vinmanc32

For those of you that have the Bose system, can you give me some feedback about it? I have been in a VolvoT6 sedan for the past couple of years and thought that system was very nice. Not great but good. Any comparisons to this would be greatly appreciated.

Info from the C series sedan would be very helpful. The system and acoustics are very different than that of the coupe.

Flashman

As I side note, I used to do a lot of autocrossing with the Miata Club of Massachusetts back in '95-'97. These always took place at the parking lot of BOSE, as several employees owned Miatas.

Naturally, the conversation turned early on to what exactly BOSE does for car stereos. The engineer's answer was pretty simple. They get a manufacturer's car in, with factory stereo. They then use numerous sound meters to get the acustic signature of the car's interior and then design a speaker system (and/or amplifiers, radio, etc. at manufacturer's request) that works best for that car.

Depending on how early in the process they are brought in, they have to work within the limitations of the existing speaker holes, existing radio, and manufacturer's allocated budget. This is why one BOSE system in one brand of car might be much better than another one (they had a bigger budget, had earlier input into speaker positions, etc.)

From the comments on speaker placement and limited improvements of the BOSE on the C230, I'm guessing they were brought in pretty late in the design picture.

So, basically, they are just an audio "tuner".

Regarding the C230 BOSE system, I was very curious myself and spent some good time checking out a C230 with and another without the BOSE system. I actually liked the stock system a lot. I could 'barelly' notice the lack of the subwoofer in the stock system. I never really noticed the center speaker in the BOSE system. All things equal, I would have probably been fine ordering mine without the BOSE system. The stock system sounded great. But since it wasn't much money (as part of the Premium Package) I went ahead and ordered it. I miss my old BOSE friends, so I figured it didn't hurt to get it.

Rick

tommy

was of the standard c230 radio to the Bose's. The bass is much better on the Bose. I didn't want to go aftermarket because of warranty issues. I think that if you're a big baby like me and don't rip out the system, the Bose is worth the price. But, to show what I think of the system, I WILL be ripping it out the day after my warranty is over. With the roof open and windows down, I keep wanting to turn the volume up. Just not enough cajones in the stereo. BTW, someone here posted that Crutchfield is saying that they have a backing plate that would fill in the area around a standard DIN-sized aftermarket h/u. I hope that it's true. Guess that I'll find out in 3 years and 9 1/2 months.

C230K

I have the C230K bose system, but the sound system in my, now sold, C70 Volvo and my current S60 2.4t would blow the Mb system away.. the best factory sound system I heard. Other than that, love my C230.

QQQ

The Bose in my C320 is not great but good. I miss the Bose in my old C280 - 200W vs 150W in the C320.

David N.

I don't have the bose in my 240. But I can tell you that the standard system is pretty good for stock. It has plenty of base. The sound is clean at high volume. In Canada, the bose stereo is a stand alone option. The cost is $1100. Too much to pay for something that is not really aftermarket.

bagwell

The BOSE system is fine...it's not going to thump thump thump like those 1000 watt nuts cars but its sounds good to me.

Much better than the BMW 330i Harmon Kardon system.

MB-BOB

Is exceptional, IMO. In RADIO mode, I have treble set at neutral (center) and Bass set halfway between neutral and Max. In CD mode (where the system really shines) I have Bass set one stop short of MAX. Plenty of Bass for my taste, but may not be enough for those with a penchant for shaking rear-view mirrors of fellow commuters within 30 meters at stop lights.

I'm most impressed with the clarity and fullness of sound, frequency range, and the noise suppression capabilities of the system. In the sedan the audio-pilot also compensates for the open sunroof and windows quite well.

When I was younger, I used to have ringing ears for days following rock concerts (heard them all, the Who, Zeppelin, Metallica, etc.). I don't run the car stereo at MAX anymore, in part, because I don't want to wear a hearing aid until I'm 70 or older. So far, my doctor tells me I have better hearing than most 20-somethings. I hope some of you guys will NOT have hearing aids before me.

Carlos

I heard both the stock system and bose system one after another at the showroom (radio). With all of the doors closed and windows up, there was some difference but not much. Once I opened the doors and windows it was a different story. The bose system sounded much better: louder, clearer, etc. The system sounds better with cd's. You make want to take cd with you when test drving cars to test the system.