Your opinions on our 300 watt Bose surround sound system

S

superwario

Member
Car
2011 FX35 AWD
Sup guys!

I was just bored and wanted to know how you guys like our 11 speaker Bose 300 watt surround sound system!

(I couldn't find another thread that discussed the 2nd gen system, but if there is please delete this)

Do you guy's feel that the sound quality and loudness measure up to any other vehicle that you own or have been in?

My friend has an Audi with the Bang and Olufsen system in it and I honestly do feel that his system is a lot clearer when the dial is turned up with a more solid bass tone than our bose, but compared to other car's with similar systems I feel that our system is above average. The bass was a little weak for my taste so I added a subwoofer, but the speakers have enough volume to them to where they can catch up easily. Overall I think that Bose is good system, but not as good as some other brands such as harmon kardon or bowers & wilkins that other carmakers are starting to put in their cars.

Are there some of you guys who replaced our all of our Bose speakers with an aftermarket setup? I heard that it was a pain to upgrade because bose uses unconventional wiring techniques.

Thanks for your opinions!
 
I don't have a 2nd gen, but I do have it in my first gen. All I have to say is.. it's good, but it's overpriced in my opinion. I'm guessing that's why people buy other aftermarket systems, because they have WAY more bang for the buck.

My Bose Lifestyle system isn't even good for my home theater(bass is low for some odd reason). In my opinion, they exceed others in the headphones/earbuds department. I own a pair of IE2s.
If I compare Bose to Mac, I would get flamed.
 
I think it's pretty good for what it is. But your comparing apples to oranges with the Bang & Olufsen sound system on the Audi's. The one on the Audi is optional and is a $6,300 option just by itself!! :eek.:
 
I agree with you. It's decent and above average. Not a ton of deep bass. I owned a 2007 Acura TL with the DVD-Audio system. That system was impressive.
 
On the first gen, the Bose speakers are not impressive at all. Take off your speaker grilles to see for yourself. Looks aren't everything but compare side by side to a quality speaker, it is pretty evident.

Bose bad? No, just not great. Sound processing is excellent though.
 
Another couple considerations with that comparison are A) that Audis are intentionally designed to be much quieter than Infinitis, and B) different vehicles have different sonic characteristics. Infiniti consciously omits sound insulation to allow the sound of the engine to be heard in the cabin - to create a "feeling". Audis are dead quiet by comparison. I have had two Audi's (one sedan and one avant) with the same 10 speaker Bose system that my 1st Gen FX has, and while both of them do sound better, the sedan system was MUCH better. Better sound insulation = better sound. Smaller cabin + better sound insulation = much better sound.
 
Here's is my 2 cents on the Bose system in my 2010 FX..
Overall, it is a fairly decent stocks system. Compared to most vehicles, the sound is very rich, and has good 'spaciousness' to it, meaning it doesn't sound like its coming from a speaker box. FM and XM sounds pretty good, and CD's/high bit rate mp3's can sound really good. Definitely a liveable system.. However, there are some shortcomings. The nature of the Bose speakers are that they handle mid-range frequencies very well. Music that focuses on vocals (Folk, Jazz, some R&B) and instrumentals sound very good. This type of music is right in the sweet spot for the Bose setup. But when it comes to anything bass heavy (Rap, Rock, Electonic) or music that requires a lot of high-end detail, the Bose falls flat in my opinion. With certain songs, the speakers cannot resolve all the detail, and ultimately sounds very muddy, and its hard to discern individual elements of the song. I dont consider myself an audiophile or anything, but listening to music 2-3 hours everyday in your car and at home, you start to notice these things. My previous car was a Lexus IS250 with the stock stereo (which was quite good btw), and it did a much better job with high end detail (most likely due to the separate component speakers). The Bose does better in the mid-range and vocals, but overall the Lexus system sounded better. My fiance has the '11 Acura MDX with the ELS system, and that also sounds much clearer than the Bose. With the being said, the Bose is certainly not a bad system, and for 85% of my music, it sounds just fine. But there is certainly a lot of room for improvement. If I came across a large sum of money, I would like to hear what a full on aftermarket system could sound like in the FX.
 
It's not terrible and it's not great. It's right in the middle to me. I was expecting more from the bose system, but I tend to expect more with everything. The first mod on my list is to swap out the bose system for a full amplified set of component speakers. I would like to hear from someone that's done this as well.
 
I think it's a decent system, not the the best but way better than majority of the cars out there. The system lacks bass that's why I hooked up a aftermarket sub and amp. Now with the bass, Im liking it now especially listening to Hip hop, house and electronic music.
 
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for being standard, the bose is not too bad. compared to the mark levingston of lexus, it's not even close.

however, its a whole lot better than the bose on my audi.
 
Coming from a late model Tahoe with a pair of custom enclosed JL Audio 13W7's powered by a 3000 watt Alphasonik mono block I can relate to wanting more bass. That being said Im ok with the Bose factory system performance. Its exactly as defjamz stated, Bose speakers are made to cater to mid range frequencies better than most other speakers. They will not give you deep low frequencies or ear piercing highs. They sound best at mid range. Even their subwoofers are made to play mid level frequency bass. Its exactly the same way with my lifestyle setup at home. I am satisfied overall though with what we have in our FX's. (For now) :)
 
As with most in this thread, I agree that the system is fairly decent but not awesome by any means. I plan on adding an amp and subwoofer at some point down the line along with putting more sound deadening around the speakers themselves and I think it will greatly improve.
 
Chedman13 said:
On the first gen, the Bose speakers are not impressive at all. Take off your speaker grilles to see for yourself. Looks aren't everything but compare side by side to a quality speaker, it is pretty evident.

Bose bad? No, just not great. Sound processing is excellent though.
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100% agree. My FX50 has great separation, but no real umpfff! I took the sub apart and saw 2 tiny woofers that hardly move!
 
Bose blose, 1st or 2nd gen. I've waited to upgrade my ride as my commute was minimal but when I get it back or upgrade I'll switch it out. Under powered, underspeakered not for someone who appreciates quality. Defjamz write up pretty well summed the user experience.
 
I have a 1st gen. My stocker was pretty good. It needed more bass so I added an Alpine 500w sub and amp in a ported box. Bumps really well now. I also did the dash speakers to help tighten up the mid-highs at higher volumes. Wish the 1st gens had ipod connectivity though. At least the 2nd gens have an aux input. With the 1st gens you need an isimple to get any descent quality sound. Cassette or radio transmitters do not sound good at all.
 
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The first generation Bose system sounds great at higher volume if you keep the bass and treble adjustments flat or zero. The Bose produce mostly loud clear mid-range vocal sound with the volume half-way or more with a flat setting in my opinion. I have had people at work ask me if the system is stock due to the vocal clarity the Bose produce when they hear me pull into the parking deck. However, it you like more treble in your music, the Bose will disappoint you. I believe even the home Bose systems are mostly mid-range or vocal bias from what I heard when listening to the systems in the store showrooms. Therefore, I believe that Bose is great for classical music and other music that is enjoyed mostly for the vocals. If you listen to Hip-hop, Heavy Metal, or any music that is enjoyed mostly for the feel of the bass,you may want to go with aftermarket subs or redo the whole system completely due to the Bose subwoofer's weak bass presence in the music. But overall, the Bose is better than a typical non-amp car stereo setup from the factory that is powered by the radio only.
 
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I forgot about this thread :) A few months ago. I went ahead and did a full system upgrade in my fx (components, sub, amp) for the reasons discussed here. It was not cheap, but worth it for me since I commute over 2 hours a day. I still think that the stock Bose system is fine for a lot of people, but not so much for those who appreciate great audio or 'tweakers' like me. Bose = above avg sound, good separation, but limited range.
 
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