I have a 1999 3.2 TL and I have just purchased a Kenwood MP919 HU. I have Two questions:

1) Is there a dash installation kit for my TL? I can't seem to find one.

2) My factory system is Bose, the way I understand it is that each speaker has its own amp. To get this to work correctly, I either have to by all new speakers or bypass all the amps on each speaker. Is this correct? Is there an alternative?

Thanks in advance

Rus

 

There is no pre-made dash kit for your car... if there was, it'd look like crap.

There is a trunk mounted amp for all the speakers... I believe in the TL it is either on the under side of the rear deck, or in one of the rear corners of the trunk, just inside the taillights... behind the carpeting.

To install a new deck, you'll need a custom fabricated dash plate, and either find a way to send a signal to the stock amp... by using a low-level signal... or bypass the amp and replace all the speakers. The sound gained by just changing the deck, and using the stock amp and speakers isnt all that great. I Highly recomend a complete set-up... new amp(s) and all new speakers... the Bose speakers really suck.

email ron@streeteffectz.com for information on a custom dash mount... he has done a few that came out really nice.

 

I've never heard Bose speakers in a car, all the ones I've ever heard for home theater have been amazing. I'd think that the auto ones would be good. Have any specs on the speakers they use?

 

take a listen to a bose home theater... then listen to a comparably priced home theater system... say with Polk, Boston... etc. speakers, using good components, say from Denon. You're gonna spend about the same money, but the "custom built" system is gonna sound 10 times better.

They use tiny, cheap, paper speakers in those "dual cube" speakers... no actual tweeters, just full-range drivers... and when they do use tweeters (say in the 301 series speakers) they are cheap cone tweeters. All ingredients for making a typical "boom box" stereo... no quality components.

The car stereos follow the same crappy guidelines... very little power, cheap paper speakers... and the same classic crappy sound. They have a way with equilazition, that makes their speakers sound some-what decent... but they are no comparision for REAL speakers...

Bose is just a marketing scam... they take CHEAP products, and spend millions on marketing, so people "think" they are a great product... then they jack up the prices, so again, people think they are buying a quality product... they're wrong. Bose is a total joke.

 

Metra dosnt make an install kit for the TL
you might try another manufacturer.
as for the amp the TL has 1 amp in the back that drives the factory subwoofer. the HU itself has a 12 watt x 4 channel amp built into it but there is an external EQ unit that sits above the factory radio.
you can amplify the stock speakers i have found you can usually run a lot more then they are rated for if you cross them over to eliminate any low bass from getting to them.
as for the speakers. actually cheap thin paper cones are more of a bennifit that the previous post would imply, a light weight paper cone may look kind of cheap but it also is a lot more efficient than a heavy cone. it also reproduces higher frequencies than a poly or other heavy cone will.
also as much as im not defending bose they do have many patents on their products. you dont patent somthing that is a peice of crap. the bose system in the TL (and i happen to have one) actually sounds pretty good. i have had several people comment on how good the staging is in my car. in fact if i were to make a judgement i would say it is by far the best sounding stock system i have ever heard. also if you read some consumer reports on the bose system in the TL you will find that also the editor's say that it is one of the best sounding OEM stereo they have heard also.

 

haha, you're funny!! Bose is total crap.

an untreated paper speaker with a foam surround?? that dosent make for a $1000 price tag! Yeah, a paper speaker may give some more highs than a poly cone... but nothing close to a real coaxial speaker, or component set can provide. I can go on and on... but I dont wanna waste my time.

 

The have Bose speakers on some stupid video game at the local arcade here.

 

Thanks guys, I am getting a guy I know to build me a dash kit. As far as the amps, the after market player i bought is 50 watt x4. So what is the best way to go about getting the best sound with the speakers I already have - to bypass the one amp in the trunk? I probably will upgrade in the future but for now Im sticking with the factory speakers.
Also, my two cents: Bose does have a few good ideas in some of their products, but I agree that for the same money there are a LOT of better products. What was said about the marketing of Bose is right on the money. Its just the most recognizable name in the so called "high end" equipment. Most people that say Bose is one of the best has never heard of many of the other high end name brands...but whatever.

 

Thats really funny!! Ive never seen that before! What game is it, do you remember?


My local stereo place sells Bose, just because some people have it so set in their mind that its sooo great. Its funny though, people go there wanting to buy a bose home theater... they listen to the bose home theater systems... and then listen to a real high-end set-up (they also sell Denon, Boston, Polk, Mission... a bunch of other high end names) and they end up buying the real stuff. The owner of the place is a good family friend of mine, and he always tells me how "bose lovers" end up sticking their nose up at bose.

 

Yeah it is funny, it was the old school Bose speakers that look like a rectangle, I dont know the style or name of them but they werent the cube ones. It was on a game called Cops where you shoot at the screen and everything. Just thought it was pretty funny.