RichK

I have been planning a mild upgrade to my factory Bose system in my new '03 SE. I have been in the car audio business for over 20 years and I have experience with almost any car. My goal will be to retain the factory look, while improving the overall sound quality. Another goal is to make the system AFFORDABLE. A word not heard much. Let's get to the system. Here is my overall system layout:

Retain factory Bose 6 disc changer head unit.
Replace front speakers with JL Audio XR-650CSi components. These are JL's best 6 1/2" component speakers. The crossovers will be mounted on the rear deck in place of the Bose amp.
Replace rear speakers with JL Audio XR-650CXi 6 1/2" coaxials. Again, these are JL's best 6 1/2" coaxes.
For a subwoofer, I will be using a JL Audio 10W6 V2 in a .75 cu/ft sealed enclosure. This enclosure will take up minimal trunk room. Pass through will be sacrificed.
For amplification I am going to use a JL Audio 500/5 amplifier. This will be mounted under the rear deck out of harm's way. I will get inputs for the amp directly from the existing Bose amplifier harness on the rear deck. After speaking with JL directly, no output converter device is planned. All power connections will be made with 4Ga wire.

As you probrably figured out by now, the car will be a store demo car to showcase JL Audio products. I will also make available the wiring methods I use to interface with the existing Bose headunit. Pictures will be taken as the job is completed. I think this will be a very nice system with minimal impact to the integrity of the car. Please feel free to email me with any questions.

specialist23

this would be very helpful for those who want to do upgrades due to a lack of components for the 5th gens. tia for any pics you may be posting.

got one idea for ya if you want to keep the factory deck "look" while having a non factory deck. have niles flashers go back and forth to your non factory deck and mount it in the middle arm rest consule. just an idea one of the installers at work gave me. hope it helps.

studman

PAC makes a kit that will interface with the HU. It includes a "Y" cable, a line-level convertor, and a cable with 4 RCA outputs. You may want to check it out before you do all this cutting and tapping. I used it to keep my entire BOSE setup and add a couple of subs to it. The kit will cost around $80 or so

RichK

Thanks for the info. But, I plan on removing the Bose amp. There are quite a few different companies that make adapters to interface with Bose systems, PAC being one of them. However, the JL audio amp can be fed signal directly from the factory Bose headunit. I have aquired a pin diagram for the Bose amp harness so I can splice RCA cables to that and go right to the amp. There will be no need to run RCA cable through the car. Also, adapters can compromise sound quality in my opinion. For subs, I don't think it is an issue. But for the system I am planning, I want to make it sound the best it can without spending a ton of money.

Another item I forgot to mention. I am going to try and make the sub box so that a rear strut bar will still fit. That may be a challenge, but I want to try just the same. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress. I may also make the sub boxes available for those who want one. More details on that when I get it built.