway, I went looking for a solution myself because I just could not take it anymore. What I did was cut up a large towel in and rolled them in about 6-7 rolls, took off my break light and stuff them under the rear panel. What a joy its now been about a week and no rattling and my system sound great, I would tell anyone to do this if really works.

 

There is a TSB for the rear parcel shelf rattle. Do a search and read through it. Print it out and take a copy with you to the dealer. Its a pretty basic fix. Just some two sided adhesive foam strips. Shouldn't take them more than an hour to fix it up. I had mine done, and its rock solid now.

CM.