Car audio getting better?

What? All models and all years? What was the last BMW model you sat in?

I have driven at least 10 loaners in these 5 years, they are decent sounding for stock. But my wife did comment that my upgraded system sounds better, but that is after extra +$1800 spent to add amp, sub, and speakers....And spending hours adding dynamat to doors and trunk...

 

Really? Maybe I should try the DSP in my wife's "E" again. I thought it just added bass and treble when I listened.

 

You're right, I should have been clearer in my post. I am referring only to BMWs of the model year 2016. When I bought my '16 228i (oh so fun to drive!), I listened to every version of the systems BMW offered at that time. I found all of them to be extremely bad.

And yes, I too paid to upgrade the speakers and amp. Sounds MUCH better now.

 

I see. My loaners were 3 series. No idea about 2 series. Glad that you have better system now!

 

I actually meant the interior acoustics. I don't no much about DSP as it has been a while since I've had a really good car audio system. Most of my serious listening is done at home.

 

Does anybody know what brand Volkswagen uses?

 

In the UK it seems to be the same as used by Skoda, which is part of VAG.

I heard someone say that it was a company called Credible Realistic Acoustic Performance, but I can’t be sure.

 

Oh yea

 

Both my 2009 Buick Enclave and 2012 Buick LaCrosse have the DVD-Audio player option with the top of the line Bose systems. Yesterday, I was listening to the Grover Washington Winelight DVD-Audio disc, 5.1 channel track in the Enclave. Very nice.

With the new model cars today, you can't even get a CD player, sadly.

 

My good friend and former colleague of mine is one of the head engineers for the car audio division with B&O. Actually I passed up a job with them in Denmark doing the tuning and calibration of new vehicles with the B&O option. Would've been fun driving around Aston Martins and tuning the rig!

Anyway the amount of R&D poured into their systems is incredible. They definitely try to set the bar very, very high. Glad to hear it's translating to the consumer experience!

 

I'm going to get a new vehicle soon and most likely will end up with the 2019 Lexus LX-570 because of the Levinson system. I have the Levinson system in my 2008 IS-350 and it took me a year to settle on that car. I bought it solely for the sound system. I would have vastly preferred buying a BMW but couldn't handle the HK sound systems which I found very hard sounding. I didn't like much about the Lexus other than the sound system, but it grew on me and now I absolutely love the car. Of course I run JRiver in it and have all 8,000 of my music files, many in hi-res. I play them through the aux input and the quality is high enough to satisfy me.

It took me a year to finally decide on the IS, and I've been looking for a new car for over a year now. Nobody will accuse me of rushing things.

Btw, the reason I'm looking at the LX is because I'm replacing my Dodge Grand Caravan which is 22 years old but had a very good Infiniti system in it. I replaced the headend and also run the JRiver setup in it, but too many things are going wrong with the vehicle. I'd love to get another van but none of them have the type of luxury I'm looking for and there are none with an adequate sound system for me. The IS is a fairly small car, and the van was large enough to carry whatever I needed. The interior of the LX is not quite as large as the van but it's almost the same exact size on the outside.

The thing that is holding me back is the lousy mileage that the LX gets. That said, I plan on driving it only on long trips, with mostly highway miles, and will keep the IS as a daily driver until I replace it with another smaller luxury vehicle. The new vehicle will be taking me on a lot of road trips to see national parks and other points of interest across the country, and I want to take all the possible comforts with me, especially all my music. Yep, I want to be pampered at this point in my life and I'm willing to pay for the privilege. Heck, I'm 66 now and if I don't do this soon, I'll find myself running out of time.

I'm still open to other vehicles that would have an adequate sound system for me, but I also want one with an aux input. Not many of the new vehicles include them as they've mainly gone to USB and bluetooth. USB won't work for me because I have found no viable way to interface with it and the quality of Bluetooth is not quite there yet. I've been told that some of the newer vehicles can play flac files including my hi-res files, but I've yet to find one that will play my files if I plug the drives directly into the USB inputs.

 

You tell us a great experience. It must have been exciting!

 

I strongly doubt you will have any regrets with the LX, even ignoring the audio system it is objectively the best "real" SUV (ie. not a car-based CUV) on the market by a wide margin. I don't care how sexy, trendy, or posh the other options in the same price range are, if you want a true SUV which isn't over-engineered or mechanically fussy (but has enough engine torque to pull a stump) and can counted upon long-term to do its job with no drama or headaches you can't do better than the LC/LX. (Personally, I'd go with the Land Cruiser because the LX is a little too "blingy" for my tastes and I'd probably be too reluctant to really enjoy exploiting its capabilities prowling the backcountry in Death Valley or Yellowstone for fear of scratching/denting something.)

 

The Mark Levinson system in my 2011 Lexus LX570 is remarkable. It is DSP driven and seems to have an excellent DAC in it. It supports Bluetooth, USB, aux and the CD deck supports DVD-Audio. I can burn 24/96 files to a DVD in DVD-A format and play them back in the vehicle. The ML system is the best OEM stereo I have ever heard; however, it is a $5,000 option on an already very expensive vehicle. So I would hope it would be good.

I also have the ML option in my 2008 Lexus ISF. While it is good, it is nowhere near as good as the LX and the subwoofer sucks (doesn’t sound great and are prove to failure).

One more comment, my sister has a C-class Mercedes with the Burmester stereo and it sounds pretty good.

 

Thanks for this.

I like the looks of the Land Cruiser better than the LX but I don't believe you can get the Levinson system in it. I also like the heads up display option in the LX. Besides the lousy mileage I don't really like the looks of the LX so much, but I didn't like the looks of my IS either and it grew on me.

 

My Kia Soul JBL is ok but I despise the arrogance of Kia deciding to do without a CD player, that was darned near a deal breaker for me, I bought a new iPhone so I could use my existing one as an exclusive music player.

I think I would much prefer the Meridian set up in a Jaguar though

 

You are correct, no ML in the TLC. If you aren't opposed to go pre-owned, the LX doesn't hold value like the TLC (the AHC suspension cannot be removed for a traditional off road lift) and is less sought after by the overlanders. You can get great deals on the LX if it is 1, 2, 3 years old. Additionally you may be able to find a front grill you like better. It didn't matter to me as I cut mine up anyway to put on an ARB bull bumper and 9500lb winch. LOL. Great trucks with a great history. At 6,000+ pounds it is like driving a tank.

 

Wow, I've not been into car audio for many years. I write this with a tear in my eye (kinda miss the 18" Cerwin Vega sub I had in the rear of my car way back in 2002; although my ears don't).

If anyone fancies a trip down memory lane with some real vintage audio... for the record I just have an OEM system now which I rarely use - all my listening is done at home.

1983 Porsche 911 Cabriolet
SpeakerWorks/USD Audio Install Gallery
Sound-Off Legends

I still wonder if Richard Clark has the famous Buick Grand National.

 

I don't like the grill too much, but when I'm driving I won't have to look at it. I'd prefer the newer one because the electronics have been updated from the 2018 version. It now works better with phones and has Alexa not that I think I'd use it much. I'm not that worried about resale value because it will most likely last longer than I will.

 

Toyota has done an amazing job of making both versions of the Land Cruiser incredibly ugly. The Toyota version is better looking. It was back then and it certainly is now. I don't know what in the hell the designers at Lexus are doing but the current LX is really awful looking.

Actually, you can absolutely remove the AHC on the LX470 series (and I believe the 570 series as well). Check the Slee site to be sure.
Sleeoffroad.com - Toyota SUV Off-Road Outfitters

 

Naa not at all. It is like everything else on cars. Sometimes they just get it right and sometimes they don't. I have worked in new car dealers since '89 and have heard thousands. I remember some Subaru and Pontiac sounding good in the early 90's. And some not. The best sounding ones seem to be the more minimalist approach. As in fewer speakers and less EQ settings. The '00-'05 Cadillac Deville had an excellent 5 speaker system with a 10" woofer in the rear deck. Really good sounding ones since then have been few and far between.

 

I just bought a Ford Escape that has the premium system in it made by Sony. It’s pretty good, with higher fidelity than any car I’ve ever owned, but it’s still a little bass heavy. I’ve had cars with premium sound systems made by Harmon Kardon and Panasonic in the past but this one is noticeably better.

That big bass thing seems to be traditional in car audio. I remember the Delco 8-Track in my Dad’s early 70’s Caddy. It was warm and sweet and those 1970’s FM rock stations sounded great on it. However it was severely colored.

 

I recently took an 18 year old paid for beater daily farm yukon, removed the am/fm, put in a panasonic that works with iPhone and sirius and a bunch of other crap. Focal 6 ch amp (It's a lot of amp for the speakers I am running and actually has a little more headroom) and their flax speakers. Also went all out on soundproofing (this cost more than the system). It's nice for a car, but nothing close to home. Beats the heck out of am/fm on 6-10 hr drives. After spending a ton of coin on my home system I might as well spend a little where I am the other half of the day.

Still confused as to why blink 182 is on the amazon iggy pop station?!?

 

Daughter’s Tiguan has a “Fender” sound system.
Sounds very decent.

Fender Premium Audio System, exclusively in Volkswagen and Nissan

 

That's the premium sound system on the ones they make now. I'm talking about on the 2006-2010 Jettas.