Stereo upgrade question
 

I think I blew one of my stock speakers. I have the symphony (not the bose). My question is: Can you just replace the symphony speakers w/ the bose using the same head unit? Does the bose system come w/ a different head unit? Sorry I don't know much about stereo sh!t.

RE: Stereo upgrade question
 

well im not an expert but ive always heard that bose has to have bose stuff, plus bose is an amplified speaker system so you might also have to use the bose amp that came with the car. sounds like you would prolly have to rewire the whole car

RE: Stereo upgrade question
 

it might work but im afraid that ur stock deck might not have enough power to fully utalize the bose speakers.

RE: Stereo upgrade question
 

dont waste your money on the bose. they are great when they are brand new, but once the sun cooks them the sound quality goes to hell. ive talked to quite a few people about the bose systems and they all say the same thing. just put out the money for a decent system. jl audio makes great speakers. thats what im getting for mine in a month.

RE: Stereo upgrade question
 

is this because the bose speakers are a paper cone?

RE: Stereo upgrade question
 

i have no idea on that one. i have looked into them though, because my stock ones are blown, and ive heard nothing but sh*t about them.

RE: Stereo upgrade question
 

Bose knows home audio. They don't know crap about car audio. It's that simple. Yes, they can make a good sounding product, but it doesn't fare well with normal wear and tear in the car environment. Don't waste your time on Bose. Plus, you'd need the speakers, factory amp, and the factory deck...and I think there would also be extra wiring required as well. Long and short, pick up an Alpine deck, get some good speakers (I strongly recommend Infinity brand; sounds amazing), and if you wanna get to the next level, amp the interiors and throw in a sub/amp.

RE: Stereo upgrade question
 

I really don't want to replace my head unit because I don't like the way aftermarket ones look in our cars. Is there any way to upgrade the speakers using the stock head unit? I may consider an amp sub combo in the future. I just want it to be loud, I don't need a lot of bass or anything.

RE: Stereo upgrade question
 

I'd go with some JL VR series, they are pretty cost effective... XR's are awesome, but are a bit more $.

Then get a bigger speaker amp... again, JL 300/4 would kick the ass. You can do all that with a stock head unit.

If you don't need tonnes of bass, something I want to try (and will soon try in my gf's civic) is to make a custom box/kick panel, and hide an 8" sub woofer up under the glove box, above your passengers feet. I think it'll be pretty sweet... she already has a 10" sub with lots of power in the back, I've amplified her speakers with a 200 watt RMS amp, and will soon add this little 8" woofer, when I get around to it...

I plan to use the rear speaker amp channels, bridged, to run the 8" woofer, and then just use the deck to run the rear speakers of the car. Oh, and I plan to get the 8" woofer out of a ford taurus SHO. haha, it'll be like 20 dollars, and they sound good.

RE: Stereo upgrade question
 

To answer your question, yes you can replace speakers and add amps to a factory head unit. It won't sound as good as with an aftermarket head unit, but still possible.

Now to hijack the thread a little bit...what is it with the people on these forums and JL Audio? It seems as if every thread I read about audio everyone's diagnosis is to "go buy JL such and such". I'm a car audio salesman and even I know that one brand will not fit every customer's needs. To anyone looking to replace car audio equipment, here is my advice: Go to any shops you want to, and just listen to different speakers and make up your own mind. Everybody has different listening preferences, and what speakers appeal to me may not appeal to someone else. Personally, nothing but Infinity goes in my car as far as speakers go. I have yet to find anything, in my opinion, that matches their quality for the price. So go out to shops in your area, whether they be chain stores or local shops, and listen to everything, then make up your mind.