Will any type speaker work?

[q45sound]

I was just wondering, when putting in new speakers into my !990 Infiniti Q45, do I still have to use the Bose brand speakers or can I use any brand of speaker? If I can use just a select few then which ones?

[Jesda]

Bose = 1.5ohmsMost Car Speakers = 4 ohmsMost Home Speakers = 8ohms

Some have installed 4ohm speakers without trouble. *shrug*

[PoorManQ45]

you can use any speaker brand you want.

Like I have said before. Your amp(s) will have extended life expectancies if you run them at a higher Ohm load than they are intended for.

[elwesso]

Yes, you can use other ones.. 2 ohm speakers work great... However, some may not have as good bass....

[Jesda]

Jeff Williams uses 4-ohm speakers in his Q. You'll mostly run into balance and equalization problems.-------------------------------------------------------http://wolfstone.halloweenhost....html

"Can you survive impedance mismatch?

I am convinced that the most common question is not "how can I properly match amplifier and speaker impedance?", but "how much of an impedance mismatch can I get away with before something explodes?"

According to legend, solid state (transistor) amplifiers can drive higher impedances than their rating demands. So a transistor amp with a label saying "4-ohm" will drive 4, 8, and 16 ohms with no troubles. You can go up but not down. Don't try 2 ohms.

Older legends say that tube amplifiers can drive lower impedances than their rating demands. So a tube amp with a label saying "8-ohm" may drive 4 and 8 ohms. You can go down but not up. Don't try 16 ohms. And never run a tube amplifier without speakers attached. Other legends of the tube age say that any attempt to use a tube amp with speakers of different impedance may cause damage to the amplifier.

Honestly, you are better off with a proper match. Just because your tube amp with 8-ohm output survives driving a 4-ohm speaker doesn't mean that it likes driving that load. You are probably reducing the life time of the amp. "

[PoorManQ45]

I use, or rather, was using (Q hasn't ran in 2 months) 4 Ohms speakers on the Bose amps. They played fine. IMO, they sounded much more "crisp" at high volumes.

Jesda: Nice link there, but it doesn't really give much info relating to this issue.

An amp rated at 1 Ohm can be used to power a 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 Ohm speaker. The most noticeable difference between using the Higher Ohm speakers is that the Amp "puts-out" less Wattage than if it were Used with 1 Ohm speakers. A benefit of Higher than recommended Ohm loads is that the Amp will run cooler.

I would suggest that you try to find a set of speakers that are rated at 1 or 2 Ohms. If these can't be had for a descent price, go with 4 Ohm speakers.

[Jesda]

Lets use a plumbling analogy.Think pipe (impedance), pump (amp) and water (flow of electricity).

Most folks (who spend all day at work listening to clock radios) won't notice the difference in power until one day its sunny outside, and they choose to open all the windows and sunroof and drive down the interstate with the wind blowing. With 4 ohm speakers, you start to seriously notice reduced output, turn it up more, and work the amp harder anyway.

-Jesda

[msscomm]

You could’a been a contenduh !

BOSE 2 Ohm 6X9s - BRAND NEW - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...%3AIT

Just happened to notice them while I was waiting for my new replacements direct from Bose. The Bose folks said the units on Ebay were NOT a match (got the info from the seller) for the infiniti specs, but I’ll bet they would have worked !

FYI - Bose does NOT “recone” the 6X9, they use new speakers when shipping refurbs, and try to send NEW amps - they have, and will, send rebuilt amps if they have no new ones in stock.

As an aside - the amp #s are the same for the 96 as the 94 - since you run into the ‘Must Be Older Then 10 Years Rule’ to deal with Bose direct - it is a way around that SNAFU - meaning the HU output is the same.

FYI - we had switched amps and definitely narrowed it down to bad speakers - but a very interesting issue is the voice coil cover can, evidently, work loose and cause bass gabarge-o at higher volumes by flapping against the speaker cone - the carstereohelp.com site mentions just using 5 minute epoxy to reattach it and avoid this problem.
Modified by msscomm at 11:10 AM 11/15/2004

[q45sound]

Thanks for the info all it's been REAL helpful now I can choose not solely by brand but ohm I had no idea that a certain "ohm" works better than others. Thanks again.

[PoorManQ45]

It's not that a certain Ohm works better than another.

I think what Jesda was trying to say is that the amp pushes less power to the speakers when a higher than rated Ohm load is used.

Anyway.... Get whatever speakers you'd like. With Coaxials and/or 3-Ways the most important thing to look at is Sensitivity. ANything above 92 DB 1w/1w will play very loud with the Bose amps.

[q45sound]

Thanks for the info again. Now this time though(he he) I dont know what a "DB" is or 1w/1w or ohm mean but form what I heard I think I would go for 1/2-ohm, 2-way speakers, maybe 3-way. Also, where do I look to tell what "ohm" it is? Thanks for info. again veerry helpful.

[PoorManQ45]

Thanks for the info again. Now this time though(he he) I dont know what a "DB" is or 1w/1w or ohm mean but form what I heard I think I would go for 1/2-ohm, 2-way speakers, maybe 3-way. Also, where do I look to tell what "ohm" it is? Thanks for info. again veerry helpful.

DB stands for Decibel. 1w/1m Means the Speaker is fed one electrical watt(from amp) and the Decibel output is measured at one meter.

An Ohm is a measure of electrical resistance, The word Ohm comes from Georg Simon Ohm. He is given credit for "defining" the laws of electricity. They are refered to as "Ohm's Law" http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-....html

Here's webster's definition:

Ohm \Ohm\, n. [So called from the German electrician, G.S. Ohm.] (Elec.) The standard unit in the measure of electrical resistance, being the resistance of a circuit in which a potential difference of one volt produces a current of one amp['e]re. As defined by the International Electrical Congress in 1893, and by United States Statute, it is a resistance substantially equal to 10^9 units of resistance of the C.G.S. system of electro-magnetic units, and is represented by the resistance offered to an unvarying electric current by a column of mercury at the temperature of melting ice 14.4521 grams in mass, of a constant cross-sectional area, and of the length of 106.3 centimeters. As thus defined it is called the international ohm.