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[duggs]

Some bugger has removed the BOSE Amp at some point during my cars previous life BUT my Sony Xplod unit seems plenty loud enough for me.

My question is this.  What does it do that the XPLOD can't and with all the wiring still in tact where can a find a compatible "plug and play" amp to put back in ?

[I_want_an_Omega]

Its a special plug - but get a Haynes manual as the wiring colours are there and splice away!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Marks DTM Calib]

Your biggest challenge is that the Bose speakers are 2ohm and many audio amps (particularly integrated) dont like driving 2 ohm loads.

Years ago they would 'motor boat' when wound up but these days, they dont....they just die!

[Dave DND]

Some bugger has removed the BOSE Amp at some point during my cars previous life BUT my Sony Xplod unit seems plenty loud enough for me.

My question is this.  What does it do that the XPLOD can't and with all the wiring still in tact where can a find a compatible "plug and play" amp to put back in ?

Be more specific - Xplod head unit or Amplifier ?

It is entirely possible to replace a BOSE amplifier with an aftermarket amplifier PROVIDING that you can find a low power one that will run at 2 Ohms per channel. Many will advertise running at 2 Ohms bridged, but this is NOT the same.

[ENFIELD_MV6]

there is a BOSE amp on the bay of E see it last night whilst looking through lol

[duggs]

I have NO idea what I've just purchased BUT I've bought it anyway.  Many, many thanks for lookin' after me.

I'm assuming that I can just slide this "thing I've just bought" in to the box hanging from the rear parcel shelf, plug it in using the plug and wires hanging within and away I go. I'll let you know...

Rgds,
Chris

[duggs]

OOOOOO didn't know there were different sorts...sorry!

Its a Sony Xplod head unit with Blue tooth.

[Kevin Wood]

Unfortunately, it's not that straightforward to drive the Bose amp from an aftermarket head unit. :-/

Kevin

[ENFIELD_MV6]

I have NO idea what I've just purchased BUT I've bought it anyway.  Many, many thanks for lookin' after me.

I'm assuming that I can just slide this "thing I've just bought" in to the box hanging from the rear parcel shelf, plug it in using the plug and wires hanging within and away I go. I'll let you know...

Rgds,
Chris

Hi Chris, hope thats what you were looking for, and that it goes well, i knew i had seen one some were on ebay last night jsut took some finding, IMHO i think from reading other posts the bose amps on the miggy saloon are all the same

[ENFIELD_MV6]

Unfortunately, it's not that straightforward to drive the Bose amp from an aftermarket head unit. :-/

Kevin

I  pressume that it was the right bose amp i found though Kevin, did do a thorough search for it

[Dave DND]

OOOOOO didn't know there were different sorts...sorry!

Its a Sony Xplod head unit with Blue tooth.

Sony Xplod was the name given to a whole range - a bit like just saying you have an Omega - Doesn`t tell you which one or what the variant is.

model number is on the front   

Howver, be carefull if plugging in the BOSE amp, you may be opening up a tin of worms - as the vehicle may have been converted to Non-BOSE and by putting back a BOSE amp, you may also need to replace the BOSE speakers - then, you will find that your Sony stereo is not compatable with it, as you also require a BOSE head unit to make it work.

Had you correctly identified your head unit earlier, I could probably have saved you the purchase of that non compatable amp

 

[duggs]

Unfortunately the car is not with me today.

She's having her MOT and re-newing the non-existant breaks, pads and discs.

I'm puzzled though but please bare with me..I know NOTHING about steroes and such. ...I have got the original console, crappy old philips tape player included. The plug that was in the car fitted straight in to my Xpod headunit, granted the previous owners had a Kenwood fitted. The cables for the original amp are all in situ, as built...they've merely swiped the amp.

Are you saying that the Bose AMP won't pick up anything from the Xplod despite nothing changing regarding the wiring ?

That said, I'm currently doing some work for a Car Audio Fit Out Company and I suspect the Boss will be up for a deal somewhere along the line

[Dave DND]

Unfortunately the car is not with me today.

She's having her MOT and re-newing the non-existant breaks, pads and discs.

I'm puzzled though but please bare with me..I know NOTHING about steroes and such. ...I have got the original console, crappy old philips tape player included. The plug that was in the car fitted straight in to my Xpod headunit, granted the previous owners had a Kenwood fitted. The cables for the original amp are all in situ, as built...they've merely swiped the amp.

Are you saying that the Bose AMP won't pick up anything from the Xplod despite nothing changing regarding the wiring ?

That said, I'm currently doing some work for a Car Audio Fit Out Company and I suspect the Boss will be up for a deal somewhere along the line

The voltage levels used by the BOSE amp are incompatable with anything other than BOSE - do not try it, your stereo will go bang. you cannot mix and match BOSE and non-BOSE bits, from the speakers right up the the head unit, its all or nothing.

Howver, you are not going to lose out with the amp you have bought - someone here will undoubtedly have it, and you may even see a profit on it.

 

[duggs]

Thank you Dave.

I wonder if BOSE do a MP3/Bluetooth head unit and would it be compatible with the AMP.

That being so...I wonder what sort of money they would be.  Any idea ?

Failing that...expect to see a nice looking AMP on Ebay any day soon now !

It doesn't bother me...tis only money. The joys of motoring as my 83 year old Father keeps telling me...LOL

[ENFIELD_MV6]

Thank you Dave.

I wonder if BOSE do a MP3/Bluetooth head unit and would it be compatible with the AMP.

That being so...I wonder what sort of money they would be.  Any idea ?

Failing that...expect to see a nice looking AMP on Ebay any day soon now !

It doesn't bother me...tis only money. The joys of motoring as my 83 year old Father keeps telling me...LOL

TBH if i had the choice and had the original BOSE head unit and all the speakers in the car were still BOSE i would put it back to standard thats just my humble opinion though

[Dave DND]

Thank you Dave.

I wonder if BOSE do a MP3/Bluetooth head unit and would it be compatible with the AMP.

That being so...I wonder what sort of money they would be.  Any idea ?

Failing that...expect to see a nice looking AMP on Ebay any day soon now !

It doesn't bother me...tis only money. The joys of motoring as my 83 year old Father keeps telling me...LOL

Nope - Omega BOSE technology peaked and then died 20 years ago

Stick with what you have, it will undoubtedly be better

 

[Dave DND]

Thank you Dave.

I wonder if BOSE do a MP3/Bluetooth head unit and would it be compatible with the AMP.

That being so...I wonder what sort of money they would be.  Any idea ?

Failing that...expect to see a nice looking AMP on Ebay any day soon now !

It doesn't bother me...tis only money. The joys of motoring as my 83 year old Father keeps telling me...LOL

TBH if i had the choice and had the original BOSE head unit and all the speakers in the car were still BOSE i would put it back to standard thats just my humble opinion though

I can appreciate wanting to keep a car original, but until such time that you sell it, and originality is important . . .

get the BOSE equipment out !!

 

[duggs]

Slight problem is that the original, the housing and stuff was only a Tape/Radio...least thats all the seller has left me.

HAVE to have a CD/MP3 and for work, I need the BlueTooth. I mean to be honest..the sound is pretty much awesome from the Xplod anyway but I hate for things not to be "right"....Guess on this, for the time being, I'll just have to re-sell the AMP, make a fortune to split 50/50 with you and move on to the next curve ball the Mig will throw at me  !!!

[duggs]

Thank you for your advice Dave...The speakers seem to be ok, ok for this 46 year old anyway. As long as its not detrimental for the Xplod to "use" them, I'll carry on as is I think.

[Dave DND]

Thank you for your advice Dave...The speakers seem to be ok, ok for this 46 year old anyway. As long as its not detrimental for the Xplod to "use" them, I'll carry on as is I think.

If it previously had a Kenwood, and the amp bypassed, then I would make a bet that the speakers have also been upgraded - this is confirmed by the fact that you are happy with the sound. BOSE sounded good in its day, but that day was 20 years ago, and things have moved on a long way since then.

 

[I_want_an_Omega]

OOOOOO didn't know there were different sorts...sorry!

Its a Sony Xplod head unit with Blue tooth.

Bluetooth      

[Dave DND]

OOOOOO didn't know there were different sorts...sorry!

Its a Sony Xplod head unit with Blue tooth.

Bluetooth      

Red tongue

 

 

[I_want_an_Omega]

he he he 

[TheBoy]

Slight problem is that the original, the housing and stuff was only a Tape/Radio...least thats all the seller has left me.

HAVE to have a CD/MP3 and for work, I need the BlueTooth. I mean to be honest..the sound is pretty much awesome from the Xplod anyway but I hate for things not to be "right"....Guess on this, for the time being, I'll just have to re-sell the AMP, make a fortune to split 50/50 with you and move on to the next curve ball the Mig will throw at me  !!!

Your original radio was not a tape/radio. Somebody has had a good play, and god knows whats what, but its likely your radio was ncdc as it left factory.  PM me the reg, and I'll see if I can confirm that.


As Dave DND has said, don't mix bose/non bose, it will end in tears (and smoke)

[duggs]

pm'ed

[duggs]

The speakers still say BOSE but good point....the nameplate could be easily moved.

[Squealey]

In my Elite i've got pretty much the best of all worlds.

Philips/Bose cassette head unit (I really enjoy listening to how bad my musical taste was in the early 90's, and you can't get better than Chakademus & Pliers on a cassette )
Factory Fit Blaupunkt 6cd changer in the boot.
Nokia bluetooth for my phone (thanks for leaving that in Jaime)
And I can play MP3's through my Tomtom satnav which then transmits it through the FM band, or one of those cassettes with a cable on it.

And although sound quality has come a long way over the years I still get comments on how good it sounds, my dads 4 year old Lexus doesn't have half the depth and my brothers Passat is frankly poor in comparison.

[mathewst]

Well Squelaey it always comes down to personal taste.
I had a Pioneer top model cassete player (9 series) with cd changer, magnat amp etc in my fiat couple of years ago, and my dad had factory fit stereo in his new Lancia Delta.
I swear sound coming from that cassete player (was Clarion standard fit) in Delta was better than any single cd player I heard.

[Squealey]

Well Squelaey it always comes down to personal taste.
I had a Pioneer top model cassete player (9 series) with cd changer, magnat amp etc in my fiat couple of years ago, and my dad had factory fit stereo in his new Lancia Delta.
I swear sound coming from that cassete player (was Clarion standard fit) in Delta was better than any single cd player I heard.

Just brought my lad a Pioneer 9300 cassette  and CD changer as I had one many moons ago. Paid £27 off Ebay for it. Bloody fantastic bit of kit and imho absolutley unbeatable for the money!!!!

Its now in his Ka and even though the rest is standard it makes it sound really really impressive. And even though its old, it still looks classy sitting in the dashboard.

[duggs]

Looking at the photo....is your son not a tad to young to be driving...even if it IS only a Ka. ??

[Squealey]

Looking at the photo....is your son not a tad to young to be driving...even if it IS only a Ka. ??

Nah, start em young, thats what I say

Actually the babes in my avatar are mine, my lad is my step son, 20 years old, my wifes eldest. She also has 2 daughters (my step daughters) who are 15 and 13.

Its been quite a culture shock I can tell you, on my 30th I was moaning to my mates how I'd end up single etc etc then 4 years later im a father of 5 and recently became a grandad, plus I moved from my home town to Boston, Lincs. (plus i've lost my job and now want to start in something completely different) so as life changes go, I think all i've got to do is turn gay and thats the lot!!

[Marks DTM Calib]

Well Squelaey it always comes down to personal taste.
I had a Pioneer top model cassete player (9 series) with cd changer, magnat amp etc in my fiat couple of years ago, and my dad had factory fit stereo in his new Lancia Delta.
I swear sound coming from that cassete player (was Clarion standard fit) in Delta was better than any single cd player I heard.

Just brought my lad a Pioneer 9300 cassette  and CD changer as I had one many moons ago. Paid £27 off Ebay for it. Bloody fantastic bit of kit and imho absolutley unbeatable for the money!!!!

Its now in his Ka and even though the rest is standard it makes it sound really really impressive. And even though its old, it still looks classy sitting in the dashboard.

You need something with a bit of a kick to cover over the rattle of the tappets in a Ka

[Lazydocker]

Looking at the photo....is your son not a tad to young to be driving...even if it IS only a Ka. ??

Nah, start em young, thats what I say

Actually the babes in my avatar are mine, my lad is my step son, 20 years old, my wifes eldest. She also has 2 daughters (my step daughters) who are 15 and 13.

Its been quite a culture shock I can tell you, on my 30th I was moaning to my mates how I'd end up single etc etc then 4 years later im a father of 5 and recently became a grandad, plus I moved from my home town to Boston, Lincs. (plus i've lost my job and now want to start in something completely different) so as life changes go, I think all i've got to do is turn gay and thats the lot!!

PM Loo Knee... He can help with that!

[Andy B]

......
to cover over the rattle of the tappets in a Ka

Ford have had their money from that engine. Apart from a few mods, it's what was in the car I passed my test in ..... MKI Escort!  :-? 

[Squealey]

......
to cover over the rattle of the tappets in a Ka

Ford have had their money from that engine. Apart from a few mods, it's what was in the car I passed my test in ..... MKI Escort!  :-? 

Yep, had the same basic engine in my 105E Anglia and 107E Prefect!! Suppose if it aint broke etc etc

[Marks DTM Calib]

......
to cover over the rattle of the tappets in a Ka

Ford have had their money from that engine. Apart from a few mods, it's what was in the car I passed my test in ..... MKI Escort!  :-? 

Yep, had the same basic engine in my 105E Anglia and 107E Prefect!! Suppose if it aint broke etc etc

Trouble is it was broke....bloody awful thing with high wear rates!

[Martin_1962]

......
to cover over the rattle of the tappets in a Ka

Ford have had their money from that engine. Apart from a few mods, it's what was in the car I passed my test in ..... MKI Escort!  :-? 

Yep, had the same basic engine in my 105E Anglia and 107E Prefect!! Suppose if it aint broke etc etc

Trouble is it was broke....bloody awful thing with high wear rates!

The Xflow

Not a brilliant engine, but loads of bits available for it.

For that size pushrodder I have always prefered the later Rootes lumps, I have quite a liking for the 1600 after stripping and rebuilding two in different cars.

[Kevin Wood]

The Xflow

Not a brilliant engine, but loads of bits available for it.

For that size pushrodder I have always prefered the later Rootes lumps, I have quite a liking for the 1600 after stripping and rebuilding two in different cars.

I am amazed how many kit car owners soldier on with them whilst there is an abundance of decent 16v DOHC lumps in the scrap yards. They must prefer engine building to driving.

I did have a mate with a 200bhp 1.7 XF. Loads of power - between 6k and 8k RPM! Nothing to be found anywhere else..

But the smaller Valencia and HCS are even worse. 3 bearing crank, anyone? <shudder>

Kevin

[Marks DTM Calib]

The Xflow

Not a brilliant engine, but loads of bits available for it.

For that size pushrodder I have always prefered the later Rootes lumps, I have quite a liking for the 1600 after stripping and rebuilding two in different cars.

I am amazed how many kit car owners soldier on with them whilst there is an abundance of decent 16v DOHC lumps in the scrap yards. They must prefer engine building to driving.

I did have a mate with a 200bhp 1.7 XF. Loads of power - between 6k and 8k RPM! Nothing to be found anywhere else..

But the smaller Valencia and HCS are even worse. 3 bearing crank, anyone? <shudder>

Kevin

Lol, yes.....remember that the only thing the Ka has in common with a X-flow is the basic head design...

I to realy cant understand why anybody soldiers on with them.

[Dave DND]

The Xflow

Not a brilliant engine, but loads of bits available for it.

For that size pushrodder I have always prefered the later Rootes lumps, I have quite a liking for the 1600 after stripping and rebuilding two in different cars.

I am amazed how many kit car owners soldier on with them whilst there is an abundance of decent 16v DOHC lumps in the scrap yards. They must prefer engine building to driving.

I did have a mate with a 200bhp 1.7 XF. Loads of power - between 6k and 8k RPM! Nothing to be found anywhere else..

But the smaller Valencia and HCS are even worse. 3 bearing crank, anyone? <shudder>

Kevin

Lol, yes.....remember that the only thing the Ka has in common with a X-flow is the basic head design...

I to realy cant understand why anybody soldiers on with them.

Easy answer - No ECU`s - No Immobilisers - No Complex electronics and an abundance of blocks for 50p

 

[Marks DTM Calib]

The Xflow

Not a brilliant engine, but loads of bits available for it.

For that size pushrodder I have always prefered the later Rootes lumps, I have quite a liking for the 1600 after stripping and rebuilding two in different cars.

I am amazed how many kit car owners soldier on with them whilst there is an abundance of decent 16v DOHC lumps in the scrap yards. They must prefer engine building to driving.

I did have a mate with a 200bhp 1.7 XF. Loads of power - between 6k and 8k RPM! Nothing to be found anywhere else..

But the smaller Valencia and HCS are even worse. 3 bearing crank, anyone? <shudder>

Kevin

Lol, yes.....remember that the only thing the Ka has in common with a X-flow is the basic head design...

I to realy cant understand why anybody soldiers on with them.

Easy answer - No ECU`s - No Immobilisers - No Complex electronics and an abundance of blocks for 50p

 

But even without them, reliability is stil lower (even when you add the electronics into the equation)

And rare these days to

[Kevin Wood]

Easy answer - No ECU`s - No Immobilisers - No Complex electronics and an abundance of blocks for 50p

 

But even without them, reliability is stil lower (even when you add the electronics into the equation)

And rare these days to

If I'm tinkering with it (and surely you wouldn't leave a XFlow bog-standard?  ) I'd rather have electronics than clockwork bits.

Carbs are a pain in the @rse to get running right after any tuning work (and require a drawer full of expensive chokes, jets, emulsion tubes, etc) whereas injection systems can be set up in an hour or two on the road with a laptop on the passenger seat.

You can make a car so much more driveable with a mapped ignition system over a mechanical dizzy, especially if you're tuning it, and you'll end up with something more reliable than a dizzy and coil anyway.

Not much more you actually need to make an engine run... Hardly complex IMHO.

You can bolt the above on to any engine from a scrappy that has a crank sensor easily enough, so why pick 1950's technology?

Now, if you're trying to retain the OEM ECU from a modern engine you will be giving yourself a headache, but for the cost of a megasquirt why would you?

I dumped my pair of 45DCOEs for a megasquirt injection setup 6 years ago and I literally haven't touched it since. Bear in mind this is a home made injection setup with home made ECU & loom, most parts salveaged from the scrappy (I did buy a pair of Jenvey TBs, although I was tempted to carve up some bike TBs).

Had I left the DCOEs on the car so many parts would have fallen off them by now that it wouldn't run let alone run well.

Kevin

[Marks DTM Calib]

Indeed, carbs do sound better though.....

[Kevin Wood]

Indeed, carbs do sound better though.....

Can't really comment on that as the carbs were enclosed under the bonnet and the TB trumpets now poke through a hole in the bonnet, so guess which sounds best?

It did highlight that the carbs were just not behaving until their main jets were flowing well. The car was transformed below 3K RPM.

I sometimes wish I'd put a WBO2 sensor on the carb setup just to see how well (or not) it was set up.

Kevin

[Marks DTM Calib]

Indeed, carbs do sound better though.....

Can't really comment on that as the carbs were enclosed under the bonnet and the TB trumpets now poke through a hole in the bonnet, so guess which sounds best?

It did highlight that the carbs were just not behaving until their main jets were flowing well. The car was transformed below 3K RPM.

I sometimes wish I'd put a WBO2 sensor on the carb setup just to see how well (or not) it was set up.

Kevin

Its the snort of the air through the venturi and the high pitch whistle of the jets.

[Martin_1962]

The Xflow

Not a brilliant engine, but loads of bits available for it.

For that size pushrodder I have always prefered the later Rootes lumps, I have quite a liking for the 1600 after stripping and rebuilding two in different cars.

I am amazed how many kit car owners soldier on with them whilst there is an abundance of decent 16v DOHC lumps in the scrap yards. They must prefer engine building to driving.

I did have a mate with a 200bhp 1.7 XF. Loads of power - between 6k and 8k RPM! Nothing to be found anywhere else..

But the smaller Valencia and HCS are even worse. 3 bearing crank, anyone? <shudder>

Kevin

3 bearing how crude.

I get a few odd looks for liking the Rootes lump but.

Easy to work on
Easy to change cam
Big valves
Short stroke large bore
Nice 8 port head
Come in either a quite decent 4 door saloon/estate or a rather good 3 door hatch