That's not what I wanted to hear!!!  Not at all!!!  :- >

I'd really like to stick with the stock radio and changer but probably would
swap out everything else.  Does the Bose radio not have RCA outs or line
level outs that could be used or is that not even a good idea?  I've looked
at a few aftermarket radios and it's been years since I've seen something
reasonably priced that looked decent (older Alpines, Denons, Nak's all
looked good to me, nowdays everything has too many flashing lights and
do-dads for my taste.  Also of note is the budget, replacing the radio and
changer with something I like will probably eat up half my budget!)

Thanks for the info!

Michael

Well said.  I tried to do EXACTLY what you want to do (keep the Bose HU but
change EVERYTHING else including adding amps).  The subwoofer was easy.  I
tapped one of the rear speakers for a line-in feed into my sub-amp and the
amp had a remote gain control that I mounted in the dash that gave me
control of the sub volume.  It sounded great.

Everything else, however, was hopeless.  I COULD NOT get a buzz/whine out of
the system when using outboard amps and speakers.  I tried a BUNCH of
different interface adaptors that promised to solve the problem but NO DICE.
The reason the subwoofer system worked was because the whine/buzz was above
the cut-off frequency of my low-pass filter on the amplifier, so obviously I
never heard it.  That's why a subwoofer system can generally be integrated
into a Bose system without any problems.

Anyway, after MUCH frustration I eventually just replaced the HU as well (I
REALLY wanted to keep it in as it matched the style of the dash).  I believe
the problem lies in the very unusual impedances that Bose uses in their
systems.  It makes integrating standard after-market gear just about
impossible.

But having said all that, I will try to answer some of your
questions/concerns.  DEFINITELY spend the largest percentage of your stereo
budget on speakers.  Although some here disagree, I believe ALL amplifiers
sound the same (especially when you throw in engine noise, road noise,
etc.).  In the home, where all extraneous noise can be eliminated, there can
be subtle sonic differences between one amplifier and the next, but even
then you need EXCELLENT speakers, source and source material, interconnects,
speaker-wire, etc.  But in the car, forget it.

However with speakers there are LARGE differences between brands and models.
The best advice is to listen to as many different speakers as possible with
YOUR MUSIC.  Some speakers sound better with different types of music so
it's important to listen with your type of music before deciding.

Some of the better brands of speakers include JL, Dynaudio, Morel, Focal, MB
Quart, Infinity, Polk and Boston Acoustics.

As far as subwoofer brands, again JL makes some EXCELLENT subs.  Their W7
series is VERY hard to beat for both SQ AND SPL.  I happen to use a pair of
MTX MXS (identical to their 7500 series) and have been VERY happy with
those.

MOSFET