Why doesn't the Bose system in a 599 have tone controls?
Discussion
(Presumably Ronaldo will no longer be able to help with this...)
Despite some misgivings (a prior car came with Bose speakers, and the sound was flat, hard and overly-processed - interestingly, that manufacturer now uses Naim...), I went for the (more expensive) Bose system "tailored to the 599's internal acoustics" - can anyone tell me what that means? (I know there's some microphone that's supposed to adjust the sound - in some way - according to the cabin acoustics.)
IMHO, any in-car sound system, whatever it purports to do, should have some sort of tone controls - bump up the bass, reshape the mid, turn down the treble, etc. (Let's face it, plenty of music benefits from a degree of personal re-balancing.) The standard 599 system does have an equalizer, but not the pricier Bose-equipped system. What's that all about? Can any owner/anyone who has experienced the Becker/Bose installation (yes, I haven't driven it much yet - and don't just want to listen to the engine in perpetuity, whatever 'purists' might say) tell me what it's supposed to do (the manual gives you no clue), if what it does is in fact effective, and just why any tone shaping is NOT available...?
And another thing... the manual says not to use the cigarette lighter to power any electrical devices - surely this is absurd, and it'd be fine to stick in one's radar detector/mp3-to-radio transmitter/any other electronic goodies?
Finally, can any Ferrari owner or aficionado give an e-mail address/contact at Ferrari who will actually reply to serious technical inquiries...? Fezza customer services invariably reply by saying that one's inquiry has been passed on to the relevant department - and, yes, you never hear anything back after that (a couple of other owners have confirmed this). There used to be an forum on the owners' website, but that also seems to be no more...
Any help re the above greatly appreciated!
Despite some misgivings (a prior car came with Bose speakers, and the sound was flat, hard and overly-processed - interestingly, that manufacturer now uses Naim...), I went for the (more expensive) Bose system "tailored to the 599's internal acoustics" - can anyone tell me what that means? (I know there's some microphone that's supposed to adjust the sound - in some way - according to the cabin acoustics.)
IMHO, any in-car sound system, whatever it purports to do, should have some sort of tone controls - bump up the bass, reshape the mid, turn down the treble, etc. (Let's face it, plenty of music benefits from a degree of personal re-balancing.) The standard 599 system does have an equalizer, but not the pricier Bose-equipped system. What's that all about? Can any owner/anyone who has experienced the Becker/Bose installation (yes, I haven't driven it much yet - and don't just want to listen to the engine in perpetuity, whatever 'purists' might say) tell me what it's supposed to do (the manual gives you no clue), if what it does is in fact effective, and just why any tone shaping is NOT available...?
And another thing... the manual says not to use the cigarette lighter to power any electrical devices - surely this is absurd, and it'd be fine to stick in one's radar detector/mp3-to-radio transmitter/any other electronic goodies?
Finally, can any Ferrari owner or aficionado give an e-mail address/contact at Ferrari who will actually reply to serious technical inquiries...? Fezza customer services invariably reply by saying that one's inquiry has been passed on to the relevant department - and, yes, you never hear anything back after that (a couple of other owners have confirmed this). There used to be an forum on the owners' website, but that also seems to be no more...
Any help re the above greatly appreciated!
I suspect the "tailored to internal acoustics" is imprinting (I think that's what it's called). I had this done in my 430 when I had a new system fitted. They hang a mic inside the car and a computer balances the sound so all the reflections hit the drivers ears in synch, it's pretty clever stuff and I can attest that it works very well.
If you get stuck then these guys will be able to sort everything out:
http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/
If you get stuck then these guys will be able to sort everything out:
http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/
Hi,
It does not have tone controls as the system continually adjusts this automatically via the microphone. However, it sounds terrible (IMO). You can switch off the microphone via the TFT menu settings screen when parked, and the sound is much better. But you still don’t get tone controls on the audio settings menu.
However, do a search in the 612/599 forum on ferrarichat.com as there is a thread on there that describes how to go into the BOSE diagnostic mode which allows you to switch on the bass/treble/tone controls (plus a lot more), which should help you out no end
The standard sound system in the 599 is crap, the BOSE upgrade is 'good' but neither are great, and for the money you would expect better. The standard sound system in the Aston Martin is great in comparison to the premium BOSE system Ferrari use.
Hope this helps - as I asked the same questions as you when I listened to my BOSE system!
It does not have tone controls as the system continually adjusts this automatically via the microphone. However, it sounds terrible (IMO). You can switch off the microphone via the TFT menu settings screen when parked, and the sound is much better. But you still don’t get tone controls on the audio settings menu.
However, do a search in the 612/599 forum on ferrarichat.com as there is a thread on there that describes how to go into the BOSE diagnostic mode which allows you to switch on the bass/treble/tone controls (plus a lot more), which should help you out no end
The standard sound system in the 599 is crap, the BOSE upgrade is 'good' but neither are great, and for the money you would expect better. The standard sound system in the Aston Martin is great in comparison to the premium BOSE system Ferrari use.
Hope this helps - as I asked the same questions as you when I listened to my BOSE system!
Thanks to br d and Maff for their very useful replies.
I couldn't find that thread on ferrarichat, but will start a new one there and hopefully get the low down on accessing the tone controls.
No matter how 'clever' these systems are, I'd still rather be able to try out the sound shaping capabilities of (with, ahem, all modesty) that supercomputer, the human brain.
I couldn't find that thread on ferrarichat, but will start a new one there and hopefully get the low down on accessing the tone controls.
No matter how 'clever' these systems are, I'd still rather be able to try out the sound shaping capabilities of (with, ahem, all modesty) that supercomputer, the human brain.
When recording engineers 'shape' recorded sound, they by definition mess with it. There are very few recordings that come close to sounding natural and musical. This is especially true, unfortunately, of pop and rock, where frequencies and musical balance are often artificially exaggerated to grab the attention on, e.g., the nasty car stereos to which you refer. Bands will also 'shape' their sound on purpose (e.g. the jangly, buzzy treble emphasis of Oasis).
Rather than the mp3-only home setup common today, that almost always uses data compression which flattens everything to digital mediocrity (maybe that's what you mean by "equalises the audio flat"?), I do have a "high end" system (dCS player/reclocking unit/upsampling unit/DAC, Nagra preamp/amps, Wilson speakers... and - shock, horror - an SME... record player!) - and I can assure you that one CD/SACD (not to mention vinyl disc) sounds very different to/better/worse/softer/harder/grainier/thinner/richer/lovelier/nastier than (etc, etc, etc...) another CD,(and, yes, there are no tone controls...) I'm sorry if this comes as a shock, but recording music is not usually a "fine art" (though there are, thankfully, a few great recordings), but often an aggregate of frequently regrettable interventions and compromises.
Given that I am evidently somewhat cynical of "the noise shaping talent of the original recording engineer, mixer and mastering engineer", it seems reasonable to wish to access, in the highly challenging acoustic environment of a car, any available tone controls in order to try to get a sound that sounds... better.
(btw, as referred to in other posts, there are some companies that are putting more effort into this area - Bentley has ditched their nasty Bose system in favour of Naim, Aston of course use Linn, Mark Levinson designed a system for [a while ago now] Lexus and the R-R Phantom uses, I think, a Lexicon system. Wake up, Ferrari!)
Rather than the mp3-only home setup common today, that almost always uses data compression which flattens everything to digital mediocrity (maybe that's what you mean by "equalises the audio flat"?), I do have a "high end" system (dCS player/reclocking unit/upsampling unit/DAC, Nagra preamp/amps, Wilson speakers... and - shock, horror - an SME... record player!) - and I can assure you that one CD/SACD (not to mention vinyl disc) sounds very different to/better/worse/softer/harder/grainier/thinner/richer/lovelier/nastier than (etc, etc, etc...) another CD,(and, yes, there are no tone controls...) I'm sorry if this comes as a shock, but recording music is not usually a "fine art" (though there are, thankfully, a few great recordings), but often an aggregate of frequently regrettable interventions and compromises.
Given that I am evidently somewhat cynical of "the noise shaping talent of the original recording engineer, mixer and mastering engineer", it seems reasonable to wish to access, in the highly challenging acoustic environment of a car, any available tone controls in order to try to get a sound that sounds... better.
(btw, as referred to in other posts, there are some companies that are putting more effort into this area - Bentley has ditched their nasty Bose system in favour of Naim, Aston of course use Linn, Mark Levinson designed a system for [a while ago now] Lexus and the R-R Phantom uses, I think, a Lexicon system. Wake up, Ferrari!)
Justin, I agree with you that neutrality is the ideal, in that it theoretically gets you closest to how the music might actually sound.
However, to use your metaphor, what we hear on even the most advanced car stereos is at best a glossy reproduction of the Rembrandt/Cezanne/Picasso hanging in the gallery, in which the colours are 'sort of' right and the details 'sort of' like the real thing.
With Bose speakers - even if you get something approximating to a 'flat' rendition of the recording - the quality is more like an indifferent print in a newspaper...
That's why many 599 owners (see FerrariChat.com) want to access the tone controls - to add more life, tonal colour, definition, richness, ooomph! I quote from a forum there:
"In the TFT menu there is a setting for auto equalizer- turn this off. The auto eq tries to flatten the sound. This might be preferable in a home but in a moving vehicle you want to push the bass a little bit at a minimum. My 599 (May 2007 build) does not give the option to control bass or treble. It is the only thing about the car that I am disappointed with."
Anyway, perhaps you've heard a 599 Bose system and simply think it's an 'accurate' and great sounding system. My opinion is that it's OK, but very much a starting point, and not journey's end.
However, to use your metaphor, what we hear on even the most advanced car stereos is at best a glossy reproduction of the Rembrandt/Cezanne/Picasso hanging in the gallery, in which the colours are 'sort of' right and the details 'sort of' like the real thing.
With Bose speakers - even if you get something approximating to a 'flat' rendition of the recording - the quality is more like an indifferent print in a newspaper...
That's why many 599 owners (see FerrariChat.com) want to access the tone controls - to add more life, tonal colour, definition, richness, ooomph! I quote from a forum there:
"In the TFT menu there is a setting for auto equalizer- turn this off. The auto eq tries to flatten the sound. This might be preferable in a home but in a moving vehicle you want to push the bass a little bit at a minimum. My 599 (May 2007 build) does not give the option to control bass or treble. It is the only thing about the car that I am disappointed with."
Anyway, perhaps you've heard a 599 Bose system and simply think it's an 'accurate' and great sounding system. My opinion is that it's OK, but very much a starting point, and not journey's end.
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