Monsoon -vs- Bose

Wondering the general opinion on sound quality between these two stock stereos. I listened to the Monsoon system in a 98Z before I tore the car apart. Sounded OK, not great. I have a full Bose system that I've never heard.

Dont need both and the wiring is different for each. Any opinions, which do you prefer?

monsoon:
good highs
decent mids
crap lows

bose:
semi-crap highs
decent mids
good (for stock) lows

the monsoon speakers blow out incredibly easilly at just above normal volume. i'd rather have the stock BOSE than the stock monsoon.

Stock bose. Sells for a hell of a lot of money if you find the right people or ebay.

My head unit / speakers / subs almost paid for my whole new system :eek:

I think most people perfer the Bose system... I know the Bose that was in my car definately sounded better to me than the Monsoon in a friend's Trans Am...

Honestly though, you could sell both systems you have and come out with enough to buy a decent, better sounding aftermarket system. People in the classifieds are always looking for stock system parts.

Bose :bow:

Back in the earlier LT1 years IIRC there were only 3 speakers in the Bose system.:think:

For the 96 model year (or maybe before... never checked out the Bose system in a 95 or 95.5) they apparently went to 5-speakers. The 5-speaker Bose system definitely sounded better than the Monsoon in either the Camaro or Firebird. Unless of course you like ear-piercing metallic highs with flat mids and sloppy bass. Then I guess the Monsoon is great.;)

I preferred the 5-speaker Bose setup over even the Mach 460 from what I recall. It just had a real clean 'punch' to the mid-bass that sounded good with a lot of music. Of course now, today, that I know more about audiophile type stuff, I realize that Bose was compensating for a lack of sub-bass by cutting out that frequency and overamplifying the punchier higher frequencies that required less power and were more noticable to the average driver.

Not that there's anything wrong with that from a budget standpoint... it works. Certainly better than the Monsoon did. I'm just saying now I realize it was far from an audiophile system. That didn't keep it from being good, though.

PS- If you go aftermarket keep in mind that unless you accidently match the prefered volumetric range of the your new speakers, you will need a sub to get close to even the stock bass levels.

I have the Monsoon system in my Firehawk. It is ok, nothing special really. It is better then a lot of other cars I have been in that still have the stock system but that really isn't saying much. A lot of car manufacturers are now offering premium sound systems in their cars that actually sound good and are not gimmicks. The Bose system in my mother's CTS sounds pretty damn good though.

BOSE all the way, much better bass. All around great system... im surprised the newer fbods didnt have it...!

I've got the Bose in my 93Z, and yeah it only has 3 speakers. Sounds pretty decent for only being a tape deck too.

1993 and 1994 had a 3 speaker setup (2 doors and the bass in the back)

1995 - 1996 had a 5 speaker setup (2 in doors, 2 in sail panels, bass in back)

it is also worth mentioning that the bose had its speaker in an actual box, hit real hard for "stock" :)

i miss my old bose. monsoon sucks ass, especially when you keep blowing speakers out. i've since replaced both of my door speakers with some alpine 4-ohm speakers which ironically are so much more efficient than the monsoon 2-ohm speakers that there isn't much difference in sound quality that most people can tell and they still hit hard.

i miss my old bose. monsoon sucks ass, especially when you keep blowing speakers out. i've since replaced both of my door speakers with some alpine 4-ohm speakers which ironically are so much more efficient than the monsoon 2-ohm speakers that there isn't much difference in sound quality that most people can tell and they still hit hard.

I miss my bose as well. My current car has piece of crap Harmon Kardon system. :mad:

Isn't the Bose a 200 watt and the Monsoon a 500 watt? I always liked the Monsoon because I could listen to music pretty loud and still be clear...my stock system is louder than most of my friends with after market systems. :metal:

I have a Monsoon system. It's good for a factory system. Sound quality is good. If I had the money I'd replace the whole thing. I've blow 2 speakers since I bought the car.

Isn't the Bose a 200 watt and the Monsoon a 500 watt? I always liked the Monsoon because I could listen to music pretty loud and still be clear...my stock system is louder than most of my friends with after market systems. :metal:

Watts are an incredibly easily manipulated statistic since they can be rated at a variety of voltages, total harmonic distortion levels, and temporary ratings.

You might have an amp that by an audiophile's standards is rated at 10 watts. A manufacturer will go in there and bump the voltage, say that a THD of 0.5% is no big deal, and that they should rate their wattage in peak watts for .25 seconds sustained. Then suddenly that SAME amp becomes 100 watts.

The monsoon system is only rated at 500 watts and I think 10 drivers in the T/A, but it is nowhere near 500 watts. And the Mach 1000 in the Mustang is nowhere near 1000 watts, either. By any reasonable measure, anyhow.

What? :blah:

What? :blah:
GM lies about wattage of sound systems :)

What? :blah:

Basically the higher end sound system companies use more realistic standards when measuring their wattage.

If you go to the computer show you'll probably see a "500 watt sattelite/sub" sound system in a box for your computer for only 10 bucks. Do you really think it's a true 500 watts? The way they rate those things is that yeah, it'll produce 500 watts. But only at about 99% distortion (you would have no chance of even understanding what was being played) for 2 hundredths of a second before it explodes and sends plastic shrapnel in all directions.:p

Go listen to, for example, a 300 watt Mark Levinson sound system in the new GS, or the 260 watt Bose system in the new M35. They will sound MUCH louder and stronger than even a Mach 1000 system in a Mustang.

Just because it hurts your ears more doesn't mean it's louder... it's more likely just more distorted and more shrill. Good controlled high sound quality music can get loud enough to where you feel like you're there front row at the recording of that movie or song and it'll still sound completely natural and comfortable.

Basically the higher end sound system companies use more realistic standards when measuring their wattage.

If you go to the computer show you'll probably see a "500 watt sattelite/sub" sound system in a box for your computer for only 10 bucks. Do you really think it's a true 500 watts? The way they rate those things is that yeah, it'll produce 500 watts. But only at about 99% distortion (you would have no chance of even understanding what was being played) for 2 hundredths of a second before it explodes and sends plastic shrapnel in all directions.:p


:lol: The mental image of that had me roling...

Threxx is correct. When I bought my CD player for the car, I looked at the numbers.

140 watts! :rolleyes:
35x4 (peak)
14x4 RMS (at 1% THD into 4 ohms)

In other words, the thing puts out maybe 1 or 2 real watts. Compare that to one of my amplifiers at home. 85 watts/channel from 10-20,000 hz at 0.002% THD. This amp feels like a tank. It would survive World War III. People never believe it's only 85 watts.

I have a watt meter on my home stereo, and most of the time it's sitting in the tenth of watt to maybe maybe half a watt. And that's at 90dB or so. The last time I got up to 500 watts was when I was watching the first Lord of the Rings during the battle scene in the first five minutes. That was at 105 dB in my living room. Now take a small enclosure like a car and 500 watts is brutal overkill unless you're a major subwoofer idiot. This was done with a different amp than the one I described above.

What I'm getting at is that Monsoon's 500 watt rating is 100% BS.

The 3 speaker Bose setup I had in my 94 sounded better than the 5 speaker Bose and the Monsoon, in my opinion.

Usually if you have anything other than just 2 front speakers the staging and imaging is all screwed up, hence my single pair of JLs up front

Thanks for the input. Bose it is. Although the car is a 93, there are five speakers. Apparently two have been added.

I kept the stock Bose subwoofer and replaced the front speakers with Fosgate components, hid the crossovers behind the door panels. Best of both worlds that way. :thumb:

i have a 1994 z and it has the 5 speaker bose system in it. it came with a tape deck and was switched to a cd deck from the same year. my car was built in 94. i have read, and you all say that the 94 z bose system only came with 3 speakers, mine did not. the only thing i have to say is that when i turn my volume up to past 50% there seems to be some loss of power. i can tell the difference but others cannot. i have a 95 tahoe with a factory cd and it pushes 6 speakers just fine, no extra amp. i am thinking of doing something different, but am unsure which way to go. i have a friend at best buy that can get me a jensen motorized dvd player w/ 7'' screen for around 300$. i would like to keep the factory bose speakers. like i said i am unsure of what i am going to do or how to go about it.

If it's got no highs and no lows it's Bose :). The Monsoon is the better of the two.

If it's got no highs and no lows it's Bose :). The Monsoon is the better of the two.

You think so just because of that saying?:p Most people I talk to say the Bose sounded better overall than the monsoon (that's by far my opinion, too). I think it's even more ridiculous that the Monsoon brags to be a "500 watt 10 speaker stereo" nowhere near 500 true watts and they should used more quality drivers instead of a bunch of crappy ones, IMO.

I don't care much for Bose, but the 5-speaker setup, especially, was much better than the Monsoon.

I was very happy with my bose. Most people thought I had an amp and subs. Could not believe that the bass came from that little speaker and definately did not believe that it came that way. Never heard the monsoon system so cannot choose. But I can say that when the bose system was 'new', it didn't get much better than that for a stock system out there. Especially for what we paid for the car. Besides, it's a sports car, not a luxury car. Although it has it's misgivings regarding the highs, if you appreciate the bass then it was worth it.

You think so just because of that saying?:p Most people I talk to say the Bose sounded better overall than the monsoon (that's by far my opinion, too). I think it's even more ridiculous that the Monsoon brags to be a "500 watt 10 speaker stereo" nowhere near 500 true watts and they should used more quality drivers instead of a bunch of crappy ones, IMO.

I don't care much for Bose, but the 5-speaker setup, especially, was much better than the Monsoon.

I've had the Bose and it sucked. It did have crappy highs, and pretty much no lows. I've also heard the Monsoon and it to me sounded better than the Bose. Also just cuz it has 5 or 10 speakers makes it good, it makes it worse IMO. Oh well, of couse to me they both are no good, and aftermarket is the only way :)

I've had the Bose and it sucked. It did have crappy highs, and pretty much no lows. I've also heard the Monsoon and it to me sounded better than the Bose. Also just cuz it has 5 or 10 speakers makes it good, it makes it worse IMO. Oh well, of couse to me they both are no good, and aftermarket is the only way :)

Huh? The monsoon has 10 speakers, the Bose only has 5. So you just agreed with me that 10 speakers makes the monsoon crappy?:think:

Huh? The monsoon has 10 speakers, the Bose only has 5. So you just agreed with me that 10 speakers makes the monsoon crappy?:think:

No, but to me the Monsoon was the better of the two. Personaly I think they are both bad IMO. I've never heard a stock stereo that has impressed me, that's why I never keep it stock.

I haven't heard the Bose, but the trick with Monsoon's is to somehow help its anemic low frequency (bass) response. It leaves a lot to be desired IMO, and since you crank the system sometimes to make up for the weak bass, you could blow the speakers if you are not careful.

Monsoons need an aftermarket subwoofer before they will sound decent. Most of the other sound ranges, to be honest, are pretty good. If you can get a good quality subwoofer and adapt it to the Monsoon, you will see a dramatic difference in its sound quality. That is something that GM could've done perhaps to improve the system if they wanted to.