Hey everybody, brand spanking new here!
Just bought myself a '03 TL-S and LOVE IT. Only thing I find subpar is the bose system...as I've read on here I'm not the only one.
Now take into consideration before responding, that I bought this car more for it's performance and comfort and style than anything, defo not for the sound system. But I do find it slightly lacking.
I want to do a very slight revamp of the stereo, just replace the front speakers and back speakers. I've used infinity speakers in my previous cars and I adore them. My last car had a full out $2000 stereo that was great. But I dont' want to put anything near that type of money into this stereo. I guess to get to the point, I only want to change the speakers, not the sub (it gives enough bass for my taste right now) so I would be keeping the head-unit/amp/sub all the same in the car.
I know Bose systems can be tricky, does anyone have any experience changing JUST the speakers in their TL? Does it increase the quality any? I figue it's just the papers speakers bose likes to use and not the amp/head unit so much. Any help?

 

you could put a new head unit in it i have a pioneer avic z 1 which made it louder and clearer w/out after market speakers

 

Defo wanna keep the factory head unit. 100%....and NO aftermarket subs and amps

 

you def made 2 of the same threads

i posted in your other thread

and you will get better sound by getting a new head unit, not by getting new door speakers and keeping the stock head unit.

Bose has an EQ box that will "govern" the speakers you want to add, the only way to truly bypass the EQ box is to get and new head unit.

 

i see it pointless to get new door speakers and not get a new head unit.

Bose head unit is and it will soon start jamming CD's

 

 

Hmmm...food for thought. But I'm pretty set on not changing the head unit. I like the factory look (and I know that there are some factory looking decks on the market) I'm not looking for a MASSIVE improvement, but defo a little more fidelity. Anyone who started with just the speakers have any input? Also, anyone know if the the bose EQ can be tweaked? I appreciate everyones help!

 

ps; sorry for making two threads, new to this

 

i would reconsider about keeping the Bose head unit, its not reliable at all for playing CD's. As goes for the EQ box, you can only use it or loose it with the head unit. no tweaking that.

i really dont think new speakers are going to sound much better at all, unless you get a new head unit. That Bose head unit/EQ box is designed only to output sound for those factory speakers, so its possible that adding new speakers could even sound worse than the OEM factory speakers. A new head unit is going to have settings for different types of speakers (6x9, 5x4, OEM etc...) , so you can get the best sound. The Bose is stuck set for those OEM factory speakers, so it is possible that new door speakers maybe not sound the way you think they will.

almost every one is going to tell you to get a new head unit first, but its up to you to make the call.

other people will chime in and give there advice i am sure. good luck

 

That makes sense now. Just for the sake of it, I may give it an attempt when I have the chance (just one speaker) I've got a good pair of infinitys from my last car I can use, I will atleast test one to see how it sounds and then respond here. Still, if anyone else has any experiences let me know!
Also, when you guys changed your factory decks what process did you take?

 

The decks not being reliable is a load of crap. I use mine all the time and have never had any issues. They are prone to going bad just like anything else electronic. As for replacing the speakers only, some members here have replaced them but weren't too happy because the Bose EQ is tuned with a really high treble rate. The sound will be very high pitched, if that makes any sense. There's a way to bypass it by modifying a few wires but it might be more trouble than it's worth. Do some reading in the Audio sub-forum for more info.

 

Change the head unit. The BOSE speakers are actually pretty damn good. You will notice a big difference once you swap it.

 

Although I'm still against changing the head unit, does anyone here know what the best double-din mount is? If I decided to change, I have an Avic-D2 from my old system that would work nicely in the 'TL. Also, what type of wiring harness?

 

go to amazon.com dirt cheap and looks good

 

I believe metra recently released a double din kit for our cars but if that's not true you can buy a metra single din kit and modify it to work with your double din. or you can support one of our site vendors and buy an uncald4 double din kit. It is pricey though.

 

Oh and you don't have to replace the headunit if you don't want to. I know I don't plan to. However, this means you will have to buy an amplifier and something like a rf 360 to bypass all that bose trash. personally, I'm keeping the oem headunit and buying something like the rf 360 or oem pac2. Then have the clean signals from that go to a 4 ch amplifier with 2 channels going to the front speakers and the 2 other signals going to my sub. If you are looking to do somewhat stealth install this will work great especially if you buy something like the kicker rmb8 which fits nicely into the factory bose sub location.

feel free to contact uncald4 yourself. He is very knowledgeable and helpful to us 2nd gen guys.

 

I have replaced the door speakers and have kept the Bose head unit and it sounds 10 times better if not more! I used Pioneer component speakers and flush mounted the tweeters in the door panel. I like the looks of the factory stereo and the ability to change the volume with my steering wheel controls. I noticed that the new speakers didnt have as much bass as the bose, but thats ok since I upgraded the sub in the rear window with a 8 inch Pioneer Premier shallow mount 500W and a 12 inch in the trunk.

 

I changed my speakers in my 1st gen and I had the stock HU running it and the sound quality sucked. Then I bought an aftermarket radio and that made everything all better. Aftermarket HU FTW!

 

N8HUT
Did you install an amp for your speakers? Also, did you install an anp for your shallow mount subwoofer? or did it work with the factory sub amp?

 

metra does have a new double din kit for like $33 online and it looks pretty good from what i can tell, plus it looks easy to adjust the depth to keep the hu face flush, etc. There is a thread on here with pics on it. I say swap the HU, if anything just for more sound control and options to expand capability. My old HU is holding down a box in my basement right now and its doing a great job right where it's at

 

link please?

 

jk found it. METRA 95-7868
http://www.12vtoolbox.com/METRA_95_7...%2095-7868.htm

could put uncald4 out of the double din business $30 >> $200

 

patrickkelly_24,

I did not install an aftermarket amp for the door speakers, they are just running off the Bose HU. The rear 8" sub thou is powered by an amp that i installed by tapping into the rear speaker/sub output and using a line adapter to run RCAs off of it into my bigger amp to power the 8" and now 15" sub in the trunk. It wasnt hard to do, just took a little time and effort. You can buy the line input to RCA output at Walmart even. I would think the 8" sub would work without the new amp but it would probably be underpowered.

 

If your dead seat on keeping the stock HU with aftermarket speakers sound quality will go up if you bypass the EQ. Its not hard to do. Other wise all the cross over points are going to be tuned for the bose crap. You will be lacking mids/lows and you will be really bright with the highs.

 

can anyone send me the link to the DIY for bypassing the EQ? Can't seem to find it in the search. Thanks

 

i thought you can replace the HU without replacing the speakers...have i been led astray??????

 

..Si Señor!....never knew tha stock speakers had that much potential until i put my aftermarket 7" flip up screen...i also eliminated the subwoofer becuz it was blown...i've had a couple friends ask me if i had an amp or system in my car....

 

you cant use 4ohm speakers it will sound like crap. just replace the stereo. you could do a custom install and just take the face of the OEM radio off and make a false face to go over the aftermarket radio?

 

Well, I have one of UNCALD4's dd kits and it is pretty top notch and certainly high quality..I think Travis will be just fine, especially with those hella nice custom sub enclosures he makes..

 

just go aftermarket baby......... Better sound hands down

 

I would recommend sticking with your plan and keeping the Bose HU and just upgrade the speakers.

 

You crazy man! I'm always in business!

I have the double din Metra kit in stock. $28.50 shipped. Holla!

Link on my sig.