I've been promising this writeup for a while, but never got around to putting it in writing...

If you're like me, you LOVE your G35. My Coupe is my dream car, and there's only 3 things I would change about it if I could:

1) More power - Duh. Even a great-performing car like the G Coupe can benefit from a little more power.

2) Better seats - Thankfully, Infiniti addressed this with the 07 G35, getting rid of the ridiculous bolster-mounted seat controls. Now to find a set for sale.

3) Better audio - The Infiniti Bose system is notoriously flat and dull.

I cannot honestly remember the last time I heard a WORSE OEM audio system. My 95 Q45 Bose is better with 12-year-old speakers. I drove a GM rental car last week that positively BLEW my G35 audio away. It's simply miserable.

Now, I'm not interested in dropping five figures to rip out all the audio equipment out of a relatively new car, just because Infiniti decided to skimp. Nope, I paid good money for that, and there's GOT to be a better way.

For those that don't know, Infiniti has had a long relationship with Bose. Bose is actually a trademark for the technology, but the components are all manufactured by Clarion.

Yep. Clarion.

Now, a lot of people think you can just yank out the speakers and replace them with "better" ones. They're partially right. Even though the OEM "Bose" speakers are a paper-cone design, they're unfortunately each driven by a seperate amp (one per speaker). They're also 2-ohm speakers, which means you can't just drop in any speaker.

Let's get down to it, this is simple:

Infinity (not Infiniti) manufactures some pretty nice 2-ohm speakers that will fit in your stock locations. All together, if you order from Crutchfield or some other audio wholesaler, you'll pay about $1000 for all 3 sets.

However, there are several companies online that sell for WAY less (and as you know, speakers are WAY overpriced). I priced them out for under $400 total.

Here's what you're looking for:

60.7cs front doors62.7i rear side panels692.7i rear deck

Now, you can choose to tackle the swap yourself, but I'm not confident enough in my abilities to start ripping the interior out of a $30K car. Turns out a local shop will do it for between $200-$300, for a total investment of under $700.

How's it sound?

There are those self-made "audiophiles" and wannabe "purists" who claim that the Infinity speakers are crap. However, my impression is that it's the way the system should have been designed from the beginning. Bass is deep, tight and clean, the midrange is no longer flat and muddy, and the highs are crisp, not tinny.

Give it a shot - I'm pretty confident you'll be very impressed with your car's new sound.

Check out Edesign Audio, I have their 6500's and they are very good speakers.http://www.edesignaudio.com/ed...=1_23

They have their own forum athttp://www.icixsound.com/vb/fo...&f=24

Interesting...I was under the impression that there was 1 amp for the entire system in the G35. Maybe they changed in 05?

Does it play any louder? Thats my main complaint...the sound quality is OK, much better with a subwoofer setup!

Changed out the Bose speakers in an Acura with good results. Now, these were 4 ohm speakers that I used. I used $80/pr. Infinity speakers. Kappa series. You don't have to have to use 2 ohm speakers unless you are really into running high volume all the time.What many people don't realize is that quality aftermarket speakers are much more efficient than the 2 ohm Bose. So that helps compensate for the higher impedance. (there is mechanical efficiency in speakers too, not just electrical)

To my ears, the Acura was notably worse than my stock G35 Bose. A lot has to do with simply the 'room' it's playing in.I am not sure it is even worth replacing the rear panel SIDE speakers.Why not just disconnect them?The rear deck and front doors should carry everything just fine. Unfortunately the rear decks are a pain to replace, but need to be.I've heard some very good G35 installs for under $1000 and that includes a new amp. Probably the way I would go. A separate sub would likey push you over the 1 grand price. But a quality component speaker system would have so much better bass than the stock drivers, you may not need it. And it's something you could always add later.

Woohoo!!! I knew you'd write this up sooner or later, AZ. Thanks for the information.

Although it's too late for me as I've already dropped $2,200 on just replacing the fronts and adding a 4-channel amp. Will be replacing the rear deck speakers and unplugging the rear sides, then adding a second amp and single sub in a custom enclosure later.

I figure it'll run somewhere in the neighborhood of about $5K once I'm done. I'll post pictures when it gets there. But for now, I'm a broke puppy and need to wait to earn some fundage.

Chieftanfeces wrote:Woohoo!!! I knew you'd write this up sooner or later, AZ. Thanks for the information.

Although it's too late for me as I've already dropped $2,200 on just replacing the fronts and adding a 4-channel amp. Will be replacing the rear deck speakers and unplugging the rear sides, then adding a second amp and single sub in a custom enclosure later.

I figure it'll run somewhere in the neighborhood of about $5K once I'm done. I'll post pictures when it gets there. But for now, I'm a broke puppy and need to wait to earn some fundage.

Sounds like a monster system. Throw some pictures this way when you are done.

Chieftanfeces wrote: But for now, I'm a broke puppy and need to wait to earn some fundage.

I fell your pain! I'm in the same boat...on a 1 year no-fun money ban from my stereo!

You don't have much to lose in this mod over one that you use an Amp with. Infinity speakers are pretty good and ultimately, if you don't like the sound, you can always add an amp or 2 and drive the Infinity speakers with them.

I think this mod would not be for those who are looking for a pounding stereo system. I'm sure the clarity will increase, but I suspect the factory amp will peak out well before the speakers do. I'm no audio expert, but have some knowledge about it and I'm thinking one of two things will happen if you try to max rthe volume of the stock amp. Either the amp will simply stop increasing the strength of the signal(volume max reached before it's loud enough for your tastes, or the amp will start to clip the signal. I would hope the former would occur first as the factory system would be damaged by a clipped signal if run too high. If this is the case, it should be safe to turn it up to max. The latter could cause damage to any speaker so if this occurs, avoid running it at those volumes.

Based on this though, you're probably not going to be happy if you are looking for a lot more volume clearly. In this case, going to an aftermarket amp with an LOC would be necessary as well.

Thanks for the info Hitman. I've got about 1,500 miles on my new '06 G35x Sedan and not super impressed with the sound. Will have to do something! Love the ride, now just need the sound to match. Probably going to add an iPod pigtail someday if the sound system gets up to par.

Chano is right, it won't be a ground-pounder.

However, when you take away the muddiness and distortion, listening at levels above 25 becomes MUCH more enjoyable, and is actually pertty damn loud anyway.

Won't be a bass-thumping IASCA competitor, but will certainly put the system on a par with some of the better OEM luxury car audio systems.

[QUOTE=AZhitman]However, when you take away the muddiness and distortion, listening at levels above 25 becomes MUCH more enjoyable, and is actually pertty damn loud anyway.[QUOTE]

Clarity can go a long way as a lot of people tend to turn up the volume to make out the voices being played.

AZhitman wrote: ...Give it a shot - I'm pretty confident you'll be very impressed with your car's new sound.

Thanks Hitman! That sounds like the kind of mod that will work for my pocket, and have the desired effect.

I have only had the system up to about 21 or 22. It is plenty loud... I'd just like a little cleaner sound.

well wat i did sound my stock speakers sound pretty good i added a pioneer 6800 unit in the compartment above the glove box. then i ran a wire for my girls IPod next to her seat i can use the stock head unit to control both the IPod and my pioneer headunit i still need to make little plates for the edges you'll see wat in talking about in the pic.

JBL also makes a set of 2-ohm speakers that will also work with the BOSE system. I replacecd all four door speakers in my sedan with the GTO 627 speakers. I did not want to have to deal with trying to mount the crossovers that come with components. But i did replace the tweeters with a older set of JBL GTO tweeters, the stock tweeters state that they are 4-ohm on the back. Overall the system now has a nice tight bass response and the highs are much crisper. I think total I spent $111 on both pairs of spearkers and another $45 for two sets of zenclosures speakers. the JBL speakers also come with apadpter plates that would have probably worked also with the addition of a universal spacer ring. but i didn't know they would come with those.

Good info, syd!

Welcome aboard, by the way!!!

thanks for the welcome. I forgot to mention that I purchased the speakers from cardomain.com, which is an authorized infinity and jbl dealer, so the warranty would apply. and they have 105% price matching. I just couldn't justify spending about $250 total for the Kappa components and coax's. But I'm happy with the setup so far.

sydg35 wrote:thanks for the welcome. I forgot to mention that I purchased the speakers from cardomain.com, which is an authorized infinity and jbl dealer, so the warranty would apply. and they have 105% price matching. I just couldn't justify spending about $250 total for the Kappa components and coax's. But I'm happy with the setup so far.

Do those 2 ohm JBLs come in 6X9 too? Sounds like a nice exchange.

JBL GTO series do come in 2-ohms for the 6x9.. http://www.jbl.com/car/product...r=GTSThe GTO line may all be 2-ohm, i haven't looked at everything.

Thanks! Interesting choice..

Sound like some good fixs for audio System. Just got my G35 coupe a week ago. Haven't done any up yet grade yet. Anybody know if there is aftmarketreplacement for radio for the surround ? That replace radio.

AZhitman wrote:
I cannot honestly remember the last time I heard a WORSE OEM audio system. My 95 Q45 Bose is better with 12-year-old speakers. I drove a GM rental car last week that positively BLEW my G35 audio away. It's simply miserable.

You've obviously never ridden in and listened to the stereo system in an E39 (97-03 5-series) BMW. I just traded my 97 528i for an 03 G35 and I think the sound system (mine has the 200-watt Bose) is very nice. Trust me, there is NO WORSE system than what you would find in the E39. If you don't believe me, go to bimmerfest.com and search "stereo" and look at all the threads about it. It literally was like listening with cotton in your ears - NO KIDDING.

^ You're correct.

I have a deep-seated disgust for everything BMW, and most European cars for that matter.

Now, I'm sure I'll hear the wailing about how good they are, but that's irrelevant to me - I despise most things about BMW, first and foremost their "feel".

AZhitman wrote:^ You're correct.

I have a deep-seated disgust for everything BMW, and most European cars for that matter.

Now, I'm sure I'll hear the wailing about how good they are, but that's irrelevant to me - I despise most things about BMW, first and foremost their "feel".

You'll get no argument here, AZ... as a former 525i owner, I can at least confirm the crappy system. (The Germans may think that Blaupunkt is the SH*T, but it is just SH*T). I ended up spending 3k on an upgrade in that car. As far as the driving of it was concerned, I mostly enjoyed the handling, for a car that weighed almost four thousand pounds, it handled decent... however, I never did get how a sports car manufacturer justifies dropping a 180 horse motor in a 3,600 lb car and calling it 'The Ultimate Driving Machine'.

I do so love my G!! (and, satisfied with the stock system or not, it beats the BMW stock system all to H-E-double-hockey-sticks!! lol)

Now, the European M3? That's a whole different story.
Modified by BigWill at 6:31 PM 12/17/2006

I've done some research after reading this post.I have a couple of questions:According to Crutchfield, the Infiniti 62.7i speakers won't work in the rear side location. The only thing I can think of is that it is 2 inches deep, the others are 1 11/16 inch. Do they really fit, and if so, do they fit without a adapter kit? According to DomainCars site, the Infiniti 52.7i (5 1/4 inch) fits in rear side without an adapter, is this incorrect?Crutchfield states that the rear shelf speakers ONLY get bass signals. This means that the Infinity 692.7i (2-way) will work well; but the 693.7i (or any other 3-way, or more complicated speaker) will be 'wasted or overkill', is this true?It is my understanding that the Infiniti 60.7cs is preferable for the front door, since the separate tweeter can be used in the 'mirror location', is this true? Would a 'regular', non-component system speaker, not work as well (such as Infiniti 63.7i, 3-way)?What about a subwoofer installation?Thanks,Jay

Do the JBL GTOs and Infinity Kappas have removable tweeters? All these speakers are 2 way, and I definatly don't want 8 tweeters in the car. The 2 on the doors are enough. MB Quart make anything in 2 ohm? I browsed their website for a bit, but didn't see anything.

Does anybody know the output specs at each speaker location? As I understand it, there is a 2 ohm stable mono amp at each location. I assume there isn't any changes that can be made to the amps? without wiring up your own custom system...

IMO the Bose system in the Acura RSX TypeS sounds better than the G Coupe's System

After doing some more research and getting some 'professional consultation':The best Infinity Kappa speakers would be ... 60.7 cs (component system) in the front with crossovers and separate tweeters (to be mounted in the original location near the rear view mirrors).62.7i (6 1/2 inch), OR 52.7i (5 1/4 inch), both 2-way in the rear side location. These are not a perfect fit, but 'may' be able to be manipulated into position. 692.7i in rear shelf. These are two way and nothing else is needed, since the rears apparently recieve only bass signals. The 3-way 693.7i are apparently also slightly 'bigger/taller' and don't fit well.2-ways should be more than enough in the rear locations, as there is no apparent need for the extra tweeters in these locations.THIS (60.7cs, 62.7i, 692.7i) is what I ordered on an 'auction site' for $341 (shipped).

I'll let you know how it sounds, after installation.

akbkr23 wrote:After doing some more research and getting some 'professional consultation':The best Infinity Kappa speakers would be ... 60.7 cs (component system) in the front with crossovers and separate tweeters (to be mounted in the original location near the rear view mirrors).62.7i (6 1/2 inch), OR 52.7i (5 1/4 inch), both 2-way in the rear side location. These are not a perfect fit, but 'may' be able to be manipulated into position. 692.7i in rear shelf. These are two way and nothing else is needed, since the rears apparently recieve only bass signals. The 3-way 693.7i are apparently also slightly 'bigger/taller' and don't fit well.2-ways should be more than enough in the rear locations, as there is no apparent need for the extra tweeters in these locations.THIS (60.7cs, 62.7i, 692.7i) is what I ordered on an 'auction site' for $341 (shipped).

I'll let you know how it sounds, after installation.

Thanks for doing that leg/finger-work! I'll be interested to read your impressions.

To add to my previous post:

Replacing just the speakers is apparently the only way to improve the system, UNLESS you go to either an entirely new/upgraded system, OR use the Rockford Fosgate 3SIXTY.1 (Interactive signal processor) $300 retail. According to a description of the product: Rockford Fosgate's innovative 3Sixty.1 lets you install premium amplifiers, speakers, and subwoofers without forcing you to replace your factory in-dash stereo or undertake a massive rewiring project.

akbkr23 wrote:To add to my previous post:

Replacing just the speakers is apparently the only way to improve the system, UNLESS you go to either an entirely new/upgraded system, OR use the Rockford Fosgate 3SIXTY.1 (Interactive signal processor) $300 retail.

I found it at a website called Brandnamez, http://brandnamez.com/merchant...52167, for $220. It's a shame, isn't it, that so much time, disscussion, and effort have to go into making the sound system in a higher-end car sound the way it should from the factory?

Crutchfield had it listed for $199.99 under 'Outlet'.

There is a more expensive model, the Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty.2, listed at $599.99

I once had a 1988 BMW 750iL, that I purchased used in 1995 for $23,000 (They depreciateFAST). It came with a sound board mounted in the trunk, separate amps & crossovers. I still needed (over time) to replace the head unit, put in a separate amp and enclosed subwoofer in the trunk, etc. It still did not sound as if it had over $5000 'invested' in it!

I prefer to make 'minimal' upgrades to things I buy. BUT, thats IMHO