listening to music in the car

So Tarsando, when can we go cruisin'! I know some AWESOME desert roads! You pick the tunes, and I'll pick the "refreshments".

i say, car audio is a different beast, but just as fun !!

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...

hi sbrtoy. my distaste for extended high frequency has no relationship to my hearing. iwas tested about 6 months ago.

i have a preference for attenuated high frequency. i like a slope in the treble, starting at 1khz, down 1db, then 2k at 2db, then 4k at 4db, etc. it is purely personal preference, just as someone may prefer to drink cofee with 3 tea spoons of sugar, or dousing a steak with ketchup.

i realize my taste is unusual and inexplicable, but it is just idiosyncratic taste, nothing more.

when i go to a concert, i try to sit in the last row of the orchestra. highs are attenuated and sound is somewhat homogenized. i like that presentation.

Sbrtoy - You say that you have listened to hundreds of car systems - Are these stock and factory "upgrade" systems? Or are these real, custom audio installations?

No matter what the stock system (Lexus ML, VW Dynaudio, ...) or factory upgrade is, it is not evey going to be able to touch what can be done with aftermarket parts and expertise.

You call out a number of audio problems in the car, and yes these are real problems, though some have workarounds. There are fancy "time alignment" devices you can get that will help with the phasing problems, and EQ of course can be used to deal with uneven freq. responses due to cabin gain.

With that being said, of course it is an unfair comparison to compare car audio to home audio. A car will never touch a well setup home system, the laws of physics prevent it.

However, a well implemented aftermarket audio system for your car CAN be highly musical and fun to listen to, if you are able to "turn off" your audiophile tendencies for car listening. Imaging will be off, the 70db road noise kills the noise floor for Bruckner's quiet moments... but you CAN get dynamics to be pretty intense, the midrange to be rich and musical, and of course FULL RANGE ( :

Well worth it if you spend a decent amount of time in the car, but finding a professional who actually knows his stuff is very hard to do. I would wager 1 in 50 even knows what the word "tone" means, as most only know "loud" and "bass"