I was looking at what would fit my car on Crutchfield.com , and I filled in the year, make, model, and all that stuff, and it asked if I have the bose stereo or not. How do I know if I have it? Mine has the 7-band equalizer if that helps

Do your front speaker grills say BOSE?
If they don't, then you don't have have it.
You could also look in the trunk. If you see a little black box in the middle left, that's the amp.

It's a lot easier to swap HU's if you do not have the BOSE. If you're a stereo guru, then you'll enjoy the challenge, if you do have the BOSE.

Yeah, Austin got it right.

The bose speakers say BOSE at the bottom of the doors (the 5" speakers).

I think the bose have extra speakers in the rear deck (I have BOse and the rear has 6x9 and another 4" or 5" round speaker on each side).

The amp in the trunk is probably the tell tale sign.

Here's something to ponder, a few months back I was inspecting the fuses and I came across a fuse location marked 'Amp' and there was a fuse in it. Now, I don't think I have a Bose. Think I should run the options in the car.

You could try.

I would guess that "amp" could mean your regular CD player, or it could just be that they put fuses in every fuse box regardless of the options that car had.

Just guesses...

PS - If I get out of work early today I will take photos of the BOSE system for you all. Not sure If I can get a good shot of the BOSE amp though, my Kicker amp is mounted to the rear deck. it might be in the way.

My 97 S.E has the extra 4" or 5" round speaker
beside the 6x9 but my speaker grills don't
say bose though and I don't remember seeing the amp on the trunk as well.Could this be just an upgrade of the basic stereo?

I was probably just wrong.

BOSE was not offered on the 97's. An upgraded sound system, or something like that, was offered on the 97's. Amp is somewhere under the dash.

The HUs with the the EQ have an amp installed. Where it's at I have no clue.

well I just went out and bought an Eclipse HU, and I'm getting it installed monday. I'd put it in myself, but I dont really feel like doing it, so yeah.

I have the premium sound package, with the 6 speaker stereo system and the 7 band equilizer, but no Bose

Me too!

Is the bose that much better?

I like my BOSE.

For the '97's, the upgraded stereo had the EQ and a six speaker setup (4 on the rear deck).

i wish i had the bose or some more speakers in the car, it's got decent sound in it, but just needs a few more speakers or something. the old aurora we had didn't have the bose system, but it had speakers in all the doors unlike the gp and i think that made a big difference in sound.

I think they are the best "factory" speakers I've ever had in a car.

When I got my HU installed, the guys at the installation shop were very impressed as well. They said the speakers in the doors were mounted at the perfect angles, and the sound from the speakers was excellent. They said it's amazing how far auto companies have come with their audio systems in the past ten years. They are rivaling after market systems for sound quality in some cases.

That's why I'm in no hurry to change mine out.

I dont have the bose speakers in my car but the ones I have sound pretty damn good. I think their better than the 4 inch and 6x9 clarion speakers that I had in my cavalier.

These stock ones are nice, but I can never resist some good ol fashioned Alpine speakers

you're better off w/o the BOSE if you ever plan to change your speakers, etc out

You can change the speakers out fine, it's the HU you'll have problems with, actually it's the BOSE wiring harness that will be giving you the problems.

I have the BOSE, and as an audiophile it was not enough, so I upgraded the HU and bypased the BOSE amp, the difference was night and day, I kept the BOSE speakers because they sound very well and they are not overwhelmed by the RF subs, the radio was by far the best upgrade I have ever done on my car, the wiring was a little challenging but if you have the schematic is relatively easy, the reward is great sound that doesn`t break the bank!

You're forgetting about the two tweeters on the doors, which makes it 8 speakers...

Did the '97's have the tweeters in the doors?

Yes the BOSE speakers are excellent and the clarity of the sound is great. But my system's BASS is not to my liking, I guess that's the AMP's fault. Plus not being able to put an AUX input into it is really a minus. I bought an XM Skyfi radio and the only thing I could do is use an FM Modulator, which is terrible. I think the Monsoon is a MUCH better system by far. More volume, more BASS and can definitely use an AUX input.

BTW, how do you count the number of speakers? I'm not a stereo person, but I have two large Subs I guess in the rear, each seeming to have 2 speakers in each. Two tweeters in the front doors and two real little ones on the corner of the front door windows. I guess those are speakers? So that is 6, unless you count the tiny ones 8?

Yes, the bass is poor, but with a HU upgrade and some subs, it's really a great system.

FYI I found this link by Edmonds. Granted, a lot of the sound depends on the shape of the car cabin, and the actual speakers used, but they ranked the Audi A4 BOSE system ahead of the Monsoon system in the VW Passat

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/100987/article.html

2 6x9's in the rear deck
2 4" also in the rear deck
2 mid range in the doors
2 tweeters also in the door
8 total number of speakers in the car for a BOSE system.

I just bought some Eclipse 5 1/4" speakers today to replace the stockers up front, and I'll be buying some kenwoods for the back pretty soon.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the list is in no particular order

KyleGT I would recommend staying with the eclipse speakers or getting the alpines. They are much better quality than Kenwood.

As for the 6x9s I really think Im gonna go with Kenwoods, because that's what I had in my Corsica, and they sounded great. Also, the Kenwoods can handle lower frequencies (I think the lowest they can handle is like 28 Hz, whereas the Eclipse and Alpine 6x9s only go down to like 40 HZ.). Theres a few songs I listen to alot that have some really really low notes that you just can't hear in speakers that can't handle low enough frequencies.

I would probably get the Alpines or Eclipses if I were to have a subwoofer, but I can't see myself getting one anytime soon.

No sub? Thats the first thing I get! I sugggest some kicker subs and a large amp. You will never be without once youve had them.

Yep, I'm happy with my Kickers, even if my amp is weak. Amps get pretty expensive.

What kickers do you have? I had 2 10 inch comp vr first but they got stolen. Now I have 2 10 inch solobarics. Big amps are super expensive, thats were having dual voice coils comes in handy.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a sub or 2, but they take up soo much space and cost a little too much for me. Well, subs themselves are decent priced, but then you have to buy a box, amp, wiring, etc.

I have 2 10" comp vrs. They are in a standard box. I had them wire it with something called a "bullet plug" (I think that is the name). It's a gold plated fitting that "pops" out of the sub enclosure so I can remove my subs real easy. It's come in handy when I want to use the pass through.

I guess it degrades the sound quality a bit, but I don't notice it.

So yeah... I finally have my speakers installed now. They sound great!!!

I had 2 10" Punches and 1 60W RF Punch amp, a 30 dollar amp intallation kit (total cost 300$) did not want a box for several reasons, space, money, weight, etc. so I mounted the speakers on the rear deck in place of the 6X9ers using the free air theory I use the trunk as my box, the sound improved 80% which proves that sound just as in performance does not have to break the bank when done right.

So you got rid of your 6x9s?! I'm guessing you only had the ones in the doors for your mid/low range speakers then?

[/qb][/QUOTE]So you got rid of your 6x9s?! I'm guessing you only had the ones in the doors for your mid/low range speakers then? [/QB][/QUOTE]

yes, if you look at the BOSE wiring diagram the 6X9ers ARE your subwoofers! (part of the reason why bass is the major complaint on our systems) when I had the amp wired to the stock HU I had to put the gain on my amp to the MAX and the HU bass to the MIN in order to hear my mid range, talk about being restricted, but then I bought my HU that has multiple gain controls, 7 band equilizer, SUB gain, etc already incorporated, I bypassed the mediocre BOSE amp and I was in car audio nirvana in less than $600 total!

So you got rid of your 6x9s?! I'm guessing you only had the ones in the doors for your mid/low range speakers then? [/QB][/QUOTE]

yes, if you look at the BOSE wiring diagram the 6X9ers ARE your subwoofers! (part of the reason why bass is the major complaint on our systems) when I had the amp wired to the stock HU I had to put the gain on my amp to the MAX and the HU bass to the MIN in order to hear my mid range, talk about being restricted, but then I bought my HU that has multiple gain controls, 7 band equilizer, SUB gain, etc already incorporated, I bypassed the mediocre BOSE amp and I was in car audio nirvana in less than $600 total! [/QB][/QUOTE]

Hmm...interesting.

Still happy with my setup. 8 speakers and 2 subs. Plenty of bass. All is good.