I have the Bose system in my Infiniti car and it sounds great- the sub woofer vibrates the whole car!

On my new 2008 LE all I hear are the front speakers, if I fade to the back they are really weak and the sub woofer is almost no existent

Is this the best it gets?

Yeah, the Bose system is just a re-branded Panasonic POS. IMO. Those subs don't even look like a sub.

They look like tweeters....

I filled the Sub with Polyfil. You just unbolt the driver's seat, tilt it back, and remove the sub box. Pull out the wimpy little speaker in the sub box a loosly fill the box with Polyfil pillow stuffing and put it all back together. It only helps a little but is ok for me.

You can also replace that wimpy little speaker in the Sub box with a larger one if you don't mind modifying it. Or, you could replace the whole thing with a real Sub.

Hope that helps a little.

Fading to the back eliminates the subwoofer. I know it seems bass-akwards....but I have grown to love this feature (even if the bass is a bit weak).

When someone in the 2nd or 3rd row is using one of the audio sources (movie, radio, video game etc), they are using the rear speakers as that source for sound. Meanwhile the front passengers can listen to the radio, CD, MP3 etc and still have a full spectrum (thanks to the subwoofer being under the driver's seat).

Is this the "best" system in an SUV, probably not. Sure I can build a better one, but how much time, money, and effort would that take?

I am trying to get used to the sound quality. I started with high expectations but I had to lower them once I bought my mada. It feels like there is nothing coming from the back. I sit in my truck most days for lunch and watch DVD's so I think I am gonna need to look into aftermarket speakers probably seperates for the back doors and maybe a 10 in the trunk. What do you guys have/ think? I had an altima w/ 2 Audiobahn 12" aluminum cones subs a RF power 1100 and Punch 250a2 amp w/ JL interior seperates in from and 6" coaxials in back. I want to have similar sound quality but I don't need all the bass.

Has anyone replaced the sub with a different speaker in the stock enclosure? Also, I'm not happy about the fact there is no multiband eq to adjust besides treble and bass.

glad to know its just me- You are so right- I don't even hear the rear speakers! I looked under the seat at the "subwoofer" Nissan should be ashamed. and the rebranding of Panasonic? well that answers all my questions.

My first major disappointment with my mada-- For a $50k vehicle you expect a little more.

Anyone who thinks they are really getting Bose speakers in their vehicle today is sorely mistaken. Bose has been selling their name for over 20 years.

Anyone who thinks they are really getting Bose speakers in their vehicle today is sorely mistaken. Bose has been selling their name for over 20 years.

I am appaled! I cannot believe that all this time I have been bragging to myself that I am rolling around in a Bose system. It makes sense that it is not because I often will be driving thinking to myself "How come the sound in this sucks even though I have a Bose system?"

Thank you BlakSpyda for educating me on the truth of the matter.

Glad to be of service!:thumbup:

Guys....I hate to be the further bearer of bad news, but Bose is really nothing to write home about to start with.

Their home systems are incredibly overpriced. Check out any "true" A/V website (avsforum, sound and visionmag, etc.) and you'll see that Bose gets no love there...and with good reason.

Most (if not all) of their car systems are built in such a way that you cannot change out one speaker w/out changing out the entire system. The reasoning is quite simple...they're trying to keep people from realizing how pitiful the "upmarket" Bose system is.

Sayings like:
Bose Blows
Bose- Better Sound through Marketing
have been created for a reason ;)

I have a 2003 Infiniti and the Bose system rocks, the car has a real subwoofer centered in the back deck, the system sounds awesome- the one in my amada does not sound as good as other stock systems I have had in other vehicles. Nissan needs to change this

I had an Xterra with the Rockford Fosgate and it sounded better

The Bose name is living off of their reputation from the 70s. The have been a POS since then. Their name used to be synonomous with sound quality. Not any more.

I agree with all that our BOSE system stinks. My wife has a BOSE in her Acura and it rocks!! Perhaps it is the size of the cabin?

I did not know that Nissan is using the BOSE name with Panasonic equipment? WTF? If that is true - and I don't doubt it - that s@cks!

I would love to find an easy upgrade.

A little more about BOSE - about 3 years ago I bought a 61" DLP TV and wanted surround sound for my large living room. I automatically thought of BOSE. My buddy is a big AV geek and was dead set against it. Like many true audio/video fans they prefer other systems - basically anything but BOSE. As a confirmed novice I had no idea. Every BOSE system I ever heard sounded great. I have friends with BOSE at home and it is awesome. Plus, as mentioned, most lay people see BOSE and think quality. Anyway, at that time there was only two systems in my price range. The BOSE 123 and the Lifestyle. The first was $1k and the other was $2k+.

Incidentally, he talked me into getting a Harmon Kardon receiver with Energy Loudspeakers. I had heard of HK but never heard of Energy. He writes for an audio magazine so was able to get me a great price on the Energy 5 channel surround system. I think it retailed for $800-$100 and I got it for $400 plus another $400 for the HK. Is it better than BOSE? I have no idea - since I never had a BOSE hooked up in MY living room. I often wonder since sometimes I have trouble hearing voices and feel my satellites don't add enough SURROUND sound. I get plenty of bass - it shakes the house! Perhaps I need someone to come in and properly tune it. My living room is 24X24 so that adds to the challenge compared to a smaller room.

Bose speaker design tchnology is what has kept them alive. Their speakers have chambers that split the sound to fill a room. The speakers in the box can be any cheap old speakers and work.

For those of you who like your Bose systems in your other vehicles...good. I won't tell you otherwise, but I won't agree with you since hearing is different to everybody. :)

However....

Bose is notorious for losing their highs and lows ("No highs; no lows; must be Bose!) and the car environment is much more forgiving to this dynamic since there is so much extraneous noise in a car cabin.

I'm not an audio snob per see, but I have never heard a "good" Bose car system. They may sound punchy and deep, but the bass is always boomy and just noisy. It does not sound like it should. Similarly, highs are cut off and lost. Look at the speaker frequencies (for whatever they are actually worth) and see where Bose claims their speaker's ranges are.

To Boston Bob...the dig (beyond what I just mentioned above) on Bose is that you can recreate a superior sound system for significantly less money than Bose charges. I'll bet that your system sounds significantly better than both Bose systems that you were looking at, especially at the high/low end.

When we built our house a few years ago, a neighbor showed off his new Bose system to us and you could completely see his dismay when he heard mine and then heard what I spent on it to get sound that was significantly better than his. Even his wife said something along the lines of "this sounds so much better than ours. I thought you said that Bose was the best".

They do continue to sell well based upon their previous reputation and consumer's misplaced perception that their current products are worth the investment.

My wife crinkles whenever an auto salesperson starts their sales talk about how good the Bose system is. I usually just tell them that I won't hold the Bose system against their product! ;)

I know Im late on this but I have an 08 LE with the BOSE sub up in the dash board and it vibrates the mirrors...Im puttin 2 12s in the back to help it out though

I Believe your sub woofer is under the front seat- mine is- take a look at it but be prepared to laugh- when I first saw it I did not know what it was-now I do--- it is a joke

Glad that I am not alone. Ive been telling myself that its 'not that bad' when the wife says the sound in the Mada sucks. The FX had bose with a sub in the spare tire, and it had some bass! My G35, I had a custom box, and a JL 10w6 with a JL500/1 and that was clean and had nice bass.

The Mada SQ is not horrible, but does leave alot to be desired, it has clean bass, but not enough balance.. I have been looking into a rear sub box, that still allows cargo space.. so maybe a downward firing carpeted low profile sub box with a flat top. But then I am sure rattles and noises would be a BIG problem. I had to install Dynamat Xtreme throughout the G35..

Bose is living on their name, they spend 40 cents of every dollar on advertising. how do you move into the milenium with all of these other A/V companys when you spend 40% of your money trying to get people to by outdated (although good stuff in their time) equipment.
I swaped out my front stage for a pair of KEF separates and replaced the bose sub for a custom box under the front seat (really tight).