I usually change out the speakers. Most factory ones are cheap paper crap. Add some dynomat to the doors. Helps reduce road noise as well. Sometimes add a small sub. I like focal’s in a car. Running Infinity Kappas now.
What do audiophiles do in their cars?
All of you forum members with your killer home systems…what do you listen to in your cars? Do y’all have custom stereo systems? Does the quality of the stereo system actually impact your car buying decision? I have a B&O setup in my 2021 truck, which was an upgrade and sounds decent enough, but nothing compared to a typical HiFi home system.
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A buddy of mine who lives in the Albuquerque area pours all of his audiophile money into his car stereo because he lives in an apartment and can’t set up subwoofers and speakers the way he would like. His Miata ends up being his mobile sound chamber. Having common walls and floors will tend to limit choices. |
I Like Alpine R’s for Sound. problem is convertible cars road noise. No matter how good the sound, the ambient noise makes you want to turn volume up to overcome it. This didn’t bother me when I was young but now when I stop after a drive and shut the music and the engine....what a relief. best sound system I had in a car was Acura Legend base model Bose 6speaker system (upgrade was 8 speakers). I would take new CDs and sit in the driveway to hear them before listening to them on my home system. Worst sound system was the Bose in my Infinity. One note bass and all. |
In reply to “So, I couldn’t really care less how good my car system is. I don’t do any serious listening in my car anyway.” that totally misses the point for me. i spend quite a bit of time in my car. , so while the sound target isn’t the same audiophile quality level as in my house, it’s certainly annoying if the sound is crappy..and similarly the ride is much more enjoyable if the sound is good. I’m not going to focus on the sound stage or the vibrato of the cello while driving...but I do notice left/right separation. it doesn’t take much (money/effort) to get a car system to sound decent. To improve from “decent” starts to get pricey , time and effort consuming with diminishing returns escalating quickly. Complicated electrical schemes, opening body panels to apply sound insulation, compromises in speaker location...all in a much closer than near field listening position......I thought I was smarter than the average bear when I was young and wore isolation headphones while driving. That was a $200 ticket . |
reading through the various responses, the key points to this i think are - car audio matters if one spends a lot of time in the car, even if the sound quality target cannot approach a proper in-house system - cars themselves are used for different reasons/occasions - e.g. an exciting drive in a sports car doesn’t need music, as the car would supply its own, whereas a long cruise or commute can often benefit from some nice music - starting with a smooth, quiet car certainly helps make the music played in it sound halfway decent - car audio, due to its challenges and less than true hifi sound, can actually be quite enjoyable, and makes us just enjoy the music and be less ’audiophile ocd’ - music playing in cars can contribute to many a memorable moment |
What do audiophiles do in their cars? Makin' Whoopee, hopefully. |
If you truly think any stock Automotive stereo system is good, you are full of it. If you are a true HiFi/ Audiophile person, why settle. You’re no different than a child listening to music on their phone. I don’t understand for settling for less. The question: Is it tough to do ? Absolutely. Great things doesn’t come easy. You have to work at it. Creating HiFi in a vehicle definitely can be done. The problem is we are confirming to the crappy ergonomics that today’s vehicle offers and we settle for what’s available from the automakers. They truly laugh at us because we get hung up on the names like Meridian, Bang & olufsen, McIntosh, Mark Levinson, etc. all of the equipment in these vehicles are junk and truly sounds terrible. These manufacturers charge you a ton of money for absolute garbage . Absolutely the best way for the automaker’s to make a profit. I have a custom system and wouldn’t trade it for any of the junk out there. Does it sound as good as my home system? Absolutely not but I bet it definitely sounds a heck of a lot better than what you would call the best system an automaker puts in their vehicle. I challenge any factory system against mine. I miss IASCA Sound Quality Competitions. |
Jjss49.... expanding just a little on your points, if I may; What did anyone pay attention to when parked at a drive in movie with a girlfriend? . If your answer was the sound quality then you missed out. what did anyone pay attention to when playing a bands songs after just seeing that band in concert? If you could hear anything at all besides the ringing in your ears and the euphoria of seeing an awesome concert then you missed out. what did anyone pay attention to when they were driving down with a buddy from the northeast to Florida for spring break? If you were annoyed at your buddy for singing along to every other song preventing you from hearing the intricacies of the song then you missed out. however....you were perfectly proper if you were focusing tightly on the sound when you were driving along with your girlfriend and her mother in the back seat while her mother was jabbering away at who knows what. If you know what then you missed out on the music and were focusing on the wrong thing |
jacksky83 posts I’m gonna play the devils advocate on the statement you made. If you stand by this analogy the. The same applies to your home environment. Family, friends, etc in your home. It doesn’t make sense to simplify life in one segment and not the other. People are creatures of habit. What they do in one environment, they tend to do in others. With you truly love how your music sounds or you don’t. The only other option is to except or settle for less like most of our children do. It’s easy, practical, and inexpensive. No need to judge them if that’s the case. It only makes us become a hypocrite to them. Ask most kids in today’s society and they think we waste our time and money purchasing Hi End equipment and searching for that perfect sound. “Sorry Toyota fans”, but it sounds just like Toyota Hybrid owners hating of folks who purchase Ferrari or Lamborghini exotic sports cars. They tend to think it is a waste of time and money. To them, it’s just a car. To others, it’s their pride and joy and it makes them happy to drive and own them. Here is the question of the day. If someone told you that if they offer a 40-50K customized stereo system for free in your vehicle VS a factory system, would you turn it down? If your answer is yes, like most would say, the. It boils down to funds to pay for it. |
rocray788 posts That’s a choice and as long as you are happy with that choice, that’s all that matters to you. If you have children, I’m sure they say the same about you home entertainment system. I always say if you want folks to respect your decision, you definitely would need to respect their decision about how we spend our funds on equipment. To them they would say the same thing you’re saying. There are better ways to spend money on. Again at the end of the day, it’s a choice. Nothing wrong with having a choice. Upgrading an audio system in a vehicle is not cheap if done correctly. Owning a Ferrari isn’t either. At the end of the day, it’s what makes you happy. Settling for less truly never makes anyone happy. The just cope with it. Human Learning Motor Behavior. |
Hi decathlon1991, Please don’t think my comment was trying to put anyone down for spending money on car audio. That was not my intent. My comment was just stating my situation. I am a firm believer in that people get to make their own choices in life. My interests have changed and varied over the years. All the best, Ray |
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My wife's 2012 Hyundai Genesis has a Lexicon system that is pretty kick-ass, of course except for the bass you get from big subs, which she doesn't care about. My 2016 Buick Enclave's system is pretty pedestrian in comparison. I do play Amazon Music HD from my cell phone to the AUX input of the Enclave, but I don't think that input jack is very good at all. I used to play my DVD-Audio discs in my 2009 Buick Enclave, which sounded pretty good, but we all know what happened to OE automobile disc players. |
The system 19 speaker Bowers and Wilkins system factory fitted in my Volvo actually paved the way for me to get my first hifi system after a hiatus of 30 years. I was so in love with the sound and power of the B&W system in my Volvo that I decided to look for a home system as good as the one in my Volvo. At the beginning, when visiting dealers, I used to ask for a home system that mirrored whatever I had in my Volvo. I can tell you that the disdainful looks that I got from the sales personnel put an end to that in a jiffy. Needless to say, I now have a home system which the Volvo cannot compare with. However, that does not mean I value my the system in my Volvo any less. I still love it, but I love my home system even more. I recently got a car for my kids and it came with a stock / plain vanilla hifi system. You can imagine my glee when my wife and kids began comparing the sound with that of the Volvo. The Volvo seems to have started my wife and kids on their own audiophile journeys as well! I am a happy man :-) |
@jeroboam
i remember back in 1998, bought a new lexus es300, was the first time i was really impressed with a great stereo -- in that lovely smooth quiet sweet car - so many joyous trips from seattle to vancouver and back for weekly work in those days, listening to anita baker, michael franks, toni braxton... :) |
Car audio is the only excuse for the compression used in so many recordings. When the noise floor is that high you can't get another 80db without damaging your hearing. Ask how I know. Years ago I used dbx for noise reduction on tapes and had a car deck with a dbx expander add-on. Discovered that in the car, many dbx recordings were better left unexpanded because you could then hear the sounds normally obscured by the noise floor.
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Mostly just the factory in our cars, as many have said, they are pretty good now, and much of the car's computer system is run through the head unit, so it can be a pain to change. But.... I have a classic convertible that has a massive system to make up for the poor speaker placement options and huge open area. Just went with power, didn't really concern myself with quality just trying to overcome the awesome engine noise (Pontiac 455) and open air noise. |
I have a $4K Audisson system. But it did not sound good until I stripped out the seats, carpets and all the interior panels and dramatically improved the soundproofing and sound dampening . Because I listen to music more in the car than at home, it was worth it. But I might not of bothered if the OEM system had not sounded like crap (Mazda CX-5) in the first place. You can get Dirac for cars. If I was starting over I would use JL Audio stuff (their subs are amazingly good) plus this: https://www.minidsp.com/products/car-audio-dsp/cdsp-8x12-dl
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I have a $4K Audisson system. But it did not sound good until I stripped out the seats, carpets and all the interior panels and dramatically improved the soundproofing and sound dampening . Because I listen to music more in the car than at home, it was worth it. But I might not of bothered if the OEM system had not sounded like crap (Mazda CX-5) in the first place. You can get Dirac for cars. If I was starting over I would use JL Audio stuff (their subs are amazingly good) plus this: https://www.minidsp.com/products/car-audio-dsp/cdsp-8x12-dl
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I just helped my Great Nephew install a system. He spent 600.00 on 5 speakers, 2 amps a 1cf sub box (to custom fit his car) and a roll of dampening mat. He had an Alpine head set. I had all the cabling, armor, fuses and nick nacks here. 4 hours later he was thumpin'. My BACK and HANDS were killing me.. LOL Good kid. Just entered his apprenticeship to become an Electrician. Turned down a scholarship at UC Davis to become an Electrician. Said he didn't like it there. Loves what he's doing now. 4 generation now out of the same Hall. I'm proud of them all. Merry Christmas everyone... Regards |
A lot of people are living in. their cars, Way to many people. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Never in my whole life, I was on my own by 15. It’s a choice call it what you want. Jobs everywhere, bums by the bushel. Call them what they are.. I worked with a BLIND mechanic for 2 years. Rudy Salazar. He retired at 62. I stood picket with that guy.. Good Union man.. Out of WORK. No such thing in my life.. Thanks Master M, Merry Christmas to you and yours too.. Regards |
Update/correction on Burmester in wagon mentioned above... umm, after two years I finally located the expanded menu for the system and corrected the boomy subwoofer (something called "focus" made the big difference). It's much better now. Of all the parts in the car it was the nut that holds the wheel... |
