Hello All,

I would like to first thank everyone for providing the information I have read on the forums through search. I did a long and extensive search on the forums but have found inconsistencies with the information I am looking for.

I own a 2002 6spd LSD maxima with bose w/o navigation. I replaced the stock double din with a single din Sony MEX-BT4100P from crutchfield just to have some bluetooth and usb audio capabilities. I did not learn until after the install that the unit provided only 2V pre-amp out, and it sounded terrible. I installed the unit with a Metra 70-7551C Wire harness, because I did not anticipate replacing speakers, and wanted to retain the speaker mounted amp the bose had.
Long story short I called Crutchfield and explained the situation. They upgraded me (for free) to a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X597 with 4V pre-out. This kenwood had a deal where if I bought a pair of Kenwood speakers, I would get $50 bucks off another pair. Luckily they had KFC-1664S and KFC-1364S for a total of $50 bucks. I jumped on that.

So I installed the new speakers, and the new head unit sounds okay.
Here where the questions begin:

1A) If I replaced the bose speakers which had the amp mounted on each speaker, and my wire harness is still the Metra 70-7551C ,how are my Tweeters still working if their isn't anything powering them?
1B) Are the stock bose tweeters rated at 4 ohms?

2)How and what is the stock bose sub amp getting power when the wiring harness is as follows:
Smaller Harness:

16_______12
15_14_13_11

11 = Shield Wire Ground (ground wire runs with signal cables(+ and -) for rear BOSE amplifiers to shield their signal)
12 = Amp On Signal Wire (turns on all 4 BOSE amplifiers)
13 = Left Rear -
14 = Left Rear +
15 = Rear Right -
16 = Rear Right +

Larger Harness:

10_8 ___4_2
9_7_6_5_3_1

1 = Front Left -
2 = Front Left +
3 = Front Right -
4 = Front Right +
5 = Power Antenna
6 = Battery (this ensures you keep your presets when your car is turned off)
7 = Illumination Constant (wont dim when lights are on, most cases you would use this)
8 = Illumination Switch (will dim your radio when your lights are on)
9 = Shield Wire Ground (ground wire runs with signal cables(+ and -) for front BOSE amplifiers to shield their signal)
10 = ACC/Ignition (the red wire)

3) I assume I am missing a key and fundamental piece of information regarding this system, but if I don't want to spend the money on a new
Metra 70-7550. Can't I just eliminate the 7551, and hard wire the Kenwood head unit amp out into what the 7551 plugs into using schematics?

4a) I would like to replace the stock bose sub and amp with something aftermarket, still using the infinite baffle/free air setup. I listen to a lot of death metal, where the double bass pedal is FAST. I am looking for a tight, clean bass punch, rather than a really low, long lasting reverberation. Would a 200 watt amp be adequate? Maybe something like this. Crutchfield says this sub is free air and would be a nice fit if I cut out alittle of the rear deck, dynomat it.
4b) Is their a way I can cut the proprietary bose sub amp connector off and tie it into a small amp to power a sub?
5) The rear 6.5'' speakers I put in are VERY low, the fronts are loud and sound very good for 50 bucks... Could this be a result of the RCA jacks from the Metra wire harness? When I set the fader to all rear, it is a third the volume of the fronts.

Thank you ahead of time for all the responses, and any corrections on my understanding of this system.

 

I was where you're at not too long ago. Futzing around trying to get decent sound with the least money and trying to use as much factory junk as possible. I've learned that it's best just to scrap it all.

1) Get a decent radio. I'm sure the Kenwood that you have will be fine.

2) Get good speakers. Those Kenwood are probably okay if you're just looking for okay. But if you can afford it I would look for something better. You don't really need the rear speakers.

3) Get a good amp. Craigslist. I picked up two Alpines for $25 each. Super clean

4) run new wires. Forget about using the factory harness. It's a bit of trouble but worth it in the long run.

5) Deaden the doors. Huge improvement in sound quality. I just bought some Stinger Roadkill (trunk kit) from ebay for $70. It would probably be enough for the doors. I'm using it for the trunk. My doors are done. I used some Audio Technix which wasn't as thick as the Roadkill.

6) get a decent sub. Craigslist. They are always on craigslist for cheap. I bought a 10" Mmats in a box for $50.

You'll be much happier with the sound in the end.

I'm pretty sure that you only have one amp in the car. It's on the trunk deck. It doesn't sound very practical to have an amp at each speaker.

 

Agreed....very good points.

On my 02 Maxima with the Bose without navigation, I just took everything out. My goal from the beginning was to install a nice sounding stereo system. To date, that was the best sounding setup that I have had. I used an aftermarket harness to power the headunit as well as supply power to the antenna. I think this is the way to go as you are not limited by the Bose system in any way. There have been people that have used a sub in the stock location. I myself have used free air subs in the past with good results. You have to make sure the panel is reinforced and the front is sealed from the back. With that being said, you can get the type of bass you want from a sub in an enclosure. It depends on the sub, and enclosure.

On my 2010 I attempted to only do a couple of changes. I thought adding and amp and a sub would be fine. That worked for a little bit. I then changed out the "tweeters" that Bose uses with some 3 1/2" speakers. That did make an improvement over the Bose tweeters. Long story short, I ended up replacing the whole front setup with a component set, added and amp to power them and a processor. The system using only a sub and a component set now sounds a lot better than when I had the whole 9 speaker Bose system running.

 

Revolvo: Would you be willing to take a measurement of the opening of that OEM double din piece? Would you be interested in selling it? I want to attempt something I havent seen anybody else do yet.

Thanks.

 

1800,

I was planning on selling all of the boss hardware together on ebay... what would be a fair price for the stock head unit?

 

My mistake. I thought you had the one piece double din/vents trim piece. I have a BOSE in my Max already. Long story short: I bought a BOSE deck from an '06 Altima after doing some research as to the compatibility with my '04 Frontier. I had been chatting with a guy on another forum who dropped a head deck from a '12 Titan into his Frontier. After taking some measurements, looking at the factory plugs and taking my dash apart, it is a plug-n-play deal, BUT.....the trim piece does not fit back on. The '02 Altima deck is 5/8" wider and 1/4" taller. Not a significant amount, but enough to keep it from working in the stock location. After telling my girlfriend that it didnt fit, she asked if there was anyway it would fit into my Maxima. That simple question got me to thinking......is it possible? This is the reason I've been trying to get a measurement of the OEM GXE double din opening to see if it would fit into that opening and look stock in there.