derrick

Can we say that the OEM Bose system is good enough for the vast majority of TL buyers? I doubt there is an OEM sound system in the price range ~$30k that would be 'good enough' for the audiophile. Sounds good enough to me since I don't ask too much from a car system ...

Most would have to go to the Mark Levinson system in a higher end Lex ... and you'd still hear complaints by audiophiles ...

fsttyms1

The stereo in my expedition is far superior to the TL. The stereo in my moms base altima is better than both. Cant be that hard to make a decent stereo. Just about every chrysteler ive ever heard with the infinity systems is better than the TL too Guess ive been around alot of good sounding stereos to know what sounds good and what doesnt? The TL is just lacking

03bl AC k CL

i will defend bose for one thing though... my father's 05 maxima has a bose system and i love it... it hits hard, and the highs are there.. if that was my car instead of the tl i wouldn't think of touching the system... its much better than the acura bose system... it could be the fact that there are 2 rear deck subs as well as tweeters... however in my opinion... bose makes great home audio products and home theater systems... but most of the time their car audio systems are crap

Billy Sacco

Yeah my friends 05 camry has JBL speakers in it stock and the system does not hit extreme lows but definately has more sparkle and impace the the stock TL system.

derrick

^ Despite both cars being in the same price range, comparing a stereo system designed by the same company (ie Bose) in 1998-1999 (2nd gen TL) VS 2004 (current gen Max) is like comparing apples and oranges. They had 5 years to tweak a little more out of the same material.

Now ... apparently the current 'Studio on Wheels' by Bose in the 2nd gen G35 sedan ... that's supposed to be a good system. That's yet to be determined ...
How does this compare to the system found in the 3rd gen TL? A lot of critics like both systems ... it's up to the individual to decide what they like better.

I guess everyone has an opinion on what constitutes a 'good system'. Again ... I am far from an audiophile. But I know what sounds crappy (eg base system in a 2006 Sebring) vs not crappy (eg 2nd gen TL). And yes, there are far better OEM systems out there (eg ML in my bro's GS300AWD).

fsttyms1

My friends 99 maxima has a better sound system thats made by bose. It has tweeters and door speakers that actually hit hard and arent eq'ed beyond beliefe.

TLsu

I'm quite the novice when it comes to sound systems and I'm not a huge fan of the "boom boom" bass provided by some aftermarket systems that seem to rattle the car apart.

Am I correct it saying the most efficient way to upgrade the OEM stero system, for my tastes, is to change out the door speakers and head unit? I guess I should really do my research to see what the HU controls and what it doesn't.

How much would a quality HU and all new door speakers cost?

I'm partial to the look of the OEM headunit. Can I just upgrade the door speakers and "bypass the EQ"(whatever that means?) without changing the HU? Will aftermarket door speakers fit behind the the OEM housings, maintaining the stock look within the interior?

Sorry for all the questions guys. I finally know what a CAI, pullies, headers, and coilovers do. I guess I'll always be playing catch up when it comes to car stuff.

fsttyms1

You can get far better sound from the speakers by replacing them wit good quality seakers and some sound material in the doors. You can use the stock HU and bypass the EQ. Adding a amp thats more powerfull would help as well.\
Yes the speakers will fit in the stock location. Go search around in the audio visual part of the forum

vzuptnguyen

i get 50% of any speakers and sub and amps. but im thinkin into just the speakers

we have 6.5"? also, is it direct replacement? do i have to do re-wiring or anything?

CL TYPE SPORT NAVI

maybe someone can help answer this for me? i have a 2001 cl type s with navigation and a factory 6 disc changer. does anyone know if this factory radio has rca outputs.

fsttyms1

No it does not. None of them do

03bl AC k CL

have you ever heard a 2000 maximas bose system? im wondering how the 4th gen compares to the 5th gen's system? because in my opinion the 5th gen's system was awful (used to own one) it may have been just because of the rear deck rattling from the puny 8 inch sub in it... i wonder if dynamat or a similar product would've made much of a difference?

fsttyms1

havent ever compared them. I know the 99 doesnt have a sub in the rear deck. and rear deck rattle seems common. My buddy has a rattle from it too. Id bet dynomat would help

hoangtanle

iTrader: (3)

i honestly like the stock head unit. its a lot clearer than subs. i mean yea it wouldn't be too loud but good for my tasting. since its stock. its free. =)

new2tl

if i have the volume up on the stock speakers, will they eventually become less loud?

jfltl00

They probably won't be the only things that get less loud!

giff74

Well when started this thread and read about how bad many of you guys thought the Bose system is, I thought no way it could be that bad......You were right!

Now that I have my car, new tranny and all, and have driven it for a few days I have realized the sound sucks and the reception is sketchy.

These are the things I am wondering, if any of you audio experts could chime in that would be great.

1. Does replacing the head unit help with sound at all? Does the EQ referred to above come out with the head unit or is it another piece of equipment? Will most aftermarket head units have enough power to drive all five speakers?

2. What about replacing the door speakers and not the head unit? I was thinking this may make the most difference for the least trouble and money, any opinions?

3. The sub makes lots of noise, but I cant really judge it beyond that, sound ok to me. Have any of you guys left the stock sub, replaced the head unit or door speakers or both and found this sound combination to work pretty well?

Thanks for the help, Giff

007TL-S

it sound's clean for a stock system!.....I love mid's and high frequencies, this system could use some wider frequence band's, ......I'm moderate on the sub freq's depending on the music genere and sound ...the system could use some more volume output too but other than that it's OK! !

teamsorad

I took a TL out on a test drive and I couldn't figure out how to lower the bass and bump the treble? Most stereos have it where you can either turn the knobs for less or more bass/treble.

I'm sure the TL has the same (maybe not knobs) ????

fsttyms1

Replacing the HU with a decent aftermarket does imporve it some. The speakers are the big problem. You wont get a aftermarket HU to power all 5. Only the doors. By installing a aftermarket HU you automatically bypass the EQ.

I wouldnt use different speakers with teh stock HU without bypassing the EQ. if the new speakers are components it will be really brite


Mids and Highs?????? that is exactly what the TL is Missing


Mine has the knobs on the left side that say bass/treb/bal/fade (and good luck getting trebel out of the TL. There is none!

jfltl00

I have both styles, my wife's '00 TL-P and my '03 TL-P, and the radios do differ. The earlier one has the knobs on the lower left like fsttyms1 mentions. The later one requires a push of the 'tune' knob on the right and will cycle through all the bass/treble/fade/balance options.

I do notice a difference btwn the 00 and 03 when it comes to Bose performance. The 00 is okay, but the 03 is much better when it comes to sound. The 03 seems to be more quiet inside, and the radio comes through rather nicely. I listen to a mix of music and I don't have a problem with my system.

giff74

So if I wanted the best sound quality, I would replace all the speakers in the doors, replace the HU, which would eliminate the EQ, and get an amp to drive the sub?

03bl AC k CL

from my personal experience, i started out by just replacing the sub and amp with aftermarket ones and leaving everything else stock. sure it sounds good for a few days because anything is better than the stock sub, but it had me longing for more power. Eventually i replaced everything. now i have an alpine head unit, mb quart components for the front doors, mb quart mids for the rear doors, pioneer 4 channel amp for the speakers, 2 10 inch mtx subs and a power acoustik mono amp to power the sub. spring the extra money to replace the whole system... you wont look back. trust me.

evantec

Try pressing the center of the large right button.

On a car with NAVI, you'll see a screen with all the options. Then turning that right knob adjusts the current item up or down. The crosshairs changes to indicate center-position for the currently selected item. Pressing the large right button again selects the next item (or you can try the touchscreen).

On a non-NAVI car, I'm guessing you'll probably see one of the above items at a time (bass/treble/balance/fader/subwoofer/center). Turning the knob adjusts the current item (e.g. from -9 to 0 to +9). Pressing the knob again goes to the next item in the "Audio menu". ( At least that's how some of the non-NAVI Hondas work.)

After a few seconds of inactivity, the screen goes away.

But when you get to this screen, you may find that everything has already been turned up.

giff74

So you used two amps, one for the sub and one for the door speakers? Do our cars already have two amps and I just didnt realize it or was this to get the best sound out of your new speakers? I guess what I am wondering is would the door speaker amp be required and can those speakers be driven from the HU?

Sorry for the questions I am stereo illiterate.

Thanks, Giff

new2003tlowner

I bought an Alpine CDA-9857. It sounds a lot different than the stock one did. I mainly listen to rock and some rap. Any ideas on how to make it sound better without spending too much. Sould I replace the speakers too?

Topher707

I hate the HU. and I hate how Acura doesnt back it w/83k on my 02 tl-s.... stupid ass ER-E1!!! GAARRRHH I GET SO MAD WHEN IM TRYING TO LISTEN TO MUSIC AND THAT DAMN ERROR COMES UP!

Topher707

blitzsafe... speaking of which, i am going to be upgrading to the USA Spec adapter... ill have an extra blitzsafe on my hands... *hint*hint*

fsttyms1

Yes 1 for the sub and 1 for the 4 door speakers. The amp for the TL is built into the HU.

If you want to get eh best out of any speaker its best to get a good amp to power them. The power that HUs supply is verly low and not the best of quality. GOOD Speakers will sound alot better with a good amp thats rated close to or above teh speakers rating.

jtvan72

I had a CRV with 2 amps. one 600w for the 4 doors and a 200w bridged for the sub in the hatch area. All Kenwood including the HU. It was good cause I could hide everything under the stock grills. Just the HU and box for the sub in the back were obviously aftermarket. Less tempting! I have been toying with what to do. Is it correct that the door speakers are paper cones? Is the center speaker in the back deck supposed to be a sub? I can't figure a size to go in there. Would it be better to abandon that in place? I would like to just use the stock HU but can the amp there be bypassed? I like Crutchfield.com cause they provide mounting rings, harnesses and instructions specific to the vehicle for free. Prices are reasonable if not the cheapest and do not give you any problems on returns. Also have phone tech assist.

CanopyFlyer

Just my

Your amplifier's RMS (not "Peak") power rating should be lower than the RMS power rating of the speakers, else you run the risk of blowing the speaker's voice coil. The "Peak" power rating listed for audio equipment (irrespective of for home or car) is utterly useless and does not give you any indication of real world power, ignore it. The 03 TL's system is advertised at 180 watts! Big deal, it can probably keep that output for a whole 1/100th of a second when you add up all channels together. RMS output is probably closer to 15 watts per channel.

I just replaced the front speakers in my TL and the cones that came out were a joke. Paper cones with paper surround, it doesn't get any cheaper than that. You can buy speakers like that at Parts Express for about 30 cents.. Yes 30 cents, you read that correctly.

The head unit is equally bad. The radio has lousy reception, the CD-changer's only purpose in life is to output ER-E1 on the display and who uses tapes these days? I have, for home, a high quality cassette deck with Dolby S and the works, plus two reel to reel decks and none of them have been used in about 7 years.

My plan is to replace the HU with an Alpine unit that plays MP3/WMA files. New speakers in the rear doors and just leave the sub sit dead. I have no plans to put mega wattage amplifiers or any speakers larger than 6.25 inches in my TL. I've lost enough of my hearing and I'd like to keep what is left.

In short if you want better sound in your TL replace, in entirety, the junk that came with it.

Bose is a marketing company and nothing more, they definitely know little about good sound. Their popularity just shows the ignorance the average person has of quality audio.

Blue Skies,
CanopyFlyer
Audio Enthusiast

Billy Sacco

I would not use the blitzsafe because you would pretty much be getting the pre-EQed sound wouldn't you? To have the best sound out of a stock radio you would probably have to use something like the JL clean sweep that accomidates for factory head unit EQing.

03bl AC k CL

Correct, I used a Mono amp to power the subs, and a 4 channel amp to power the speakers. We already have an amp for our speakers, but the whole system is just not powerful at all. if you go aftermarket, you dont need an amp, but basically the amp is just to make the speakers sound clearer and louder at higher volumes. I wanted to get everything i could out of my aftermarket system, but you dont need an amp. If you are talking about hooking the speakers up to the stock head unit dont spend the extra money on components its not going to be worth it because you wont hear the clarity that you would if you replaced the head unit as well. So yes, im pretty sure you could power the speakers from the stock HU, but you need to spend money on wires to bypass the amps and all of that (im a little hazy on what these wires do to be honest) but what i do know is it'll end up costing you about the same amount of money to keep the stock head unit with aftermarket speakers, as it would to just replace it. hope i answered everything.

infinity2006

the factory stereo is fine unless you are an audiophile or looking to spend some cash. I used it for about 9 months and decided i wanted more. If you are thinking of upgrading then do your homework because it can get expensive QUICK.

fsttyms1

I never talk peak power. cause most ratings are bench ratings or somethng that most people will never get out of the amp.

I in my 17years of home audio and car audio have never blown a speaker from too much power. Having a GOOD and Clean power amp that can push its best power without having to work it is far better than a amp that having to work to get to its peak. also causing more noise and distortion. You will have alot more control over the speaker. Just because you have a amp thats rated higher than your speakers doesnt mean you have to use all of it. Also knowing what distortion/clipping is helps.

Topher707

I am not an audio pro and have no clue what pre-EQed means exactly... but the bitzsafe i have plugs into the CD changer plug in the back of the radio, and provides a pair of RCA inputs... so i can listen to the NAV2DVD over stock system(just have to press cd twice)

timberland73

iTrader: (1)

I only had my stock bose stereo for a couple of weeks so I barely remember it. I have about a $3000 stereo system in my TL so I never complain. I agree with fsstyms, components are the shit. I have boston acoustics in all four doors.

timberland73

iTrader: (1)

I only had my stock bose stereo for a couple of weeks so I barely remember it. I have about a $3000 stereo system in my TL so I never complain. I agree with fsstyms, components are the shit. I have boston acoustics in all four doors. I've got three amps, one per sub and one for the door speakers.

Pinstripes925

Its ok for a stock system but I only had it in my car for about 3 days. I now replaced every speaker, add 2 subs, and have a new head unit.

Billy Sacco

Well most stock sound systems boost highs alot or upper mid so the sound is not pure so to speak. The cleansweep and other units like it were designed to overcome this and give you as flat of a signal as possible to send to your amps as it may be more likely to clip your amps if highs and lows are boosted at the head unit. But they are pretty pricey.