Premium Stereo v normal...Help needed

[mikey k]

George H said:

mikey k said:

Adam2S said:

It was the first in car system I had that made me re-rip all my mp3's from 192k to 320k as I could actually hear the loss of fidelity in the tracks caused by the compression, and CD's actually sound better too on it - something I had previously only noticed on home HiFi.

+1 all ~8k of my MP3's are 192k

You can actually hear a difference?

I usually download 320kb/s if I can find it, but if not 192 sounds exactly the same to me.

I can but Mrs K tells me I hear stuff she has no inkling of

[Lunablack]

mikey k said:

I can but Mrs K tells me I hear stuff she has no inkling of

I'm the opposite, my mrs says I never listen to a word she says. I recon that my hearing loss, is only the frequencies of her voice

[Adam2S]

George H said:

mikey k said:

Adam2S said:

It was the first in car system I had that made me re-rip all my mp3's from 192k to 320k as I could actually hear the loss of fidelity in the tracks caused by the compression, and CD's actually sound better too on it - something I had previously only noticed on home HiFi.

+1 all ~8k of my MP3's are 192k

You can actually hear a difference?

I usually download 320kb/s if I can find it, but if not 192 sounds exactly the same to me.

Yes but only when the equipment you are playing the track on is capable of revealing the diffence - hence the comments about the Premium. I couldnt really tell the difference in my 911 BOSE system nor can I tell the difference on an ipod with the crappy std headphones, hence until that point my collection was 192k as the files are somewhat smaller than 320k files - thats not really an issue now though with the low price of large memory sticks.

Also dont rely upon two downloads to tell the difference as you are at the mercy of the quality of the original track etc that was ripped. I have hear big differences in two downloads of the same track both ripped at the same rate! Instead rip one of your own CD's to disc at both 192k and 320k and then put both tracks on in the car... Better still rip a CD to 192k and put it in the car at the same time as the original CD - that way you can swap between mp3 and CD and listen the the same track at two quality levels. It all depends on the track you are playing but you should be able to hear that the 320k (or CD) will have more depth and imagery, highs sound clearer and the bass is deeper and has more slam. Back to back the 192k track will sound a little lifeless and dull.

Try it - but be warned you might end up spending hours re-ripping everything like me...

[Retman]

Grant3 said:

Retman said:

Having read all these posts I'm definately going to compare my standard system with another to ensure I don't have a problem as it really isn't anywhere near as good as the Harmon Kardon'd M3 I had before the Vantage or the non Harmon Kardon'd 530GT I've got as the daily driver now. Just don't seem to be getting da bass, how can I work out if the subwoofer Krisdelta refers to is working?

The standard system is good BUT you have to play with the settings, there is no separate subwoofer control, so you use the normal bass control to crank up the woofing! Your ears and a passengers rump will soon know if it's not working.

quote]

Cheers Grant. Going to drop pants so rump gets closer connection and have a play. Second thoughts that doesn't sound right

[BingoBob]

Adam2S said:

Yes but only when the equipment you are playing the track on is capable of revealing the diffence

True. Most won't believe me, I know, but I could hear a difference between an original CD and a copied CD on a friend's insano Meridian HiFi.

And no, copied audio CDs aren't identical to the original before anyone says it

[DB9VolanteDriver]

BingoBob said:

True. Most won't believe me, I know, but I could hear a difference between an original CD and a copied CD on a friend's insano Meridian HiFi.

And no, copied audio CDs aren't identical to the original before anyone says it

Most audiophiles claim the copies are better than the originals because the 'pits' are created by a laser vs via printing, and hence have less bit errors during playback. Of course, that means you have to have a perfect file w/o errors before burning a copy.

[DB9Mark]

I must admit a little bafflement over this topic! I can only imagine the AM stereos have come on leaps and bounds since 2005? My 2005 DB9 has the Lin 950 upgrade and I can only describe it utter rubbish! Coming from BMWs with prologic 7 and the latest F10 range of stereos the Lin950 is really pathetic! I can't imagine a "lower" quality version! As I say hopefully AM have come along, but without doubt for someone spending 6-8 hours a week on the motorway as I do the stereo is the worst I have had in many years!


As for WHEN to have the stereo on, it's quite simple Enter Motorway - close window, turn stereo on, exit motorway - turn stereo off and open window

[Neil1300R]

DB9Mark said:

I must admit a little bafflement over this topic! I can only imagine the AM stereos have come on leaps and bounds since 2005? My 2005 DB9 has the Lin 950 upgrade and I can only describe it utter rubbish! Coming from BMWs with prologic 7 and the latest F10 range of stereos the Lin950 is really pathetic! I can't imagine a "lower" quality version! As I say hopefully AM have come along, but without doubt for someone spending 6-8 hours a week on the motorway as I do the stereo is the worst I have had in many years!


As for WHEN to have the stereo on, it's quite simple Enter Motorway - close window, turn stereo on, exit motorway - turn stereo off and open window

its been recognised that the Linn system is rubbish in the DB9.. Didn't do Linn any favours putting there name to it. The Vantage premium system is way better than the DB9 Linn system.









but then the pipe and slippers brigade all have hearing aids anyway!
oh come on what did you expect it was an open goal.

[DB9VolanteDriver]

[quote=Neil1300R]
its been recognised that the Linn system is rubbish in the DB9.. Didn't do Linn any favours putting there name to it. The Vantage premium system is way better than the DB9 Linn system.

quote]

The Linn 950 is terrible. When I got my DB9 I was shocked at how bad this 'premium' system was considering the Linn pedigree. In fact, some people said the plain old Linn 160 was better (I don't see how it could've been worse). The bass was absolutely terrible...

The Alpine Premium is a world apart from the Linn Premium.

[BingoBob]

My other car has a BOSE system in it and sounds pretty good. I admit that I was a bit baffled when I played the same tracks in my V8V with premium audio to discover bits missing from the music that I was used to. It helped a bit to turn off the prologig surround thingy which, IMHO, just makes things sounds a bit weird. But it does sound like some frequencies are missing. The sub by default is way too present. Turning it town a couple of notches helps, and increased the 200Hz band on the equaliser brings back some of the missing music.

Oh, and at 500Hz approx the front door speaker buzzes

[Neil1300R]

BingoBob said:

My other car has a BOSE system in it and sounds pretty good. I admit that I was a bit baffled when I played the same tracks in my V8V with premium audio to discover bits missing from the music that I was used to. It helped a bit to turn off the prologig surround thingy which, IMHO, just makes things sounds a bit weird. But it does sound like some frequencies are missing. The sub by default is way too present. Turning it town a couple of notches helps, and increased the 200Hz band on the equaliser brings back some of the missing music.

Oh, and at 500Hz approx the front door speaker buzzes

Settings for the Premium Audio are in the frequently Asked Questions thread at the top of the Aston forum. Good starting point, and then adjust to your own preferences

[Adam2S]

Neil1300R said:

Settings for the Premium Audio are in the frequently Asked Questions thread at the top of the Aston forum. Good starting point, and then adjust to your own preferences

Those settings are the ones I orginally posted after some considerable time one evening system setting it up - pleased to see that they have now made the FAQ for all to benefit

BingoBob said:

Oh, and at 500Hz approx the front door speaker buzzes

Resonance within the front door speakers is a fairly common problem - caused by wires from the loom touching the speaker housings. I had the same thing (but it happened on high frequencies) and it took my local dealer only about half an hour to resolve it.

[superlightr]

Blimey

Posted on Tuesday and Thursday today. If you have not made your mind up by now on your self confessed perfect car - save for the stereo - then this is not the right car for you I would suggest.

If it didnt have a Stereo then i could under stand the caution but it has and is surrounded by a beaut of an AM - your perfect car - Get the AM and enjoy it.

[BingoBob]

Adam2S said:

Resonance within the front door speakers is a fairly common problem - caused by wires from the loom touching the speaker housings. I had the same thing (but it happened on high frequencies) and it took my local dealer only about half an hour to resolve it.

Ah ha. Thanks for that. I will go an bother my local dealer with the problem.

I did look at the settings in the FAQ, but they are very different to what I ended up with. Perhaps because I have a roadster that makes a difference.

Most of the time I assume that the designers knew what they were doing and start with everything at +/-0 and work from there.

[peterr96]

Adam2S said:

It all depends on the track you are playing but you should be able to hear that the 320k (or CD) will have more depth and imagery, highs sound clearer and the bass is deeper and has more slam. Back to back the 192k track will sound a little lifeless and dull.

Try it - but be warned you might end up spending hours re-ripping everything like me...

Agreed.
Heading slightly off topic but if you do end up re-ripping everything I'd advocate doing it all lossless and then making sub-samples for your ipod.
That way it's a job done once at the best quality.

I spent a while messing about with various bits of software and eventually found a product by dbpoweramp called "ReferenceR14". It costs not a great deal and has a free trial period and is way quicker than itunes.
It will rip lossless (plus others), repair any damaged disk errors (by comparing to a database) and is much much quicker than any other ripper I've found.
It also has a batch process that will allow you to easily create lower bit rate versions for ipod etc. You will need a sizeable storage disk to store all the lossless music and make sure it's protected (some form of RAID) so that when your disk dies you don't have to redo it all!

Please note that I have no connections with dbpoweramp and do not advocate piracy of any form.
For me this is merely a means to reduce the amount of CDs scuffing round the house and ensure that I only have to waste time ripping disks once.

[Adam2S]

BingoBob said:

Ah ha. Thanks for that. I will go an bother my local dealer with the problem.

I did look at the settings in the FAQ, but they are very different to what I ended up with. Perhaps because I have a roadster that makes a difference.

Most of the time I assume that the designers knew what they were doing and start with everything at +/-0 and work from there.

Write your settings down and give those from the FAQ a try... Lots of people have and have been pleasantly surprised - they might appear strange but they are like that for a reason - if you look up my original post on AMOC in the V8V section you find that I explain why the settings are how they are and why they sound "better". If you dont like them then simply dial back in the settings you had before. Id be interested to hear what you think if you do try them.

[BingoBob]

Will do! Did you set it up driving or stationary?

[neveratt]

Adam
I’ve just gone to the car park and set up my V8V with your suggested settings in the FAQ… I did an out-loud ‘wow’ when I heard the result; thankfully I was alone at the time. I’m sure some will wish to make further adjustments but the subwoofer balance with the rest of the system is extremely pleasant.
Thank you
Neil

[Adam2S]

BingoBob said:

Will do! Did you set it up driving or stationary?

Stationary - I spent about 2hours in the garage one night really getting to grips with everything and in particular how the rear speakers performed in the surround mode as that was my initial real gripe - hence discovering the rather odd looking "+6" setting and rear "+1" which delivers much of the improvement by increasing the treble and the volume going to the rears. The other major area is centre "-3" which dails out the centre speaker as it tends to ruin stereo imagery and sounds flat when at the default "0" level. The other settings generally work to alter the dynamics of the sound as the premium has both a graphic equaliser and bass and trebble settings which is quite a fiddle to get setup right.

neveratt said:

Adam
I’ve just gone to the car park and set up my V8V with your suggested settings in the FAQ… I did an out-loud ‘wow’ when I heard the result; thankfully I was alone at the time. I’m sure some will wish to make further adjustments but the subwoofer balance with the rest of the system is extremely pleasant.
Thank you
Neil

No problem - glad you like them and it was an improvement for you! Yes the subwoffer setting is probably the one area that people will want to tweak the most. I tend to use +2 for most tracks but sometime knock it down to +1.

Edited by Adam2S on Thursday 19th January 14:13

[yeti]

Before everyone tears out their eyes, casts their first born into the sea and torches their Linn 950 systems... I honk it's perfectly fine!

Just how loud singly want a stereo to be? It's just a distraction! I have a Massive Attack CD that gets played sometimes, the bass makes the whole car resonate, it's incredible. I just have no idea what people want from a stereo, I can hear it clearly and crisply at speed with the roof off... So I'm happy.

I have NAD seperates with Mission speakers at home so I'm not coming from an Aiwa mini hi-fi. It's a car stereo FFS