Say what you will about the factory BOSE system in the 95-99's but I just drove a Toyota Solara w/ a factory JBL stereo and it was not much better than the factory stereo in my Sentra. It was hollow sounding and all the sound sounded like it was coming from the back seat (yes I tried to adjust the fader). It had decent bass output but it was muddy. The BOSE is better by an order of magnitude. The highs are missing and the soundstage is poor. I would say imaging in the JBL was the main problem. One more thing.. the Maxima (driving wise)is a lot smoother / quieter and seems more refined. The pickup is also noticeably better. You could hear a lot of road noise in the Solara. (compared to the Maxima)

I did however like the perforated leather bucket seats in the Solara and the wrap around simulated wood in the interior. I generally like the styling and with some big rims and with some lowering.. It would look a lot better.. but I don't know if there is any aftermarket support for it. The guages were kinda hokey but I am probably used to the white guages in my SE.

So far I am pretty happy with the factory radio, which I think is very good for "factory". Don't get me wrong.. it isn't IASCA quality or anything.. just a very good factory system. I just hope I don't have the quality problems with the BOSE that a lot of people have had.

my 2 cents.

Julian "not giving up my Max anytime soon" Brock
93 NOS'd Sentra SE
96 Maxima SE