I have spent 2 days searching threads on replacing Bose stereo, please help.

[Parker986]

Thank you for your response.

Originally Posted by particlewave

I'm not really sure what you're looking for here...you can get 10 different replies with 10 different setups. There is no single solution. Do some in shop research and go with what your ears tell you I am looking for someone that has the same OEM Bose '03-'04 setup I have, and exactly what they replaced them with, including head unit, amplifier, speakers, sub-woofers, etc. And, did they have to replace wires. Did they select one or two amps, and why.

Fwiw, I went pretty basic and it still blows the stock system away by a long shot. Sony Xplod HU(50 watts x 4) and Xplod amp(250 watts mono). The head unit powers 4 infinity 3 way "subs" in the dash and doors (you put subs in your dash?)(5" iirc), and the amp powers a 8" kicker sub. Way more sound than I need and it sounds amazing at 75mph with the top down. Thank you, I will look at your setup.

As far as your rear deck box, there are lots of threads about replacement speakers. I certainly must be doing something wrong because when I searched on +rear +deck +speakers only one result came up. So, maybe you can tell me how to find lots of threads about replacement speakers.

Here is where I am today.
1. I am trying to decide between a single DIN and double DIN
2. Would like bluetooth, iPod connectivity, HD radio, but not interested in Navigation (have iPhone for that). Besides, the navigation in my BMW stinks.
3. Willing to modify OEM brackets in dash to get good speakers to fit.
4. Would prefer to replace OEM Bose speakers in doors with same size that fits without modifying, but would be willing to do so. Here is one thing I am confused about; are my door speakers subwoofers or not, since I have a subwoofer in the rear deck? Do I replace those door speakers in the doors with two-way speakers or pure woofers? Maybe I do not know the difference between woofers and sub-woofers.
5. Can I find an amplifier that will fit exactly where the OEM Bose amp is located in the front trunk? How do I know if it needs to be a 4 channel or something else? Many people have two amps. Is that really necessary?
6. I would prefer not to have to run new wires. Is that possible, do I need adapters to make this work?
7. What are people replacing all those speakers in the rear deck with? I found one post in a DIY forum about a guy replacing the two woofers with Kickers, and another with Focals and not being happy.
8. I would like to purchase a new head unit, amp, dash speakers, door speakers, and rear speakers, and install them without too much messing with wiring.

Does this explain what I am looking for? I apologize if I have not been clear enough. Thanks for everyone's help.

[urban]

Originally Posted by Parker986

1. I am trying to decide between a single DIN and double DIN

This is a matter of preference.

Originally Posted by Parker986

2. Would like bluetooth, iPod connectivity, HD radio, but not interested in Navigation (have iPhone for that). Besides, the navigation in my BMW stinks.

If you're not looking for Nav or DVD playback, I think you don't need double din

Originally Posted by Parker986

3. Willing to modify OEM brackets in dash to get good speakers to fit.
4. Would prefer to replace OEM Bose speakers in doors with same size that fits without modifying, but would be willing to do so. Here is one thing I am confused about; are my door speakers subwoofers or not, since I have a subwoofer in the rear deck? Do I replace those door speakers in the doors with two-way speakers or pure woofers? Maybe I do not know the difference between woofers and sub-woofers.

Get a 3 way component speaker set with 5.25" mid-bass, 4" mid-range, and a 0.75 tweeter, for dash and doors (example, the Focal 130KR). Get 2 5.25" subs like the Focal 13KS to replace the subs on the back box, and disconnect the back tweeters.

Originally Posted by Parker986

5. Can I find an amplifier that will fit exactly where the OEM Bose amp is located in the front trunk? How do I know if it needs to be a 4 channel or something else? Many people have two amps. Is that really necessary?

You have to power tweets and mids left and right(2 channel), mid bass(2 channel) and sub box (1 channel). The Bose amp has 6 channels (the last one is for the sub box tweeters). The head unit has internal 4 channel amp, you can use some of its channels if you don't want to buy a 5 or 6 channel amp, but you'd have to connect the speakers direcly to the head unit. There are a lot of reasons different reasons why some people have several amps, but the only relevant to your problem would be that it's cheaper to buy a 2 channel amp and a 4 channel amp, than a 6 channel amp.

Originally Posted by Parker986

6. I would prefer not to have to run new wires. Is that possible, do I need adapters to make this work?

You will have to run new wires from the head unit to the amp. That's the bare minimum, I think.