Rank your car HiFi ;-)
Discussion
I'm no audiophile either however...
I think the systems in my first two cars (both Mk5 Golfs) were the same and they were reasonable. They performed pretty well and I'd give them both 5/10.
My next car - BMW E92 - had a custom installation which was fitted by the previous owner. He spent approximately £3k on it (the receipts came with the car) and it was a really very good sounding system however it was let down by what I can only assume was the door cabling and/or door panels rattling - perhaps because not enough padding was used for the installation? It made what could have been a great system not quite so good and as such, gets a 7/10. It did have a fancy looking amp installed in the rear of the car though which had lots of interesting dials and knobs showing however I left well alone for fear of breaking anything!
The Dynaudio system on my Scirocco is - considering it's a relatively cheap option on a comparatively cheap car - really, really good. I'd give it 8/10 overall.
The system on my partner's Mini Countryman is not great. At anything above 50% volume, everything distorts horribly (even with the bass and mid reduced). 4/10.
I think the systems in my first two cars (both Mk5 Golfs) were the same and they were reasonable. They performed pretty well and I'd give them both 5/10.
My next car - BMW E92 - had a custom installation which was fitted by the previous owner. He spent approximately £3k on it (the receipts came with the car) and it was a really very good sounding system however it was let down by what I can only assume was the door cabling and/or door panels rattling - perhaps because not enough padding was used for the installation? It made what could have been a great system not quite so good and as such, gets a 7/10. It did have a fancy looking amp installed in the rear of the car though which had lots of interesting dials and knobs showing however I left well alone for fear of breaking anything!
The Dynaudio system on my Scirocco is - considering it's a relatively cheap option on a comparatively cheap car - really, really good. I'd give it 8/10 overall.
The system on my partner's Mini Countryman is not great. At anything above 50% volume, everything distorts horribly (even with the bass and mid reduced). 4/10.
t.Current Grand Scenic sounds just about acceptable from the driver's seat but shockingly thin in the middle row; 3/10.
Previous 530d touring with 'business' system was not the business and scored a mithering 4/10. Unacceptable.
Before that was a Honda Accord tourer. Weighty bass. Fat tunes. Liked it; 6/10.
Then we had a 330d touring with Harman Kardon. Mmkay. 5/10.
Previous to that was boxer. Awful-awful. Tapes only, 2 ancient speakers. 1/10.
Then it must have been the 325 BM touring to which I fitted Nakamichi CDP with focal speakers. Super-detailed but way too bright, gave mrs castex an instant headache. Skipped on bumps. Hopeless, expensive DIY meddling - 6/10; will fit again.
I had an Alpine unit in the Citroens. Sounded great, girls loved it. 8/10.
Previous 530d touring with 'business' system was not the business and scored a mithering 4/10. Unacceptable.
Before that was a Honda Accord tourer. Weighty bass. Fat tunes. Liked it; 6/10.
Then we had a 330d touring with Harman Kardon. Mmkay. 5/10.
Previous to that was boxer. Awful-awful. Tapes only, 2 ancient speakers. 1/10.
Then it must have been the 325 BM touring to which I fitted Nakamichi CDP with focal speakers. Super-detailed but way too bright, gave mrs castex an instant headache. Skipped on bumps. Hopeless, expensive DIY meddling - 6/10; will fit again.
I had an Alpine unit in the Citroens. Sounded great, girls loved it. 8/10.
Edited by castex on Wednesday 31st August 22:41
I've never heard any proper high end car systems so I can't compare to those but I am a bit of a hifi geek.
My Mondeo's system (uprated over the lesser spec models) to me, sounds superb. It could do with a bit more amplification clout (will probably sort this sometime soon) but it sounds very nicely balanced with a rich sound that rarely sounds harsh. Very good indeed. One of the best I've heard.
The worst modern system I've heard was a base spec mk7 Golf. Oh my it was dreadful.
My Mondeo's system (uprated over the lesser spec models) to me, sounds superb. It could do with a bit more amplification clout (will probably sort this sometime soon) but it sounds very nicely balanced with a rich sound that rarely sounds harsh. Very good indeed. One of the best I've heard.
The worst modern system I've heard was a base spec mk7 Golf. Oh my it was dreadful.
Mr E said:
Alfa 156 - pretty good. Unexpected sub in the boot.
Saab 9-5. Rubbish.
E-Class. Harman/Kardon. Excellent.
Lotus. One track. It's entitled "Larini". It goes on a bit and it's bloody loud.
The 156 could be had with Bose - which I suspect yours must have had, it was a mixed bag. Pretty decent sound, but you couldn't adjust it very much and it was missing the door tweeters of the standard system, which was a bit weird. Saab 9-5. Rubbish.
E-Class. Harman/Kardon. Excellent.
Lotus. One track. It's entitled "Larini". It goes on a bit and it's bloody loud.
Saab. If the 9-5 system is anywhere near as bad as the 9-3 'upgrade' offers, then it'll be abysmal - and the worst thing about the 9-3 system is that you can't really do anything about it.
Need to get this off my chest...Present car is an E Class AMG tt. The Harmon Kardon is one of the worst I've ever heard. Considering the cost of the car it's a bit of an insult frankly. 0/10.
Other present car is a Disco 3 HSE. This has an uprated stereo which beats the MB hands down. 5/10.
Other present car is a Disco 3 HSE. This has an uprated stereo which beats the MB hands down. 5/10.
I think we have got perhaps a bit over choosy, I used to cruise round in a Mk1 Golf GTI with some crappy tape deck and a couple of paper speakers, my dad had a transistor radio as his hi-fi back int he sixties.
And we moan cars have got heavy, wonder how much a 14 speaker system with amps and a sub weights, 15/20 kilos ?
As an aside, the B and W system in the XFR, is that standard, and does it appear in other models ?
And we moan cars have got heavy, wonder how much a 14 speaker system with amps and a sub weights, 15/20 kilos ?
As an aside, the B and W system in the XFR, is that standard, and does it appear in other models ?
DaveCWK said:
The processing & cabin acoustic design side of things has undoubtedly moved on, but the best speakers ever fitted to a production car were IMO the 3 component Dynaudio door speakers in the old Volvo c70 coupe. You'd be happy with those drivers in a £5k home theatre setup.
I have got to agree there, well Volvo systems in general with the dolby prologic and twin subs. I believe they are dynaudio ?Other systems to get a mention is the Lexus LS Mark Levinson, Bentley Niam and Porsche Burmaster.
These are the ones I have experience of at the top end but a worthy mention, in my current rides, which are pretty good:
Mercedes E class w211 Avantgarde.....great system as standard. Porsche Bose not bad!
maxdb said:
Mazda 3 MPS has Bose as standard with a sub under the passenger seat but could do with Bluetooth and a sub in the boot to be perfect - the sound quality is ok though - 7/10.
I've never understood the logic of having the sub in the boot. It's like getting a home-cinema system and putting the sub in the cupboard under the stairs.I have the Bose system in my Mazda 6MPS. I'd give the sound system 6/10, it would be more the the radio reception is terrible and the built-in hard drive does not allow me to delete albums. I've fitted an Xcarlink systems that provides Bluetooth & ipod connectivity, and an Pure Highway DAB receiver too so it now has all the up to date functions with add on bits.
Learn2MergeInTurn said:
MJ85 said:
Standard E39 system - 1.5 out of 10, maybe? Pretty appalling. Same with E46 M3, 328i and 316i.
This, speakers in all my e46's and the e39 were terrible...Put a Parrot Android/tablet thing in it and it made a huge difference as that had a built in amplifier and didn't have to change the speakers.
Also got sat nav, iPod connectivity/Bluetooth streaming and good hands free now so proper win.
Mk7 Golf GTD - More than good enough for what I need in a daily, the DAB has strong signal and sound is more than good enough 8/10
Maserati Gransport - Garbage, slightly less crap with an uprated headunit, thankfully I very rarely switch it on unless on a long drive 3/10
Boxster 986 S - Standard was utterly woeful, the dash speakers were paper and made by Vodafone, with the standard speakers it was 2/10, I upgraded them to Alpines which made it about 5/10
loads of other cars where the setup was pretty unremarkable apart from a Daewoo Lanos which had a sound system that made a noise equivalent to when a moron walks past you with some inane drivel hissing out of their phone. though it did have a "D Bass" button where I presume the D stood for distortion as it simply made the car make a weird farting noise, loved that button
Maserati Gransport - Garbage, slightly less crap with an uprated headunit, thankfully I very rarely switch it on unless on a long drive 3/10
Boxster 986 S - Standard was utterly woeful, the dash speakers were paper and made by Vodafone, with the standard speakers it was 2/10, I upgraded them to Alpines which made it about 5/10
loads of other cars where the setup was pretty unremarkable apart from a Daewoo Lanos which had a sound system that made a noise equivalent to when a moron walks past you with some inane drivel hissing out of their phone. though it did have a "D Bass" button where I presume the D stood for distortion as it simply made the car make a weird farting noise, loved that button
TommyBuoy said:
E89 Z4 - yeah, very poor. Hence my aftermarket upgrade. If you want a decent sound with the roof down you need a sub (sits behind the seats) and some three way components (bass in kick panel, mids and tweeters in the door) all off an amp. 4/10 standard, 9/10 aftermarket.
What did you go with if you don't mind me asking? I could only find the rockfords online. IceBoy said:
Mercedes E class w211 Avantgarde.....great system as standard.
Maybe like me you'll have the inaudible subwoofer under the parcel shelf. I connected a sound processor to the system and managed to fiddle with the outputs a bit and found anywhere between 1-9 made no difference in bass and when turned up to 10 it distorted immediately. Fitted another amp!I optioned the HK system in my F56 Mini, haven't got much else to compare it to but it's certainly the best car stereo I've had. Plenty loud, mini sub under the seat delivers enough bass.
My main gripe is that there's no EQ. The menu has 'Sound' which equates to an L/R and F/R fader, and a treble and bass adjuster. Not even a mid or any presets.
Fortunately I listen to my music through the Deezer app at decent quality, and has EQ's, but it would still be nice to be able to actually adjust the one in the car.
Other than that, the Media XL pack includes DAB which is good, Bluetooth streaming, and a built-in 20GB HDD which is ideal to transfer some favourite albums to for those times that phone signal is weak / battery is low.
My main gripe is that there's no EQ. The menu has 'Sound' which equates to an L/R and F/R fader, and a treble and bass adjuster. Not even a mid or any presets.
Fortunately I listen to my music through the Deezer app at decent quality, and has EQ's, but it would still be nice to be able to actually adjust the one in the car.
Other than that, the Media XL pack includes DAB which is good, Bluetooth streaming, and a built-in 20GB HDD which is ideal to transfer some favourite albums to for those times that phone signal is weak / battery is low.
BRR said:
Mk7 Golf GTD - More than good enough for what I need in a daily, the DAB has strong signal and sound is more than good enough 8/10
Maserati Gransport - Garbage, slightly less crap with an uprated headunit, thankfully I very rarely switch it on unless on a long drive 3/10
Boxster 986 S - Standard was utterly woeful, the dash speakers were paper and made by Vodafone, with the standard speakers it was 2/10, I upgraded them to Alpines which made it about 5/10
loads of other cars where the setup was pretty unremarkable apart from a Daewoo Lanos which had a sound system that made a noise equivalent to when a moron walks past you with some inane drivel hissing out of their phone. though it did have a "D Bass" button where I presume the D stood for distortion as it simply made the car make a weird farting noise, loved that button
I was going to ask what people's thoughts were on the MK7 Golf, before getting mine (1.4 ACT) I thought the DAB would be pretty ropey but I was wrong, I'm amazed at how consistent it is. I'd agree, the rest is plenty good enough for a daily.Maserati Gransport - Garbage, slightly less crap with an uprated headunit, thankfully I very rarely switch it on unless on a long drive 3/10
Boxster 986 S - Standard was utterly woeful, the dash speakers were paper and made by Vodafone, with the standard speakers it was 2/10, I upgraded them to Alpines which made it about 5/10
loads of other cars where the setup was pretty unremarkable apart from a Daewoo Lanos which had a sound system that made a noise equivalent to when a moron walks past you with some inane drivel hissing out of their phone. though it did have a "D Bass" button where I presume the D stood for distortion as it simply made the car make a weird farting noise, loved that button
Not like the days when the pioneer + 6x9's etc I had in the home made rear parcel shelf were worth more than the car they were installed in!!
When I was still a 'teen' I had a massive sub box in my old VW Polo, something daft like a 15" RE Audio sub pushing 2000wrms.. the box took up the whole boot and the vibrations from it broke my boot lock / handle, number plate lights, and was forcing the rear window away from the hatch from the corners.
Fun at the time, but ultimately a bit daft
Fun at the time, but ultimately a bit daft
Learn2MergeInTurn said:
MJ85 said:
Standard E39 system - 1.5 out of 10, maybe? Pretty appalling. Same with E46 M3, 328i and 316i.
This, speakers in all my e46's and the e39 were terrible...Put a Parrot Android/tablet thing in it and it made a huge difference as that had a built in amplifier and didn't have to change the speakers.
Also got sat nav, iPod connectivity/Bluetooth streaming and good hands free now so proper win.
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