vassil3427

Just have a quick question here. I have a stock accord, with a totally stock radio(cd-player). I have the ability right now to get an acura Bose system, consisting of front and rear speakers, along with the tweeters and sub. I would also be getting the amp. How would these sound being powered by my stock radio?

I'm not looking for anyone telling me to get an aftermarket head unit, I just want an answer to my question.

e3NiNe

what year accord? the 00-02's headunits were made by alpine and have a decent amount of sound.

it's not the head unit that would be the problem, it's the speakers. i've yet to hear a story about a single acura owner being pleased with the bose system. have you been in an RSX-S? their systems sound awful considering it's an "upgraded" option.

vassil3427

Does the Bose system really sound that bad? I have a 1997 Accord, I think the headunits were also made by alpine at that time....

Spyfunkr

Careful with Bose, they usually use powered speakers(amp at each speaker for each speaker). I do think someone said the system your looking at isnt like this. If it is, steer clear. Youll be sending a high level output from the stereo to the speaker amps - not good. What powers the sub? I dont know how you would wire that without blowing stock head unit. I, too, have heard a lot of folks complaining about the Acura Bose system.

Spy

tnrplaya

Bose car audio is a bit messy for most folks. Spyfunkr is right, each speaker has it's own amp. and to complicate things more. the speakers typically run at an abnormal impedance (far less than the typical 4ohms) If you really want Bose in your accord you could possibly look into buying each part of the stereo (all speakers, all amps, head, etc...) from possibly a CL and trying to install it into you accord, but I think with the money you'd spend doing that, you could get some pretty nice component stuff. Also Bose car audio is specific to each car. Every car with a stock bose system is evaluated acoustically by a Bose engineer, the speakers, amps and enclosures are cstom designed for that peticular car. The equalization is customized to the inherent acoustics of the interior of the car it was built for. I am a big fan of Bose, but i do think you need to use the product for what it was intended for...

SumAccordGuy94

NOT a good idea... and a total waste of time and money. You say it includes the sub... I would assume its from a TL or RSX-S then... which would mean the headunit will NOT fit your car. The TL and RSX-S decks have a large faceplate that integrates into the dash in the respective car... and only those cars.

Bose is rather overly complicated audio, with a huge price tag for no reason. They take very minimal power, at low impedance levels (usually 2 ohms) and power PAPER speakers with decent excursion (the distance the speaker is able to travel)... they use equalization to make it sound decent, but nothing like a good sounding stereo would. The drivers they use are very cheap, at about a dollar or 2 a piece.

The signal from the deck to the amplifier (in acuras a central amp was used... certain other makes of vehicles use amplified speakers [amplifier mounted directly to the speaker]) is also a very LOW level signal with an odd impedance... making integration with a non bose unit VERY difficult. This low level signal takes a lot of shielding to prevent any noise from entering the signal, so you'd need a custom harness to run from the deck to the amp.

You are looking at a total waste of time. If you want improved sound quality use your oem deck with some aftermarket speakers... you'll spend a hell of a lot less money and time installing... and it'll sound 10 times better.


The 98-00 accords used an alpine made deck in the EX models (the single CD, double DIN unit)... 01-02 accords used a pioneer unit (the 6 disc unit).

The cd player in the 97 accord was made by Panasonic, and tends to have some problems over time... not being able to play CDs.

EDIT: I noticed you never said anything about getting the Bose headunit... you can not use the deck in your car with a bose stereo... you'd have a lot of feedback.

Someone mentioned something about the sub being a problem... it wouldnt be, as the amp that came from the car has the ability to power it, it takes the signal from the front and rear signals from the oem deck. (most likely it was a seperate amp for just the sub, which would again complicate the wirring process more).

Spyfunkr

Low level signal PREVENTS noise.

"Someone mentioned something about the sub being a problem... it wouldnt be, as the amp that came from the car has the ability to power it, it takes the signal from the front and rear signals from the oem deck. (most likely it was a seperate amp for just the sub, which would again complicate the wirring process more)."

I mentioned the sub being a problem. And as you later pointed out in your paragraph, its an overall problem with integration.

Spy