Is it even possible to get high quality sound in your car??

schw06 · « **on:** 5 Dec 2009, 01:42 pm »

Every moment I spend listening to my car stereo makes me want to turn it off because of the huge disparity in sound quality between my home audio system and my car. I'm wondering if I'm spinning my wheels (no pun intended) by even considering upgrading my car stereo?

rollo · « **Reply #1 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 02:06 pm »

Actually the car interior is a good room. The short answer yes. Its not inexpensive. Back in the day I had Soundsmith do a custom job for my Mercedes. Nakamichi amps, crossovers with Boston Acoustic and Polk speakers. Awesome. Analog baby no CDS, just cassettte and tuner. Maybe its the newer digital suff that has you in a dither.
Even the stock system in our Toyota Echo is quite good. I believe it is a Pioneer based system made for Toyota.

macrojack · « **Reply #2 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 02:33 pm »

I have an '04 Toyota Matrix XR with stock speakers and an upgraded Pioneer Premier CD player with I-Pod controls and Bluetooth. It's probably no where near state of the art but I hesitate to upgrade the speakers, add amps, etc. because of the road noise at highway speeds. It sounds pretty damn good around town but I think you have to take the vehicle itself into consideration. A Mercedes is a nice quiet cruiser and worthy of a serious sound system but cars like mine are a too noisy themselves to justify a big spend. What are you driving?

Bigfish · « **Reply #3 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 02:43 pm »

Quote from: schw06 on 5 Dec 2009, 01:42 pm

Every moment I spend listening to my car stereo makes me want to turn it off because of the huge disparity in sound quality between my home audio system and my car. I'm wondering if I'm spinning my wheels (no pun intended) by even considering upgrading my car stereo?

I think the answer lies with how much time you spend in your car and how deep your wallet happens to be. You can have a great sounding system in your car! Think new speakers, new deck and face mounting plate, amp, all new heavy duty cabling and installation. When I investigated it a couple of years ago the starting point was around $2000 installed and it goes up quickly. The return value is simply your enjoyment because it will not add and in fact may detract from the resale value of your vehicle.

Good Luck,

Ken

Audioclyde · « **Reply #4 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 02:45 pm »

I have a very, very nice sounding audio setup in my Toyota FJ Cruiser, and have only used the stock spkr locations, plus adding a small custom built sub (8" driver) that sits between the front & back seats (heck, this vehicle isn't made for rear seat passengers anyway).

I have Hybrid Audio Legatia spkrs (highly recommend), Zapco DC Ref amps (also incredible), and McIntosh MX-5000 head unit. Not inexpensive, but incredibly good sounding.

Since my vehicle has a built in dc to ac pwr inverter, I use a Wadia 170i to extract the digi signal from my 250g Ipod (wav or aiff files, no compressed) and feed the McIntosh DAC.....rivals many home setups that I've heard!!

Best,

Randy

opnly bafld · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 02:52 pm »

For a few hundred $ you can get a new head unit and an amp, this is a simple way to improve the SQ even with the stock speakers.

Alpine makes a nifty 45w/4 amp that plugs into their HUs without running extra wires.
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=KTP-445

Lin

ted_b · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 03:05 pm »

Although mine is factory installed and therefore not a great example of after-market potential you're looking for, I will heartily concur that the car interior is a wonderful place for good music and good acoustics. My Infiniti M35X has the 14 speaker 5.1 DVD-Audio/DTS capable Bose (yes, Bose) surround sound system. I take all my 5.1 DVD-Audio discs out there and am blown away every time. I leased the car back in '06 and it's the first car I've purchased after lease-end in a long time. The sound system had a huge impact on my decision.

jazzcourier · « **Reply #7 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 04:01 pm »

I just leased a '10 Subaru Legacy,a nice car, not unlike several other nice cars.It does boast the premium Harmon Kardon sound system which is very nice.It offers"less distortion across the frequency range" and shows some thought in the speaker placement in relation to the driving position.There was a positive review of this car in yesterday's "USA Today" This decent sound system was a real selling point in leasing this car.First choice was the '86 Cadillac sitting in my neighbors driveway for years,now that is a car! You can design your own sound system to compliment the stock cassette player.In any event,the Subaru is an nice compromise to drive off with nice sound.

schw06 · « **Reply #8 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 05:25 pm »

Thanks for the feedback! Given all the positive responses, wondering if anyone has suggestions. I have a 2008 Porsche Cayman S with the "upgraded" Bose sound system (which makes me laugh because it is absolutely horrendous). I am thinking about replacing the head unit and adding an amp. Does anyone have any expertise on a good way to upgrade without destroying the interior?
David

macrojack · « **Reply #9 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 05:36 pm »

If I had that car, I'd leave the stereo off and listen to the engine.

avahifi · « **Reply #10 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 05:46 pm »

One thing to think about, it certainly is impossible to get a reasonable signal to noise ratio in a car, unless it is parked on a quiet street with the engine off.

Regards,

Frank

DaveC113 · « **Reply #11 on:** 5 Dec 2009, 05:55 pm »

I've done several car audio installs, some pretty high end. For good sound quality without ear-bleed spls, I'd get the following...

- Good Head Unit, I'd like to try out an Alpine with IMPRINT, or Nakamichi for a no-frills unit with good sq.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=CDA-9887

-Good Amplifier for 2 speakers + a subwoofer.

-10" Subwoofer in a small sealed enclosure. I have a smaller car, so I may put an 8" Sub under a front seat.

-Component speakers in the front door, according to personal taste. I like Focal, but they are pricey. Good installation of speakers and soundproofing in front doors is critical.

-Try using no rear speakers.

-Soundproofing. As much as possible, but do the front doors thoroughly, at a minimum. Elemental Designs makes some good soundproofing that is less expensive than dynamat http://www.edesignaudio.com/ . I used one of Elemental Designs 12" o-series subs in a Suburban with good results before, it was a very clean sub. I haven't heard their component speakers. I completely covered all the interior panels of one of my cars in dynamat and there was a dramatic reduction in road noise. Well worth it if you have a louder car. This is moderately expensive and very time consuming, but well worth it if you think you're going to keep the car a long time.

- You'll need to high pass the component speakers (around 90 Hz or so), so buy an amp that has a built in x-over. The Sub should have a 24 dB octave low pass x-over.

- Stick with 4 ohm speakers and sub even if the amp can handle lower impedence.

rydenfan · « **Reply #12 on:** 7 Dec 2009, 02:45 pm »

Quote from: schw06 on 5 Dec 2009, 05:25 pm

Thanks for the feedback! Given all the positive responses, wondering if anyone has suggestions. I have a 2008 Porsche Cayman S with the "upgraded" Bose sound system (which makes me laugh because it is absolutely horrendous). I am thinking about replacing the head unit and adding an amp. Does anyone have any expertise on a good way to upgrade without destroying the interior?
David

Where are you located? There are some very talened car audio guys out there.

nathanm · « **Reply #13 on:** 7 Dec 2009, 03:53 pm »

Quote

Is it even possible to get high quality sound in your car?

Yeah, what Frank said. Sure, sounds great when it's parked, or when you come up to a stop light!

As soon as you get moving the engine and road noise eats up your sound. But you learn to adapt, so it ain't all bad. I can't imagine any component regardless of price being able to override the road noise problem. I suspect the true car-o-phile would need to bite the bullet, tear that sucker apart and line it with dampening sheets.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #14 on:** 7 Dec 2009, 04:00 pm »

Having been through it, both DIY and with professionals doing the work, I would say this:

Decent sound - not tough, and can be done on a reasonable budget - some great ideas already shared.

High Quality sound - depends on your definition of course, and yes it absolutely can be done, but the cost will rival your home setup once it is all said and done.

macrojack · « **Reply #15 on:** 7 Dec 2009, 04:33 pm »

Another consideration about putting big dollars in a car sound system is insurance coverage. I imagine you could recover pretty fully from a theft or vandalism but how do insurance companies deal with totaling a car that has a $12,000 stereo?

TONEPUB · « **Reply #16 on:** 7 Dec 2009, 04:34 pm »

Buy a Bentley with the Naim system in it or the new Porsche Panamera with Burmester sound.
Both are fantastic!

ted_b · « **Reply #17 on:** 7 Dec 2009, 04:37 pm »

Quote from: TONEPUB on 7 Dec 2009, 04:34 pm

Buy a Bentley with the Naim system in it or the new Porsche Panamera with Burmester sound.
Both are fantastic!

or just hire some musicians for the back seat!!

coke · « **Reply #18 on:** 7 Dec 2009, 04:56 pm »

My system is listed in my sig. In my opinion, some of the components are among the best made in any price range. Looking back, I wish I would have spent less.

I recently went and demoed a bunch of home audio speakers in the $3k range. My car stereo was about in the middle of the pack when comparing mids and highs, but none could compete with my car on bass and dynamics.

I recommend using as much sound deadening as possible, but in reality, you're never going to come close to a high end home audio system when you're driving 70 mph.

As mentioned above, don't use rear speakers.

Also get a good DSP. Running components active, and having full control over crossovers, EQ, time alignement, etc... , can make a HUGE difference.

Another thing to think about, is that one of the largest factors on how your system will sound is the install. A properly installed $500 system could beat a poorly installed $5,000 system.

I would suggest setting a limit on your budget around $1500 - $2000 (assuming you can fabricate boxes and do the install yourself), and just aknowledge the fact that you can't replicate the home enviroment and it would be a waste to spend more.

srb · « **Reply #19 on:** 7 Dec 2009, 05:15 pm »

Quote from: macrojack on 7 Dec 2009, 04:33 pm

I imagine you could recover pretty fully from a theft or vandalism but how do insurance companies deal with totaling a car that has a $12,000 stereo?

You need to purchase a separate rider policy for the value. Some insurance companies will sell that additional rider policy, but many won't. With theft and vandalism, if it's installed in the dashboard there is less of a chance of them paying out than if it were a loose portable piece of electronics in the backseat.

Quote from: ted_b on 7 Dec 2009, 04:37 pm

or just hire some musicians for the back seat!!

Finally, sweet analog sound in the car!

Steve