3.5 Lover

Has anyone replaced the factory Bose 8" subs and add a amplifier so you can put 4 Ohm subs in the rear deck? I wanted to do this so I won't loose my trunk space. I was told I needed Free Air Subs and they are hard to find and twice as expensive as regular subs. The trunk acts as a speaker box so why do you need free air subs anyway? If you choose a good sub that needs a lot of space the trunk should be optimal for that use. Anyone know of what brand sub will work and have tried it yet?

carcus

Just my 2 cents, to make it worth all the money and effort....better off going with a single sub and aftermarket amp added to your Bose system. One single 10" sealed box will not take up all that much room. I personally think free air subs are worthless....at least if you want nice bass. Depends on what you listen to and what you want out of a system. Myself, I kept the stock system, added a 600 watt Planet Audio amp and a nice 12" sub in a sealed enclosure, still got more than enough room in the trunk....also, mount the amp on the box....you can take the entire box and amp out un under 1min if you need room for a long trip. Hope this helps.

3.5 Lover

Thanks for your reply; I had a feeling free air subs were worthless. I have a bozooka triangle sub and it sounds great with my Sony Mono amp. I just wanted to clear my trunk and have a stock look without the box.

cobymoby

iTrader: (2)

Keep your stock Bose deck, use a PAC AOEM-NIS2 to get RCA's out of the Bose headunit. A single sealed 10 or 12 will do wonders. Completely remove the OEM sub so that you have a nice port into the cabin.

Robert_J

When the enclosure size (the trunk) at least 4 times the Vas of the sub, then it's considered free air or infinite baffle.

It may be an install problem or an inadequate sub but an IB sub is the best type for home subs. Extremely accurate and goes really low. Cult of the Infinitely Baffled Check out some of the gallery pics.

If I were going with an IB install, I'd get the ED 9Kv.2 or the Soundsplinter RL-i 8 when it comes out. Kind of like this or this except with a black cone. And I almost forgot about the Koda 8. Check out the BL curve!

-Robert

carcus

I still say add a nice sealed enclosure for the best performance and bang for the buck, also able to remove it.....now if money is no object....just one of these bad boys in a sealed enclosure......

3.5 Lover

I figured it wouldn't be possible to get free-air subs mounted in the rear deck that would sound close to a box. I think I will try one of these subs here to see if they will work. Most look like they are top mounted verses the bottom mount I need so the surrounds are not blocked by the cutout of the rear deck.

carcus

Keep your stock system as is, the quality is not that bad, just add a sub and an amp....all you have to do. Do not waste money replacing the Bose subs with an aftermarket.....keep them and add to them. A small 10" sub with a sealed enclosure will be all you need if you want a good thump. I like my single 12", plus with the gain control mounted on my dash, nice to be able to control the bass with the different kinds of music I listen to.

jaydabee

I wonder if you removed the spare tire you could put a sub there. Bose puts a fairly decent spare tire sub in the FX45.

DeusExMaxima

iTrader: (1)

Just make sure u dont get a flat tire, or that u have AAA if you do, lol.

jaydabee

The one in the FX45 actually sits inside of the spare. And yes, I have AAA and think everyone should have it.

idnumber1

iTrader: (1)

If it sits in the spare... can you not put anything on top or it?

carcus

I had no room in the trunk of my BMW convert....so ran an Infinity BassLink. That is pretty decent for the size and would probably work well for you. Might want to look at that, decent price also for a powered sub.

3.5 Lover

It's terrible that the Bose system is a $1000 option that you cannot eliminate when you want your car with most options added. It is the worst investment for sound out there. I'd rather spend a grand more and have the Navigation system in my car. It is one of the worst sounding systems I have heard in a $30,000 car. I am not going to say all of their systems sound bad but this particular system in the Maxima is not up to par. It doesn't even play MP3's. My friend has a Infiniti (30 (Maxima Twin) with the Bose system and it sounds really good. Great Bass for a factory system and the mids and highs are clear was well. We should get a refund or an upgrade for free for the ability to play MP3's.

carcus

That is why I never ever waste money on a upgraded factory sound system....alot cheaper to upgrade one yourself. Hell, you can get a Alpine MP3 player for under 300 bucks. Bad thing about Bose, like in my wifes Camaro....everything is snaked in there and it is a nightmare for installers to gut the system some times and replace it. I remember when Lexus used to have Nakamichi head units, wonder if they still do? Wish Nissan had a nice plug and play aftermarket CD changer that can mount in the trunk and you can control it with the head unit....or at least MP3 compatable head unit...even Ford makes cars that play MP3 files stock. Out of all the things I miss from the BMW....the nice Kenwood MP3 player, was nice to have a hundred songs on a CD. You can add a MP3 player cheap though with a tape adapter or a cheap XM radio system......tell you the truth, with my CD burner, I burn all my CD's with the text feature and make my own mixes. With 100 cd spindles, if I get bored with the CD, I throw it out or make a new one. Best thing I did with the stock system is add the 12" sub and amp....other than that, just a stock system, no upgraded Bose system, sounds great to me with the sub.

MaxMus

The stock Bose system would be decent if you were able to control the bass output? I can't understand this, I had a single 8" sub in my 2000 Max, that put out bass that you could feel through the seats. Now in my 05, the bass is non-existant and there are supposedly 2 subs in there, but I can't tell.

Does anyone know of a good guide or website for installing a sub in a car? I want to do it myself, but I need to tap into the existing wiring because I want SAT radio ASAP.

cobymoby

iTrader: (2)

Use the PAC AOEM-NIS2, it'll give you RCA outs from your stock Bose headunit. Perfect for adding subs. Email me at bryan@berktechnology.com

MaxMus

I would Coby, but I plan to get SAT radio ASAP, and as far as I know, you can't have both SAT radio and the PAC adapter.

3.5 Lover

I pulled out the Bose Subs in the rear deck and bought some MTX 5508 4ohm single voice coil subs (2) 400 Watts each. These can be used for free air use and have deep bass just holdiing the sub in my hand without a box. I was happy and excited to get started and mount them and all of a sudden the speakers would not mount to the wholes provided. The cutout is actually a 6X9 Like someone mentioned in another thread with 8" spacers. Now since I bought the speakers that have a no return policy except for exchanges, I have to reposition the spacers so the speakers will align with the holes on the spacer brackets. They appear to be too close to the metal wall underneath the deck. I have to pull the rear parcel shelf off and reposition it so it has clearance and redrill my holes. While I am at it I will dynamat the rear deck to quiet the rattles. The easy project turned into something not fun at all. A lession learned here.

cobymoby

iTrader: (2)

Yes you can use the AOEM-NIS2 and the OEM SAT radio or aftermarket. They don't use the same port on the back of the radio.

The PAC product that would interfere with the SAT radio is the AAI-NIS which is the adaptor that uses the SAT port to give you a RCA input into the headunit. You would use this if you were getting non-OEM SAT radio and did not want to use a tape adaptor or FM modulator.