PJK3

"no highs, no lows... it must be Bose."

still all in all, it sounds like you're pretty well setup and i'm glad you're happy man... and i agree... for less than $50, the Bose is probably a legitimate solution.

next move -- definitely a HU. you think that the jump you made was major? there's another one just like it waiting around the corner.

CRX7

Thanks for the good information. Maybe I just didn't have the crossover set low enough.

Did you use a line level converter to change from the RCA preouts to line level for the inputs to the bose sub?

TR-S2K

Thanks Phil,
I am happy with what I have as of now, I can not imagine that the sound can be much better with aftermarket HU such as Alpine, how can it be ? But, then I did believe that the stock system was very good for the last several months, the only problem was it does not have sufficient power for highway speed with top down. Then it turn out that it is crabby, specially the stock speakers.

When times come to replace stock HU, I will ask for you guys help to select a good one that can play IPOD.

CRX7,
Yes, a second line output converter was used to convert speaker outputs of rear chanel to line level to connect to Bose inputs, I also opened up the Bose Amp to turn up the gain control to 3/4 of the max setting, it was set at 1/4 by the factory. The gain control is Yellow screw inside a Purple holder in the lower left conner of the amp. Also make sure that you connect the Bose inputs with correct phase, otherwise, it will sound terrible

R11

You guys just can't accept the fact that a properly set up and calibrated system that uses the stock HU can be good can you? No offense, I think you guys are providing an excellent help site here for a lot of people and you clearly have a lot of knowledge in the car audio arena, but you really need to take the blinders off. I can not speak for the pre-'04 HU (maybe it is really bad) but I can for the '04 (which TR-S2K has) and it is not a bad unit at all. I will grant that a high end aftermarket HU would probably provide a marginally better overall SQ system but the difference would be relatively minimal. To say that it will provide an increase anywhere near the kind he realized from adding good amplification and door speakers (forgetting the Bose semi-sub and unnecessary rear speakers ) is simply not the case. Again, it's not my intention to flame but I honestly think the "never use the stock HU" party line here is overblown. The '04 is really pretty good. The S/N is fine and the response curve may not be completely flat but that's easily remedied with adjustment. The person that can tell the difference between .005% and .05% THD probably needs to spend more money. Bells and whistles are always nice but to me additional equalization beyond simple B/T would be the main reason for aftermarket .

ron

PJK3

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TR-S2K
Thanks Phil,

Toxis

Hobbyist for over 12 years, been helping design/build competition cars (SQ and SPL) for 9 years (give or take), and working in the industry for over 5 years now, everything from box movers (CC for a year) and small specialty shops (4 years now) where I was able to learn a hell of a lot more than I ever thought I could. Now, I work for a larger retailer in my area selling home and car stereos, but specializing in home now (car was slow during the first part of the year). So I'm well rounded in all things audio (including some professional). As a hobbyist, I have done as much research on damn near every company out today and have done everything I could to hear just about anything out there... I'm sure there's more about my background, but this will do for now. Any other questions, feel free to PM me or catch me on AIM. I'm always up for a lil stereo chat.

CRX7

Just put my bose sub back in, it doesn't sound that bad, but it's better than nothing. It did took some work to get it running.

Trying to run it off of RCA preouts doesn't seem to work so good. I had to turn the subwoofer output all the way up and the other signals all the way down to get equivalent sound levels. It seems like the sub worked much better when I was running it off of of speaker level inputs through a level translator

Messing with the gain control didn't seem to do anything, nor did messing with the phase. Setting the crossover at about 80Hz seems best as all I seem to get is distortion and a bunch of port noise with signals above 100Hz.

Also, the sub pops when I turn it on and change tracks. Do yours do this as well?

I'm trying to use the 4V subwoofer preouts off of my Alpine 9815 headunit. I have to use the preouts as I don't get the use of the LP crossover otherwise.

mlrspwr

$30 is great and if it is good for you, then PERFECT.

I'm getting a HU with 3 sets of pre-amp 4v outputs. That way, I can add rears or sub at any time.

I too wanted to get away with the stock system -- hoping only the speakers were the weak link. Apparently after reading many posts, why upgrade one piece of the chain when the whole chain is weak?

But then again, if it works for you and is in budget, then that is all that matters.

TR-S2K

I have stock HU so that I connected the rear speaker output from HU to Line Output Converter then connect its outputs to Bose. The gain of this LOC is set at 3/4 of the max and the gain of Bose is also set at 3/4. With the trunk open, it is very loud. With trunk closed and inside the car, it is much less, but it's still complimenting the bass very well that the Kappa Perfect lack somewhat. Using fader control to listen to the front Perfects only, I can say that it not half as good with fader at center, at this position all 4 speakers and the sub are working very nicely, complimenting one another.

Yes, my Bose pops when I turn on/off HU, but not changing tracks. I will try to rewire the power lead to see if this popping still happen.

PJK3

rewiring the power lead?
don't bother.

we've discussed the popping in the past. and rewiring the power will not fix it.
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...ht=Bose+sub+pop


the popping comes because the sub senses an input signal to turn on the amp, and everytime the input signal fades out and turns back on - it shuts the amp off and then turns it on.

the Alpines have 0-bit tech, where when they sense no music signal, they send a 0-bit signal (essentially silence), which probably triggers the amp's signal sensing switch. also, since you're running a pre-amp output to the BOSE - that signal has a weaker strength than the OEM's noisier output.

the subwoofer output on Alpines isn't actually an 'increase dial'. it shows +15, but that is actually a signal of equivalent levels as the front and rear RCA's. when the sub level is set at +0, it's actually outputing a -15 dB signal w/ respect to the front and rear outputs.
also -- the BOSE sub is probably designed to get some sort of proprietary level signal from the BOSE system in the RSX... aftermarket HU's won't necessarily match up w/ that signal.
also -- why are you using the aftermarket crossover? i'd be surprised if the BOSE sub didn't have a built in crossover already... (no promises, but....) afterall, aren't there a number of people who are using this by just attaching it straight to the OEM rear channels?