racer

I have the '99.0 Bose stereo system. I want something with more punch and deep bass. Some people told me that Bose come with subwoofers, but I don't see any in my car. All I see are the two rear shelf woofers. I'm thinking about adding a box with two 12"s and replacing the rear deck shelf speakers with something that have more punch. What size are the stock rear sheck speakers by the way. I have heard good things about JL audio subs. What brand rear shelf speakers should I get? What amp? I'm trying to get a nice crisp system for about 1G (two 12" subs, amp, two deck speakers, head unit). I'm not trying to get some ceompetition setup here. Help me out on what brand speakers to get and amp and head unit. Thanks guys.

larryV

Ok ok I guess it depends on your taste. I listen to some hard-hitting music and I like to crank it and I thought the single 12" I had originally was too much. For "punchier" sound, you're better off with a smaller 10" sub in a sealed enclosure. JL's are real good (W6 or W3) but are boomy in comparison to the Boston Pro Series which in my opinion are the best subs you can buy without getting near the 1G mark. I know this from experience as I have swapped my subs/enclosures several times finally settling with a BA 10.5LF in a teeny tiny .5 cuft. enclosure. I feed it a modest 125 watts with an Xtant 121m and it jams without making my nose bleed. Keep in mind though, the smaller the enclosure, the more power hungry the sub will be and that's why BA subs which require very small enclosures are usually power hungry, but very effective. There are other amps out there, PPI, Alpine which are also good.
As far as deck speakers... unless you have the $$ to put good ones in (like BA, ADS, MB quarts) don't bother replacing the stock ones with crappy ones. Save your money and get a good amp and a good sub to get that good bass that you want. Chances are, it's what you're looking for and the speakers can come later when you're not satisfied with imaging - in which case you replace the door speakers (not the rear decks) and add another amp to power them. Getting good sound is a PITA and my best advice is don't skimp out and get plenty of crappy components. Instead get a few quality ones to fill your specific sound needs (bass). You have the bose and the easiest mod you can do without having to mess with the complicating bose setup is to simply add a sub with an amp. Since your budget is $1K, I think this is your best bet... it's foolish to replace your whole system with crap since replacing your whole bose system with the good stuff will run you more like $2-3K.
My 2 cents. Good luck.

Larry
99.5 1.8Tqts APR K&N

ChuckH

...a couple 8's or 10's or the sound is going to be too uncontrolled. Not only that, but they take up too much space. Personally, I would go with two good 8's or 10's. With the 10, you could rock on just one with proper power. My 90Q rocked pretty good on one Kicker Solo-Baric 8 with 110 Watts mono into it. Plus, it fit into the side storage well! :-) Now, if space weren't a problem, my dream setup would be two Solo-baric 10's with about 100 Watts to each one.

I really like the Boston Pro Series for the main speakers because they are very clean and have great tweeters, without the excessively high price of others. One of my favorites though, for more money, are A/D/S. The A/D/S speakers will also demand a higher quality amp than the Bostons. I ran Boston Pros and platemounts off a 30x4 Pioneer amp in my 90Q, and the sound quality and clarity was first rate, IMO. The A/D/S probably would have wanted more power.

As for head units I am absolutely sold on Eclipse. I've had or dealt with almost all of them, and the Eclipses have by far been the best for me. They also have the best warranty, top notch performance, and great looks. The only problem with Eclipse is that they only have green lighting. If you can deal with that, you're set. Eclipse makes pretty good amps too, but their speakers suck, IMO.

If I were buying an amp right now, I'd seriously consider the Xtant amps. They're pretty sweet! Always use the best cables you can buy, and quality wiring!

Charles

Foo

"a couple 8's or 10's or the sound is going to be too uncontrolled" that is completely untrue. A typical Sound Quality install comprises of a set of seperates (preferably 6.5 and tweet in the front) and several subs normally 10's or 12's in the rear. IF u have had problems with a system similiar to this you have had the crossover settings misset. Ive run 2 12's and 2 15's and no it wasnt all boom, if the system is configured properly it will sound very very good. A 6.5 can be a perfect midrange to midbass driver depending on the type of speaker bought.
As for "quality" amplifiers, as long as u avoid the "40x2 @ 4ohm 750x1 @ 1ohm" type amplifier most name brand amps are adequate to give clean power to speakers in stock locations. A 30x4 amp probably gives out 2 to 3 times the power of a head unit rated the same, therefore u dont need a huge amp to push aftermarket speakers, as long as the power is clean u wont damage the speakers.

Anyway....i do agree that you should buy a decent set of signal cables and correct gauge power wire....

Good Listening....


Darren

Former IASCA competitor and regional champion.

ChuckH

I agree that 12's can sound great. I just feel that if 12's are used, then it is good to have something smaller in addition. That is my personal opinion. Everyone has different ideas of what sounds good. Personally, I like very tight bass, and I absolutely have to have a sealed box, and go no bigger than 10". If you want tight bass, and lots of it, I think a high quality 10" and lots of power is the best way to go. A friend of mine use to have an A/D/S pre-made box (sealed) with two 10's in it that rocked on just 50 Watts per side (A/D/S 50x6 amp). He had it in an Accord Coupe, and it was so loud and hit so hard, I could hardly stand being in the car when he turned it up. He also had A/D/S seperates in the front and Boston 6x9's on the rear shelf, although he wished he had gone with plate mounts. This was all run off an Alpine head unit and through an Audio Control Crossover. Anyway, it was one of the best sounding systems I have ever heard, and everything except the sub fit in factory locations, so you couldn't tell what was in there until you turned it on.

Now, to show how far I've fallen on the stereo quality scale, I'm thinking of getting a powered bass tube to put in the back of the Xterra. I know they're not the best sound, but I think it would be the easiest and most sensible way to go, because I need something that takes up little space and easily removes. Any suggestions? I was looking at a Bazooka with a 10" woofer and a 150 Watt amp, but have not heard one yet. I plan to use the factory head unit and install Boston seperates int he front doors later. I have already put Boston 6x9s in the rear, although I wish now I hadn't done it. I don't think they improved the sound much, mostly because they fire toward one another. I should have just done the fronts and added a sub. Oh well! I may replace the head unit and add an amp, but I want to try speakers first, since I would like to keep the factory look in the dash. What do you think?

Foo

Sounds good....any system is only as good as the way it is xovered and tuned.... )