Bose vs Sound Package Plus
Discussion
I need to finalise my spec on Sat and it is only audio I'm unsure of. Is sound pack plus bad? I haven't heard the SPP but I heard the Bose and Burm and both sounded overly sharp to my ears in default settings. Anyone here retrofitted? From other threads I gather the SPP is any easy retrofit as the amp is below the seat and uses two standard phono pairs to feed it, a few people in the states seem to have fitted Morel Elate 903 components.
bcr5784 said:
Just played some Queen ...
IMO if you're playing with car stereos it's better to use music recorded recently. You probably don't want a 1980s sound balance in 2015.Make sure you take some music along with you that is what YOU listen to. And don't let them rush you. The top and bottom is often turned up artificially high to make the sound "impressive" for a few seconds in the showroom but you probably don't want to listen to it like that.
juansolo said:
Bit of a shocker that. Proves that what works in the home (their domestic and pro kit is excellent), doesn't necessarily translate to a car.
Dynaudio in my old tigian was good, better than bose in the 987 and 997. Problem was the crappy plastic door panels rattling. Coukd have soent a weekend srmtripping and dynamatting the doors but sold the car instead. Meridien system in the Evoque we replaced it with is oustanding aand better than tge £3k system I put in the 997Unless your playing WAV or AIFF files you will be dealing with MP3 which are pretty compressed and not HIFI quality. Generally older CD quality is pretty poor due to over-compression. Cars are pretty noisy and not really conducive to listening to music other than as a background sound. Having said that I find the BOSE system in my 991 reasonable.
rbh said:
Unless your playing WAV or AIFF files you will be dealing with MP3 which are pretty compressed and not HIFI quality. Generally older CD quality is pretty poor due to over-compression. Cars are pretty noisy and not really conducive to listening to music other than as a background sound. Having said that I find the BOSE system in my 991 reasonable.
^^^ Accurate analysis IMO. MP3 (and it's relations) are pretty feeble to start with and there's not much any system can do to improve that. I use AIFF.Ozzie Osmond said:
^^^ Accurate analysis IMO. MP3 (and it's relations) are pretty feeble to start with and there's not much any system can do to improve that. I use AIFF.
Not really true, you can set the bitrate to rip your CDs at for starters, and 320kbps is far closer to CD quality but most people never hear that as iTunes etc sells you files at 128kbps (last time I checked) to maximise download speed and storage space, iTunes also has a default bitrate for ripping CDs to your library of 128Mpps, it is this lower bitrates that causes very heavy audible compression and poor qualityMost people in a car environment would not be able to tell the difference between a CD and a MP3 ripped at 320. Most people on any sound system would be able to tell 128 from 320 and that's what gives MP3's a bad name as so many files are encoded at a low bitrate. Obviously if you are an audiophile or are using a decent proper hifi at home you can differentiate but if the whole world used 320kbps MP3, the format would have a way better reputation for quality
My friend spent £8k on a system for his SL55, it really was the highest end kit available, made me laugh when he demoed it to me using Spotify at 128kbps, he had np idea about the different bitrates etc.
It's not the point though, because the faults with the SPP and Bose (which I have had & removed from 2 cars) are that they use underpowered amplifiers and in some cases poor speakers, they then overcompensate for this by whacking the bass up a bit to create some drama
If you have a good ear, are into your music, or are discerning, none of these systems are up to the job, and only replacing the factory hardware will provide a good enough sound quality even if you are relying on an MP3 source
Edited by jakesmith on Friday 7th August 12:04
jakesmith said:
320kbps is far closer to CD quality
and I suggest that AIFF at 1,411kbps is a whole lot better again. Once you move away from the "everyday mp3" format I think you might as well go the whole hog.What I find annoying is having to maintain duplicate libraries in different formats. But life could be worse!
I'm considering between SPP with aftermarket upgrade or Burmester.
SPP with aftermarket upgrade of JL Audio HD 600/4 and Morel Elate 903s with labour would cost about the same as the Burmester.
Burmester sounded too sharp to me on first demo but I think I need to engage the soft mode and dial down the treble and bass a bit then it might improve. The advantage of Burnmester is 5.1 (I have around 50 DVD-As) and a whole load of suitable source material and no warranty issues. The JL/Morel setup will almost certainly sound plain better with stereo music.
SPP with aftermarket upgrade of JL Audio HD 600/4 and Morel Elate 903s with labour would cost about the same as the Burmester.
Burmester sounded too sharp to me on first demo but I think I need to engage the soft mode and dial down the treble and bass a bit then it might improve. The advantage of Burnmester is 5.1 (I have around 50 DVD-As) and a whole load of suitable source material and no warranty issues. The JL/Morel setup will almost certainly sound plain better with stereo music.
jakesmith said:
Not really true, you can set the bitrate to rip your CDs at for starters, and 320kbps is far closer to CD quality but most people never hear that as iTunes etc sells you files at 128kbps (last time I checked) to maximise download speed and storage space, iTunes also has a default bitrate for ripping CDs to your library of 128Mpps, it is this lower bitrates that causes very heavy audible compression and poor quality
Most people in a car environment would not be able to tell the difference between a CD and a MP3 ripped at 320. Most people on any sound system would be able to tell 128 from 320 and that's what gives MP3's a bad name as so many files are encoded at a low bitrate. Obviously if you are an audiophile or are using a decent proper hifi at home you can differentiate but if the whole world used 320kbps MP3, the format would have a way better reputation for quality
My friend spent £8k on a system for his SL55, it really was the highest end kit available, made me laugh when he demoed it to me using Spotify at 128kbps, he had np idea about the different bitrates etc.
It's not the point though, because the faults with the SPP and Bose (which I have had & removed from 2 cars) are that they use underpowered amplifiers and in some cases poor speakers, they then overcompensate for this by whacking the bass up a bit to create some drama
If you have a good ear, are into your music, or are discerning, none of these systems are up to the job, and only replacing the factory hardware will provide a good enough sound quality even if you are relying on an MP3 source
Agree - even though MP3/M4A is compromise, if you keep files at 320kbps you're not far off good CD quality, both at home and in-car. Most people in a car environment would not be able to tell the difference between a CD and a MP3 ripped at 320. Most people on any sound system would be able to tell 128 from 320 and that's what gives MP3's a bad name as so many files are encoded at a low bitrate. Obviously if you are an audiophile or are using a decent proper hifi at home you can differentiate but if the whole world used 320kbps MP3, the format would have a way better reputation for quality
My friend spent £8k on a system for his SL55, it really was the highest end kit available, made me laugh when he demoed it to me using Spotify at 128kbps, he had np idea about the different bitrates etc.
It's not the point though, because the faults with the SPP and Bose (which I have had & removed from 2 cars) are that they use underpowered amplifiers and in some cases poor speakers, they then overcompensate for this by whacking the bass up a bit to create some drama
If you have a good ear, are into your music, or are discerning, none of these systems are up to the job, and only replacing the factory hardware will provide a good enough sound quality even if you are relying on an MP3 source
Edited by jakesmith on Friday 7th August 12:04
I'm happy enough with the SPP on my Cayman R. It's hardly an amazing sound system but I have one of them in my house - when I'm hooning I tend to be concentrating on more than the finer points of the mid range on my car speakers. I've experienced Bose in a few Caymen, a Boxster and several 911s and in all I've found it appalling. Maybe if you mess about with turning the bass down about 10 notches and then mucking about with other settings and filling the sub with you old pillows you can get it sounding decent but life's too short - even the least bassy songs ever written come out it like some dubstep track in a nightclub. If you want something that works out the box I'd go SPP, or if I had the money the Baurmester which is fantastic. Bose do great home hifi kit but utter crap car kit IMHO.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Classic FM used to be 192-256 Kbit in most areas but isn't anymore, most DAB stations in my area are 80kbit mono, even music ones! The new mini Muxes are slightly better for now with typically 128-192. Lots of good info here:http://www.wohnort.org/dab/ukloc.html
Sound quality does not look like it is a priority but Ofcom are licensing a new national mux and considering the mini muxes which should provide a lot of choice.
Krobar said:
Classic FM used to be 192-256 Kbit in most areas but isn't anymore, most DAB stations in my area are 80kbit mono, even music ones! The new mini Muxes are slightly better for now with typically 128-192. Lots of good info here:
http://www.wohnort.org/dab/ukloc.html
Sound quality does not look like it is a priority but Ofcom are licensing a new national mux and considering the mini muxes which should provide a lot of choice.
Ideal for when you're eating some pick n muxhttp://www.wohnort.org/dab/ukloc.html
Sound quality does not look like it is a priority but Ofcom are licensing a new national mux and considering the mini muxes which should provide a lot of choice.
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