Bose speakers replaced, impedance matched, my project explained

[Q70sGuy]

So I had a quick fit test run for the front woofer.
If I put the speaker directly onto the original bracket the bigger magnet doesn’t clear the “cover” in the rear of the bracket. Did you cut this out or did you superimpose the supplied spacer onto it?

won’t be completing the install for a little while as I don’t want to work on the car during winter

Based on the wiring diagrams NS02MW-CS is the connector for the front woofer and rear door speaker. The midrange is TK02mbrp. Can be bought on Ali express for dirt cheap for those who can’t buy the premade wiring harness.

[madnorwegian]

You are right about the fit, it is very tight, but I made them fit, i.e. the magnet is pressing against the plastic. I did not use the supplied spacers. Thought about tossing the originals or cutting the back, but somehow forced them to fit. The design is really only to keep any water drops from the Bose speaker's cone which I believe is a paper cone.
Strange about the wiring diagram because my car unexpectedly had different connectors for the front and rear door main speakers, I already listed what I bought. Getting them from Ali express is a great idea.

[Q70sGuy]

Thanks that’s good to know! Maybe there’s some flex to it. I noticed it also covers the connector so I figured water does get around there and didn’t want to cut it.

I haven’t looked at the connector in person yet but from the wiring diagram they just have a different color (white vs brown)… strange that they may be different, I will check and see!

[Q70sGuy]

So it’s finally warm enough. After some fighting I did the front passenger door. Unfortunately the Infinity primus 6x9 are really underwhelming for bass compared to the oem Bose in the right side door. The kenwood on the other hand is much sharper. It was weird to bolt it in but it’s a great midrange.

I don’t think you would remember since it’s been a while but did you compare one door with the other when you did the install?

Do you feel bass is too low with the 6x9 primus? I’m surprised it produces almost nothing but it might be because so little power gets to the big coils?

Anyway I’ll still swap the rest out and see what happens.

[Q70sGuy]

So I did the other door as well now. Honestly there’s zero bass in the front compared to before. I have the bass at max to get it to sound like it did before (bass at 0)
I read your initial post again and you seem to have managed to get bigger bass than before, so I’m not sure what I’ve done wrong. Did you use the crossovers at all on the woofers?

I will say the sound clarity is amazing though volume has also taken a slight hit (to be expected with the bigger coil)

[Q70sGuy]

Ok sorry for triple posting - I can’t find a way to edit previous posts I assume it’s locked out. I think I’ve started to break in the speakers now.

The 6x9s have very clean and clear bass now, but the overall volume is lower than the Bose had. I think it’s a fair trade off - i have to crank the volume higher than usual but I get much cleaner sound AND much wider range on the lows. I used red hot chili peppers “otherside” as my test. With the Bose system you could barely make out the bass guitar when it played some notes and the music was very scratchy. With the new speakers it’s less scratchy and I can finally hear all the notes from the bass guitar.

I’ll be doing the rear doors soon. I look forward to that. I would say it’s a worthwhile improvement - it’s so far been an Easy install, these aren’t very expensive speakers and the small hit in volume is worth the increase in audio clarity. The system is still loud enough.

If I could find a better rear deck sub that I could run on the oem system (with wider range than oem) that’d be the last piece to fix this 16 speaker fiasco

[Ilya]

How much lower volume are we talkin bout? Like 5%? Or like 15%?

[Q70sGuy]

I’ve gotten used to it now but my volume is now consistently 2-3 notches above what I used to keep it at. I’d say maybe 10% less loud at lower volume but if I crank it, it will get louder than I can handle. I didn’t install any of the crossovers though so I think I’ll do that and see if it changes anything.

To be fair, It’s a different experience - I don’t think it’s possible to compare it to the OEM system which has a lot of this low frequency « bass noise » that washes out any sort of clarity and instrument seperation. I really think a better subwoofer would complete this whole thing for me.


If you meet up with the Norwegian fellow and compare the two definitely put your thoughts down here.

[HeyJoeQ70]

Q70sGuy, did you reverse the polarity on the speaker adapters on the 6x9's in the front? Madnorwegian noted that he needed to change the polarity on the adapters to get the speaker polarity correct.

[Q70sGuy]

so I actually tested first by only replacing the speakers in one door and using the balance of the head unit to hear one side vs the other - so even if the polarity was switched it wouldn’t matter. At that point though I think the speakers needed a good break in. I tested polarity individually and made my own harness so Im not worried about that either. I believe the oem 6x9 was really intended to be much more sensitive at producing low frequencies - but sounded sloppy. The bass in the new speaker sounds much tighter - and adjusting the EQ to get it louder works fine too. I’m pretty happy with the upgrade the more I listen to it.

[Q70sGuy]

I replaced the dash speaker today with an extra of the kenwood x2c that I had. The oem is a 4ohm so it works there too. Broke one of the mounting tabs because it literally has zero flex but managed to install it anyway. The x2c is a great speaker but the mounting is awful (designed for Toyota or something) I think it’s doing a much better job than the standard speaker.

[HeyJoeQ70]

I finally completed the speaker swap on my Q70. Thanks again to Madnorwegian for putting in the work on this!

I am going to add some things that I did with my setup that others may find helpful.

On the front 6x9's, I used a heat gun on the speaker mount to reshape the back to fit the speaker. The plastic took the heat well and was easy to mold once it got to temperature. It only took a few minutes per side to do. The only thing that I had a problem with was the plastic really holds in the heat. So, insulated gloves are a must.

The speaker adapter cables for the 6x9's, I was able to de-pin them to swap them to get the polarity set per Madnorwegians' directions.

The front mids, I was able to mount one side using one of the existing screws and I fabricated a bracket to hold the other side securely in place. It really helped to get them focused towards the seating positions since the speaker is physically smaller. The gaps around the speaker I filled with self-adhesive speaker mount foam.

All cables and connectors are wrapped in self-adhesive foam tape to keep rattles at bay. All foam on the speaker mounts was replaced with fresh tape on both the speaker sides and the door sides. Also, anywhere that could have a potential rattle was covered with foam or secured.

Overall, the sound quality is far-far better to my ears. It sounds fuller, richer, more accurate, and packs more punch. It should improve a bit as the drivers break in. On one track, I could feel the bass, which is something the stock Bose couldn't deliver. As far as the output, you have to turn it up a bit more for the same sound level. I will add that the louder it gets the better it sounds. I can't get more than half to 2/3rds volume before it gets too loud, but it stays clear and full. For the investment in dollars and the ease of install, it is really a great upgrade.

Madnorwegian, you rock!

[Ilya]

I finally completed the speaker swap on my Q70. Thanks again to Madnorwegian for putting in the work on this!

I am going to add some things that I did with my setup that others may find helpful.

On the front 6x9's, I used a heat gun on the speaker mount to reshape the back to fit the speaker. The plastic took the heat well and was easy to mold once it got to temperature. It only took a few minutes per side to do. The only thing that I had a problem with was the plastic really holds in the heat. So, insulated gloves are a must.

The speaker adapter cables for the 6x9's, I was able to de-pin them to swap them to get the polarity set per Madnorwegians' directions.

The front mids, I was able to mount one side using one of the existing screws and I fabricated a bracket to hold the other side securely in place. It really helped to get them focused towards the seating positions since the speaker is physically smaller. The gaps around the speaker I filled with self-adhesive speaker mount foam.

All cables and connectors are wrapped in self-adhesive foam tape to keep rattles at bay. All foam on the speaker mounts was replaced with fresh tape on both the speaker sides and the door sides. Also, anywhere that could have a potential rattle was covered with foam or secured.

Overall, the sound quality is far-far better to my ears. It sounds fuller, richer, more accurate, and packs more punch. It should improve a bit as the drivers break in. On one track, I could feel the bass, which is something the stock Bose couldn't deliver. As far as the output, you have to turn it up a bit more for the same sound level. I will add that the louder it gets the better it sounds. I can't get more than half to 2/3rds volume before it gets too loud, but it stays clear and full. For the investment in dollars and the ease of install, it is really a great upgrade.

Madnorwegian, you rock!

Good tips - I need to eventually do this myself!

[Q70sGuy]

That’s more or less my experience. A few things I noticed after much longer time with the system.

The voice and highs are sometimes too loud on the kenwoods. I was able to make this less of an issue by putting the fader one notch to the back. The AV system also seemed to the think the speaker was broken when I installed it with the included frequency blockers, but the speaker was still working.

The oem rear deck woofer is actually quite impressive. i was very wrong about it. I tested it with frequency testers and it can generate down to 20hz and make the entire car shake.

The Infinity door woofers are better at producing all the frequency range compared to stock, but only down to 40hz. I think the actual spec is 50hz. I tested with the frequency testers. That’s the main reason I first felt they produce less bass. The bass that you feel as a vibration is below 40hz or so. If I ever want to upgrade, I’d possibly get Infinity KAPPA which claims to produce down to 20hz. But the KAPPA is triple the price and who knows if they’ll be better.

Ilya, you could change the mid speakers in the front door and get a massive improvement without changing anything else. It is a pain in the a** to mount them though. Mine aren’t well placed, I have to make a bracket like the other guy. Would have wanted to see his install!

[Ilya]

I'd love to see pictures from both of you hahaah.

[Espious]

Have you noticed any problem with the Bose amp having an EQ? I know Bose commonly uses an EQ to make their junk speakers sound better.

[HeyJoeQ70]

After letting the drivers break-in and trying more tweaks, I decided to change up some things. I did some research on different options for the front door midranges. I was looking for a midrange that could go a bit lower to bring up the soundstage. The Kenwoods go from 800Hz-20kHz. I found a couple of sites that talked about a midrange that some said was made as an upgrade for Bose car audio systems. The midrange is the Morel CCWR254. They are a 2.5" driver that goes from 300Hz-18kHz. Their sensitivity is a 1.5db higher. They run about $200 a pair, which is steep. But since I am keeping the car for the foreseeable future, I took a chance and bought a pair.

For the mounting, I used the Bose midranges as the base. The Morel's are 2.5", which fit perfectly inside the ring of the Bose speakers. After a few minutes with a knife and a Dremel, I was able to cut the basket off the Bose driver, put a couple of notches in the face of the frame, dropped the Morels in, then rotated the driver in the frame. I used a couple of very small screws into the frame to hold the drivers in place. Then I used some of the high-density foam tape to further secure the drivers in the frames and to create a gasket between the driver and the speaker grill. The whole assembly went together well and feels solid. I don't remember what NICOClub supports for links, but here is a link to a gallery with a couple of pictures of the original Bose and the modified Morels.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/Hs541Cm

The install onto the doors was much better than the brackets I fabbed for the Kenwoods and uses the factory mounts, obviously.

As far as listening, I like the experience even more. To my ears, the extra low-end on the Morels really lifted up the soundstage. Having a bit more lower-mid helps fill out vocals as well as a lot of strings in classical pieces. It feels even more enveloping to my ears. Overall the Morels have a more laidback sound which I like.

Thanks again, MadNorwegian!

[Ilya]

Ya'll are talented. This is approaching a level I can't reach hah.