Goodbye Bose... Almost

[kpond]

Hey all,

I've been thinking about this project for some time. Actually it has probably been more than 6 months since the last of the Bose amps died. The straightforward alternatives were to get the Bose amps fixed or to finally replace the POS Bose and go with something better.

After reading through a lot of the trials and tribulations here on the forum, I decided to go with 6" components in the doors and to drive them with some clean power. I like a good crisp bass and I could definitely do without the boom boom bass that seems to be so popular today. Therefore, I believe the 6" components will be sufficient without a sub and certainly much better than stock.

The next step was to find an amp and a creative mounting design that would allow me to use the space previously occupied by the factory sub. Well, a picture is worth a 1,000 words, so here's a couple of in-progress snapshots to let you know what I am doing.

First, regarding the speakers, I removed the factory plastic enclosure and gutted it of the small speaker and amp. This pic shows the bottom half of the enclosure. My next step is to trace and cut a piece of 1/2" MDF and fasten it to the top of this enclosure. This will have two advantages. First, it will allow me to re-use the factory mounting of the enclosure and second, it will allow just enough height for the 6" components (MB Quart). In the right-hand section of the enclosure, I will mount the MB Quart crossovers.

For the amplifier, I chose a MTX 4202. As you can see, after about 30 minutes witha dremel, it will fit into the factory subwoofer enclosure. As with the speakers, only the bottom half of the enclosure is retained. Again, this will permit re-use of the factory install brackets.

I'll try to get some more pics after I get the speakers mounted.

 

[D'Ecosse]

Nice idea on the amp in the sub enclosure - very novel & very stealth although that deserves to be seen!

I can help you out with the speaker baffle plates if you like - I already have a pattern made for the same method - See here Pretty sure your MB C/O's will fit on top & you wont have to hack the baffle plate down like I did for my CDT's.
I don't know if you have a router - that makes real short work of it, compared to having to cut them out with jig-saw & sand etc
Do consider the Dynamat - it will help out your bass considerably, especially with no sub.
Incidentally don't underestimate the value of sub - SQ vs SPL does not have to mean BOOM!BOOM! but will add the missing dimension to the overall sound. I've posted this link elsewhere but check out
Elite Car Audio Forums
Lastly, please consider adding your affirmation to this lobby for media forum
Good luck with continuing project.

 

[Zishan]

Funny you should post this. I just spent half my labor day changing out my Bose pos speakers. I went with JL XR650 2-way components(1 inch tweeters). Even thou I'm not mechanically inclined, I went for it and did a pretty good job! I used the shell from the Bose system and mounted the speakers in the normal location and then drilled some 1.75 inch holes into the door panels. That was really scary, but it went smooth and the speakers look great. I didn't install my amp yet, so I used the aftermarket head unit to power the speakers and it sounds alot better then the Bose ever did!
I really like your amp mount, but I need some bass, so I'm going to wait for a aftermarket sub enclosure, and then install my amp as well. Good luck with the install, post some pics when its done. I should have some pics too soon.
Z

 

[RP-Motorsports]

I had the BOSE system in my 300ZX. My local audio store found me a thingamajiggy that taps into the speaker wire and lowers the signal down for amping purposes and has RCA plugs. I plugged them into a standard Alpine amp and attatched a sub box to it. I now had my stock BOSE system with a seperate amped sub-woofer!!!!

 

[D'Ecosse]

I had the BOSE system in my 300ZX. My local audio store found me a thingamajiggy that taps into the speaker wire and lowers the signal down for amping purposes and has RCA plugs. I plugged them into a standard Alpine amp and attatched a sub box to it. I now had my stock BOSE system with a seperate amped sub-woofer!!!!

Co-incidentally I replaced my Bose speakers in my 300ZX this weekend - it already had an after-market head installed & had a line output attenuator in there to reduce the output from the ampified head unit to the Bose amps - in my case I just removed it to install stock speakers driven from the heads internal amps.
In your case, there should have been no requirement to reduce the output from the stock head into the after-market amp - I believe all you gained from this was the rca cable interface.

 

[(NSX REY)]

D'Ecosse
You will be the first person I call on when I am ready to change my sound system. I am thinking of going with MB Quart (QSD216) set up but still not sure what to do about the sub? Decisions, decisions, decisions... I will try to make it out to the next meeting so I can here your set up as well as others.

 

[princxixor]

I will try to make it out to the next meeting so I can here your set up as well as others.

I saw and heard D'Ecosse's setup this past Saturday and was very impressed. Clean and crisp! You have placed your faith in the right person.

 

[D'Ecosse]

Cheers guys!!!

I connected with a local SF guy who is an SQ competitor on another forum - they have informal meets like our NSX meets - in fact they had one on Sat after our local meet in Milpitas but I wasn't able to make it. I think the best bet is to find something like this, go listen to some real demo's (not in some shop) where you can experience what sounds good and get some advice from a lot more experienced people than me. Often they are in smaller cars too, so even if not NSX, still get good idea of imaging capabilities. I think its important to get what sounds appealing to you - not necessarily what people tell you is good - although, honestly that is a great starting point - i.e. MBQ's have a great (deserved) reputation - very good value for what you get.

 

[GQ NSX]

Hahah D'ecosse when I get my NSX you may get a pm or two about subwoofers

ravi

 

[Zishan]

Yes D'ecosse, what did you do about the subwoofer? I need to change that out and install an amp. So I'm curious.
Thanks
Z

 

[D'Ecosse]

I have a CDT MS-100 (no longer available new, but check out "for sale on audio forums, you can find it) This is an SQ sub as opposed to SPL, it all depends on your musical & audio tastes as to what your preference is.
I have this 10" in a box mounted behind my drivers seat - it is fine there from an audio perspective, I'd like to relocate it to the traditional (pass footwell) location when time/budget permit. I may try to build this myself & see how it turns out. Nice thing about this sub is it requires very low volume in which to operate effectively - also only needs 4" mounting depth. These features make it very attractive for the space limitations of NSX. Too may try to cram a big 10" in a very small volume & don't do the sub justice to its capabilities. JL audio are among the best in subs, Image Dynamics are in there; you'll find different names rise to the top in subs compared to mids so don't be afraid to mix brands. Again, a 10" really hard to do justice because of the volume/depth you can accommodate - something is probably going to be compromised. Small volume 10's are hard to come by - believe me, I looked!
A lot depends on your mid-range speakers - honestly my CDT Eurosports stand alone pretty damn good without the sub! but you will always reach futher lows with a bigger cone than progressively smaller mids can hope to.
I've linked this before, but you can get incredible information on this forum - Elite Car Audio - has a good for-sale section too.