Why are Bose systems hated?

theDreamer · 05-07-2009, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awesomez

If you put the CD in, or XM or rip the song on the HD it will not do justice to this optional Bose setup. I don't know what stock system supports but my guess is not much more then 128kbps.

On my Bose with CF card I am hearing sounds in songs that I didn't even know existed. If you don't plan on using CF card, don't bother going for Bose.

Just a quick note about the CD v. XM v. rip.
The CD will be the best quality unless you do a lossless rip to your compact flash card, which it sounds like you have but CD is still technically better. I rip all my music at lossless WMA which makes it maybe 1% less than a CD quality but I am to lazy to get that 1% back. :P

Also, the base stereo can only handle CDs or Auxiliary input but the limiting factor is not the head unit but the speakers. They have no lows and the highs are pinched.

Bster · 05-06-2009, 10:45 PM

Whats a CF card and is it a standard item in our Zs?

Cyberium · 05-06-2009, 11:31 PM

Yes, please give more detail on this "CF card"

I really don't want to rip out my bose system which I paid extra for. If there is a miracle card to really open the bose system up, I want details.

molamann · 05-07-2009, 12:26 AM

Compact flash card

awesomez · 05-07-2009, 08:10 AM

32 kbit/s – MW (AM) quality
96 kbit/s – FM quality
128–160 kbit/s – Standard Bitrate quality - probaby stock 370Z system
192 kbit/s – DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) XM (but not quite. depends on channel and reception)
224–320 kbit/s – Near CD quality

For me CDs do not play anywhere near 300 kbps or CF Card quality for some reason. This is the CF card I bought: Newegg.com - Kingston 4GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card Model CF/4GB - Flash Memory
You will also need a card reader and save high quality MP3s to it. Do a lossless rip as theDreamer said from a CD or download on internet. Plug it in and the Bose system becomes alive. The switching between songs is instant, not like with Musicbox or CD or XM where there is a little lag. Full text is available including file name on the screen if you have navigation.

fly yellow · 05-17-2009, 12:13 PM

In my opinion BOSE is to stereos what Rolex is to watches. It's the high end brand that the general public thinks is the best, but afficianados know that there is better stuff out there. There is a marketing strategy to Nissan putting Bose systems in their higher end cars. They are assuming (usually correctly) that older customers will be buying the car with no intention on upgrading and they will recognize the BOSE name as being "high end". This is the same reason that they use the Rockford Fosgate systems in the Sentra and Exterra, because those cars are typically bought by younger people, and they tend to be more in to car stereos and to them the Rockford Fosgate name has more street cred.

Having said all that, I tend to just buy the best I can afford that comes with the car. I rarely keep a car longer than 3 years and I'm not going to spend a ton of money on something that I won't get any return on. I have the Nav system and the sound is definitely something I can live with, although I once had a Spec-V Sentra with a Rockford Fosgate and it did sound much better. I do think that Nissan's ipod interface is one of the best in the business for stock radios. If I were 15-20 years younger and I planned on keeping the car for 6 or 7 years, I would have bought a base model with sport package and gone nuts with the stereo and interior.

Let me give Bose props for one thing, the best customer service I have ever seen. About 6 years ago I bought a Mitsubishi big screen and a Bose Lifestyle system at a high end TV store. I live in smaller places and the Bose does get good sound through tiny speakers. I had a ton of trouble with the Bose system and had to send it back 3 times. The third time was out of warranty, but they covered it anyway. Four years after I bought it I went back to the same store to upgrade the TV. I told the salesman about the problems I had with the Bose system and he had the district manager get in touch with me. After hearing of my troubles the guy sent me a brand new version of Bose's latest Lifestyle system and had a guy come out and custom install it. This was like a $3500 value and I only paid like $2000 for the original system. The new system has been trouble free. There is better stuff out there for the money, but they have great customer service.

nightfire · 07-20-2009, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awesomez

32 kbit/s – MW (AM) quality
96 kbit/s – FM quality
128–160 kbit/s – Standard Bitrate quality - probaby stock 370Z system
192 kbit/s – DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) XM (but not quite. depends on channel and reception)
224–320 kbit/s – Near CD quality

For me CDs do not play anywhere near 300 kbps or CF Card quality for some reason. This is the CF card I bought: Newegg.com - Kingston 4GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card Model CF/4GB - Flash Memory
You will also need a card reader and save high quality MP3s to it. Do a lossless rip as theDreamer said from a CD or download on internet. Plug it in and the Bose system becomes alive. The switching between songs is instant, not like with Musicbox or CD or XM where there is a little lag. Full text is available including file name on the screen if you have navigation.

I'm not familiar at all with CF cards or card readers etc. So you put the CF card in the card reader and then the card reader has plugs on it that plugs into the car just like an MP3 player? Also how are the downloaded songs transferred to the card? I'm guessing the card reader plugs right into a computer as well?

FuszNissan · 05-19-2009, 09:02 AM

NO Highs, NO Lows, Must be Bose!

caneman88 · 05-19-2009, 05:31 PM

Rolex is the best watch Bose is not the best audio but pretty good

par4bmw · 05-19-2009, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caneman88

Rolex is the best watch Bose is not the best audio but pretty good

I agree with the Rolex analogy. Rolex is a pretty good watch, but by no means the best. Patek, JLC, IWC... and many other watch houses produce a craftsmanship well beyond Rolex. Rolex is just the leader in marketing -- like Bose.

I bought a Rolex for my wife, so I am not slamming the brand.

Anatoray · 05-21-2009, 12:03 PM

Rolex actually has something unique, which is the Swiss motion that very few brands have, and I believe it is the best Swiss motion rated at 7 ticks per second? Basically it ticks in such a way that it appears to be one constant smooth motion.

I would relate Rolex to Apple more than anything else, due to their amount of control over their marketing. Like Apple, they only sell their products through select retailers, and have strict price control. They never go on sale, and retain their value. Dealers are not allowed to undercut prices, and actually cannot advertise the Rolex name online. Only recently have they been allowed to give small discounts due to the economy hurting sales, but it's nothing spectacular.

Like some have said though, they are not the best, just the best marketed high end watch. I am biased towards Paddock, which I guess you could say is the TRUE Bose of watches. 250,000 dollars for a watch face with a LEATHER band. Now there's a rip off for a name.

bigaudiofanat · 07-21-2009, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anatoray

Rolex actually has something unique, which is the Swiss motion that very few brands have, and I believe it is the best Swiss motion rated at 7 ticks per second? Basically it ticks in such a way that it appears to be one constant smooth motion.

I would relate Rolex to Apple more than anything else, due to their amount of control over their marketing. Like Apple, they only sell their products through select retailers, and have strict price control. They never go on sale, and retain their value. Dealers are not allowed to undercut prices, and actually cannot advertise the Rolex name online. Only recently have they been allowed to give small discounts due to the economy hurting sales, but it's nothing spectacular.

Like some have said though, they are not the best, just the best marketed high end watch. I am biased towards Paddock, which I guess you could say is the TRUE Bose of watches. 250,000 dollars for a watch face with a LEATHER band. Now there's a rip off for a name.

I have to highly disagree, apple and the apple ipod have been taking over the market, the ipod is the number one rated mp3 player and has been for over 6 years now. They hold there value tremendously and also run a lot longer than other cheap brands. IMO it is the best one out there I also own a apple powerbook 64 laptop, it is 3 years old had 0 trouble with it and it has been dropped 3 times by myself. My next purchase will be a new one, once you try an apple out and find out how well they are made you will not want to go back and you will see were spending the extra money is well worth it. Just my 0.02

theDreamer · 07-21-2009, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigaudiofanat

I have to highly disagree, apple and the apple ipod have been taking over the market, the ipod is the number one rated mp3 player and has been for over 6 years now. They hold there value tremendously and also run a lot longer than other cheap brands. IMO it is the best one out there I also own a apple powerbook 64 laptop, it is 3 years old had 0 trouble with it and it has been dropped 3 times by myself. My next purchase will be a new one, once you try an apple out and find out how well they are made you will not want to go back and you will see were spending the extra money is well worth it. Just my 0.02

Actually, yes/no.
The iPod has taken over the market but not because of it being good or "better" than others. It is because of iTunes and the ease of use for the average consumers. The iPod was very close to dieing just like a few previous MP3 players before it, but it brought iTunes and the music industry to the table and everything changed. They were the earliest to centralize the control of buying/syncing music, and controlled it so well that people thought it was perfect.

Yet now people can buy music from many online retailers, just drag and drop music onto an MP3 player with no thought of format. The idea of iTunes will continue because of the iPhone & the applications, but when I am only able to sync my music with one computer I will pass. I can take my Archos to any computer, drag the music on or off and add anything else I want very quickly, and all without having to install any extra software to do so.

Edit:
On the comment about spending 10k on a BOSE system years ago, that would have been money well spent then. They sold out in the past few years and have gone down hill, quickly. Now I am not saying they are horrible, but for the price per dollar you can purchase much better sound systems. Bose quality has fallen over the past years while the industry has moved forward to better technology and higher standards. Bose took a new turn with size, and found that people like small out of the way sound systems, but can lack the ear for quality.

bigaudiofanat · 07-21-2009, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theDreamer

Actually, yes/no.
The iPod has taken over the market but not because of it being good or "better" than others. It is because of iTunes and the ease of use for the average consumers. The iPod was very close to dieing just like a few previous MP3 players before it, but it brought iTunes and the music industry to the table and everything changed. They were the earliest to centralize the control of buying/syncing music, and controlled it so well that people thought it was perfect.

Yet now people can buy music from many online retailers, just drag and drop music onto an MP3 player with no thought of format. The idea of iTunes will continue because of the iPhone & the applications, but when I am only able to sync my music with one computer I will pass. I can take my Archos to any computer, drag the music on or off and add anything else I want very quickly, and all without having to install any extra software to do so.

Edit:
On the comment about spending 10k on a BOSE system years ago, that would have been money well spent then. They sold out in the past few years and have gone down hill, quickly. Now I am not saying they are horrible, but for the price per dollar you can purchase much better sound systems. Bose quality has fallen over the past years while the industry has moved forward to better technology and higher standards. Bose took a new turn with size, and found that people like small out of the way sound systems, but can lack the ear for quality.

Well that is good and all but also illegal, copying and pasting to other computers and sharing and all is just as bad as downloading the song from the internet. It is easily able to be done all you have to do is select let me manualy manage my library and ipod. But me I want quality not quantity and all my music is categorized in itunes it simply can not be beat.. It is the best program for organizing and finding your music I can have a song looked up in as little as 5 seconds. When you do not care about how many songs and start worrying about what format is the music in and what bit rate than you will not want to just grab any song from just any computer.

theDreamer · 07-21-2009, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigaudiofanat

Well that is good and all but also illegal, copying and pasting to other computers and sharing and all is just as bad as downloading the song from the internet. It is easily able to be done all you have to do is select let me manualy manage my library and ipod. But me I want quality not quantity and all my music is categorized in itunes it simply can not be beat.. It is the best program for organizing and finding your music I can have a song looked up in as little as 5 seconds. When you do not care about how many songs and start worrying about what format is the music in and what bit rate than you will not want to just grab any song from just any computer.

Ummm...never said I want quantity.
I only buy CDs for the best quality, use only WMA Loseless. Also, I have probably four computers and being able to drag and drop my music for my needs is perfect. Also, iTunes is actually the slowest in media management. It has the bigger foot print of an install and usage, it has the slowest interface. Your best programs are Foobar2000 & Media Monkey (a few others but require user work).

05-06-2009, 10:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
Bster Base Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Singapore Posts: 174 Drives: '09 PW Z34 Manual Rep Power: 18	Whats a CF card and is it a standard item in our Zs? __________________ TEIN Monoflex with EDFC \| H&R 20mm Spacer \| SPC Rear Camber \| HKS Hi-Power \| Berks High Flow Cat \| Stillen G3 \| EVO R Rear Diffuser \| Blacked out headlights \| Z1 34Row Cooler \| Z1 SS Brake lines

05-07-2009, 08:10 AM	#5 (permalink)
awesomez Base Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: VA Posts: 199 Drives: 09 370Z Touring 7AT Rep Power: 18	32 kbit/s – MW (AM) quality 96 kbit/s – FM quality 128–160 kbit/s – Standard Bitrate quality - probaby stock 370Z system 192 kbit/s – DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) XM (but not quite. depends on channel and reception) 224–320 kbit/s – Near CD quality For me CDs do not play anywhere near 300 kbps or CF Card quality for some reason. This is the CF card I bought: Newegg.com - Kingston 4GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card Model CF/4GB - Flash Memory You will also need a card reader and save high quality MP3s to it. Do a lossless rip as theDreamer said from a CD or download on internet. Plug it in and the Bose system becomes alive. The switching between songs is instant, not like with Musicbox or CD or XM where there is a little lag. Full text is available including file name on the screen if you have navigation. Last edited by awesomez; 05-07-2009 at 08:14 AM.

05-19-2009, 09:02 AM	#8 (permalink)
FuszNissan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2009 Location: St. Louis Posts: 14,275 Drives: Pure Sex Rep Power: 544	NO Highs, NO Lows, Must be Bose! __________________ Mods: Too Many to list! LouFuszNissan ZDAYZ 2012

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05-06-2009, 11:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
Cyberium Enthusiast Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Vermont Posts: 379 Drives: 370z Touring \| Sport Rep Power: 18	Yes, please give more detail on this "CF card" I really don't want to rip out my bose system which I paid extra for. If there is a miracle card to really open the bose system up, I want details.

05-07-2009, 12:26 AM	#4 (permalink)
molamann A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,666 Drives: 370Z with NAVVVVV Rep Power: 286	Compact flash card

05-17-2009, 12:13 PM	#6 (permalink)
fly yellow Enthusiast Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 455 Drives: 09 yellow 370z Rep Power: 266	In my opinion BOSE is to stereos what Rolex is to watches. It's the high end brand that the general public thinks is the best, but afficianados know that there is better stuff out there. There is a marketing strategy to Nissan putting Bose systems in their higher end cars. They are assuming (usually correctly) that older customers will be buying the car with no intention on upgrading and they will recognize the BOSE name as being "high end". This is the same reason that they use the Rockford Fosgate systems in the Sentra and Exterra, because those cars are typically bought by younger people, and they tend to be more in to car stereos and to them the Rockford Fosgate name has more street cred. Having said all that, I tend to just buy the best I can afford that comes with the car. I rarely keep a car longer than 3 years and I'm not going to spend a ton of money on something that I won't get any return on. I have the Nav system and the sound is definitely something I can live with, although I once had a Spec-V Sentra with a Rockford Fosgate and it did sound much better. I do think that Nissan's ipod interface is one of the best in the business for stock radios. If I were 15-20 years younger and I planned on keeping the car for 6 or 7 years, I would have bought a base model with sport package and gone nuts with the stereo and interior. Let me give Bose props for one thing, the best customer service I have ever seen. About 6 years ago I bought a Mitsubishi big screen and a Bose Lifestyle system at a high end TV store. I live in smaller places and the Bose does get good sound through tiny speakers. I had a ton of trouble with the Bose system and had to send it back 3 times. The third time was out of warranty, but they covered it anyway. Four years after I bought it I went back to the same store to upgrade the TV. I told the salesman about the problems I had with the Bose system and he had the district manager get in touch with me. After hearing of my troubles the guy sent me a brand new version of Bose's latest Lifestyle system and had a guy come out and custom install it. This was like a $3500 value and I only paid like $2000 for the original system. The new system has been trouble free. There is better stuff out there for the money, but they have great customer service.

05-19-2009, 05:31 PM	#9 (permalink)
caneman88 Base Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: San Antonio TX Posts: 225 Drives: PG 370Z,M-35,F150 Rep Power: 18	Rolex is the best watch Bose is not the best audio but pretty good

05-21-2009, 12:03 PM	#11 (permalink)
Anatoray Track Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 794 Drives: 09 BLK 370Z Rep Power: 19	Rolex actually has something unique, which is the Swiss motion that very few brands have, and I believe it is the best Swiss motion rated at 7 ticks per second? Basically it ticks in such a way that it appears to be one constant smooth motion. I would relate Rolex to Apple more than anything else, due to their amount of control over their marketing. Like Apple, they only sell their products through select retailers, and have strict price control. They never go on sale, and retain their value. Dealers are not allowed to undercut prices, and actually cannot advertise the Rolex name online. Only recently have they been allowed to give small discounts due to the economy hurting sales, but it's nothing spectacular. Like some have said though, they are not the best, just the best marketed high end watch. I am biased towards Paddock, which I guess you could say is the TRUE Bose of watches. 250,000 dollars for a watch face with a LEATHER band. Now there's a rip off for a name.