Recommendations for front speaker replacement on the base model

[carabuser]

Preface: I'm a somewhat happy owner of M35h with base audio. I've had it for a year and ready to improve the underwhelming audio. My plan is to replace the front speakers, tweeters (most likely) and add a slim sub due to limited space in the trunk. I'd like to avoid adding an amp because I don't want to deal with wiring.

For now I'm starting with replacing the front door speakers and maybe tweeters. After searching the forums, web and even ebay (and taking off my door panel), I'm still not 100% which speakers would fit. Is shallow fit the only way to go? 6.5" vs. 6x9"? Anyone who successfully replaced the speakers, what was your experience and what would you recommend?

If I go with 6.5" I'm going to use either MDF spacers or cut out the existing speaker. For 6x9" I'm probably going to purchase the Bose bracket.

I'm including the photos of my door for reference:

[stm37s]

Welcome, don't know If this will help but check out this link below

post6697837.html?hilit=aftermarket sound systems infiniti#p6697837

[reggiebrown40]

Welcome to the forum.

My honest opinion on this is it's best to leave the system alone unless:
a) you're adding a just sub woofer
b) you're adding an external amp(s), sub woofer, crossover/processor, and interior speakers.

Here's the thing: the Bose speakers are extremely efficient -- meaning they play loud with very little power. If you try to hook up aftermarket speakers the output usually ends up being low because of an impedance mismatch. Most aftermarket door speakers are 4 ohms. Speaking of impedance no one really knows (and Bose corporation say) what the actual impedance of their speakers are. Some say it's 2 ohms but I say it's much lower, possibly between .5 ohms and 1 ohm. If you try to hook up a 4 ohm speaker to what I believe is a .5 ohm amp you'll more than likely get less output than the Bose speaker.

As far as the depth issue The only way you're going to know what fits is to measure from the back of where the speaker bracket attaches to the door all the way into the speaker opening. Make sure to lower and raise the window to make sure the glass or window mechanism clears the depth of where the new speakers magnet will be. Hope this info helps. If you do replace the door speakers without replacing anything else report back with a post on how it sounds.

[carabuser]

Welcome, don't know If this will help but check out this link below

post6697837.html?hilit=aftermarket sound systems infiniti#p6697837

Yep, saw that. Not much info in terms of what fits/sounds good with stock system. I no one really upgraded non-bose speakers yet.

[carabuser]

Welcome to the forum.
...
My honest opinion on this is it's best to leave the system alone unless:
a) you're adding a just sub woofer
b) you're adding an external amp(s), sub woofer, crossover/processor, and interior speakers.

Mine is the base audio system and as far as I know it is not Bose. I thought base speakers were some generic brand, am I wrong?

I will add a slim powered sub. As far as adding an amp - I will but only if aftermarket speakers don't perform to my liking.

For speaker depth - yea, looks like that's my only option. I was hoping to see if anyone already went this route, but I guess not.

[Debonair]

Mine is the base audio system and as far as I know it is not Bose. I thought base speakers were some generic brand, am I wrong?

Base has Bose too. They look pretty generic (like just about all OEM speakers do) but are branded Bose.

[carabuser]

Well, I guess there is no easy way. Since it doesn't look like anyone has tried messing with the stock base system, I decided to dust off my multimeter, take the measuring tape and do investigative measuring myself. If anyone is interested, here is what came out of it.

First, I wanted to make sure that my multimeter skills were still ok. Took out a Sony shelf system speaker rated at 6 Ohm and got this result:


Not bad. Now to the actual speaker. Disassembled the door panel again, yanked it out and here's what it says on the back:



Still no sign of "Bose" but oh well.

It says it's rated at 40W and 4 Ohm. Is it?


Close enough. 4 Ohm aftermarket set should be a good fit.

Now to the measuring part. Looks like there is about 1" (15/16"?) between the mounting plate and the glass slider/channel (not sure what it's called):


And about 1 7/16" to the actual glass itself.



A little less than 1" of extra depth on top of whatever the speaker assembly is (shown below). However, I get the feeling that due to the weird 6.5" speaker position (it's positioned slightly to the right), clearing a larger 6.5" magnet would be more difficult than clearing the same magnet size on a 6x9".

On to the actual speaker assembly. ~1 7/8" of depth:


I decided to measure how much the stock speaker magnet (surprisingly basey for a magnet like that) sticks out. Around 0.5" or so:


So far it looks like anything with ~2" depth will clear without a problem. 2.5" is a possibility but a spacer may be required. On thing that worries my is that if I re-use the OEM 6.5" housing, I don't know whether I'll be able to mount the speaker right on top of it or if it will sit a bit below, like the stock one:


I wish I had measurements for Bose 6x9" speaker assembly so I would have an idea of what kind of 6x9" can fit there. Either way, looks like 6.5" is the safest route to go but 6x9" is still very appealing

[reggiebrown40]

Welcome to the forum.
...
My honest opinion on this is it's best to leave the system alone unless:
a) you're adding a just sub woofer
b) you're adding an external amp(s), sub woofer, crossover/processor, and interior speakers.

Mine is the base audio system and as far as I know it is not Bose. I thought base speakers were some generic brand, am I wrong?

I will add a slim powered sub. As far as adding an amp - I will but only if aftermarket speakers don't perform to my liking.

For speaker depth - yea, looks like that's my only option. I was hoping to see if anyone already went this route, but I guess not.

Does your M35h have the speakers on the top of the driver and passenger seats? Does it have a the Bose logo on them? I thought M's only shipped one of two ways Bose base with 10 speakers and Bose surround 5.1 with 16 speakers. I could be wrong, but that's the only way I've seen it.

The speakers say 40 max meaning that's the peak output which isn't a lot of power. They probably run at 20 watts RMS which is low, but play fairly loud because they're very efficient. I still don't think adding speakers will be enough, but I've been wrong before.

FWIW I don't think the audio system sounds that bad per se. I think the big issue is it's not loud enough, lacks low end bass, and when you turn up the volume the Bose amps filters kick in to protect the speakers, basically cutting highs and lows and giving extended midrange.

A couple of folks have posted that they intend to upgrade their interior speakers so any info you find is helpful and appreciated.

[Darthswan]

So I'm in the process of trying to figure out this speakers in the door. It's going to be a pricey replacement to install 3 way component speakers, but it will get done. Just trying to figure out the right brand to choose. I see we are limited in depth, so mounting brackets might have to be added. Anyone change these yet?

[carabuser]

So I'm in the process of trying to figure out this speakers in the door. It's going to be a pricey replacement to install 3 way component speakers, but it will get done. Just trying to figure out the right brand to choose. I see we are limited in depth, so mounting brackets might have to be added. Anyone change these yet?

I had to put the project on hold for a little while, but I'm planning to re-use the plastic brackets that hold the original speakers. I'll just have to cut them out and mount new ones.

[carabuser]

Does your M35h have the speakers on the top of the driver and passenger seats? Does it have a the Bose logo on them? I thought M's only shipped one of two ways Bose base with 10 speakers and Bose surround 5.1 with 16 speakers. I could be wrong, but that's the only way I've seen it.

The speakers say 40 max meaning that's the peak output which isn't a lot of power. They probably run at 20 watts RMS which is low, but play fairly loud because they're very efficient. I still don't think adding speakers will be enough, but I've been wrong before.

FWIW I don't think the audio system sounds that bad per se. I think the big issue is it's not loud enough, lacks low end bass, and when you turn up the volume the Bose amps filters kick in to protect the speakers, basically cutting highs and lows and giving extended midrange.

A couple of folks have posted that they intend to upgrade their interior speakers so any info you find is helpful and appreciated.

Hey, very late reply, but here goes.

My M35h does not have speakers on the of the seats and it does not have any Bose logos. I know which one you're referring to - I test drove one like that and I agree, that system is nice and I wouldn't change it. However, the car that I ended up buying has an embarrassingly basic audio system (no idea why Nissan would put something like this in their "luxury" car). It sounds ok, has decent low-end bass but lacks at mid and high end. I want something a bit more balanced, that's why I'm thinking of adding a solid pair of 6.5", a set of tweeters and a low profile sub.

[mrnix]

Does your M35h have the speakers on the top of the driver and passenger seats? Does it have a the Bose logo on them? I thought M's only shipped one of two ways Bose base with 10 speakers and Bose surround 5.1 with 16 speakers. I could be wrong, but that's the only way I've seen it.

The speakers say 40 max meaning that's the peak output which isn't a lot of power. They probably run at 20 watts RMS which is low, but play fairly loud because they're very efficient. I still don't think adding speakers will be enough, but I've been wrong before.

FWIW I don't think the audio system sounds that bad per se. I think the big issue is it's not loud enough, lacks low end bass, and when you turn up the volume the Bose amps filters kick in to protect the speakers, basically cutting highs and lows and giving extended midrange.

A couple of folks have posted that they intend to upgrade their interior speakers so any info you find is helpful and appreciated.

Hey, very late reply, but here goes.

My M35h does not have speakers on the of the seats and it does not have any Bose logos. I know which one you're referring to - I test drove one like that and I agree, that system is nice and I wouldn't change it. However, the car that I ended up buying has an embarrassingly basic audio system (no idea why Nissan would put something like this in their "luxury" car). It sounds ok, has decent low-end bass but lacks at mid and high end. I want something a bit more balanced, that's why I'm thinking of adding a solid pair of 6.5", a set of tweeters and a low profile sub.

There are 3 different audio systems available in the M. Not sure what the M35 H came with as far as packages, but the base is the 6 speaker (2 in each front door, 1 in each back door), while the 10 speaker comes with the premium package and adds a center speaker in the dash, 1 mid in each door (for a total of 3) and the sub in the rear deck. The deluxe touring package gets the 16 speaker model with the 2 in each front seat and 2 additional small drivers in the rear deck, 1 on each side of the sub.

[Debonair]

There are 3 different audio systems available in the M. Not sure what the M35 H came with as far as packages, but the base is the 6 speaker (2 in each front door, 1 in each back door), while the 10 speaker comes with the premium package and adds a center speaker in the dash, 1 mid in each door (for a total of 3) and the sub in the rear deck. The deluxe touring package gets the 16 speaker model with the 2 in each front seat and 2 additional small drivers in the rear deck, 1 on each side of the sub.

I keep forgetting that the "base" M56 included the Premium Package. I did not know there was a 6 speaker system in the base M37. Good info Mrnix