Hello all,

So I just went from a 2014 Altima SV to a 2016 TLX 4 cyl Base. I was expecting the stereo in the base TLX to be as good or a bit better than the base Altima stereo, and so far, I would have to say the are about even or the Altima has a slight edge. I think the stereo is breaking in a little bit through this first week so it's getting better, but still not great... and really lacking in the lower frequencies with a harsh midrange. So I have all the parts to to add an amp/sub in the trunk, which I did myself in the Altima (which made a big improvement as you might guess), however I found something that might keep from adding the sub right away. Bass Boost... I know, what a gimmick right? haha I felt the same way. But hear me out...

I have an Android phone (lollipop OS), and the stock music play is decent, with a decent equalizer. However it only has a Bass boost Button, so you cannot adjust the level of boost. So when messing with the EQ in the TLX, I did get it to sound better, but when I tried to use the Bass boost button, it would just flood waaaaaayyy too much bass everwhere, and would actually lower the levels of other frequencies... basically it sounded like I was going to blow all the speakers and it was too much muddy terrible bass.

So I then tried another Music app that also has a EQ, but has a variable Bass Boost control (BlackPlayer... Ad Free!), and after messing around with settings I get a pretty good sound, with acceptable to good bass depending on source material

1) Set up the TLX Audio levels to default or close to it (do NOT max out the subwoofer level). I actually fade slightly to the front now to get more bass up front. I also set the balance 1 click the the right, as I hear too much sound coming from the front left tweeter if I keep it on center.
2) Set the BlackPlayer EQ close to level, but lower the midrange bands 1-2 clicks
3) Virtualizer - This is a slider setting next to bass boost and from what I have read is equivalent to Surround Sound. I actually use this a touch (slide it to 25%) and it seems to smooth out the harsher aspects of the midrange in this stereo. I"m sure it's not 'accurate', but I'm not really going for accuracy, I'm going for a sound that doesn't make me say "ooh that sounds bad" : )
4) Bass Boost - OK, here is the special sauce IMO. So if I keep this at zero, maybe 1 out of 10 songs in my library sound like they have enough bass with the base TLX Stereo at the settings I described. However, slide that puppy up to about 25% for most music and it fills in a nice deep bass that seems to bring many of my songs to life and actually sounds good. For older songs or material that has notoriously low levels of bass (say, Rush - Presto, or Doobie Brothers - Minute by Minute, etc.), I might slide the Bass Boost to 50% NOTE - This works best at low to medmiumd volumns as I really have not cranked it up really high yet (nor do I much ever really). However, my guess would be that the more you crank it up, the less Bass Boost you'd need. For me, keep the phone charging and on right near the front vent so I can made the adjustment(s) pretty quickly song to song. However, if you listen album, to album, it's one adjustment per 45 min really...

I Just started message with this, so I'll keep testing it. I have the subwoofer and amp ready to go if I want to install it, but *maybe* this will do the trick for a while.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments : ) Thanks all.