Why are there no botique car audio recievers?

@swampwalker - nailed it. I just got my dad’s 2008 Infiniti EX35. Wonderful, fast, quiet, and fun to drive. But the Bose stereo system "Blose", even when used with a portable FiiO music player into the aux input. The problem is the integration. You cannot replace the head unit.

I think the best way to go, if you are spending some cash, is to find a good installer, one who focuses on sound quality, not dB levels, and use one of the aftermarket DSP units that flattens out the audio out of the head unit, and allows you to install your own amplifiers and speakers. You still have some reduction in sound quality from the head unit, but it’s the best you can do if you can’t remove the head unit.

Before the Infiniti, I had a Subaru Outback VDC with the McIntosh-designed, Clarion-built in-dash CD changer. No aux in, but it sounded excellent. Too bad the car suffered from high amounts of wind noise, so that at highway speeds, you couldn’t really appreciate the McIntosh system.

bondmanp, i share your pain--the bose system jacks up my otherwise excellent maxima. i've also looked into the aftermarket mods you refer to--they're very costly, tho i'm certainly tempted. the fender system in my wife's current vw, otoh, is really, really impressive.

Somehow the "premium" systems (power, subs, blah blah) in both my '09 BMW and new turbo Mini work well, with the MINI using only bluetooth signals (a cable from my phone is required for the BMW, although calls are wireless…weirdly). Both cars have enough tone control to make them sound fine, but hey…it's a car...