I was disapointed when I found out that the standard radio did not have a CD changer, only a CD player. Lots of other features missing from what I was expecting. I see that several people have a Bose unit on Ebay for a reasonable price.

Question is, If I bought the "Take-Off" Bose, would it plug right in or would I have to buy anything extra?

It's tempting to buy something from Crutchfield as I know that I would get a complete package with instructions.

Interesting question. Connectors seems to be the same. Just checked bose on ebay and my old non-bose system:NON-BOSE:BOSE:Also just checked aftermarket harness kit from metraonline.com and they say it is the same harness for both non-bose and bose unit. So you should be fine if you replace it with bose. I didn't know that we could buy nissan xm radio adapter and connect it to non-bose unit but I see the connectors are the same so it seems to be possible.

So, it looks like it would be an easy swap. Thanks for the response.

Next question, would it be worth the trouble? Other than the CD changer, how much better is the Bose?

Nope, it won't work. Here's why:

The BOSE system uses an external amplifier located in the cargo area, the base model head unit does not have this. You cannot run the BOSE unit by itself without the amp.

The second problem is the harness between the base model and BOSE units are different. On the base it goes directly to the speakers, on the BOSE it goes the amp in the cargo area, then to the speakers.

IMHO, your best option is to go aftermarket. Lots of options and can be far cheaper than messing with OEM components.

Leo2005, you may have just unlocked a mystery here. Can you post a photo of the front of your headunit. Also provide the model number PYxxxx (somewhere on the front of the HU).

If you are correct, then a whole pile of options have just opened up for the stock headunit!

OK, connectors left to right:

L - Main Audio connector: speaker outputs, power, etc)..- AV Unit connector: to Handsfree/Bluetooth module..- Sat Radio connector: to XM/Sirius Sat Radio moduleR - Antenna

The base models are not supposed to have the 2 middle connectors. BOSE units have all four.

philipa_240sx wrote:Leo2005, you may have just unlocked a mystery here. Can you post a photo of the front of your headunit. Also provide the model number PYxxxx (somewhere on the front of the HU).

If you are correct, then a whole pile of options have just opened up for the stock headunit!

philipa_240sx wrote:Nope, it won't work. Here's why:

The BOSE system uses an external amplifier located in the cargo area, the base model head unit does not have this. You cannot run the BOSE unit by itself without the amp.

Now I wonder why on ebay people say about harness for aftermarket like this one will not work with bose system but metraonline says it is the same kit for both systems?

Philipa. Why do you think that bose unit without amp will not work with non-bose system? Bose system includes more than 4 speakers plus subwoofer and that's why you need amplifier. Other than that 4 speakers should be handled by bose system without amp. It's just my guess.

You're guess is correct. The bose head unit has enough juice to power 4 external speakers with its internal volume control. There is no need to amplify the signal unless you need more power for sound hungry speakers or if you want to rattle the neighborhood at the stop light.

Leo2005 wrote: Other than that 4 speakers should be handled by bose system without amp. It's just my guess.

There is a lot more going on than it seems... I studied the FSM awhile back when a similar question was brought up. Here is what I found:

There is no direct connection from the BOSE head unit to the speakers. The head unit sends 4 channel (balanced) line level output to the amp. The amp actually has 7 individual channels ... one for each speaker. There is also an equalization/crossover circuit for each channel.

Without the amp, there is no way the BOSE head unit itself can drive the speakers.

philipa_240sx wrote:
There is a lot more going on than it seems... I studied the FSM awhile back when a similar question was brought up. Here is what I found:

There is no direct connection from the BOSE head unit to the speakers. The head unit sends 4 channel (balanced) line level output to the amp. The amp actually has 7 individual channels ... one for each speaker. There is also an equalization/crossover circuit for each channel.

Without the amp, there is no way the BOSE head unit itself can drive the speakers.

This is typical of Bose car audio systems. They always have external amps and for some reason, they are never near the HU.

philipa_240sx wrote:There is no direct connection from the BOSE head unit to the speakers. The head unit sends 4 channel (balanced) line level output to the amp. The amp actually has 7 individual channels ... one for each speaker. There is also an equalization/crossover circuit for each channel.

It just confusing me. How the unit sends 4 leveled signals? I'm just telling you from my experience with JL speakers. JL came with tweeters and crossovers. I decided to try to connect speakers directly without crossover and tweeters and they still worked BUT...the quality of sound wasn't that good and speakers were not loud but they still worked. Also if bose unit sends 4 signals that's exactly my thought so it should be enough for 4 speakers. I can't really believe what you said until somebody try it or unless bose unit connected the same wires in different way by using the same type of connection which I doubt because metra said it's a same harness for aftermarket unit. Now if you replace the bose unit with aftermarket one and new unit will send 4 signals in a different way comparing to bose but you connect them to the same amplifier and it is still working because amp is doing the job when aftermarket unit can not handle more than 4 speakers. At least one person on this forum did that with bose.

I found this online....

Q. Can I bypass the BOSE amplifier and still use the factory BOSE stereo?

A. Yes and No. Yes if you own a hearing aid, adjust your hearing aid to high sensitivity. No, if you want a normal sound. The output level from the Bose stereo head unit is matched to the speaker-amplifier to provide quality sound.

what about the stock unit from the SL premium package...I believe it is an upgrade over the base unit.I have a non-Bose but it has the 6 CD changer.

Leo2005 wrote:It just confusing me. How the unit sends 4 leveled signals?

Even though the connector is compatible, the signals are not. The BOSE headunit only outputs a low voltage 'line level' signal... at best less than 1W of power. This is not even enough to power a set of headphones... let alone full size speakers!

The amp provides and equalizer, crossover and separate amplifier for each speaker.

My experience is based on the manuals and the experiences of those on this forum that have tried to upgrade the BOSE system in other Nissan's. It's basically an all or nothing proposition... you need all the parts including the amp to get it to work.

mrirvine wrote:what about the stock unit from the SL premium package...I believe it is an upgrade over the base unit. I have a non-Bose but it has the 6 CD changer

Yes, but this mid-line stereo is only available on Canadian models. Rogue's sold in the USA never got this system.

The mid-line system includes the following additional features:- In dash 6-disc CD changer- Speed sensitive volume- Steering wheel audio controls

You have 2 options:

1) Buy from a Canadian Nissan dealer. I do not know Canadian pricing, but in the USA the both the base and BOSE system are about $750 new.

2) Start calling auto recyclers in Canada. This is not going to be an easy task as there have only been about 30,000 or so Rogue's sold in Canada so far... and only a small handful of those are going to have the mid-level audio.

http://www.car-part.com is a good place to search for recyclers and used auto parts.

Now that Leo2005 has shown us a pic of the back of the base model radio, it may open up a few options. Many of the iPod, sat radio and AUX in solutions may work with the base model radio now.

The question will be who will try it?

anyone tried this yet?

This is up for debate now that this fellow tried it and it couldn't make it work:

usa-spec-pa15-nis-ipod-adapter-t511009.html

He never stated what the issue was. Perhaps reply to his thread and ask.

philipa_240sx wrote:This is up for debate now that this fellow tried it and it couldn't make it work:

usa-spec-pa15-nis-ipod-adapter-t511009.html

He never stated what the issue was. Perhaps reply to his thread and ask.

Hi there - I'm the guy Philipa's referring to. I took the liberty of editing the picture that was posted above. I don't mean to hijack the thread, but wanted to add to what Phil was saying. Basically the iPod adapter that I wrote about has two different wiring harnesses - one is for a 20 pin unit (which I'm guessing is standard on all Rogue's regardless of whether or not it's Bose, non-Bose, Satellite ready or not) - the other harness is for a 10 pin unit. This iPod adapter can also be installed on Infiniti's, so maybe the 10 pin connector is for a radio in an Infiniti - I don't know. The issue that I had was that my HU was not equipped with the satellite radio connector (circled in green) - therefore, it rendered the adapter useless. The harness has to plug into both the 20 pin and sat connector in order to transfer info from the iPod to the HU. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures - I already returned it and got a new HU. Hope this explains a little better the issues I ran into with the adapter I spoke of in the thread above.

Thank you for clarifying this jrod106!