Concerning high end audio names in new cars


It made sense to me when high end audio manufactures started selling their brand names to the likes of BMW. I really had to look twice when I saw the Jeep Grand Wagoneer on a commercial with large blue MacIntosh meters on the dash! I went to the website just to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. It's just fluff of course. I've been in several vehicles with supposedly high end audio systems. I wasn't impressed  with any of them. I wonder what impact if any the Mac meters will have on the general public. I hope audiophiles steer clear of this model car as it could prove to be a distraction for sure. 

128x128jnovak

I had a Mazda a few years back. GREAT car. With a Bose system. I always joked that they probably shouldn't brag about that. LOL

About four years ago, I entirely gave up listening to audio of any kind when I drive. Driving is much more enjoyable without distraction.

Fact is high end audio companies are putting their components in cars for mainstream name recognition and money. Car audio is a whole different animal from home audio. A maker is totally at the mercy of the varying, hugely challenging acoustics/materials in the myriad of car models. There is definitely limits to how nice a car audio system can sound, particularly under circumstances like highway speed, engine noise and lack of proper sound deafening of noise coming from outside the cab. Do you really think most customers would know the difference when their sound standards are low to mid-fi sound quality (due largely to not knowing what you don’t know - we as audiophiles don’t really have magic ears!)? At the end of the day this all about money for audio companies. If they hit the jackpot when their components become ubiquitous in a highly popular line of vehicles, but it didn’t produce sound quality even close to the potential of their 2 channel systems (or surround), I doubt their bean counters and executives would bat an eye. Their relative lines of home audio are much more expensive, but their lack of comparable overhead, coupled with economies of scale and overall margin percentage, would be a lot higher in today’s mainstream consumer market. Also, they would capture, or at least be in the running, for the small percentage of those car audio customers that end up delving into high end sound home audio. Plus, even those of us that know how good home audio can sound have largely been trained from childhood l to have low standards when it comes to car audio. Even though I know the sound could be better in my car, I long ago went away from even thinking about going after market with my car stereo. It’s just not worth the hassle for me and I, unlike a large l portion of the market that can afford it, have started resist flipping vehicles every 3 years because I don’t want the crazy recurring car payments (my wife has somehow in recent years curved my stubborn compulsive male mindset that started early in life loving expensive sports sports cars as well)!

 

Not real pleased with the Bose system in my Hyundai Sonata N-Line.  No choice in the matter though, they all have this “option.”

I wonder how much the higher end names are even involved with the car audio systems design and manufacturing. I bet many of them are simply putting their name on a ordinary system manufactured by a no name or non premium reputation manufacturer.

Car makers do that all the time. Rebadging  - Toyota to Lexus, Honda to Acura, Nissan to Infinit, etc. How much of the premium is name only, and how much is actually reflected in their parts and manufacturing cost. If you subtract out the increased advertising expenditure, I bet it is not a great deal. But it sells - snob appeal costs money.