Toyota Camry LE has a Pretty Good Sound System


Not excellent, or "mind blowing" mind you.

Of course, there are myriads of you who have better. I'm not interested in a contest, merely commenting that the stock radio in cars can be pretty good.

At one time I wrote a casual review of the Best Buy Insignia speakers; tremendously good for the $50 (at the time) I spent. No, not high grade, but very practical, acceptable run of the mill sound.

So also with the Camry "rig". I'm surprised at the improvement in clarity, and balance in the sound. I had to crank down the bass, as it was bloated if pushed much beyond the mid-point setting. I'm very surprised at the nuance and delicacy of the treble! It's a much more sensitive and pleasing radio than the 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5S I just sold.

I know this is all very weighty stuff for our illustrious forum. But you never know, there may be some who buy cars using audio as an important gauge. Me? I didn't give a rip about the radio, never asked about it, didn't give it a listen until I took possession of the car. I'm deeply into home audio, and there's still way too much permanently wrong with the listening environment of a car to care deeply about it (again, not arguing, just my perspective).

But it IS nice to have an upgrade to the car sound.

Anyone else surprised by a stock car radio/system? :)
douglas_schroeder
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When I bought my '03 Corolla S, my brother-in-law jokingly asked if I was going to stop on the way home from picking it up and have the speakers changed. Never felt the need to. Now it has become a primary listening place, as I commute to work. Still sounds good.
I have had an interesting experience with car audio myself recently.I have an 08 Infiniti G35s. I read comments about how great the system was in that rig and I was very dissapointed at first. It only recently started to sound good after much break in. Playing lossless files via Ipod sounds really good now- much better than the CD playback. I guess that break in applies in car audio as it does at home. And it's very clear that the Ipod playback will continue to outperform the cd unit in that car.
Nice review! I doubt audio matters in determining your choice of vehicle though.
FWIW Stock Prius is lousy. Stock 4runner is poor but 4runners have a lot of
running noise (latest models are not as bad and sound systems are better).
Landcruiser has an excellent stock system with nice quiet cabin but does not
play loud cleanly and bass as usual is lacking somewhat.

I'd recommend a high end custom install if you have long commutes and a
vehicle with a quiet cabin - it will make a huge difference - I have done that
twice in the past - fortunately I have 5 minutes to the office so I don't care
enough to invest in high quality sound in the car right now.