2009 Brera with BOSE upgrade project

[Don Roberto]

One of the first things I wanted to upgrade on My Brera was the satnav head unit as this was not iPhone compatible. Changed this for a Pioneer APP radio with a 7" touch screen. The provided can-bus adapter worked fine, but the 2-din adapter was not. Had a local furniture builder make a facia ring.

Dynamat applied to the door panels, and now I discover the car has a Bose system..

More dynamat in the boot, and new power wiring for a new amp. Had a Pioneer PRS-D210 from an old spider. This can deliver 2x300w, or 2x600 bridged.

The Bose sub enclosure was also dynamited, and the attachment points got a layer of Auralex rubber. The reflex port was plugged, and the speaker replaced by a Focal Utopia 13WS.

Now the low end sounded MUCH more tight, and precise. and can go just as deep as the BOSE could.

As I sometimes play "loud music" I wanted to have a 10" Hertz Dieci sub-box as well. In order to use the amp in bridge mode, I wired the negative wire from both speaker to the amp. The positive wire was run to a two way switch button. One out to be refitted BOSE, and one for the Hertz.

If I have to use the boot, I can just take out the Hertz Box, and disconnect it with the switch. This also activates the Focal unit. (so I do not loose too much low end)


The next step is to replace the flimsy looking front speakers. Found a set from Gladen, 3 ohms resistance, and 94,75dB sensitivity should play loud enough, and sound far better then the Bose speakers. also the slim line 165 SQX is a very shallow unit, so clearance should not be a problem.

[Don Roberto]

Installed the Gladen front woofers today. Made a BIG difference in the mid range clarity. Vocals now sound a lot better. I will be looking at replacing the 100mm units as well at some point.

No problems with the volume at all. Actually louder than the Bose Speakers. Looking forward to getting them broken in properly.

[Don Roberto]

Just installed a little "black box" to enhance the bass quality, and to increase the SPL if I want to.

It is a Waves MaXXbass 105 unit. This is not just a bass booster,that amplifies the signal (like a EQ) but works on boosting 2nd. order hamonies.

The unit fitted into the glovebox, so everything is out of sight. There are pots for both input, and output levels, and a remote. The remote was fitted to the passenger seatbelt holder, with enough slack in the RJ45 cable to allow the seat to move freely.

This means I can adjust the Bass output without having to go into the boot, or change levels on the head unit.

With this unit, I raised the cut off frequency from 63Hz to 100Hz in order to get a flatter frequency response.

Sound is now very dynamic, and lively. The difference to the Bose sound is dramatic.

Considering fitting the Reworked BOSE sub with a second Focal driver.

[dank_army]

Sounds like an interesting project.

I'm considering an audio upgrade soon and would be interested to know a couple of things?

1) I ran power cable in my old 147 to the boot, in order to gain access to the cabin through the firewall I had to drill through a rubber grommit. In the Brera where did you choose to pass the power cable from the engine side into the cabin? Do you have any pictures of this?

2) I also upgraded the speaker cable to the front speakers, this was done by removing the doors and drilling new holes in them as there wasn't any way of passing the cable through without this step. Did you upgrade the front speaker cable? And if so, how did you get the new cable from the car into the door?

Keep us all updated on your progress! Photos would be good!

Cheers

John

[Don Roberto]

Hi John.

I initially thought to use the power cables driving the Autobahn amp fitted to the Bose sub, but this interfered with the power supply tomain Bose amp. I drilled a hole in the bulkhead, and fitted a rubber grommet.
Ran the cable on the drivers side, as the signal cable runs on the passenger side. Had to take out quite a few panels to access the bulkhead. Also had to stip part of the interior to find a suitable place to make a hole.

Would also reccomend getting a bulkhead drillbit. Theese are much shorter than a normal drillbit.
So the risk of cutting into something is much less

The speaker cables are stock. Also part of the reaseon for finding 2 or 3 ohm speakers. As the cables resistence has influence, I chose to keep it, as I will not be upgrading everything in one go.

Did not think of taking any pictures during the buld.

[dank_army]

Wow the power cable sounds like a major job!

Many thanks on filling me in how you did it!

If i'm feeling brave I may drill through the bulk head.

[Don Roberto]

If you are willing to not have tremendous amounts of power to the sub,or a powered sub. Then there is an "plan C". As I have disconnected the Bose sub amp, that power loom is not used. The fuse for this is in the boot. It is a 15 amp loom that is not used. I use the Bose dsp/amp for the fronts. (and it works well) I found a few speakers that are 2-ohm impedance:

Focal 165KR2 (but these are really big! Both in size and price)
Infinity run on 2 ohm.
Gladen

Then you would bypass the need to drill holes
Just run the signal cable, and the system remote.

The front, and rear mids, are 80mm, so not much around. Seen some high end Focal units, But not sure how they fit in the car.