Very happy after adding a sub to the Bose system

[ClaudioMS3]

hi got a question i dont need to let the old sub functioning???

i just cut the wire to told earlier and thats it?

[surfwagon]

Originally Posted by ClaudioMS3 hi got a question i dont need to let the old sub functioning??? i just cut the wire to told earlier and thats it?

I'm not sure what you are asking... You don't need the Bose sub. If space isn't an issue you might as well leave it as is. I believe that you can tap into the signal from the Bose sub but this is not how I did it. I would expect that this signal wouldn't be as good but a lot of people have done it this way and they're happy. I'm not sure if I answered your questions because what you wrote was very unclear.

Marc

[eddelgado]

I am also running the Grom interface and while it is not perfect it is a good solution for the price. It will occasionaly "hang up" requiring manually pressing the play button on the Ipod but it is a rare ocurrence - maybe every couple of weeks. I routed my Ipod cable into the center console so it is readily available. I also put the bias control for the sub in there as well.

The addition of a sub and the Grom interface are a great improvement to the factory Bose setup.

Ed

[maritime ms6]

I know this is an old thread but just purchased my '06 Mazdaspeed6 and will be doing this upgrade asap!

[Domino81]

Hey - did you completely pull out the remote wire from the blue harness?

[surfwagon]

Originally Posted by Domino81 Hey - did you completely pull out the remote wire from the blue harness?

Definitely not. I spliced into it.

[Domino81]

Cool, I was hoping you'd say that.



Got one of those just for the install.

[surfwagon]

What are you putting in? Keeping everything stock and adding a amp and sub really completes the sound.

[SpeedieRed09]

i just recently put a sub in mine on the stock radio......sooooo much better

[Domino81]

I'll be using a Rockford 10'' in a .75 cu ft box that I had in my Probe, smalled, sealed, with polyfill. It's a tight, little unit.

[SleeperHatch]

Anyone have any advice on what type of box to use? I just bought two 12'' Kicker subs from the Best Buy, buy one get one free sale and I'm gonna be throwing those bad boys in. Not sure if I should just use a big box and put both in one box or buy/make 2 separate boxes so I don't take up as much trunk space.

[dMuze]

get a sealed box...there is plenty of room in the hatch for them to breath right. or try and do something custom.

[jrlms6]

I will be adding a sub and amp combo hopefully by the summer time. The stock system does have enough "beat" to it IMO. Any opinions on types?

[flyinb22]

Originally Posted by Domino81 Cool, I was hoping you'd say that. Got one of those just for the install.

I am going to attempt an install myself, everything seems straight forward but I am not an electrical guy. Regarding splicing in to the inputs like the picture above, the amp uses RCA as inputs, so do I get RCA cable and just cut off the leads on the one end and then install like above picture. Just trying to avoid getting a PAC as it seems like a waste of $40ish.

Thanks.

[dMuze]

Originally Posted by flyinb22 I am going to attempt an install myself, everything seems straight forward but I am not an electrical guy. Regarding splicing in to the inputs like the picture above, the amp uses RCA as inputs, so do I get RCA cable and just cut off the leads on the one end and then install like above picture. Just trying to avoid getting a PAC as it seems like a waste of $40ish. Thanks.

get a line out converter (LOC) then tap the speaker wires with it. no cutting of rca cables.

[flyinb22]

Originally Posted by surfwagon The plug with 4 wires is where you tap into to get the music signal. Gently pull this plug out of the amp. Don't mess with the red or black. The other two wires (white with blue stripe and gray) you will tap and run wires from those to the high level input on your amp. (If you purchase an amp with a high level input, you won't need to buy a LOC) The high level input offers a less distorted signal too.

@ dMuze, with the LOC am I still splicing in to the same wires as above?
I am guessing maybe I do need LOC because I an unsure about the RCA inputs on my amp as being high level inputs, it just says inputs (RF Punch P300-1)

[dMuze]

if you have the bose system then you should have those amp wires under your seat....but i believe the non bose system connects directly to the stock head unit, so you souldnt have a stock amp. you can find LOC's on amazon.com for less then 20 dollars

[Noddaford]

I just installed my Kenwood HU from my truck I sold into my MS6. It's nice to have bluetooth back. I have to agree, the bass on these Bose systems do suck. I guess my old sub and amp will be my next install. Though I really don't want the sub box taking up half my trunk. Has anyone tried replacing the factory sub with something else? If so, what did you put in and how much better (or worse) is the sound?

[surfwagon]

I just used my own how-to in order to re-do this mod. The dealer had to replace my wiring harness due to a warranty airbag problem. It was a lot easier this time around.

[hedgehog7]

Looks great guys! Wow!

[Vegasspeeed]

Hey guys I'm new to the car audio stuff I just have a couple questions, could I take out the stock sub (which i blew somehow) and just get a LOC to the back of the HU run that to a new amp and leave the oem amp under the drivers side? If that is possible could I then tap the remote wire from the stock amp and run it to my aftermarket amp?...any help is appreciated!

[ms3rick]

Yes you can, you do have to run a power wire, and remote wire(unless you get a good loc)

[jomc111]

I'm doing this this weekend thx for info p

[xtasy]

Bumping this thread! I just bought a a JL audio 8" woofer and a JL audio J2 500.1 amp off of mazda3forums (along with hatch sub box).

I am wondering if that Amp have the "high level input" you were talking about.

If not, what do i have to buy in order to make this work? I'm trying to keep everything factory (bose system) and wire this amp and sub in.

Thanks!

[jeopardy98]

High level inputs just look like speaker terminals but low level inputs use RCA's. It should be marked on the amp if it has a low level input.

[ms6mil]

Hopefully this is useful.... I took my car to my buddy in town who owns an audio shop and confirmed that I set it up the way they would in his shop. (BOSE SYSTEM)

As far as my aftermarket amp goes, I just used a kicker mono 250.1 pushing 1 10" kicker. - Used the remote wire from the Bose connection under the seat, ran power and ground.
- Now some guys have been recommending an LOC, and I am not sure if the bose setups are different in all the mazda's but it is not needed. Best buy sells these for a couple of bucks or you can make one, all you need is the female end.


The Bose Sub with built in amp....


Some guys are tapping into the BN/BK-RD (color's vary) pre amp wires....

How it was explained to me... the problem with this location is that Bose Sub amp has built in cross over and you will be limited to the pre-amp frequencies that have been preset by Bose... so your Sub will hit but not the way it should...
Here is what I did and it hits in all levels that the sub should....

Remove the 3 small bolt holding the Sub-amp in place...


Then using these female ends of what I got at Bestbuy for a couple of bucks, tap into the Sub + / -...


Of note you will need two of the RCA/speaker female ends that will feed into your red/white amp connections. Just cut and use female ends on both sets, twist, solder, or crimp the coppers together, the silvers together and tap into the + and - of the sub.

Again, this setup was confirmed by trying the pre-amp and post amp locations.. Due to the built in crossover within the Bose sub-amp you will now have full range to your sub and not limited to the frequencies of the pre-amp connection. The difference with the two locations is night and day, hopefully this clears things up or helps with anyone that may still be stuck.

No LOC was used in this setup.

[rx7fc3s87]

I will be doing this install this weekend. I have a question, though.

Power wire goes to battery then other end of it to the amp.
Ground to the chassis.
Remote wire spliced into blue wire in the connector to the Bose amp.
What speaker wires do I splice into for positive/negative for the amp then sub???
Is there anything else? Anything I am missing?

[ms6mil]

Remove the 3 small bolts holding the Sub-amp in place...

use these....+/- that go from Sub-amp to actual Bose sub....


It sounds good, no strange signals, no LOC's, just need to buy two of the converted speaker to RCA wires. See post #66 for how I did mine..

[rx7fc3s87]

Is there anything else that needs to be wired up?

Thanks for the info!

[ms6mil]

1. Aftermarket Amp - wired to battery and ground for power.
2. Remote wire - can be accessed through Bose amp underneath the seat. Tap it do not cut, and run to the aftermarket amp.
3. as stated above, tap +/- wires from actual Sub. (which means remove the Bose Sub amp to access those wires) Pre amp and LOC not needed. Use the speaker to RCA cables to connect to the tap you're making on the sub +/- .
4. Run your RCA's from that connection to your aftermarket amp.

[mikede5]

Sub'd I wanna do this mod thanks!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

[xTRELLx]

x

[xTRELLx]

I'm so glad I found this thread... me so happy lol

[xTRELLx]

Originally Posted by ms6mil 1. Aftermarket Amp - wired to battery and ground for power. 2. Remote wire - can be accessed through Bose amp underneath the seat. Tap it do not cut, and run to the aftermarket amp. 3. as stated above, tap +/- wires from actual Sub. (which means remove the Bose Sub amp to access those wires) Pre amp and LOC not needed. Use the speaker to RCA cables to connect to the tap you're making on the sub +/- . 4. Run your RCA's from that connection to your aftermarket amp.

Don't eanna get off topic and stay that way, but how's the mazda scene in Columbus. I'm from there but stationed in AK right now??

Back to the subject at hand. I'm quite confused and really starting to feel stupid. You say tap the +/- wires from the sub. So do I need to strip my rca cables at the end since they're dual male cables in order to run it from the tap to the rca ports on the aftermarket amp?

[xTRELLx]

Originally Posted by surfwagon Let me know if you need help with anything. It sounds fucking amazing.

I need help. out of the two wires you never said which was which. you only said those are the two you need to tap. and also, I don't think I have a high level whatever on my amp... ugh, so annoying.

[HesterDW]

Originally Posted by xTRELLx Don't eanna get off topic and stay that way, but how's the mazda scene in Columbus. I'm from there but stationed in AK right now?? Back to the subject at hand. I'm quite confused and really starting to feel stupid. You say tap the +/- wires from the sub. So do I need to strip my rca cables at the end since they're dual male cables in order to run it from the tap to the rca ports on the aftermarket amp?

It sounds like you're forgetting the Line out Converter. If you dont already have one...you need one.

Originally Posted by xTRELLx I need help. out of the two wires you never said which was which. you only said those are the two you need to tap. and also, I don't think I have a high level whatever on my amp... ugh, so annoying.

This is really sloppy but I'm tired.
Blue/White is +
Gray is -



Tap +(Blue/white) and -(Gray) to your LOC using T-taps.
Connect LOC to your amp w/ RCAs.
Amp to sub.

Simple!

[xTRELLx]

Originally Posted by HesterDW It sounds like you're forgetting the Line out Converter. If you dont already have one...you need one. This is really sloppy but I'm tired. Blue/White is + Gray is - Tap +(Blue/white) and -(Gray) to your LOC using T-taps. Connect LOC to your amp w/ RCAs. Amp to sub. Simple!

Thanks man. big help. Yesterday I noticed that this was for the gen1 models lol. My amp isn't under my driver seats it's under my passenger one so I was like fuck!!! I knew my amp wasn't under my driver seat. the 2010 model doesn't have the 4 wire connector under the seat. It's a bit different.

[nickpratt]

Boston Acoustics GTA-1005 5-channel car amplifier — 50 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms + 400 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms at Crutchfield.com

this is the amp I have. will this put to much draw on the car if I use the stock bose head unit. 07 ms3 gt

[surfwagon]

FYI, you don't need to use a LOC. You can just tap the signal to the rear door speakers as indicated. I just did this mod to my G37. It was a lot easier on the G. I'm happy this thread has motivated or helped you guys. I really miss my MS3. I'm in the process of saving for another 300ZX Twin Turbo.

[nickpratt]

Originally Posted by surfwagon FYI, you don't need to use a LOC. You can just tap the signal to the rear door speakers as indicated.

How? Rear speakers to new amp?