Do you care about car audio?

Hard no.

70 dB noise floor.

No 3D soundstage.

No thanks.

Only time I listen to the car stereo is when my wife and I drive. She likes music while driving. 

i care a lot, i bought all bose audio system from there https://orbimotors.com/ to my car. 

It's sad to see some answerers here (by no means all) who otherwise regard themselves as audiophiles proclaiming systems the car came with are high quality. The incredible amount of DSP used that F's up & homogenizes the sound FAR more then a quality system w/o it is always just sad.  The first time I heard the Burmester system in a Panamera not even moving, drove the point home.  All the optional settings (some double digit no.) only made it worse. If you picked the dead neutral one, it was grey, uninvolving & somewhat more detailed then inexpensive crap but nothing impressive by any standard. The ML system in a Lexus was better (after they completely engineered it a couple of years after first reintroducing it) but nothing like as good as say, the Focal utopia car audio installed with quality amplifiers (theirs or someone elses as good) Someone earlier mentioned the Milbert which is the ne plus ultra.  I heard the B&W Diamond tweeters in a BMW & they were discernibly better then the ML but the DSP always throws a blanket over the music that would be gone w/o it.  The Revel was revelatory in its detail & dynamics (for a DSPed system in particular) but ripped your ears of with those aluminum tweeters. Taming it in the systems described always results in sophisticated (at best) blandness.

I drive a Toyota Camry. It is NOT a German or English built car. It is thin skinned. After I fixed that.. and spent a whopping 500.00 or so including the dampening mat. I was pretty happy. I went to pro drivers and enclosed the backsides on all the drivers. I added a 10" IB sub. I added all the cable candy and HEAVY copper with a cap bank..

Looks factory in the trunk. like it came with it.. Sub in all. The trunk space lost, (one cubic foot) the box can be turned, in 10 seconds.. Pretty cool really.. Amps, caps and controllers are in the factory pockets on either side the trunk behind the wheel wells... No space lost..

It has good sound and the road noise is about 1/2 what it was.. SO the SQ inside while driving is a lot better..

YEA they're a PITA... Chauffeur and a Roller please..

Regards

Up right bass about 33Hz, piano about 28Hz, jazz has got that bass, bass, bass. 

Upgrade car audio? Heavens no. Most car systems have gotten pretty good in the past 15-20 years. And I don’t need subwoofers in the trunk because I only listen to jazz. I’m good!

Even the finest car stereo does not compete with a good home system.
Playing loudly enough to appreciate a high end car stereo is at the least distracting if not isolating.  Both are dangerous.
Drove over 6000 miles in 16 days and did not listen to the Porsche/Bose stereo at all. Glad I did not spring for the Burmester.

Absolutely false. Your experience is that of “boom boom sizzle” which is much of what car audio is about.  But there are some that aspire to quality, not quantity. See my post above about the Buick GN.  I assure you it would beat the vast majority of high end home systems you have heard in your lifetime.

To each their own.

I spend significantly more time listening to music at home than in my cars.  Heck I spend more times in rental cars than my cars.

So I don't have an issue with a crappy sound system - I would rather have handling, breaking and acceleration with some exhaust note from the load pedal.  Yet if I spend a few hours a day in my car...I'm sure my priorities would shift.

Yes! In fact, I’ve been leaning more and more to having a good amplifier installed in my 2019 Kia Sorento , then subsequently having better speakers put in. I drive a lot and thus listen to tunes (downloaded, streaming, or CD) way more than to news (though during the season, Yankees broadcasts will always take precedent), so a good system is going to be paramount. However, I really don't know where to start or how much I should pay.

That’s funny millercarbon !! 

Has anyone mentioned the one great thing about car audio? It totally shatters the myth that you must use small speakers in a small room.

I've always upgraded car stereos. In today's world, however, you don't always have to go aftermarket, since automakers finally realized music needs to sound good in your car too. 

Again, today peeps are into earbuds versus decent speakers. Depends on what you want.

It is truly sad that most of the folks on this thread has settled for less in their vehicles. What is also disturbing is that they make excuses to why they do. Are we becoming more like our kids, lol. I can’t stand any Factory car systems. Such junk. No matter how nice my car is with its performance and driving experience (Porsche, Viper, etc), not having a good sounding system makes me want to stop driving after 30 minutes. If you don’t like settling fir an okay stereo system in your home, why even do It in your vehicle unless you truly don’t give a darn and your just all hype with your system in your home. It’s so funny how folks get caught up in the high end names of these manufacturers putting car audio crap in these late model cars and calling it sound quality. Oh, and don’t forget, charging you a premium for it. If you only knew what’s behind the badge, you would shed a tear or two. You can definitely create excellent sound in your car as you do in your home. I am sure of it. I use to compete in IASCA competition for sound quality. Is it a lot of work?? Yes it is, just like it is a lot of work to create the best sound in our home. Don’t settle for less and miss out. Treat yourself to having the best system in your automobile. You won’t regret it. 

My new BMW comes with Acoustic glass option to reduce road noise. Thicker glass all around,  It actually works quite well. I always get a higher end car stereo in all my cars. I think its a bargain compared to what you'd pay for a stand alone system. 

Porsche for instance, you get an entire Burmester system for around 6k. That would be an impossible feat if you bought the components separately. Granted, car audio will never sound as good because of small spaces and glass all around. But, of course, it makes a huge difference.
So far I've tried : 

Bose in Maserati GT - complete trash 
Bose in BMW - garbage 
HK in BMW - acceptable  sound 
Bang Olufsen in BMW - better than HK but quite mediocre 
Mark Levinson in Lexus - quite good 
Bowers and Wilkins in BMW - so far best sound I've heard 

Jeep currently features Mcintosh system in their SUV's. Im curious about that. Has anyone heard it yet? 

No. 

i have $24k in my truck stereo. my speakers are Focal K2s. my amps are Mosconi Zeros. my subs are Illusion Audio 12" shallows. Mosconi DSP. subscription to Qoboz hi-res streaming.
 i win trophies with this system. it gets moved each time i get a new vehicle.
i have all the seats, carpet, console & door panels removed to completely sound deaden.
this keeps the road noise out & the music in.
where are you? wanna hear it?

77jovian - Audio matters to me wherever I am

I’ve spent the money on aftermarket car audio, and it can be a lot of fun.

tcutter - Even the finest car stereo does not compete with a good home system.

Yeah, I’ve spent less on car audio (entire system, from wiring, drivers, soundproofing, time alignment, amplifiers) than the cost of my pair of home audio speakers . It’s pretty much impossible to get a car with it’s glass and hard surfaces and closed in cabin to compete - physics and all.

However, using a JBL MS-8 to do active crossover duties, with individual DSP for each driver in my car to hit my ears with millisecond time alignment, full active and programmable crossover points which are configurable.

The MS-8 is an integration device that digitizes the analog signals from the stock head unit into digital, and then it can be programmed with up to 8 individual channels, specific frequency cut off points for low, high and band pass. For example you could easily have a three way front end, using the manufacturers specifications to use drivers within the frequencies they are most linear, and program a couple of subs to match, or two ways in the front, some rear fill and subs.
Seating positions can be programmed into the DSP system as well.
Using a pair of headset microphones, each channel is then recorded by twin microphones to establish frequency response and time alignment using the supplied white noise CD.

It is a different experience to hear a fully DSP car setup, with acoustic treatment and drivers set in fiberglass pods to positions more on axis.
Real sound stage presentation is possible, and yet, it’s not even close to my non DSP home system. It can be fun, and enjoyable.

@rklune34 - JBL MS-8, Vifa silk dome tweeters, Dynaudio mids, Tymphany LAT for sub, JL class D for sub, Audison LRX 4.1k power amp for front stage. No rear fill, sound deadening treatment, custom on axis pods for mids.
Complete rewire to all drivers, circuit breakers front and fused at rear. After the house is paid off, I’ll bother to buy a car again (probably) as I just use the work truck for personal use at the moment. All of that gear sits in a box for another vehicle.

MAN! Remind me never to drive with most of you!  Road noise sucks!

To me, one of the greatest joys of living in the modern world is driving and listening to music.  Loud!  I'd much rather have a hot car stereo than a hot home stereo, but luckily I've got both.

I had a car stereo last me through at least 5-different cars and never regretted it for one minute.  I continued to upgrade it along the way.  One of the things that made this work was that I had a fantastic installer that I met at one point that made this all happen really well each time I changed vehicles. 

The installation of a car stereo is by far the most important part.  A good installer can make low-end components sound fantastic and a lousy installer can just destroy the sound of the highest end components.  Car stereo is extremely install sensitive!
Now I have a Tesla M3.  Because of the way that car is I had to move an integrated stereo that operates off the stock GUI in the car.  It operates just like the factory system did, and you can't tell that there is a custom stereo in the car, except for the sound.  Most of the speakers have been changed and a sub added.  It's fantastic, but I had to go to D-class amps for the low amp draw.  It's a bit of a compromise from my last system which was using McIntosh amps and had a more delicious sound.

Man, get off the pod-casts and talk radio and put some kickin' tunes on!

I just realized something reviewing this thread. At 49 I’ve had 42 cars total, I have never put any major stereo system in any sports car I have owned. In retrospect I subconsciously must have wanted to be in tune with the driving experience rather than separating from it. 

Comparing home and car audio is like comparing a 911 turbo and a Hellcat, they both do the same thing, just differently. 
I’ve never personally been so distracted by listening to music to loose situational awareness, gave me a chuckle, thanks for that. 

Car audio is something that you improve only if it really bothers you - it is something that has to be just good enough that you can listen to it without wincing while driving to where you have your real system at home.

There is a valid argument for upgrading speaker drivers as the stock ones are almost invariably cheap and easily improved, but beyond that, why bother. (and I say that as a guy that drove his late 1960s Lamborghini with the original 8 track stereo still installed - every time I went for fifth gear, it would push the tape in and start playing).

Even the finest car stereo does not compete with a good home system. 
Playing loudly enough to appreciate a high end car stereo is at the least distracting if not isolating.  Both are dangerous.
Drove over 6000 miles in 16 days and did not listen to the Porsche/Bose stereo at all. Glad I did not spring for the Burmester.

4 Lexus v8 coupes since 1998. 3 were Nakamichi (sp?) which were all Wonderful. the latest has 15 speaker Mark Levinson, which is pretty good. car audio was very important to me as i spent 1hr to and from work every day. 24 hour trips to Fla every year to visit parents. twice a year as their health failed. picked up a Infinity fx-35 awd winter vehicle. neglected to check out the audio system. 11 speaker Bose system. the most Gosh awful car audio I've ever heard. only good for talk radio. less as Rush has passed. retired 12/31/20. planning to pick up a lightly used LC500 to travel the country. the ability to connect a hi rez music player is a must have. 

Audio matters to me wherever I am.  I’m surprised to read comments here, where many spend a lot for small improvements in a great home system but aren’t interested in large improvements that can be achieved for less money in a car.  It’s a challenge, though.  It is rare to find auto experts who are critical listeners.  And it’s tough to have any idea how a product or system will sound in a car.  Still, I wouldn’t mind spending a reasonable amount to quiet the car and improve the sound.  I spend too much time in the car not to care about the audio.

(I've said this in this forum before, so if you've heard it, bear with me.

Back in the 90s, Richard Clark had two cars that were simply incredible on the IASCA circuit. A Cadillac and a Buick Grand National. The GN was the later car for him. But you could be sure of one thing. If you were competing in his power class and you saw the Grand National roll off the trailer (yes, it was trailered to every show), you knew the best you could do on that day was 2nd place.

Those cars opened my eyes to what was possible with high end audio in a car cabin. Still some of the best sound I've heard anywhere, including many high end home systems.

Oz)

   As a car audio enthusiast I remember that car. Clark’s team had compression drivers in specially made horns under the dash, pro audio eq, crossovers, time alignment rack units wired to run off 12v in the trunk. 
The doors and voids in the body were filled with cement, I’m not sure if the car ever moved under its own power. 
I think that particular example was unrealistic in a (real) car. But it was a winner, on all the magazine covers, and the sponsors were happy.
The stock premium system in my GTI is plenty good enough. I have a set of separates running off a NOS A/D/S Power Plate 80, and an 8in woofer in my F150 that has a clean sound.
I have exhaustively sourced a close to period correct system for my 86 BMW 735. It consists of a pair of A/D/S 320i separates for the front, A/D/S 300i plates for the rear, and a pair of early Cadence 12’s. A couple A/D/S PS5 amps for the highs and a Precision Power Art series for the woofers. Also an Audio Control crossover, although I’m still on the fence regarding a head unit. 
To say an ungraded car audio system is useless when you are driving is a stretch. Music and fidelity is as important to me in my car as it is in my home, even if it can’t be perfect, it can be better. 

I rented a base model Ford Ranger the other day and the stereo had an option to optimize the sound for the driver or both the driver and passenger.  When set to driver, it actually threw a soundstage with width and depth.  It sounded pretty good.  In a Ford Ranger...

What a great thread. We replaced our crap system that came with Lexus RX (low powered expensive brand name) with a Klipsch system. Driving around there’s a lot of ambient noise both from the car itself and outside so one needs a brusque street wise system. Klipsch fit the bill for us in a decent budget. Much better than B&O or Mark Levinson that are “clear” etc, but it’s a useless feature in outdoors where there’s a lot of competing sound. We need audio with muscle. Klipsch was a decent upgrade for us—there’s some Panasonic collaboration in there. 

Alpine system sounds great in my Hellcat.

best part it’s a company car.

emrofsemanon,

"i can't really put it in the same aural category as home audio until and unless technology totally solves the noise problem."

There is hope...

New 2021 Mercedes Maybach - 1st car with Noise Cancelling system !!! - YouTube

Even quieter thanks to sound waves - Daimler Global Media Site

To all questioning the sounds different in my car. Here is an example. I am a big Soundgarden fan and like to turn it up when they come on the radio in my car. But when i play them at home on my reference system all the flaws in the production seem to stand out and they just don’t sound as good. I guess what i am saying is that some artists or songs just sound better on a not so good system. Its like my old sansui 7070 and Bose 901’s there were bands that would sound good on that system that don’t sound good on my current class a mono’s and vandersteins. Not getting into the weeds of why just what my ears are telling me.

I've said this in this forum before, so if you've heard it, bear with me.

Back in the 90s, Richard Clark had two cars that were simply incredible on the IASCA circuit. A Cadillac and a Buick Grand National. The GN was the later car for him. But you could be sure of one thing. If you were competing in his power class and you saw the Grand National roll off the trailer (yes, it was trailered to every show), you knew the best you could do on that day was 2nd place.

Those cars opened my eyes to what was possible with high end audio in a car cabin. Still some of the best sound I've heard anywhere, including many high end home systems.

Oz

i can't really put it in the same aural category as home audio until and unless technology totally solves the noise problem.

Good evening chayro,

I was in the same situation as the past several years with car audio as there was not much interest in upgrading the car stereo system.  A lot of the local car stereo shops seem to focus on the bass and high volume.  One day I walked into a shop with a car stereo dealer that had decades of experience from the time of cassette and even 8 track!  We talked about several different options for my Ridgeline truck. 

The final choice was to keep the original head unit, add a JL Audio - 5 channel 75 watt amp and 4 JL Audio separate component speakers. The amp drives the 4 JL door speakers and the existing subwoofer.
This dealer was able to use the factory head unit with the preamp outputs so the steering wheel controls all work perfectly.

When the work was completed he asked me to demo the truck with the new speakers and amp.  I was absolutely blown away by the night and day difference in sound. Especially when listening to a CD, the sound quality is exceptional.  He even added a small knob to directly control the output of the subwoofer (without going thru the settings on the head unit)!

After having many good quality car stereos I am amazed how well this simple setup works, and I can say that it is now a pleasure to drive that truck everyday.  

Best wishes,

Dan

Lost interest after CDs took over.

Concord & Nakamichi head units made it work for me - started with a Concord HPL 110 & called it quits after a Nakamich TD700.

sgreg1,

"...IMO there are songs that sound better in the car than at home."

I suspect that some material is mixed/mastered with car environment in mind as that is where many (most?) people will listen to it.

"When we had finished a song, we’d take a drive and listen to it on the car stereo to give us that extra objectivity. When you are working so intensely you can lose that objectivity. And when you’re in a studio you’re listening to the absolute best reproduction of the sound. But most people won’t hear it in that environment. So we’d go for a drive – the car test."

Article in the Independent on Sunday - leonardcohenforum.com

Upgrading your car stereo can be a very expensive and time consuming process but when you get it all done you still have road noise to overcome so it will only sound great when it is parked.

@sgreg1

What do you mean by "sound better" in this context? I'd not take a second look if you said "enjoy more", but given the noise produced while driving and your proximity to glass which is know to produce hard reflections, I don't get that one. I do take cognizance that our hobby is very subjective and nobody is the same.

Is it a particular genre that sounds better in the car?

Ps. I do listen to music in the car and I do prefer music over talk radio and the sound of the wind rushing past the car. It's just that it is quite a ways below the quality of my audio system at home. 

I have a two hour daily drive to work so yes my system is important. When i bought my car i ordered the best factory system i could. Did i consider after market yes but feel the return on investment just is not there. Can apply the money else where to get more return. Here is a question for the thread. IMO there are songs that sound better in the car than at home. Then songs that sound great at home just don't cut it in the car. Does any one share my opinion on this?

No

"Bose system. I could nit pick but surprisingly decent."

At some point, I got a car because it had a BOSE system. It was great. Eventually, the engine noise bothered me at higher speeds so I handed it down. These days, with ability to play files, convenience wins over the sophistication of that unit.

When I was interested in purchasing this one used car, the first thing I did was turn on the radio and played a cd.  Bose system.  I could nit pick but surprisingly decent.   Didn't tell the salesman that.  Then, I walked around and inspected the car.
The salesman thought I was nuts.

Folks talking about "the old days."  I had a Concord in the dash with a cassette player.  Super good in dash unit.
Now a days the best improvement I have heard is listening to Radio Paradise.  

I am amazed at how many people on an audio forum feel that car audio is not of good quality.  Sure, the OEM systems are generally poor sounding, but don't stop there and accept it.  All you need is a good source (CD is best for the car but an MP3 source works well if not highly compressed) and simply start with a good integration device in order to develop a quality, high fidelity music system.  Mobile electronics are far more sophisticated than most people here are giving credit.  Most of the good integration devices also have time correction as part of their function.  Good amplification, good speakers, and a good subwoofer - all properly installed - and you will have an amazing audio experience, especially for those long drives on a weekend getaway.  I find the best way to get good bass and still retain the vehicle cargo space is to build a fiberglass custom enclosure into the rear quarter panel (for SUV or crossover vehicles) and upholster to match the interior.  Sound deadening materials for the doors is a must.  Tuning properly with crossovers and gain controls in the amps and tuning the time correction properly goes very far in achieving good SQ.  If done properly the center imaging is very impressive.  The mobile environment can be a challenge for good sound quality, but with good product and a good installation it is very entertaining and quite enjoyable.  It's not intended to be that of a high quality 2-channel home audio system.  It's just good sounds and good fun.  My car audio system begins with maintaining the dash as it is, and from there it's all high quality aftermarket products.  Visually you can't tell there is anything added into the system.  But, sonically you sure can!

Yes, the sound of my car stereo is very important.
I spend an hour and a half commuting each workday, and because of that, I spend more time listening to the car stereo than my home stereo.It’s not super high dollar (less than $500 for the stereo and speakers), but it’s good enough to make the factory stereo in the family van sound pretty bad by comparison.

When I bought my Camry many years ago I got the upgraded soundsystem. It sounds very good but unfortunately the car is a bit noisy. I can still though listen to all kinds of music on it from digital recordings to vintage recordings going back to the 30s. As opposed to my home system where I don’t even like listening to mono recordings on it except for well produced mono lps.

I have a huge cd collection and was looking for a used car only a few years old and hate the fact that they stopped putting cd players in cars I like a little while ago. I certainly don’t want to go to the bother of ripping cds. I just want to grab them and put them in a car player. Some cars still have cd players but they’re not models I’m interested in.

Gas is $5.00/gallon now in California.
Prices are going nowhere but north.

Stay home and listen to your system.

If I had a Ferrari or Lambo, I wouldn't bother with audio. A V12  symphony is all that's necessary.

I have a new Hyundai Sonata N-Line and it came with Bose 12 speaker premium audio and I have to say it sounds spectacular.  I listen mostly to HD FM Radio, and Sirius Radio.  Easily the best sound system I’ve ever had in a car, even better than the premium system in my wife’s Lincoln.

Got me looking at those very thick battery cables....could the sound of my car audio be improved?