1993 Infiniti J30 Stereo Upgrade

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tando
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A few months ago I started having problems with my Bose radio and then it finally stopped playing CD's altogether and the sound would occassionally cut out. I replaced the Bose unit with a Sony CDX-MP70 head unit. Everything is fine except my friend who helped me with the install said that the speakers sound like they are going to blow out and recommended buying new ones. Is it better to refurbish the factory Bose speakers for $360 (after all they are already 10 years old), or should I get some aftermarket speakers to replace them?? I have seen places such as ttp://carstereohelp.com that for $360 will refurbish old speakers. Any information would be great. Thanks in advance.

P.S. The stock system has a 2-pronged antenna connector which is different from my connector on the Sony stereo. If anyone could let me know where to get an adapter it would be great. Thanks.


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Woodmister
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You can get 6x9s for under 70 and some 4" for less than 50. But you will need a new HU but you have that. You may need a wiring harness, available at Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart, etc. The speakers, you better off installing yourself since the min price is $30 a pair. $360+shipping is WAY TOO MUCH for refurbished speakers.

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Woodmister
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5x7 F. Door 6x9 R. Deck

Are your speaker sizes

5x7shttp://www.cardiscountstereos....S57PQ

6x9shttp://www.cardiscountstereos....AS69Q

http://www.cardiscountstereos....CX693

Also adding the USX4065 or USX4085 will make your speakers SCREAM!! Since the HUs only put out a max RMS of @ most 20RMS they will not power speakers too their fullest potential. Thezeb has the best prices and 7$ shipping. Also if you want the Audiobahn speakers (you do) do a price match @ http://www.thezeb.com, for both sets of speakers, and just buy the amp, since thats the lowest price and get it all shipped for $7.

http://www.thezeb.com/caraudio/us_acoustics.html

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Mayhem_J30
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tando wrote:A few months ago I started having problems with my Bose radio and then it finally stopped playing CD's altogether and the sound would occassionally cut out. I replaced the Bose unit with a Sony CDX-MP70 head unit. Everything is fine except my friend who helped me with the install said that the speakers sound like they are going to blow out and recommended buying new ones. Is it better to refurbish the factory Bose speakers for $360 (after all they are already 10 years old), or should I get some aftermarket speakers to replace them?? I have seen places such as ttp://carstereohelp.com that for $360 will refurbish old speakers. Any information would be great. Thanks in advance.

P.S. The stock system has a 2-pronged antenna connector which is different from my connector on the Sony stereo. If anyone could let me know where to get an adapter it would be great. Thanks.


I think your problem is that you're not using the right head unit. The speakers and amps in the J30 were made for a specific unit only. If you change the cd player I suggest taking out the stock speakers too, remove the amps and redo all the wiring. PITA

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diamondj30
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ditto

tando
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Diamond or Mayhem, you guys have any clue about the antenna adapter? Also, do you guys know where I can find a walk-thru of removing the door panels to access the speakers?? I will do it blind if I have to, but its always better to not re-invent the wheel. Thanks in advance for the help.

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diamondj30
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antena adapter,i dont know cant remember.door panels are easy.passenger side has screw under window switch and on armrest there is a oval plug take it out.use a pick or small screw driver 'little one be carefull'remove window switch byputting pick on the bottompush down in and up should pop out..carefully un plug.undo screws at bootom of door,lift straight up then pull toward you.set the panel on your foot if you can,to keep it clean.and undo the wires,done.drivers screws are under window switches and side mirror controllers,carefully pry them out.dont hurt wood or stab door panel.undo wires and bottom screws.pull of in same manner as pass.

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heybilly
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Hey u can find antenna adapters at http://www.installer.com/antenna/index.html#

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Mayhem_J30
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LIke diamond said the door panels are pretty easy after you do the first one. The hardest part is disconnecting and reconnecting the speaker wires and lighting wire.-Start with pulling out the round tab in the door handle as mentioned then remove the screw underneath.-Diamond left this part out but I'm pretty sure it has to be done. Remove the plastic cover behind the handle/locking thing. Be careful not to break it. It'll take some prying and fidgeting with the door handle to get it out safely.

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diamondj30
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screw under window switch and on armrest there is a oval plug take it out.hehethanks chriss,forgot all about the door handle guard.

tando
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Just wondering if you guys had any input on the speakers I should get to replace mine. I was thinking of going with Sony as they make my head unit, but alot of people tell me to go Pioneer. Just wanted some input.

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Simmsled
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Get a set of Infinity's (Infinity in an Infiniti) seems to make sense to me. :)

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diamondj30
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i just smashed a perfectly good sony explode deck on the side walk as i pulled it out of here car,things skip to much.it was awsome.my nieghboors just watched as i exploded this thing.sony speaks suck imp.and others.my wife goes my favorite cd is in there i said,lets go to store.infinity is good,image dynamics,morel,focal.many good choices out there.j30s can except 2 6 1/2s in each frint door,w/door panel mod.some 8s will fit without much work,make a baffle thats it.

tando
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I had seen someone posted the speaker sizes, so I was just going to go with them. It says 5x7 in the front and 6x9 in the back. Here is what I was thinking of getting, but not from them. I was going to look on Ebay for them. Let me know what you guys think.

5x7http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi...m&a=0

6x9http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi...m&a=0

gdude45
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Hello;

I'm thinking of doing the same thing. I do have some info for you if you still need it ...

go here for stereo removal http://carstereohelp.com/stere...o.htm

go here for front doorhttp://carstereohelp.com/stere...k.htm

go here for rear speakershttp://carstereohelp.com/stere...k.htm

J30 Bose system cannot be upgraded as best i can tell. I'm thinking of a Pioneer PH-4100 head unit and Pioneer TS-D series for the speakers. Does anyone have any experience with these. What would everyone else recommend. Any info much appreciated. thanx.

tando
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gdude, thanks for the links, that was going to be my next question. Any comment on those speakers I posted before?

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NY94J30
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You can keep your stock speakers if you wire a high-low. The bose speakers run at 1 ohm, your head unit is putting out 4.

I am running a Kenwood head unit currently in my 94 J30, with stock Bose speakers. The sound is no diffferent than the stock Clarion head unit.

I would definately recommend switching out the speakers though - depending on what you are looking for out of your system (I guess).

tando
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What is a high-low??

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NY94J30
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A high-low drops the output of your head unit to match the impedance of yur speakers, i.e. 4 ohms to 1 ohm.

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diamondj30
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no highs no lows,must be bose.

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NY94J30
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I am running a Kenwood head unit with a high/low through the Bose speakers.

Eswift
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diamondj30 wrote:no highs no lows,must be bose.


haha, so true....

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NY94J30
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Diamond, ESwift,

I hate to beg to differ - I'm not a mobile audio expert - but you can definately run an aftermarket head unit to the Bose speakers with out any (significant) loss in sound quality. Requires an adapter which you can buy from Crutchfield (which I heard has distortion or hissing at low volume), or a custom high - low wire (the route I went).

Although I am changing the speakers out, it isnt b/c any loss in sound quality, rather it is b/c of the inherent limitations in the Bose systems themselves.

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diamondj30
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isnt b/c any loss in sound quality, rather it is b/c of the inherent limitations in the Bose systems themselves.i never said you cant.there was no difference in sound,that says it all.if it starts as crap and ends up sounding like crap i guess there would'nt be a problem,would there.

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NY94J30
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Diamond,

Just realized what you meant. I thought you meant that you could not use a high-low. Hard to read sarcasam into a post.

Your definately right, Bose sysems have a limited sound range - thats why I'm changing out the speakers. I started with just the head unit b/c I had it in my old car and my Clarion(Bose) unit had no display or CD when I bought the car. Thats why I also recommended changing the speakers out, but I also like having more features in my head unit for now.

gdude45
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does anyone know the actual model# of the clarion head unit used in the 93 J30. i'm thinking of swapping out my whole system, but it is very expensive up here in Canader -- ehh.

now i have a really stupid question. if there is such a beast as a high-low, why not a low-high ... something that will allow you to swap speakers to match the impedence of the head unit?

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diamondj30
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hey nyj30,i started the other way around.the last thing i got was my head unit.are you getting coaxils for the doors.if so 6 1/2s work nice up front.i think at one time i had infiniti kappas in my back deck,they were efficient,smooth tweeet.mine didnt start out like what you can see.it was upgrade after upgrade.i used to have 14 mb quarts in my cabin.4-tweets 4- 6 1/2s 4- 8s 2-4s.so what speaks you gettin.by the way i never meam no harm,i can get sarcastic.glad you saw it for what it is.

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Simmsled
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You use a low to high for amplifier signal integration... In the Bose system, that is what is required when you add an amplifier. It only works to receive the pre-amplified signal.

The Bose system uses the headunit as a pre-amp. The signal is then fed to each individual amplifier (there is 1 for each Bose speaker). The signal is the "low" part that everybody talks about. The "high" is not what you can hook up to a speaker, but it is actually a usable voltage level for aftermarket amps.

Bose "low" signal: around 350 millivolts

Useable signal for aftermarket amps: 1.5 to 6 volts

The low-high converter basically takes the 350 millivolts to 2.5 volts

NOW... the reason you cannot hook up aftermarket speakers to the Bose amps is because the impedance (or resistance measured in ohms) is around .25 ohms to 1 ohm. Aftermarket speakers offer a 4 ohm load, which is way too much resistance for the Bose amplifiers to produce a useable amount of power. What you were talking about with regards to low-high would mean that you would take the pre-amplified signal and use it as amplified signal. This cannot be done because of the low amount of voltage and the lack of a sufficient power supply (to put it VERY simply).

High-low converters are used only to interface the aftermarket headunit to the factory wiring. When this is done, the aftermarket headunit is only used as a pre-amp. It's power is reduced to meet the low voltage level required of the Bose amplifier. [It does not matter whether you have an aftermarket headunit with 20 watts per channel or 60 watts per channel.] So, if you are worried about the integration of an aftermarket headunit using the high/low adaptor... dont worry about it.

Hope this sheds some light on the subject. :cool:

gdude45
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Simmsled

thanx for the info. very helpful for guys like me who don't have a lot of knowledge about these things. looks like i'm going to have to swap the whole system out if i want a better setup. my interest isn't in volume (although i do want to be able to crank it a little), but primarly in quality with respect to clarity, precision and crispness. do you have an opinion on the pioneer fh-p4100 head unit and matching speakers. selection in canada is limited compared to the states and very expensive. again, appreciate your help.

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Simmsled
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Pioneer is good stuff. That particular model will look and sound great in your J. As far as speaker brands go, I don't think that you could ever go wrong with Infinity speakers. Their Reference series sounds great and won't break the bank. These speakers are very efficient and do not require as much power as their more expensive line, the Kappa Series. The Infinity Reference would be my first choice for your application. They are great in all categories.

I would also recommend...

(Eclipse) will give you a crisp and clean sound without being too bass-heavy. The mids-highs are very detailed with these speakers and they are very efficient with power. They do not like more than 35watts RMS, so if you were adding a lot of amplification >35watts RMS, consider something else. If you like great low level clarity as well as the ability to play it loud every once in a while, get em.

(Polk Audio) has more midbass and sounds great as well. They have a flatter response and are very musical. They take amplification well. They do not sound as good as the Eclipse or Infinity at low volume levels, but they rock at high volumes.

Good luck.


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