listening to music in the car

MrTennis,

I drive a new car every one to three months as I work for a manufacturer and I can clearly say I have never heard ANY of our audio systems including those that are very expensive upgrades that were even close to as enjoyable as my home system. You say you have listened to thousands of systems, I have listened to hundreds of vehicles, so I think I can be called a reliable source.

Road noise alone basically means you are missing half the music, average decibel levels are around 60-75db at cruising speeds in most vehicles. You also need to factor in terrible phase errors due to placement of speakers, reflections from windows, etc. Cars also get a huge boost in the bass frequencies from the cabin gain, somewhat like having 4 subs in a small listening room really.

I have noticed in all your posts you seem to dislike any extended frequency response as you seem to equate this with brightness...all joking aside maybe you need to get your hearing checked, one possible sign of damage is sensitivity and you seem to be hyper sensitive. You also make reference to systems from the past a lot, and if this is the case you had less exposure to noise years ago as well...

Goat and Nil,

I understand there are better systems than stock, however many of these create their own issues due to the inherent disadvantages of a cars interior. I have listened to some aftermarket car audio that sounded pretty good, though it is often very expensive and not a great investment as you will likely replace your vehicle every 3-4 years and it is tough to avoid modifying it in installing a nice system with the speakers in correct locations.

My mention of this is not to say you can't enjoy high quality audio in a car, I often love driving with some great music on, the windows down etc., but this is far from a audiophile experience, I just love music and sometime singing along in the car. I do not feel a car system can ever come close to the purity and beauty of a well set up home system however, and when I really want to involve myself in the music it is the only way to go for me.

Frankly with as engrossed as I can become in a piece of music at home, I would be scared to drive under the same influence. You mentioned lots of EQ's, time alignment, etc. these are all things I avoid like the plague in a home system as all but the most expensive processing available degrades the sound noticeably in my experience.

MrTennis, glad to hear your ears are in working order, and as far as your preference for a softer sound, to each their own. You are not alone in your preference as many non-audio-enthusiasts really like Bose products and they to me have absolutely no air or top end life IMHO. I have found systems with less top end also tend to lose some space and placement of sounds in the soundstage, which I value highly, so I guess my preference differs.