Audio System from scratch.. Bye bye Bose..
 

So, I have a Touring 370Z and I'm considering removing all my Bose system so I can install a new headunit, some nice 4-way 6.5" speakers in the doors, remove the rear speakers or just leave them there but unplugged and changing the subwoofer...

I would love to spend the least amount of cash possible on this... Has anyone considered using any of these two alternatives for a subwoofer replacement..?? Both of these options are a built-in amp/woofer setup.. They look like good alternatives and occupy very little space...

I would appreciate your thoughts...

Kenwood KSC-SW10 OR JVC CS-DA1

And one question in the process.. What would I do with the front tweeters (the ones in the dash by the windshield)..?? can I forget about those..?? Thanks..!

Go with the kenwood and not to be rude but please use the search button a lot of talk has been going on with taking out the bose system and starting over.

I've read on it and searched.. My question was mainly about the amp/woofer combo items that I just found..

And I honestly don't know what to do with the tweeters on the dashboard...

Basically if you are going to start over than start over. Buy a nice set of components such as the polk mm series that include a set of tweeters that you would put in place of the old ones. Also make sure to run new wire to all the speakers and use the new crossovers that they include. Amps for a nice small all channel amp look at the alpine pdx 5 that way you can bridge the 4 channels to two and send more power to the front speakers and have a channel for the sub. Install your new head unit and run rca wires from there to the new amp. Take the stock amps and sub out as they will be worthless. Hope that helps you in the right direction. If you need more details or have more questions please ask.

Would it be smart to forget about the tweeters, simply install the headunit, get some nice 6.5" 4-way speakers for the doors, power those speakers only with the headunit outputs, and use the Kenwood Amp/Woofer unit I asked about as my subwoofer and that's it..??

I appreciate your help...

I just gutted the old tweets and used their frame as a base for my kicker tweets. If you are just looking for a good setup and not looking for perfection, the ampsub combos will make life a little easier. If you haven't seen slikniks tutorial, look for it. I followed his lead and everything worked well. Except for forgetting to hook up the power antenna wire. Bigaudio troubleshot that one. Good luck!

Go with the components. You will thank me. The wire is easy to run.

If it helps, this is what I'm working on right now:

Been building custom sub-box in the spare tire to replace the Bose sub, which contains a Pioneer 10" shallow sub.
Pioneer 6.75" components to go in the doors and tweeters on the dash.
Alpine MRP-F300 to power all three: 50 watts to the components and bridging the 3/4 channels to power the sub which is 150 watts.
AudioControl LC6i to clean up the signals from the Bose amp then to the Alpine amp.
Continue to use the Bose head unit for now; will add a new head unit later.
All the pieces cost me around $440.
The wiring, building the box...probably around $100 because I'm reusing some wiring, adding in some new wiring/pieces, the MDF, liquid nails, screws, poly-fill, broken bits, etc.

By components you mean the tweeters..?? I apologize for the ignorance... besides, English is not my first language... Thanks..

Yes components are separate mids and tweets. Just like in your car now.

Sounds like you know how to stretch a dollar. I spent about 125 on my installation parts. not including my box.

Thanks for your input..

I'm actually trying to not buy a woofer and a separate amplifier, the build a custom box, etc.....

I was looking into using an amp/woofer combo like the ones I listed on the first post of this thread... I think it will suit my bass needs...

My other issue is on what to do for the speakers in the front and whether to use the tweeters or simply forget about them and use 4-way speakers in the doors powered directly from the headunit with no amp for the speakers... Not sure how that setup would sound...

Kind of hard to answer. The 4 ways will definately sound different than the components. Components really need an amp too.The components put the sound in front of you, versus below you for the 4 ways. Look if you want to go with the 4 ways and no amp, you can always change it later. Every panel in the car is easy to remove. Gotta fly. Leaving work. Good luck!

I searched high and low on the internet to find the lowest prices on my equipment.
In my old WRX, I was running components off the Pioneer headunit without any complaints. It probably could've sounded better and cleaner with a separate amp. You could do your 4-ways and always add separate tweeters later with an inline high-pass filter. I personal think with the 4-ways being low, you won't hear the high's anymore like you do now. Just my thoughts. Just so you know, you can pick up some pretty expensive/quality component speakers pretty cheap if you search long enough. The Pioneers I bought have MSRP of $240...which I found for $118 w/shipping on Ebay.

PTY, I was in the same place as you about 6 months ago. This is what I did, and I love it. I left the tweeters alone. I bought some 6.5 2-way door speakers by Pioneer. I bought the Kenwood DDX 514. I also bought the Boss Bass 1200 on Amazon for about 150 (its an all in one amp and sub).

The Kenwood powers the pioneer door speakers and the tweeters, and the sub is plugged into the head unit through RCA's. The whole system cost me about 700 including installation. Its low profile and very nice. It really does sound good, and you can turn everything up loud

If you are looking for simple solution with not a lot of wires and under 1000 for everything, look into going this route.


BTW, in case anyone bashes my suggestions, just know I used to have a JL Audio 10 W7 and their matching 500/1 mono amp. That is the best amp sub combo in the world and just those two things ran me 1000$. I have heard the best, and my setup may not be the "top of the line", but coming from experience it is very nice.

Wow, nice suggestion.. I've already read various comments about the Boss Bass1200 and nothing but good words about it...

I didn't know it was an option to keep the stock tweeters.. How exactly are tweeters wired..?? Not familiar with this.. I've wired speakers to headunits before but always using 4-way or 5-way speakers directly hooked up to the HU but i've never used tweeters to filter out the high frequencies...

So, if I swap my door speakers, no need to swap the tweeters..?? Some lights on this appreciated...

If you are only changing the door speakers, I believe your wiring adapter should handle the connection to the stock tweets.

I would not recommend using a cheap brand such as cheap in such a nice car. Also I would not recommend using the stock tweeters with any speaker. It would be 100 times better just to use the tweeters that are included in a component set.

:iagree:

Are you talking about the Boss Bass1200..??

So you think I would be better off with the Kenwood I listed on the first post..??

didn't realize that my setup was for a non bose. I am not really sure how the wiring would work as far as adding a powered sub, getting new door speakers/ kepping the tweeters. Listen to these other guys as far as that is concerned. I was just putting in my .02 as far as helping someone out who wanted something simple and cheap for the time being.

One more thing about a powered sub, whether it is the boss, the infiniti basslink, the kenwood you chose, etc. 1. They are easy to remove 2. they take up a small amount of space 3. they are rugged so you can ususally cover them with groceries, suitcases, etc and they wont be harmed. 4. if you ssytem gets stolen, the thief can easily just take your sub and he doesnt have to rip anything out of your car, he can just grab and go. 5. most of those are only 200 bucks, so at worst your out 200.

Will i be switching to a zenclosure box and a nicer sub later, absolutely. But for right now, if you are like me, I promise you will not be dissapointed with a powered sub. For 150-200$, i get good bass from hip hop, rap, and techno and have a durable unit that is easy to move or take out. Also, these powered units wont draw a lot off yor battery.

Yes 100 times better. Anything like boss, pyle, pyramid any of the cheap stuff is not worth even a second look. Do not go cheap.

Can't comment on Boss, never had it. I will say it all depends on your needs and your budget. I must say i've heard lesser priced systems sound good enough for the average person. If you ask someone who has a trained ear or someone who has owned an ideal setup, their opinion is going to be biased. Just as if you have always owned a ferrari, you might consider our cars subpar. In the end whatever brand you go with will definately sound better than the crap that is in it now. Nobody can argue that.

On another note. The system in my car was previously in my 350. The tweets are in a different location and I don't have rear speakers now. I also bought better subs. This system is the best sounding one I've ever owned. In the 350 it was very disappointing. There are many factors that make a system sound awesome. Just keep that in mind.

Does anybody know how much watts RMS are the stock Bose subs..??

I mean, combined or each one..??

That could help on the decision making process.. hehe.. Thanks again!

I have no idea can not be much considering the size of the amp. Keep in mind even aftermarket sub pushing 110 watts is going to sound better than those things.

big,

How is the stock bose sub system, since Im not going to be playing crazy and loud music I was thinking about just purchasing a stock bose sub system and adding new componets? I just want the setup to sound nice in the car nothing like license plate rattling?

Im have a opportunity to purchase just the sub system from some one for a good deal..?

Thanks in advance
Huy

Honestly man I would not even give it the honor of calling it a sub nor calling the bose system a system at all. It would not even be that easy to install the bose sub and amp. Plus I am not sure you could even install the bose stuff with a base head unit. Do yourself a huge favor and stop looking at what you could try to do with bose and buy something real.

You paid alot of money to just make the bose audio go bye bye. This is why I bought a base model. I am making brakes, wheels and audio go bye bye and after market say hello!

Man, I have one question about this post...

When you said 110 watts here, did you mean 110W RMS or did you mean 110W max power...??

As in the subwoofer i'm using is the Kenwood KSC-SW10 amp/sub combo. Max power is 150W but the RMS watts will be less of course...

Just wondering... Thanks again for your help..

Max power is something that your amp will never produce. RMS power is what your amp will probably put out at full gain and full volume but it will probably never get there because of gain settings and you are not running your system at full volume all the time.

I'm asking the question because now I'm afraid that I probably got a subwoofer that will produce less bass than the stock Bose...

This Kenwood sub/amp combo is 150W max power but it says the built-in amp is 38W RMS...

Any input here?

I actually have first hand experience with one of those units, u get what you pay for, I put one in a 70 chevelle and I wasnt impressed, It does have decent output using a passive radiator to increase output. For 250 you could have gotten a single 10 and amp that would more than outperform that. a 5x7 just cant extend low enough to feel

I finally got around to hooking everything up weekend before last. To give you an idea of the power and all, I have the amp gains set to nominal-no additional wattage turned up from there. I also have the LC6 sub channel set to 50/50. The bass is right where I want it, and the volume control on the Bose headunit never goes over 20 as anything above that is too loud for my ears to handle. If I turn the sub gains up, the sub will hit extremely hard; too much for my tastes, too much rattle, and my box is under spec so I don't want to push it.

Working on a solution for the 370Z Subwoofer addition.

The Kenwood KSC-SW10 actually consists of two 5x7 subwoofers.. I think that's even bigger than the stock Bose subwoofers... At least same surface area..

ALMOST DONE

http://www.wickedcas.com/gallery/d/11600-3/DSCN0055.JPG

got me at the edge of my seat...literally haha

Can't wait to see the sticker price...shock that is.

That's not very nice... :tup: