Car Audio

In the 80's car audio was getting very, very good. I have mentioned in another thread that my biamped Nakamich and a/d/s system with mini monitors and well recorded cassette tapes sounded unbelievably good, and much more musical than a lot of "high end" digital systems I hear today.

That system, the "a/d/s mobile fidelity system" actually dates back to 1975?!? when it sold for the then astronomical price of $1000.00.

Then, at some point, car audio fell out of fashion and later became a subwoofer and neon competition.

I spent lots of money on my last car, a Porsche Boxster S, with supposedly one of the best installers in the tri state area etc etc and the end result was TERRIBLE.

There are a few sites apparently devoted to high end car audio, and once in a while a tube amp comes along. Milbert made one and Butler amps were also supposed to be good.

Really good, 2 channel, not too boomy, not too hot car audio with natural musical midrang, where I can drive off into the sunset in musical bliss - wow I would love to hear more too.

Anyone?

Eldarado

Obviously conditions are not ideal in a car, compared to say, a recording studio. But to be honest, I never understood this reaction to car audio.

Just because we may add road noise or face challenges with reflections or speaker placement, does that mean we should just give up and settle for Delco?

In my experience the interior of a car - with leather and carpets - can sometimes compensate nicely for the reflective nature of the windows. Car windows rattle less than house windows in a listening room.

And tweeters can be mounted in fiberglass pods, for example, in foot wells and aimed at your ears for more on axis response.

Even if these things cant be tamed, an audiophile can still listen THROUGH these things and hear what is hopefully good sound beneath it all.

Would you rather listen to a good system in a bad room, or a bad system in a bad room? If a band plays in a noisy bar, should they discard the usual care and attention to the mix?

This is AUDIOgon. And whatever, the case listening to music in the car is really FUN.

DMA

Yes, the autophile was one of the sites previously recommended for this topic.

Eldarado

I have read many of your posts and think they are usually thoughtful and well informed, but in this case, you sound like you need a vacation.

I am not defending the fidelity of car audio because it "floats my boat". As an aside, I dont even OWN a car at the moment (see "what kind of motorcycle do you drive"), other than the family wagon.

Perhaps I am cynical, but I tend to adjust my expectations for all claims coming from car salesmen, used or otherwise.

The point of this thread is that car audio can be - and should be - very, very good and I, for one, am disappointed that the topic is not touched upon more frequently.

In the heyday of car audio, many enthusiasts claimed it could sound BETTER than the average home rig, because you could more easily pressurize bass and sound levels in a confined environment.

Now I dont know what you had in your house or your car that didnt sound "anything close" but I can tell you that I had:

Yamaha PX-2 with Dynavector ruby and Grado signature cartridges

Yamaha C2a
Audio Research SP-9
Hafler DH 500 and Adcom GFA 555
Magneplanar MG IIb's and MG IIIa's
Nakamichi LX-5 and Nakamichi DRAGON

Which were not exactly shabby for 1980.

And I can also tell you that my Nakamichi and a/d/s 2001, biamped "mobile fidelity" system sounded GREAT and in many ways, was more fun than my home system.

Since then, I have heard a lot of car audio that usually just sounds like crap, albeit suitable for open air reggae competitions and/or Fast and Furious parties behind the local McDonalds.

This shouldnt take "thousands" any more than you have to spend "thousands" to get decent sound at home if you know what you are doing.

Anyone?