Good idea to add amp to base 2011 M37 stock speakers?

[Spider2002]

Hi All,

I have the base 2011 M37 model (I don't think it is BOSE audio system) --- Just the 6 speaker.

If I add an amp to these speakers, would the sound difference be night and day? Would I need a Bass Equalizer device that many people seem to be getting for the Infiniti models (I believe this is only needed for the Premium Sound Bose Models).

My previous car was a 2004 Honda Accord Ex and all I did was add an amp to the stock speakers and the sound was amazing...wondering if it would be the same for the Infiniti M37. Thanks

[GQM45s]

I thought all infiniti's no matter what model use Bose? I thought that was just a standard brand they used in Infiniti

[EniGmA1987]

I thought all infiniti's no matter what model use Bose? I thought that was just a standard brand they used in Infiniti

The base model system is just a generic brand thing. Older model M's had three different levels of audio and the top two were Bose. I think the new models only have two levels of audio packages, the base model is generic again and the upper one is 16-speaker Bose brand.

[Spider2002]

Has anyone here added an amp to their stock (non-bose) speakers? Any feedback on sound quality?

I'm not sure if I should get a 4 channel or a 6 channel amp. Aren't there 6 speakers in the car? 2 rear, 2 front, and 2 tweeters?

[EniGmA1987]

While an amp can have an influence on sound despite what some people seem to think about "power is just power", in your case just adding more power and a cleaner sounding amp will still be limited by the really low quality speakers you have. Speakers have a much greater effect on sound quality and should be the first thing that is fixed.

[merlinq2]

The bose system is engineered a certain way. it uses processors to throw and create sound waves and make sounds. Throwing more power at the stock system(regardless of specification) will be a waste of money. adding better speakers will increase the performance some what but my bet is that you will be disappointed. the only way to properly fix it or improve it is to have a system engineered for you using the as many of the orifices that are holding in the stock head unit, speakers and wires.

The system was designed to be decent as most of the people that buy these cars are moving up and have had those ear rattling boom box systems 4 or 5 cars ago.

The bose systems is decent and does a pretty good job, but that is what it is designed to do. back in the day you used to save a few bucks and gut the factory 6x9's and stick and new set of speakers in the rear deck lid and rip out the oem tuner (radio), stick a new head unit in there with a huge amp. now you have mirco processors that control sound, distribution of the sound and how the sounds is registered in your car. save the cash for some tires or new brakes and just enjoy the car.

[DeanM45]

Replace the speakers first but if you do this realize that you will have to add a good amp to realize any significant increase in sound quality/output. In my audio build thread (14 speaker system) the front speakers were replaced first. Before I installed the rear speakers I wired up the rear channel through the Kenwood amp. Rear stock speakers did NOT like the higher wattage. Replace the speakers first and then add amps afterwards. The sound quality for me is immensely improved. Stock head unit to stock Bose amp to Line Out Converters to the Kenwood amp. I get the same imaging characteristics but much much better sound quality, more defined and definitely more mid bass. I still have the stock sub in place but it is really not needed now as the Infinity 62.9i speakers put out PLENTY of bass when amped.

[Lutkis]

I'll bump this thread up 'cause it's the closest one I could find related to my audio upgrade. I too have a 6 speaker non-Bose speaker system in my Fuga.

My plans:
- Keep the factory head unit (haven't found any good aftermarket unit yet)
- Replace the front speakers with 6,5" 2-way speakers
- Replace the rear speakers with 6,5" speakers
- Add an aftermarket subwoofer
- Add 4 channel amp for the speakers and 1 channel amp for the sub

Issues I'm facing right now:
- Is the unit in my trunk just the active noise control unit or does it have an amp in it too (281D11MA0A, picture attached)?
- Do I have to unplug that unit? If it's an amp too do I have to bypass it or can I tap into its speaker wires?
- I need factory speaker wire colors to ease my install. In the front there's a connector that connects the wire harness to the door so it would make it much easier to find the speaker wires if I'd know the colors of them.

[VStar650CL]

You can find the complete wiring diagram here starting on AV-51 and a terminal layout for the ANC on AV-44:
https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual ... 1%2FAV.pdf

The ANC is basically a pass-through for audio from the control head, like an amp that modifies instead of amplifies. So you should be able to tap the speaker outputs to feed an add-on amp with no particular issues.

[Lutkis]

You can find the complete wiring diagram here starting on AV-51 and a terminal layout for the ANC on AV-44:
https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual ... 1%2FAV.pdf

The ANC is basically a pass-through for audio from the control head, like an amp that modifies instead of amplifies. So you should be able to tap the speaker outputs to feed an add-on amp with no particular issues.

Thanks for the link but I already checked that and unfortunately the wire colors don't match.
I know I have blue and red wires coming from left rear speaker and there's no mention of those colors in there.

Also I'm not that good at reading those diagrams. Do the wires go first from head unit to the ANC and from ANC to speakers?
If so then I would only need to find out the speaker wire colors from the head unit, right?

[VStar650CL]

Thanks for the link but I already checked that and unfortunately the wire colors don't match.
I know I have blue and red wires coming from left rear speaker and there's no mention of those colors in there.

Also I'm not that good at reading those diagrams. Do the wires go first from head unit to the ANC and from ANC to speakers?
If so then I would only need to find out the speaker wire colors from the head unit, right?

The colors do match, you're simply not tracing the whole circuit. The wire colors change at the connection from the body harness B18 (AV-56, Red on 3, Green on 4) to the door harness D51 (AV-61, Red on 3, Blue on 4). The ANC is on the body side of the circuit, so at the ANC connector B57 (AV-57) you have the Green on pin 10 and Red on 19. This style of diagram is less convenient to work with than the older ones with the connectors and colors on-page, so when I'm dealing with a lot of wires, I always print out the relevant pages and then mark colors on the main diagram. That avoids a lot of confusion.

Unless you want to eliminate the ANC, you should be tapping the speaker wires out from there and not the H/U wires. It's pointless to eliminate it if it's working correctly, since your amp will probably be right in the same neighborhood in the trunk.

[Lutkis]

Thanks for the link but I already checked that and unfortunately the wire colors don't match.
I know I have blue and red wires coming from left rear speaker and there's no mention of those colors in there.

Also I'm not that good at reading those diagrams. Do the wires go first from head unit to the ANC and from ANC to speakers?
If so then I would only need to find out the speaker wire colors from the head unit, right?

The colors do match, you're simply not tracing the whole circuit. The wire colors change at the connection from the body harness B18 (AV-56, Red on 3, Green on 4) to the door harness D51 (AV-61, Red on 3, Blue on 4). The ANC is on the body side of the circuit, so at the ANC connector B57 (AV-57) you have the Green on pin 10 and Red on 19. This style of diagram is less convenient to work with than the older ones with the connectors and colors on-page, so when I'm dealing with a lot of wires, I always print out the relevant pages and then mark colors on the main diagram. That avoids a lot of confusion.

Unless you want to eliminate the ANC, you should be tapping the speaker wires out from there and not the H/U wires. It's pointless to eliminate it if it's working correctly, since your amp will probably be right in the same neighborhood in the trunk.

Ok, thanks! I have to take another look at it and print it out to make more sense of it. I don't really see any use for that ANC unit so I thought of eliminating it altogether.
I've also read that the noise canceling might add a humming noise to the system when aftermarket components are installed.

So did I understood correctly that if I want to eliminate the ANC I have to tap the new speaker wires directly to the HU outputs and just disconnect the ANC?
Therefore I must run new wires from the HU to the doors and amp?

[EniGmA1987]

My plans:
- Keep the factory head unit (haven't found any good aftermarket unit yet)

Check this thread for info on how to install and wire up any double din head unit to the vehicle. You can buy a 2nd bezel off ebay for cheap so you dont have to destroy your current one too
post6787252.html

[VStar650CL]

No, you can simply replace the ANC with your amp. The ANC inputs come from the H/U, the outputs go to the speakers, so your best option is simply to locate the amp where the ANC is now.

[Lutkis]

My plans:
- Keep the factory head unit (haven't found any good aftermarket unit yet)

Check this thread for info on how to install and wire up any double din head unit to the vehicle. You can buy a 2nd bezel off ebay for cheap so you dont have to destroy your current one too
post6787252.html

Thanks but I have a 370GT/M37. The HU isn't that big of a deal to me right now.

No, you can simply replace the ANC with your amp. The ANC inputs come from the H/U, the outputs go to the speakers, so your best option is simply to locate the amp where the ANC is now.

Are the wires coming from the HU to ANC low-level or high level inputs?
Are the inputs from the HU the ones I've marked green? If so then the outputs from ANC to speakers must be those that say door speakers?
I reckon I must change those output wires to much thicker speaker wires.

[VStar650CL]

That's correct, the green ones are from the H/U. Unless you're putting in an enormous amp, the speaker wires are probably fine as-is. Speaker signals are AC and not DC, and because the electrons are dancing back and forth in the wire and not just traveling in one direction, small wires can carry a lot more AC power than DC without heat loss. That's why Tesla and Westinghouse won the AC-DC battle and Edison lost.

[Lutkis]

Got everything to work, thanks for the help!

Now I'm facing a new problem with this Android display I bought. At first I didn't get any picture to it with the harness that was supposed to work with it according to the instructions (the one without 360 camera system).
Then I thought of trying the "wrong" harness and with that I got picture but now I'm not getting any sound from it. The amps don't even turn on (no lights) so they obviously don't get any signal from the HU/display.

Has anyone installed this or got any ideas what could be the problem? Could it just be the harness or do I need something else to make it work?
Also any of the HU buttons (climate, audio etc.) below the display don't work. Only a few buttons on the steering wheel works.

https://www.realmediashop.de/10-Touchsc ... i-Q70-M37X

To my understanding that display is just that, a display. It doesn't have any audio connectors since they are all on the OEM HU. That's why I'm a bit confused what might cause this problem.