Stock Stereo

[carrottop596]

Hi, I am new to this forum so please forgive me if this is a repost.

Some of the amps on the stock Bose speakers have begun to go out and I am looking for a fix. I was thinking I could install an aftermarket deck (one with a built in amp) and rewire the speakers so that they bypass their own amplifiers and go straight to the deck. Does this sound like it would work? Any problems I might run into?
Thanks,
Tim

[TellarHK]

You won't want to keep the original Bose speakers in that case, because the input ohm level on those is (I believe) different from your standard car stereo speaker. The best thing you can probably do is yank the whole system and go with something more standard, if you don't want to hit the junkyards to scavenge.

I think the Bose systems are good, so stick with that if you can get replacement amps.

[evanc]

An aftermarket deck is very easy to put in. The issue comes with the Bose speakers. TellarHK is right about the resistance (ohms) of the Bose speakers compared to what a normal CD deck is compatible with. Therefore, you'll have to buy an adapter to make the Bose speakers work with your deck, or replace all the speakers.

I was in your situation 6 months ago and decided to put in an aftermarket CD and replace the front door speakers with 6.5" aftermarket speakers. To make them fit, I bought the adapters at the following link [http://srqcustoms.3dcartstores.com/Niss ... _p_12.html]. When removing the door speakers, just cut off the harness and wire it directly to the new speaker you are installing. I didn't replace the back speakers and am only using the door speakers, but the site that sells the adapters also sells adapters for the rear speakers too.

Good luck.

[carrottop596]

Where can I purchase replacement amps for the original bose speakers?

[TellarHK]

The only place to get the Bose amps and not get slaughtered on price is likely to be a pick and pull, or eBay.

[dantesdoom]

Where can I purchase replacement amps for the original bose speakers?

Let me be straight with you here...I redid mine, wire and and all. If you are down to the amps for the speakers....that means you can SEE the speakers....and it would be much better to replace them then as the Bose speakers are complete crap anyways and you probably wont like what your getting out of 15+ year old speakers. Simply, just remove some panels, run new wire (easier than it sounds), splice in the new speakers, hook these wires to the new radio pigtail. Get an antenna adapter, and a wiring harness adapter ( ziptie the Bose connector back and electrical tape off). Use the power and ground wires off this adapter to hook onto the new radio pigtail. Hook up the antenna. This will basically allow you to convert the old Bose system to a single DIN setup with modern connectors using the old harness. The next time you replace it, it will be plug and play. If you have any questions ask me.....its the one thing i know like the back of my hand on these cars.

[TellarHK]

I would disagree that the stock speakers sound bad due to age. I have a '94 Infiniti Q45 with the original Bose system that still sounds great without a crackle or pop, and my roommate just bought a '93 Z with the Bose system which also seems to be in good shape so far. The Bose systems actually work very well when they're in good shape and properly tuned, and it's one thing I have never planned on replacing in my cars unless or until something does fail and I can't find replacement parts.

[carrottop596]

Lets say that replacing the speakers is not an option for me right now. What else can I do? Would it make sense to put in a standalone amplifier that could run at 2 ohm to connect a new deck to the speakers?

[dantesdoom]

I would disagree that the stock speakers sound bad due to age. I have a '94 Infiniti Q45 with the original Bose system that still sounds great without a crackle or pop, and my roommate just bought a '93 Z with the Bose system which also seems to be in good shape so far. The Bose systems actually work very well when they're in good shape and properly tuned, and it's one thing I have never planned on replacing in my cars unless or until something does fail and I can't find replacement parts.

Well from the number of Zs i have been in, they just dont have the quality they did in the 90s. The problem is, most of the arent in good shape like you noted. Upgrading the system will bring it up to current specs and clarity, which most people are used to. And maybe i overstepped calling it crap, but they sounded bad enough it wasnt an option to leave them in my car.

Lets say that replacing the speakers is not an option for me right now. What else can I do? Would it make sense to put in a standalone amplifier that could run at 2 ohm to connect a new deck to the speakers?

The only problem comes from the fact that you are buying something new to salvage a really old audio system. I mean, i got mine on sale, but i got kenwood shallow mount speakers for 100 bucks from bestbuy.

What kind of amp are you planning to buy...brand/cost?

[evanc]

I believe the Bose speakers are 1 ohm, so you'd have to find an amp that can do that. There aren't many (if any) amps that are capable of that except for dedicated subwoofer amps that don't have the sound quality of a normal full range speaker amplifier.

Call up the guys at Crutchfield (www.crutchfield.com) - they can give you some good advice. If you also buy a CD player through them, they'll throw in the antenna adapter and other harnesses for free. They'll also give you free tech support and detailed instructions on how to install the CD player (and speakers if you buy them too).

[Ace2cool]

I would disagree that the stock speakers sound bad due to age. I have a '94 Infiniti Q45 with the original Bose system that still sounds great without a crackle or pop, and my roommate just bought a '93 Z with the Bose system which also seems to be in good shape so far. The Bose systems actually work very well when they're in good shape and properly tuned, and it's one thing I have never planned on replacing in my cars unless or until something does fail and I can't find replacement parts.

I'm a complete audio nut. The Bose system is absolute crap. It sounds "good enough" for a stock system. That's about as far as I will bend on that. Whomever thought it was a good idea to change 6.5" speakers all around to 4.24" speakers all around and call it an "upgrade" needs to be dragged out behind the shed and shot. It's terrible.

I replaced all my speakers with $45 a pair 5.5" speakers from WalMart (so $90 total) and bypassed the Blowse amps at the connectors, installed an aftermarket head unit, and it sounds 93487592745961750891473 times better.

[dantesdoom]

I would disagree that the stock speakers sound bad due to age. I have a '94 Infiniti Q45 with the original Bose system that still sounds great without a crackle or pop, and my roommate just bought a '93 Z with the Bose system which also seems to be in good shape so far. The Bose systems actually work very well when they're in good shape and properly tuned, and it's one thing I have never planned on replacing in my cars unless or until something does fail and I can't find replacement parts.

I'm a complete audio nut. The Bose system is absolute crap. It sounds "good enough" for a stock system. That's about as far as I will bend on that. Whomever thought it was a good idea to change 6.5" speakers all around to 4.24" speakers all around and call it an "upgrade" needs to be dragged out behind the shed and shot. It's terrible.

I replaced all my speakers with $45 a pair 5.5" speakers from WalMart (so $90 total) and bypassed the Blowse amps at the connectors, installed an aftermarket head unit, and it sounds 93487592745961750891473 times better.

Thats what i was trying to get across to him. If you are going to be messing with it and spending money...best to trash the amp idea and just buy speakers.

[raycobra02]

I am new to this forum stuff. I have been a Z owner for about a year and I could really use some help. I have done a lot of research on this and I own a 1991 300zx TT with a bose system. I hooked up everything correctly (hopefully) to the harness (all the wires, speaker wires to the RCA preamp) but I don't use the radio so I didn't bother plugging in the two prong antenna because when I looked online for the adapter, there was weird one where the two prong split into the normal/common adapter and some other thing which I didn't understand. But all the cable are connected even the ground for the amp and turn on BUT my aftermarket kenwood will not turn on. Does the antenna have something to do with this? I don't understand why but when I plugged the original bose back in to see if I could figure the problem out and it would not turn on without the two prong antenna being plugged in. Kind of weird unless the antenna serves more than the purpose of being just an antenna. Or should I separately wire the power and ground directly to battery? Also the stock bose had a ground wire on the back harness and under it attached to the headunit, do I nee to use that as well?Thanks for all you help guys.

[ReconZ]

I could be mistaken, but there's an additional ground for the antenna. When you connected the Bose back in with the antenna, it may have grounded the unit. Better check the original ground that's connected to the chassis behind the head unit (when in doubt, ground it out).

[mikee5891]

I have a 1990 300zx 2+2 and I'm trying to install an aftermarket head unit but I just cannot figure it out for the life of me. This is not the first system i've installed but a bose 5 speaker system is a lot different than others. I'm trying to install a Pioneer DEH-P3100UB headunit. Also, how would I go about installing and wiring up the aftermarket speakers? I have the 4 inch in the front and the longer oval ones in the rear.