Gotta start somewhere

Systems

As with a number of other posters here, I'm about to do my first sound system upgrade and I'm more than a little lost. I have an Infiniti FX35 that has a stock Bose system. I am really aiming for sound quality and don't want to create a ghetto-blaster type of vehicle.

In phases, I was first going to drop in two 8" subwoofers like Polk Momo MM2084DVCs. Maybe 10", I haven't figured out how much space I'm willing to give up in the back. To drive these, I understand I need an amplifier. I was looking at the Carbon 400.4 4-channel amp. If I have done my homework correctly I can bridge two of these channels to power the 2 subs.

Here's where I get confused, regarding the 2 channels that are remaining, can I use them to power the rest of the speakers? A total of 9 (!) (3 of those infamous Bose "twiddlers", 4 door speakers, two tweeters)

Or do I get a dedicated amp for the subs (Carbon 500.1) and a 2nd amp for the rest of the speakers? Oh yes, and I do have the stock Bose amp that's currently powering the whole system that I could re-use.

Sorry for the long and confusing post, this is all new to me. Any advice is most welcome!

exalted512

to bridge an amplifier, you use 2-channels. you use the positive from one and the negative from the other. so if you were to bridge the 400.4 to 2 subs, you would be using all 4-channels.
on a side note, with bose its going to be EXTREMELY hard to integrate ANYTHING to that system unless someone makes a harness for it. usually the best way is just to rip everything out and start from scratch
-Cody

MacLeod

Cody is right that the Bose system doesnt play well with others. About the only way is to start fresh.

That being said for a sub I would recommend going with a single 12 like the MM2124DVC. I like single subs cause they take up less room and are easier to install. To power it you can still go with the 500.1.

If you decide to take out all the Bose crap youll be much happier. From there get you a set of MMC6500's for the front and dont worry about any speakers for the rear. To power those I suggest the 400.4. You would bi-amp the speakers by running the tweeters off the front channels and the mids off the rear. This will offer you much more flexibility in tuning them.