Seeking the help of audio Gurus

"Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud" (nimbus-the-legend)
10/26/2016 at 20:22 • Filed to: None

Hello there!

Its been too long since Ive posted.

Anyways, I installed a Kenwood double din touchscreen in my car. Used a metra harness to connect it to the stock audio system which has a Bose amplifier built in and located between the back seat and the trunk.

Since installing, I have a hiss at all volumes, and even when volume is at zero, but no hiss when the head unit is turned off...

A friend of mine suggested that i might need a resistor or something.

Anyone have a clue how to get rid of the hiss with out having to buy all new component speakers and/or running another amp?

Considering the age of the car, I’d rather not spend more money on this car than necessary to keep it decent, so buying 4 5", 2 6x9s, and a pair of tweeters is out since they still work just fine and i have other things i need to spend on...

DISCUSSION (7)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud
10/26/2016 at 20:29

Bose amp needs to go, it will definitely not work properly with an aftermarket headunit to just plug and play. You probably need to look at a wiring diagram to not screw it up, but either way the amp needs to go to simplify things. You will likely need to custom wire things due to the amp setup so that is why I suggested figuring out exactly how that wiring works.

You likely can’t keep the factory speakers either since Bose likes to integrate the whole setup. You can try but it will at best sound pretty poor. This is why Bose stands for “Buy Other Sound Equipment”.

Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/26/2016 at 20:39

Yea, I was told by a few electrical sound engineers that there is a way to if i use resistors or a converter of some sort but they failed to give me details...

Tripper > Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud
10/26/2016 at 20:44

Sounds like you trashed the pre outs in your head unit. Are you getting it on both channels?

Edit: I miss understood. Your going to have to bypass that bose amp. Metra makes amp bypass harnesses for a few cars.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud
10/26/2016 at 20:49

Yeah there are quite a bit of details involved with that. Unless someone makes a plug and play harness type thing to eliminate it, I wouldnt mess with that. They are certainly correct that you could do that but it will likely be cheaper and easier to get new speakers. Plus you can keep them and reinstall the OEM equipment when you move on to a different car most likely.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Tripper
10/26/2016 at 20:55

Doesn’t it depend on how Bose wired it? I know in my car, the Bose system was amped directly on speakers, meaning they couldnt be reused without custom wiring. If it is a separate amp, wouldn’t just removing the amp connection at the wiring harness cut it out of the loop?

Matt Nichelson > Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud
10/26/2016 at 21:14

I had an 03 350z that had the same issue when i upgraded the head unit. The tiny little amp they put in those were not very good so i just took it and the sub out and went aftermarket on both.

Tripper > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
10/26/2016 at 21:16

Yes I forgot about that, different resistance on Bose speakers. I’m sure there is some fancy pants wiring you can do, but if it were me I’d be buying new speaks if the bypass is easy enough