deanrx8

Ignore me,

turns out I had screwed the speaker into the decklid, then into the loom, thereby grounding a line or two...

Muppet.

Dean

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Please add this picture of the PITA headunit bolt to the first post.

mpickens4

do i have to get that headunit replacement kit regardless of what aftermakret headunit I get

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Yep. Be aware Metra has just released their version of dash kit. Don't think it's listed in the first post of this topic. Review this forum. There is a 1,000 page look thread about it.

mpickens4

alright...thanks man

Eight

iTrader: (2)

Hi all just browsed through the posts and couldn't find the pinouts of the 2 Bose amp connections. Now I did some search but not a master at it if anybody can point out a link. I just bought myself a used oem Bose speakers and hu, I know they suck as they are mentioned many times but they were 100 bucks for all and you can't beat the price.LOL thanks

raphy3

I am a total speaker n00b, and I need a little advice connecting my HU to my Bose amp.
I have that little metra kit that's infamous in a few other threads, and it turns out it is incompatible with the Bose system out of the box. Mainly because if you mindlessly follow directions you're going to end up connecting you speaker level outputs from your HU into your metra wire harness which then feeds into your Bose amp. The result is the aftermarket HU's amp feeding the Bose amp and giving some major loud sound if you don't turn down your HU volume, and white noise when everything is silent.

The solution should be to wire up the RCA preouts from the HU into the metra harness, and then you've got preamp level outputs running to your Bose amp, and the result should be only one amp driving the speakers now. I wonder about a couple of things though: can you just hook those preouts from the aftermarket HU into the Bose system like that? My preouts are 2V for both the front and the back. And what about impedance matching? I don't know what the output impedance of my HU is, and the Bose speakers have different impedances depending on the speaker. Is matching it up going to be an issue, or is it ok just to wire up the RCA's as is; they are a pretty low voltage anyway.

The other thing I wonder is if it wouldn't be better to keep the HU speaker level outs and bypass the Bose amp, using only the aftermarket HU's amp. I mean, everyone keeps saying the Bose system is the worst possible thing you could ever have, so I would think that my $650 HU should have a better amp in it honestly, and since I paid all that money for it, should I just go and use that... lol? Too many questions. The Bose amps are probably putting out more power though, since it has a separate amp for front and back, whereas the HU has probably 250W max.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Regardless of how much you paid for the headunit, internal amps are all pretty similar. 22WRMSx4. The Bose amp surely outputs a little more than this. Yes, it adds an EQ curve as well. Use your new headunit to adjust the sound to your liking. I'm sure you'll have no problems. Deal with it until you can afford to switch out everything.

While it is true RCA preouts have an impedance rating, they are not used in the sense you are thinking. You're trying to compare speaker impedance with RCA impedance. Don't worry about it. You'll be perfectly fine using the RCA preouts to send to the Bose amps. I would be more worried and it not being loud enough with the 2V RCAs. (I've had problems with this in Nissan's with the Bose system) Plug it in and try. There are actual connectors made for this already. RCA on one end and speaker wire on the other. Rather than you hacking up a set of interconnects. Stop by your local Circuit City or Best Buy and just ask one of the installer for them. They'll probably give them to you for free. I would. I have piles of them because they're rarely used. If they need help jogging their memory, tell them they're color coded with the universal colors for speakers. White, Gray, Green, and Purple.

raphy3

Wow, that was really useful. So I can just connect the RCA preamps to the Bose amps without problems. Good to know. I'm gonna do that this weekend it looks like. I hope it'll be loud enough. But if not I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I was going to buy a few RCA connectors and solder wires to them, but since they have wires already for this purpose I'll look into that. Useful tidbit.

raphy3

Ok I'm posting a follow up on my attempt to use the RCA outs with my Bose amp. 2V is enough to drive it, but there are definintely other problems. See my post here in the metra kit thread. It seems in my case at least I cannot use the RCAs without ground loop isolators. It doesn't solve my problem of the overall low white noise level anyway though.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Higher voltage RCAs would cure this. That is the exact science behind high voltage RCAs. Try a line driver?

raphy3

Hmm, I see what you're saying. Higher voltage input to the amp might lower the overall base noise level. But would it help with the feedback problems from opening the doors and turning on the lights? Actually it might if the line driver had its own proper ground - it would probably force the RCAs from the HU to the proper ground. I'm thinking that ground loops are the problem at least.

Eight

iTrader: (2)

Very dumb question here but, got myself a pioneer gm4300f 4ch 400w max amp, read through the forums and I'm pretty confident of the install. (not installing subs).

I also got myself a wiring kit at the same time which came with a single 8 gauge power cable with 40A fuse, but the manual recommends dual battey cable with 2 30A fuse sold only as part number rd223.

Its very stupid to ask but is it safe to use the 40A fuse cable, than the recommended dual 30A fuse cable? or just swap out the 40A fuse with one 30A fuse? is there any bad reason to use a single power cable than dual?

Its a bad habit but I was hoping I can cut corners not having to buy another battery and ground wire kit.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Not a dumb question. And that's perfectly fine. Don't even bother switching fuse sizes.

Eight

iTrader: (2)

Great! now I dont have to buy anything else and wait for it to arrive. Went to radioshack in hopes of finding some fuses and wires but they dont have anything
thanks

Eight

iTrader: (2)

I was wondering if someone can add to the first posts that the mazda cd players are "not" interchangable. At least for the mazda 3 bose 6 disc cd changer I installed. (unless the bose and base face plates are configured differently)

The deck will fit perfectly but will not work properly.

I've did alot of research here and found out that most people would "say" that the mazda sound systems are modular and can be interchanged form other models. Where a couple would say no.

Being a newbie at this I think it should be posted here so that anybody thinking like me can be warned it does not work, rather than searching around for opinions that are scattered. (one of the down side of searching, is where you get bombarded with info that are old and are not updated or corrected)

Theres alot of Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 CD players sold on ebay that are also sold as being compatible with the rx8 which is also misleading, you cant tell the difference just by a glance.

but anyways
I was also wondering if anybody actually did a swap and made it work. I'm certain that the Mazda 3 players will not work with rx8 faceplate even though they fit. Only the steering buttons, load and eject works right, they rest of the buttons do not work or do different things. Unless I overlooked the fact that the bose faceplate and base faceplate buttons are configured differently, which is unlikely. (The harness at the back is pinned out the same for the 3s 6s, and 8s unless you have navigation or a bose amp the slots would just be empty)
Also the climate control and the display of the climate control will not work with all connections made perfectly. Only the clock and the cd changer display would be lit.

I'm hoping somebody would just tell me "hey, you just forgot to do this" and it'll all work perfectly lol

skrubol

iTrader: (1)

Couple questions that seem relevant:
For just adding a sub (to bose,) will pretty much any simple LOC work? The LOC6 seems like way overkill.
How do people take care of high-passing the bose speakers when using with a sub? Do they just have double bass? If nobody has worried about high-pass, does anyone know the input impedance of the amps?
Are there any generic (non-ipod, ie RCA or 1/8" input) aux in connectors that don't require using a blank CD? All the threads I found about aux-in connectors seemed to link to dead products. Are there any aux in connectors that allow control over USB for a computer?
Thanks.

sw-ontarioguy

Sorry for the newb question. I can wire up speakers and an amp and subs, but I'm lost when it comes to our cars.

What I want to do, is replace the entire system (speakers and amp) no big deal i can do that. I can install the speakers, but when it comes to the amp(s) i have a problem. What I want to do is run 2 amps off he factory head unit. IS this possible? I know if it has 2 pre-outs it is easy as pie. But if it doesn't, am I still able to?

Sorry for the newb question, but this thread confused me

Carroll182

This is what im getting ready to do, and someone please correct me if im wrong...

The answer is yes, what you can do is...

Buy an AudioControl LC6i (or...7, 8...whatever) i got the 6i...

Then depending on if you have bose or not... just run the wires from the headunit that control front speakers into channel 1, and run the rear into channel 2...

in my case, im doing a 4 chan. amp for my speakers, and a mono amp for my 12" Type R...

with the LC6i, you can run the channel 1 RCAs to channel 1 and 2 in the 4 chan amp.. and then run channel 2 into the channel 3 and 4...

and the LC6i auto-bridges channel 2 to 3 if there is no input for channel 3... so i will hook up the channel 3 RCA outs to the mono amp for my subs...

my only question is... would it be better to run the subs off rear channel or front?

and i have bose, not that it matters..

Imphaetus

iTrader: (3)

question about the Bose 9" door woofers; how much bass are you guys getting from these speakers stock? i bought my 04 2 months ago and i dont have ANY bass with the stock Bose system... im wondering if the door amps are blown or something along those lines. any info? there's sound coming from them but no bass, barely any mid, really.

i have a sub and amp but i dont like not having the trunk space and thinking of giving the sub and amp to my gf if there's something cheap that can be done to the stock stereo

raphy3

That is weird. You can get quite a bit of base from them actually. It's more basey than the rear speakers you'd have in other stock systems. My prev car was a tiburon with pretty good base in the rear speakers, and the front Bose speakers are definitely better than those.

That's not to say that the Bose speakers and amp in the RX8 aren't complete trash, though.

Imphaetus

iTrader: (3)

right now, my car sounds like it has nothing but crappy tweeters in it. im getting NO bass at all from the Bose system. i guess i could try some new bose door amps and see where that would lead to... anybody, by chance, have any bose door amps they're not using??

skrubol

iTrader: (1)

Bass on the Bose system isn't bad, it just isn't good. Seems odd that both amps or speakers would be blown though. Are the door amps on the same fuse as the stereo?
If you've got a multimeter you should try testing if the amps have power, signal in and signal out. If you don't have a multimeter you should get one.

Imphaetus

iTrader: (3)

yeah, i have a meter; i took the door panels off yesterday and checked out the amps to see if the previous owner disconnected them but everything was ok. ill check later today or tomorrow w/ the meter.

mat128

Can you change the center mid speaker without removing the whole dash?
According to the workshop manual, I have to do the following:

2. Remove the following parts:

(1) Lower panel (See LOWER PANEL REMOVAL/INSTALLATION.)
(2) Console (See CONSOLE REMOVAL/INSTALLATION.)
(3) Center panel module (See CENTER PANEL MODULE REMOVAL/INSTALLATION.)
(4) Center ventilator grille (See VENTILATOR GRILLE REMOVAL/INSTALLATION.)
(5) LCD unit (See LCD UNIT REMOVAL/INSTALLATION.)

I saw the picture in the first post, but im not sure the screws are accessible by simply removing the cover. The speaker itself is blown (still sounds, but buzzy), do you guys think I should replace it by the same unit or I should get something else? I plan on keeping the rest of the Bose system.

Thanks in advance