Car- Bose system needing upgrade

[ejhollyer]

I have an 01 pathfinder se, and my drivers door and passenger door speakers went out the same week. i need new speakers, can i just replace the speakers or will the standard bose system require some other nonsense? If it doesn't require nonsense, any under $100 pair recommendations. and if it does, someone help with what's needed? 
thanks.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I have an 01 pathfinder se, and my drivers door and passenger door speakers went out the same week. i need new speakers, can i just replace the speakers or will the standard bose system require some other nonsense? If it doesn't require nonsense, any under $100 pair recommendations. and if it does, someone help with what's needed? 


thanks.

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I'm no expert on car audio, but I've been toying with buying some Vifa drivers that are still out there. If you're not familiar with Vifa, they make wonderful drivers for home speakers and I'd love to put some in my car. The drivers are reasonable enough, however, most require crossovers at some additional expense. I've thought about building my own, though.

Bose car systems can be a little tricky. Some of them have a head unit without amps, and the amps are located in/around the drivers. So if you just replace the drivers, you might not get any sound if the amps are what's wrong. You'd need to yank the entire Bose system and add a new head unit, too. This might require a little testing and poking at the wiring harness, too.

 

[ejhollyer]

thanks. any other recommendations on the speakers themselves if i can't find vifa's that fit my liking?

 

[Solrighal]

Are you sure the fault lies with the speakers and not the system amp?

 

[ejhollyer]

i'm actually not positive. the passenger door speaker vibrates and wobbles and is really distorted in the lows only when the volume goes up no matter what input, then the driver door speaker is faded, and its less than half the volume of the other speakers, even though the fade and balance are centered. i just assumed both speakers went considering they have completely different problems.

 

[High_Q]

I have the 2002 model, and don't think the vibration is coming from the speakers(I have vibration when my bass is up), I think its is the part of the door that is vibrating for me.  Poor low frequency speaker setup.  It did happen  noticibly after I got an aftermarket receiver, but I don't see how the amp could have such an effect on the speakers.

 

[FragViper]

From what I understand, replacing a Bose system in a car is difficult for the DIY user.. Doesn't it have tweeters built into the dash? Also, is there not some like 6 channel amp somewhere, or something weird like that? If you can get a audio shop to replace the entire system that would be your best bet, because the speakers and tweeters are wired together and go to the amp before they go to the headunit, so you can't just replace the speakers because they would have different impedances.
 
And as for brands, there are many, but in car audio there are several higher end companies, many common brands can be found here at reasonable prices: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/
 
Some reputable brands I can recommend from experience are Polk, and JL Audio. Stay away from the cheaper products like Sony, and Jensen, if you care anything about a balanced sound quality. Kicker, Rockford Fosgate, and Apline are also brands to look at, but they cater to a more bassy Hip-Hop brand of people, they sound good in that genre as a result, but aren't balanced or advertised to be so.

 

[Uncle Erik]

thanks. any other recommendations on the speakers themselves if i can't find vifa's that fit my liking?

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I haven't been there for awhile, but poke around Madisound and its forums for more information. Madisound sells high quality drivers, and they had a good section of car drivers the last time I was there.

 

[lenajonathan]

Thanks for this info, I had a similar concern but never heard of Vifa drivers but I will check them out and update you here regarding this!
Quote:

I'm no expert on car audio, but I've been toying with buying some Vifa drivers that are still out there. If you're not familiar with Vifa, they make wonderful drivers for home speakers and I'd love to put some in my car. The drivers are reasonable enough, however, most require crossovers at some additional expense. I've thought about building my own, though.

Bose car systems can be a little tricky. Some of them have a head unit without amps, and the amps are located in/around the drivers. So if you just replace the drivers, you might not get any sound if the amps are what's wrong. You'd need to yank the entire Bose system and add a new head unit, too. This might require a little testing and poking at the wiring harness, too.