How good is the sound in cars really?

[killdozzer]

Thanks to all, once again.

But let me insist; have you ever heard of such a thing? Did it reach you in any form? And I stress; before DSP. Did anyone here ever heard of the idea that the car stereo will reveal most minute shortcomings of your music? That, after playing it in studio, on monitors, you should take it into your car for the final test and that this will reveal some things you can't hear in your studio...

This is precisely the idea I cam across and wanted to double-check my understanding. I don't think there's any truth to it, but I still wanted to make sure.

 

[Dal1as]

It can be good but is different. Much more difficult to get a good sweet spot. I heard a vehicle that competed in the sound quality division. The guy made a custom fiberglass box for my sub. His whole car was redone custom. Dash and all with hidden speakers, front subs, boxes.... but everything looked normal. Was using dsp, something like Harmon logic 7 and it sounded amazing... for a car.

I have a well setup system in my car but it's just a different experience. I love car audio though. Just need a different dsp setting for when the t-tops come off. Lol

 

[coonmanx]

You won't get any actual soundstage in a car but you can get good sound.

Also, good sound in a car does not mean that it sounds like it is rattling apart every time the sub fires. LOL.

 

[escksu]

I've seen some threads on car stereo, but didn't find what I wanted to ask members here.

This idea of sound in cars being reference-level completely eluded me. When I got back in audio, most of my sources were on the side of sound in cars being dreadful, very hard to set up, full of real, physical obstacles and so on.

Then, out of the blue, I was confronted with the idea that the sound in cars (the factory set up) is the go to listening session for determining quality of sound. And this was quite a robust opinion among my musician friends. Nothing to substantially back it up, but quite robust.

I tried all my length of an acoustical wave, a lot of glass surfaces, no precise listening point, a small dome of a cabin that is in reality a car... No good.

My guess is this came from the idea that in modern way of living, people spend a lot of time in traffic, in their cars and you should make sure that your music sounds good in these conditions where it would be played the most. It's just a guess.

I wanted to ask you if you know where this idea comes from and if there's any truth to it?

Depends on your gear and sound proofing of the car. Of course you don't expect spatial qualities likes imagine, staging but the sound is very good. However, you ought to concentrate on the road and not the audio.

 

[hardisj]

Yoooooo… you guys talking about no soundstage in a car are coming out of left field. With a standard stock stereo that’s true. But not at all the case with a lot of aftermarket systems that employ time alignment and proper level matching.

 

[Chrispy]

I think you need a centered driver seat like a McLaren F1 or 720S for best imaging and soundstage....and tighter bass and chocolatey mids. And that's before you turn on the audio system.

 

[killdozzer]

All solid opinions, but I see no trace of this belief, this urban legend that says; stock stereo in cars will help you with discerning listening and will provide with an opportunity at better monitoring job than your studio monitors would.

I did get my answer in the end. No one here seems to be familiar with any such notion. My best guess, and it is just an assumption, is that it was simply a market advice - people spend a lot of time in cars, make it sound good in cars. Much like today when producers try to make it sound good on small BT speakers or smart phones.

 

[DanielT]

I could easily imagine fixing it so I get better sound in my old Volvo but I do not know. It is not the money directly that puts a stop if I were to fix a little better sound, not "high end" (whatever it is, especially in a car) sound though. It's starting to tear into panels and I can give a damn that it will not fit later when it is to be reassembled. Too much work and hassle for a little bit better sound in the car. Then to get room with more amplifiers ...

Yes, I know it's just whining on my part. Either you do it or not ... but still.

Tip. I can recommend this element. Available in both 4 and 8 Ohm variants. I know that many have used it in cars and been happy. I have the 8 Ohm variant. I built them in a couple of sealed boxes. Have them as computer speakers. Surprisingly good sound I must say.

4FE32 (8Ω) by FaitalPRO

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That element, here pictures, DIY with it. Pictures so you can see how to do (a variant):

Hifi Vintage DIY fair with pictures

I visited this fair yesterday! DIY & Vintage meeting in Mölnlycke Here is a short report. When: 6 November 2021 Where: Country: Sweden City: Gothenburg I took pictures myself BUT most were so damn blurred so I borrow pictures from this thread, taken by other participants. Pictures taken from...

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[Mart68]

You won't get any actual soundstage in a car but you can get good sound.

Also, good sound in a car does not mean that it sounds like it is rattling apart every time the sub fires. LOL.

I got a lift home from work from a bloke who had an old Lada Riva https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada_Riva

he'd fitted a sub the size of a Mk 2 torpedo in the rear passenger footwell and was playing techno. As we drove along pieces of the interior trim were rattling loose and literally falling off around me. Really funny.

problem with ICE is it's too much like listening to headphones and I hate headphone listening. But you've got to have decent sounds in your car. It's the law,

 

[escksu]

I think you need a centered driver seat like a McLaren F1 or 720S for best imaging and soundstage....and tighter bass and chocolatey mids. And that's before you turn on the audio system.

Unfortunately, the engine will be too noisy....

 

[Jim Matthews]

It's important to recognize that for some young people, their personal car is the only private space they control. It makes perfect sense for them to get the most enjoyment from that.

As with home/studio audio, the cost for decent gear has fallen which greatly reduces the need for security measures.

(I had a stereo pulled from my first car that insurance covered - greater than the purchase price of the car.)

 

[jurop]

Time to chime in...
2nd place at the Paris Europeans 1998, something like 23 years ago. We lost the title due to inexperience, albeit winning the prize for the best sounding system of the show. At the end, after the prize-giving ceremony, we had a queue of judges from the other categories inline for hearing our system. The car was an Audi 80 Coupè, chosen for its sounding characteristics, and the system a 4way multiamplified. No DSP on our system, just a LOT of work with the crossovers (both active and passive). Each single component had notch-filters to equalize and phase align the response.
And I can grant you, that Audi sounded definitively better than some 802-something / McIntosh pair! Stage and imaging included (center channel with mid in the dash and tweeter behind the rear mirror)

 

[symphara]

I have Burmester sound systems in two cars and in the big one it sounds exceptionally good. Particularly for DVD-Audio. Good enough to call it HiFi.

What I find interesting is that the sound in the driver's seat is identical to the sound in the passenger seat. Same sound stage. I would describe it more as surround rather than stereo and can be altered with DSP modes (I am partial to "Live", which gives a more dynamic and focused reproduction, as opposed to "Surround" or "Smooth", which sound more like DSU upmixers to me).

Nothing rattles with lots of bass, except for child seats and user objects such as sunglasses in door pockets.

 

[killdozzer]

Time to chime in...
2nd place at the Paris Europeans 1998, something like 23 years ago. We lost the title due to inexperience, albeit winning the prize for the best sounding system of the show. At the end, after the prize-giving ceremony, we had a queue of judges from the other categories inline for hearing our system. The car was an Audi 80 Coupè, chosen for its sounding characteristics, and the system a 4way multiamplified. No DSP on our system, just a LOT of work with the crossovers (both active and passive). Each single component had notch-filters to equalize and phase align the response.
And I can grant you, that Audi sounded definitively better than some 802-something / McIntosh pair! Stage and imaging included (center channel with mid in the dash and tweeter behind the rear mirror)

Was that system available as a part of some regular equipment package? Was it in all Audi 80 Coupès of the 1998 or any following year?

 

[maverickronin]

Yoooooo… you guys talking about no soundstage in a car are coming out of left field. With a standard stock stereo that’s true. But not at all the case with a lot of aftermarket systems that employ time alignment and proper level matching.

And then you need a separate DSP preset once the passenger seat of your sports coupe is completely filled with groceries...

 

[Jdunk54nl]

And then you need a separate DSP preset once the passenger seat of your sports coupe is completely filled with groceries...

I feel like you are just making stuff up without actually knowing much about this. Because if you did, you would know why this is a false statement.
Most door speakers, when properly done, get cut off within a few hundred hertz, much like most woofers in towers. Mine are crossed at 300hz to the mids which are up on the dash. Groceries/people/etc have near zero impact.

Proper placement and frequencies played matter in cars just as much as they matter in homes.

 

[Jdunk54nl]

Yoooooo… you guys talking about no soundstage in a car are coming out of left field. With a standard stock stereo that’s true. But not at all the case with a lot of aftermarket systems that employ time alignment and proper level matching.

100000000000%

I have a great center, left, and right. I have heard plenty of cars, that use some pretty advanced techniques, that it does not matter what seat you sit in, you get a center, left, and right perfectly in every seat.

(Erin I am sure knows this already so this isn't directed at him) Andy Wehmeyer's Mercedes is one of the best examples. He was working at Harman/JBL in the car audio stuff. His baby was the JBL MS8 Processor. Sit in ANY seat of his car and it sounds amazing with a great soundstage. It was a lot of planning involved of placement, aiming, frequencies played by which speakers, etc. Very similar to a proper home setup. If you are not going through that stuff (or buying speakers from manufacturers that have), I feel sorry for your listening experience.

 

[hardisj]

Just FWIW, this is my current system. This was filmed two years ago but the system hasn’t changed.

 

[maverickronin]

I feel like you are just making stuff up without actually knowing much about this. Because if you did, you would know why this is a false statement.
Most door speakers, when properly done, get cut off within a few hundred hertz, much like most woofers in towers. Mine are crossed at 300hz to the mids which are up on the dash. Groceries/people/etc have near zero impact.

Proper placement and frequencies played matter in cars just as much as they matter in homes.

Actually I was mostly just making a joke.

 

[Jim Matthews]

Just FWIW, this is my current system. This was filmed two years ago but the system hasn’t changed.

Was closed captioning really necessary?
You speak English as God intended.

Did the installation double the value of your Honda?