Hello All,

So I've been thinking about possibly switching out some of the Bose speakers that came stock in my car. My car has the 2 full range and 2 tweeters in the front and 2 full range in the back doors and 2 more full range in the back deck as well as the 6.5" sub driver under the back deck.

The concern with changing any of the drivers is based on the idea that the system was specifically designed for the car from Bose. One would guess that each driver's frequency response rolls off where the next picks up. Bose being the type of company they are would also lead one to believe that signal processing is likely taking place to optimize the sound the system as a whole. One hint of this shows itself in the low end response, when the volume is at 11 the bass reduces to prevent distortion.... as the volume is lowered more bass response comes in.

So if I start fiddling with the drivers it's possible that I could choose one that cross cancels with some other driver producing the same frequencies.... or that the new driver would respond hotter in certain ranges throwing the system out of balance...

Has anyone out there replaced speakers and notice the sound become to mid range or high or bass dropping out??

I know this is a car system and it will not be perfect but if it can be improved and not compromised I'd be interested in making it better.

i know there's a big difference between home audio and car audio, but im willing to bet that you can find a better system if you wanted to look outside of bose.

this is a touchy subject, but everything boils down to your personal preference. it doesnt matter how much you spend, how many people say that brand 'X' is better than brand 'Y'. if you like how something sounds, that's the right fit for you.

when i was looking for home speakers, i went into several shops and always came out feeling dissapointed that i couldnt afford a bose system. that is until i heard my current speakers... im not trying to plug a certain brand or anything, but if you go check out the fourms at www.klipsch.com and search for bose, you will find quite a bit of information about their approach to HOME speakers.

they may go at car audio from a totally different direction, but knowing what i do now know about bose would make me think twice about asking for one of their systems in my car... that being said, i have been in several cars with bose systems and they do sound decent.

if the car i was looking at to buy had a bose system, it wouldnt turn me off to the car, but i think a better system can be put together for less money than a bose set up.

dont know if i had anything of value to say, but i tried...

ab

One clue to just how complicated and sophisticated is the Bose installation in these cars, is that it cannot be retro-fitted. As you suspect, it's a lot more than just speakers...

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JJ Rodger
2013 G350 Bluetec
1999 SL 500
1993 E300 diesel T
1990 190