Does anyone know who makes the stock Nissan Bose Radio? I'm trying to get the Sirius radio for my Armada But Nissan is out of their kits until June. I think Clarion makes it but does anyone know for sure? If it is Clarion i think you can get their kit for around $100.00 Thanks
Stock Radio Manufacturer?
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There is a TSB on the radio for those who had the "stereo fade" issue in the early '04 models. According to the text of the TSB, the Bose head unit is actually made by Panasonic.
You should find the info here:
http://www.infinitihelp.com/Ownership/Bulletins/Nissan/2004/NTB04-087.htm
You should find the info here:
http://www.infinitihelp.com/Ownership/Bulletins/Nissan/2004/NTB04-087.htm
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Armada said:
I think you are both right. The head unit is a Clarion name but made by Panasonic....just what I've heard, can't prove it though.
TAKE IT TO A CAR AUDIO SHOP THAT KNOWS WHAT THERE DOING SO THAY DONT MESS ANY THING UP AND THAY SHOULD BE ABLE TO TELL YOU AND SHOW YOU WHAT YOUR OPTIONS ARE BUT MAKE SURE ITS A BIG SHOP SO YOU CAN WORK THEM TO GET THE DEAL YOU WANT AND SHOP AT OTHERS SO THAY HAVE TO FIGHT FOR YOUR BISNESSmeyers7j said:
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Quite right. Go to a qualified audio guy and have it done. Stock radios are not made to aftermarket specs. A car manufacturer makes specs they want for the radio, then places an order with specs, etc. to an assembler, not maker. These and all other radios from the manufacturer are assembled by Panasonic/clarion/etc. I doubt very highly that they would be compatible with any aftermarket items. I used to install professionally for 3 years and used to laugh at "stock" systems made by "aftermarket" companies.
Remember, BOSE stands for Buy Other Stereo Equipment.
Remember, BOSE stands for Buy Other Stereo Equipment.
This may be a bit long and wordy. I'll try to keep it as short as I can and do justice to the issue.
1. There are a ton of guys over at TitanTalk who have made mods to their sound systems, from minor to major to complete replacement and everything in between. Do a search and check the threads there. You are likely to find just about any info you might want.
2. I'm no fan of Bose, but I do have the audiophile bug and use professional grade equipment (although I'm an amateur) to set up my high end home "stereo" and my home theatre equipment. I have posted several places (I believe here, TitanTalk and Nissan Off-Road) about my testing of the Bose system in our Armadas. My findings are that despite my anti-Bose bias, the system is remarkably flat throughout the midrange and high frequencies.
The only problem I found in frequency response was a very, very bad, gross, horrible (I can't find words strong enough in a family forum) over-emphasis of the upper and mid bass, consistent with cabin resonance and perhaps poor choice of cross-over frequency between the sub and the door speakers in the mid bass region, around 80-120 hz range.
In my truck, if you turn the bass all the way down to "-4" or "-5" it flattens out pretty nicely and still has strong bass coming from the sub. After making that adjustment, just to make sure my sound level meter and test tone CD were not lying to me, I played a CD of cathedral pipe organ music and the sub would still rattle the windows.
I've replaced the factory junk in almost every vehicle I owned, but I'm leaving this one alone - that one adjustment got me as close as I've ever been able to get with high end aftermarket stuff in a car/truck environment. Now, if you need a lot more power, that's another issue.
3. There is still confusion regarding who actually makes our Bose head unit. I posted the TSB up above and noted that Nissan seems to be dealing with Panasonic to obtain the units for replacement. But that does not mean that standard Panasonic or Clarion plugs are used. I don't know.
4. Let me confuse the manufacturer issue even more! If you click on my link above and read the TSB you will see a photo of a typical "sticker" on the unit. Note that it has a "Visteon" part number. If you "Google" that name you are likely to be in for a shock. Here is their web site.
http://www.visteon.com/
Visteon is, get this, a spin-off of Ford Motor Company!!! It is their former auto electronics division, like Delco for GM. It remains the major supplier of auto electronics for Ford, but also supplies stuff for a lot of other car makers. Gasp! Ford stuff in our Nissans! Maybe Visteon works in coordination with Bose? Maybe it outsources the head unit to Panasonic, hence the separate Panasonic part number for that? I just don't know what in the world to think of a Visteon label inside a Nissan vehicle.
But because of this, if you can't find the answer from all the Titan guys over at TitanTalk, then the advice given by others here to take it to a professional shop for the conversion kit to operate the Sirius radio is "sound advice." But if they try to suggest you change out the whole system because it is junk, you might want to spend $40 on a RadioShack sound level meter and about $30 on a test CD and do your own testing first. Once you get rid of the cabin resonance, you might be surprised at how good the system actually is.
1. There are a ton of guys over at TitanTalk who have made mods to their sound systems, from minor to major to complete replacement and everything in between. Do a search and check the threads there. You are likely to find just about any info you might want.
2. I'm no fan of Bose, but I do have the audiophile bug and use professional grade equipment (although I'm an amateur) to set up my high end home "stereo" and my home theatre equipment. I have posted several places (I believe here, TitanTalk and Nissan Off-Road) about my testing of the Bose system in our Armadas. My findings are that despite my anti-Bose bias, the system is remarkably flat throughout the midrange and high frequencies.
The only problem I found in frequency response was a very, very bad, gross, horrible (I can't find words strong enough in a family forum) over-emphasis of the upper and mid bass, consistent with cabin resonance and perhaps poor choice of cross-over frequency between the sub and the door speakers in the mid bass region, around 80-120 hz range.
In my truck, if you turn the bass all the way down to "-4" or "-5" it flattens out pretty nicely and still has strong bass coming from the sub. After making that adjustment, just to make sure my sound level meter and test tone CD were not lying to me, I played a CD of cathedral pipe organ music and the sub would still rattle the windows.
I've replaced the factory junk in almost every vehicle I owned, but I'm leaving this one alone - that one adjustment got me as close as I've ever been able to get with high end aftermarket stuff in a car/truck environment. Now, if you need a lot more power, that's another issue.
3. There is still confusion regarding who actually makes our Bose head unit. I posted the TSB up above and noted that Nissan seems to be dealing with Panasonic to obtain the units for replacement. But that does not mean that standard Panasonic or Clarion plugs are used. I don't know.
4. Let me confuse the manufacturer issue even more! If you click on my link above and read the TSB you will see a photo of a typical "sticker" on the unit. Note that it has a "Visteon" part number. If you "Google" that name you are likely to be in for a shock. Here is their web site.
http://www.visteon.com/
Visteon is, get this, a spin-off of Ford Motor Company!!! It is their former auto electronics division, like Delco for GM. It remains the major supplier of auto electronics for Ford, but also supplies stuff for a lot of other car makers. Gasp! Ford stuff in our Nissans! Maybe Visteon works in coordination with Bose? Maybe it outsources the head unit to Panasonic, hence the separate Panasonic part number for that? I just don't know what in the world to think of a Visteon label inside a Nissan vehicle.
But because of this, if you can't find the answer from all the Titan guys over at TitanTalk, then the advice given by others here to take it to a professional shop for the conversion kit to operate the Sirius radio is "sound advice." But if they try to suggest you change out the whole system because it is junk, you might want to spend $40 on a RadioShack sound level meter and about $30 on a test CD and do your own testing first. Once you get rid of the cabin resonance, you might be surprised at how good the system actually is.
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And, remember the Titans have different systems than us. No BOSE, they use Rockford Fosgate (not really) setups.
Indeed the Titans don't have the Bose system. And there seem to be different speakers, maybe a different sub for the Titan. But if the TSB I posted is accurate, it applies to all 6-disk CD head units. There does not seem to be any difference between the head unit for the Bose system and that for the Rockford Fosgate.
And, as an aside, the Bose and RF labeling may just be a licensing arrangement with those companies. The speakers may be made by someone else to agreed upon specifications under the licensing agreement.
But I find no evidence that once you take the face plate off, that the head units are different. I could be wrong, but the fade problem is common to the radio section of the head unit, it affects the 6 disc models only (which is all we have), and applies to both Titans and Armadas, covers the same part numbers and the same time frame.
Has anyone actually found any difference in the head units regardless of what label is on the faceplate?
And, as an aside, the Bose and RF labeling may just be a licensing arrangement with those companies. The speakers may be made by someone else to agreed upon specifications under the licensing agreement.
But I find no evidence that once you take the face plate off, that the head units are different. I could be wrong, but the fade problem is common to the radio section of the head unit, it affects the 6 disc models only (which is all we have), and applies to both Titans and Armadas, covers the same part numbers and the same time frame.
Has anyone actually found any difference in the head units regardless of what label is on the faceplate?
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