valhalla

I looked for the Polk EX3500's that everyone has talked about, and had no luck. So I printed out the spec sheet from Crutchfield and took it to Best Buy figuring I'd just find some other brand that were similar. I got there and found their self-proclaimed guru in the car audio department. As soon as I said I had a new Maxima with the Bose system I could tell by the look on his face, he'd heard my story 100 times before. I told him I was unsatisfied with the system and I wanted to replace the tweeters. According to him, replacing only the stock tweeters with aftermarkets poses somewhat of a risk of burning out some various components in the system due to the funky setup Bose has created. He was saying something about the power levels being all messed up when you screw with it. Anyhow, I am a dummy when it comes to car stereos, so I took his advice and bought nothing. He said for around $500-$600 I could vastly improve the system by replacing the speakers/amp/wiring etc. I don't want to shell out that much cash right now, so I guess I am stuck with the stock system for now. I played with the bass/treble/fade for a few minutes and actually arrived at a setting that I dont mind too much:

Treble +5
Bass +3
Fade +1 Front (this seems to accentuate the highs a bit better for some reason, without losing the bass from the rear. I'll take what I can get)...

jmax

What he said was close enough to correct. The bose system is a messed up system. I don't know if they designed it with the intent of making it difficult to replace individual pieces or if it just came out that way.

Is the 3500 the Momo component set tweet? If so just that tweet with a mid worthy of connecting with it will set you back nearly as much as he indicated, at retail prices. Or you could look away from the mainstream stores and see what you can find that sounds good to you. Remember, no two ears hear things the same way. So regardless of how an expert rates a speaker all the talk and advertising is just BS. You must listen to a speaker and decide if it is what you want to listen to every day.

valhalla

Thanks for the info. The 3500 is made by Polk and costs < $100/set. I think for now I'll just deal with the Bose. Its not the worst stereo I have ever heard, but I expected alot more from them. I have Bose speakers for my home theater and it sounds awesome. Judging from how much those cost, and comparing that to Nissan's $1000 option, all I can figure is that Bose had very little room to work with. Nissan's cost must be < $1000, and that becomes really inexpensive for Bose's typical price ranges... I believe they are a good manufacturer, however to do a car stereo properly in the Maxima would have cost too much I suspect. Although, I paid only $499 for the RF system in my SpecV and that included a few other options, and that system absolutely ROCKED.

Max_Gator

no highs, no lows . . . must be Bose!

jmax

And everything in between not quite what / where you expect it to be.

bahmax

This is probably the only time you will ever hear me say this but... let me take up Bose's side on this one. First off let me say that I am a Bose hater from way back. They make their money off of unsuspecting customers with $$$ who are too afraid to use their own ears to compare speakers and buy them only for their name. Ask any non audio inclined avg. Joe what is the best brand in home audio I would bet that a vast majority would say Bose. Name and unobtrusive size is what makes Bose home audio popular.

Having said that, let me say that Bose does not have it easy in car audio. Having worked for a company that designs/produces OEM car audio products, it is not an easy task. In this industry, the car companies are king. Car co's demand speakers: to meet accoustical specs that seem to be randomly drawn out of a hat and which they don't even understand half of the time themselves, to score certain scores on standard listening tests in speaker locations that they choose, to be robust enough to meet reliability test after test (heat and cold tests, drop tests, vibration tests, chemical tests, etc. etc. etc.). All of this and more and then they are willing to pay you $4-5 per speaker (maybe up $10 in Bose's brand name case) provided you will give them discounts every year there after. So that extra $1000 option you are paying for cost Nissan maybe $100 extra.

Bose asks themselves how can we make our speakers sound better for the little extra money we get. Answer: More power. Instead of increasing amp output (expensive), they opt to make low impedence speakers (free) and use amps that can handle low impedance loads. This is also a two edged sword b/c now they make consumers keep the whole system in their car (brand name recognition) until they have they have the time/money/desire to replace the whole thing.

Just my $.02 on the issue (ok maybe a few dollars worth).

Brett

jmax

I agree with you on the philosophical standpoint. But they still sound like crud. And that is how I judge a speaker. Not by the millions of dollars in research and development, but the result of work.

bahmax

I agree with you 100%. However, unfortunatly most American consumers are not that way. They would rather have a cheeper car than a better sounding system. Enter the aftermarket companies for those of us who want better sound or a plethora of other aftermarket products.

valhalla

bahmax, that was good info, thanks! I guess Nissan did something right on the RF system in the SpecV though, it was really good for an OEM system. I bought Bose speakers for my home theater system because I thought they sounded the best. I spent 4 hrs in the home theater store watching movies in their various rooms. I'm very pleased with my Bose stuff in the living room...

TimW

iTrader: (6)

err, actually Bose moves all their signals, preamp included, at low voltage, low impedance for noise reduction. Using 1 ohm speakers isnt for just for cost cutting. No such thing as 'free' power in electronics. Using low voltage/low ohm also negates the use of very costly shielding and high quality wiring.

And conveniently 'closes' the system

jmax

As a consumer it is not my concern what most customers want. Only to find what I want. It bugs me that auto makers no longer offer cars with "no stereo". That's the ideal new car for me. Everytime someone buys a car with a Bose or RF system factory installed they proliferate the problem. Making it harder for discerning listeners to get vehicles without extra expenses added on that will never be used.

valhalla

Well, as I keep saying, the RF system in the SpecV is actually very good. I have a friend who has a SpecV that is a formally trained audiophile and even he agrees it sounds excellent for a factory stereo. If my Bose sounded that good and went as loud, I'd be perfectly happy with it. I never even thought to replace a thing in my SpecV, it sounds THAT good for stock...

jmax

What is a formally trained audiophle? Is that like a formally trained McDonalds cheesburger taster? I wish people would quit trying to turn something subjective like sound quality into a scientifically measureable quantity.

MaximusMorpheus

iTrader: (3)

That's exactly why I did not get BOSE.....

Pearl96Max

iTrader: (151)

Agreed !!!!

phenryiv1

iTrader: (19)

I heard this somewhere (and it makes sense):

Car manufacturers, whoo outsource to get their aidio products) actually wanted to add RCA outs to their OEM decks a few years back, but the aftermarket manufacturers (who also make most of the OEM decks) balked at the idea out of a fear that it would cut into aftermarket radio sales. Does anyone have any evidence fto support this? It certainly makes sense. If Delco (who makes GM radios, as well as RF HUs) and clarion fear that OEM RCAs would cut into aftermarket sales, they would simply refuse to do it. No other reptuible company would want to do it either. Think of how much easier aftermarket sound would be if you just had clean RCA outs...even the BOSE could be upgraded peicemeal.

Just a thought...

valhalla

As in took courses to be a Sound Engineer (recording/mixing, etc)... That doesnt mean his opinion means more than anyone elses, but I have yet to encounter another soul that knows more about the subject than this guy. Jesus, why does everyone have to be so d@mned condescending on the internet?

jmax

Please don't say that you still didn't get the point .

valhalla

There goes that condescension again, congratulations.

Whatever, anyway... thanks to everyone for their help with my newbie Maxima stereo questions. I was just making small talk about the RF/Bose/factory system comments, but I can see that nothing of the sort could ever be tolerated around here without someone getting all hot and bothered. I'm not going to bother reading this again... Peace...

jmax

Sorry you were offended. I am quite cool and unflustered. I can't imagine anyone "getting all hot and bothered" about this. Facts are facts. It's up to you to beleive them or not. I remain as always at peace. A very loud version of peace at times. But peace none the less.

Pearl96Max

iTrader: (151)

Damn and I wanted to see James all hot and bothered !


--Don

RC03MAX

Hey valhalla,

I don't want to sound like a tweeter salesman (cause I'm not) but I can't tell you enough how much happier I am with the Polk tweeters. I play CDs every day and it's amazing at the sounds I never heard before with the stock tweets. I'm sure other similar aftermarket tweets will work great too. I just went with the Polk's because I'm an audio installation idiot and TIMW's instructions/pics really helped alot. Well worth the $100.

It's funny you mention the radio settings. I use the same except I keep the fader right down the middle. The radio sounds really good with these settings and the new tweets.