jonb Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 (The familiar story) I have the BOSE system, therefore I have virtually no sub-bass. There's some sort of boomy box behind the seats but it's just as bad as everyone says. I'm not an audio purist, no really you should hear my music collection - and apart from anything else the exhaust makes such a lovely noise, going nicely from mournful-wookie to 40-a-day-pterodactyl at the press of a pedal that I hardly ever switch the stereo on. But I'm off up to Scotland for a holiday soon and I'm sure that at some point in the 1000 mile fossil burning trip I'll want to listen to my personal selection of 90's classics that I have gone to great lengths to ensure contain all the subsonic antics of the original vinyl. (The question) Obviously I need aftermarket help. Only extra bass is needed, and I do have a spare powered sub - one of those ugly JBL tube things - but should I bypass the BOSE sub amp completely (the 04 docs on 350z-tech don't mention whether my 03 also has the separate sub-amp) or should I just tap the sub speaker signal and feed that to the JBL and set the cross-over very low (it can take speaker-level in) or snip the existing wires and disable the BOSE comedy sub completely. I'm guessing the sub's amp might either be physically part of the main amp or takes digital signals so I can't get line-level analogue. Is that right ? What have others done to add some deep bass with as little change to the otherwise moderately bearable BOSE? If I wanted a complete system it might be easier - get rid of the HU / space-saver amp, find somewhere to hide a beefy amp and upgrade those speakers ... and think about breaking out the fibreglass for sub-pods ... or rather handing the job to a professional. If I go for a simple and cheapskate add on now I can always go mad later. Also what's it like getting power/ACC in the back of the z ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimm Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Yes agree the bose system is not perfect but it is not that bad imo. I do have the bass on setting 4 and for general music it does the job. I do have a sub with a built in amp hanging around and one day i may install that for a little more extra base. I reckon you may as well just tap into the speaker wires to get your signal and see what that sounds like and go from there. Keep us in touch with what you decide to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonb Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 And the answer is ... my sub is far too large. I could have either blocked my rear view or driven with the boot open ... there really is only a tiny and awkward shaped bit of space for any speakers back there. But I think I heard the CD skip too so it looks like I'm searching out a whole new system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 you can get the bose repaired with clarion and some forum discount chucked in http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15320 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 What sub is it you're trying to fit, and in what box volume? If you want to improve the bass response with the standard set up, make sure you Dynamat the doors and sub enclosure and you will get a significant improvement straight away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonb Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 I don't mind the level of bass at the moment or the general quality of the sound, it's not stellar but it's okay, I just want to feel those sub-30Hz basslines, the bose seems to drop everything below a certain level which happens quite a lot when there's too much digital processing, sooner or later one component will filter everything below 30-ish-Hz as 'turntable rumble' ... exactly the bit i want. The gold-standard for judging whether the subliminal frequencies have been killed is to listen to Warp records' LFO (not the shoddy US guitar band), if my kneecaps rattle then it's right! The powered sub I tried was a JBL thing the same as in this thread http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/68060-jbl-tw ... -tube.html I originally bought it because I wanted a removable sub so I either could fit more tyres in the back of the 200sx or have some better sounds. Impulse purchase during a taste bypass iirc. It's about 12"w x 24"l I reckon if I sawed off all the metal tubes (apart from 1 to fix it with) it might just squeeze behind the seats - but I'll sell it instead or find a way to use it in the flat. Basically it's massive and looks stupid. I was never a fan of its looks but it worked ok - I could hear it through the sealed boot of the e39 ... though it would make water droplets dance on the bootlid when it was on. This other JBL looks like it could fit better ... http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/produc ... /1253.html edit - freq fixed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonb Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 Thx for the link mike I'll have a think about whether to keep the OEM or not while I'm away. Dynamat seems like a good idea anyway too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 If you look at the spec of the majority of JBL subs they don't go below 30Hz anyway, and more importantly the curve drops off rapidly where they do go below 30Hz. As for the BOSE sub, when you see the speaker you'll realise it's just not capable of the excursion needed to produce real sub notes. The BOSE sub is little more than a big mid bass really.... For quality, you could do much better than the JBL in the link. Here is the owners manual - it is being driven by just 100 watts. That won't be enough to control a sub moving at sub 30Hz. If you want real bass, go for a JL or Focal sub and have it put in a proper box. A quick release set up can be arranged at the speaker terminals so you can pop it in and out, and you can hide the amp away somewhere else. Other music you can listen to is the original Superman compilation - loads of sub sonice bass in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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