Which Factory Premium Audio Grabs Your Attention?

"gokstate" (gokstate10) 03/15/2020 at 13:04 • Filed to: car audio

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Stereos have come a long way from radios . It used to be the car “radio” was something to ensure you could hear news and weather reports, sports broadcasts, and tinny sounds to avoid the monotony of wind passing the windows.

I’ve witnessed the progression of auto sound since my childhood. Of course, I haven’t seen it all. I joined in the 70’s with push button radio seeking, 8 tracks stored in the glovebox and went forward from there.

I’ve always loved music, especially in cars. Cars and music pair together like pumpkin pie and whipped cream.

Somewhere around the 80’s, I became aware that fashionable cars could sometimes be paired with chic sound systems. As a kid, I was fascinated not just by Porsches, but the exotic sounding Blaupunkt stereo.

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I always wondered if we were even pronouncing it correctly.

If you had an Alpine stereo in the ‘80’s, you were a cut above the pack. That classic light green and white colors were easy to identify from a distance and mark a true audiophile and enhance most any cars, not just Lamborghinis.

By the time I was in high school, it wasn’t uncommon to see mall rats slinging their pull-out Alpine decks by the handle as they catcalled poofy-banged girls. (For those who don’t get this, the rationale was to protect it from theft, and not come out to the parking lot and find the recognizable-at-a-distance glitter of shattered glass on the asphalt by the car). Of course, it was one of the first #humblebrags before we had a name for it. The detachable faceplate was soon to follow, but just didn’t seem to carry the same swagger as swinging your expensive stereo around.

Today, auto manufacturers have their established relationships and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! In our family vehicle stable, we have several different factory sounds: Fender, Harmon Kardon, and JBL to name a few. They all sound pretty good, and though I still think aftermarket speakers and head units bring a superior sound quality, I haven’t done any recent replacements of the stock system.

So my first question is, does the sheer number of names and pairings dilute the special experience, or is it just the next phase of audio & auto enjoyment?

My second question: what premium audio brand gets your ear drum tingling these days? There’s so many to choose from now. From Bang and Olufsen to Bowers and Wilkins, Boston Acoutics to Burme ster, McIntosh to Monsoon, what name gets you as excited as the car it’s in?

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 13:33

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Nakamichi products are amazing, and I get hard-on for blaupunkt just because of how 80s their systems were.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 13:36

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I guess as a child of the 80's Alpine gives me the fizz. I don’t have fancy speakers but I guess my Acura with a tech package has a 15 speaker system by:

WilliamsSW > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 13:38

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Generally I just listen to them and ignore names, based on experiences.

I have/have had a BMW with HK (albeit 20 years old), a Mercedes with an upgraded system, and a Lexus GS350 with the “base” system. The latter two are great (BMW is meh but it’s a convertible)  but the Lexus was a little better. I can only imagine it with the Mark Levinson system.

facw > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 13:39

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I’m much less concerned about the brand, and more concerned that they support wireless A ndroid A uto (which is still quite limited at the moment). Alternatively, if they were replaceable , that would be great, but infotainment is so integrated, that’s not really an option for most modern vehicles.

But yeah for me the main thing is digital connectivity, rather than concerns about sound quality or volume, most stock systems are good enough in that regard anyway.  

jimz > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 13:41

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I’ve worked for a couple of car audio manufacturers (Alpine being one of them) and alongside several others.

I don’t think very highly of aftermarket car audio components. They’re far better at telling stories than they are making things that are “better.” More features, maybe. But the speakers aren’t really all that great (yes, they have flashy sparkly cones and screechy tweeters, but also tons of distortion) and the head units are made with the same off-the shelf components the factory hardware is. and they have shit for equalization capability.

The two things aftermarket can give you is more amplifier power and larger subwoofers, because it’s up to you to find a place to put them.

In our family vehicle stable, we have several different factory sounds: Fender, Harmon Kardon, and JBL to name a few.

Fender= Panasonic

h/k and JBL are both Harman. As is Infinity, Mark Levinson, Revel, and Lexicon.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 13:46

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I’m not a brand loyalist, I care more about an attractive functional design that looks like it belongs there. Too many head uni ts are stuck in 1995 with these garish seven segment displays, all the flashing lights, and a million tiny buttons that you have to take your eyes off the road to find and press. Ones that don’t look like ass are few and far between.

Sony makes some nice simple ones like this WX-900BT.

jimz > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 03/15/2020 at 13:51

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a/k/a Panasonic.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > jimz 03/15/2020 at 13:59

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Oh really, which is National in Japan I think too, I still have my National shaver I bought when I lived there.

jimz > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 03/15/2020 at 14:05

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well the speakers and amplifier are made by Panasonic, with Elliot Scheiner signing off on the system tuning. 

gettingoldercarguy > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 14:05

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I’m really enjoying my morel coax speakers, need more power of course.

Alpine is still the jam, eclipse used to be great, but I can’t find anything from them and a lot of once big names have either petered out or been sold off and hollowed out. Ppi, mb quart, us amps. However, there are a lot of n ew names that are great. Focal, morel, Dayton, zaph, tymphany, etc. Fantastic stuff.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 14:08

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Bowers and Wilkins (or simply B&W) Are one of the few up-market oem stereo suppliers who aren’t just a branding licensing deal, and really bother to engineer the systems to the vehicles. Dynaudio used to do that f9r Volvo, they used to actually send C70 bodies to Dynaudio for sound install and interior modification, then send the bodies, now with stereo, back to Volvo for completion. The conglomeration of many of the mid-fi brands under single ownership has made branding (especially from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harman_International Harmon/Samsung con glomerate ) largely meaningless. Some of the Lexus/Mark Levinson systems have been pretty OK, And the Infinity-branded system in our 2019 Hyundai Kona is ce rtainly a step above the un- brand ed system... But B&O branded systems in particular are a massive excercise in brand-dilution and marketing wankery and I have NEVER heard one that lived up to it’s option cost. Many of the older “fancy” brands are now C hinese owned... My tractor has a Blaupunkt stereo in it. It’s exactly as good as the DUAL or Pyle-branded systems you can buy at Walmart, which is to say, a step above rock bottom, but nothing special.

I Think the only current hi-fi name-branded OEM car audio systems out there these days that are maybe worth the option cost are B&W, Burmester (but if you’re buying one of the >$250k vehicles you find Burmester systems on, you do expect something a cut above...), and Dynaudio. As I’ve mentioned some of (but not all) the Lexus/Mark Levinson systems and Lincoln/Revel systems are pretty good. Also, if you only care about LOUD you can always coun t on Sony ( Xplod), and JBL-branded systems to deliver the goods in the hearing-damaging-SPL category.

Grindintosecond > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 14:08

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There is still some attention given over the brand history. Alpine was in the Countach and Blaupunkt was Porsche and BMW back in the day so of course they were, uh, better? That was in my High School eyes back when hip-hop became gangsta rap and hair metal became grunge in the middle of it all. But, through that , Pioneer and Kenwood always had solid street cred, and JVC was known as decent, but only if one bought their highest end product. But, it had to be coupled with Rockford-Fosgate subs. And none of that 8 inche woofer stuff. 10 and up. Kids in the small Blazer truck bragged about their box of 15's and how they got a nosebleed before school. The rest was considered middle range. With product history, people forget or ignored the parentage. Altec Lansing was bought by Sparkomatic, a low end market segment. But, nobody cared and thought Altec Lansing was awesome, which was more correct but was like that kid who did good despite a-hole parents.

As far as brands that get me going. Like others have said, a rspected device that can replicate my Android phone/apple phone and put Waze up there easily to use. I’m looking for an installation to replace my Tacoma’s cd-only stereo. Today, Kenwood and Pioneer I view as equals to Alpine and Blaupunkt. If any of the formerly highest end brands were trying to stay on top, they’ re probably doing what anyone else does today and market super crazy technical stuff that will break and be a problem in the future, like a Mercedes . Pioneer and Kenwood are solids even today.

I don’t wnat to poop on your post. So a disclaimer that this next bit is jut me getting old and crotchety:

I’m still getting over the change from car stereo/radio to “head-unit” . It’s a freakin’ stereo. I guess I feel the same over a rec ord player needle now called a “stylus” by twenty-something vinyl enthusiasts on youtube.

It’s a car stereo.

Its a record player needle.

It’s a damn number or pound sign #. Only after 2007 was it called a ‘ hashtag’. I showed my 12-year old niece a typewriter my grandmother bought in the 1930's to  write her graduate papers   and she immediately pointed to and called it ‘hashtag’ (grr)

I hate change but its always happening around me. Screwing up my stuff. Disorganizing my order of disorder.

camarov6rs > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 14:10

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I’ve been watching some Savagegeese recently and I think he is pretty spot on. It seems to depend more on the thought process and intention of the OEM. If they wanted to produce a vehicle with good sound they would have to engineer the car that way not throw some fancy name speakers in the thing.

You could spend $10,000 on a fancy stereo system but if you put it in a WRX where there is no thought to the sound being the best it more or less pointless.

gettingoldercarguy > gettingoldercarguy 03/15/2020 at 14:12

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Oh, jl audio for sure.

gettingoldercarguy > jimz 03/15/2020 at 14:37

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What did you think of the pioneer stage four stuff?

gettingoldercarguy > Grindintosecond 03/15/2020 at 14:52

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Don’t forget Apple changing programs to apps

Urambo Tauro > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 03/15/2020 at 14:55

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This x1000

My current head unit (Pioneer DEH-4400HD) is far from perfect (not very pleased with the responsiveness of the rotary encoder volume knob), but I really do love how the flat black finish matches the rest of my dashboard. Better yet, the ability to change the display and key colors to match the existing dash illumination.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 15:10

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Im game for anything not called Bose. I have NEVER been impressed by a Bose stereo. We have it in our Terrain, unfortunately it was part of the Denali trim, and it is easily the flattest, muddiest stereo Ive had the displeasure of listening to. The base stereo in my Cruze sounds better.

pip bip - choose Corrour > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 20:25

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never heard of Nakamichi

otherwise stereos do nothing for me, as long as i can listen to the footy on the AM band, i’m good

bananahammock2 > gokstate 03/15/2020 at 21:08

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Krel l in Acura sedans sounds really good.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > gokstate 03/16/2020 at 00:29

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I’m honestly no audiophile, so whatever sounds more obscure and has decent sound quality will make me feel snobby.

My Jag has a Meridian system.

PyramidHat > gokstate 03/16/2020 at 00:47

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Oh, I remember when the thing was to get Pioneer 6x9’s for the rear deck. That’s for us that could not afford good stuff. After putting a detachable face unit in my 300ZX (20 years ago) I’ve never did a stereo upgrade; all the cars I’ve had since had perfectly fine stereos and I’ve never had the urge to upgrade. Then again, I think age has something to do with that.

The Subaru has a Harmon kardon system, which sounds fine, but the electronics are slow. I have a gripe with the HK system in the Z3 due to configuration (component speakers and crossovers built into the amp means I can’t just drop in any speaker that’ll fit).  

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > gokstate 03/16/2020 at 02:27

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I don’t have a whole lot of experience with these factory systems. The cars I’ve been buying recently are on the lower end of the scale and don’t have such options. My W210 had the Bose setup and it was nice, but I don’t remember what the stock system sounded like as I only test drove the one that I bought. A friend had a Fender system in his Passat SEL and it was nice; again, I never heard what the base system sounded like so I didn’t have a point of comparison.

One of the first things I did with my Mazda5 was to replace the speakers. Even with no additional power, good speakers make a nice difference. Sure, the system didn’t sound as good as the Bose system in the Benz, but I didn’t expect it to. Polk Audio has been good to me over the years and so I relied on them for some better speakers in the stock size. I did change the head unit a couple of times; first to a factory system with the 6-disc changer and then to some Android-based thing. I ended up going back to the stock stereo with the changer and have been content. Rear speaker placement in this vehicle is awful, at least for front seat occupants; I can honestly say that the rear speakers in the old Windstar were better placed. I might add a sub, maybe some sort of delay, but nothing too crazy. I just have to figure out how to rip the rear panels out to get to those back speakers, and that’ll have to wait until spring.

I am disappointed by what has happened to once good brand names, like Dual and Blaupunkt. I still have a ton of brochures from Blaupunkt from the early eighties that I occasionally flip through.

I also have a vintage Dallas SQM-88 that I bought about 20 years ago, new in the box. I just need the perfect ‘80s period piece car to install it in. Dual was once a solid brand, but those who buy their stuff nowadays have no idea what it once was. I still have a ‘60s/’70s vintage 1219 turntable, back when they made quality stuff. Too bad the sellers of that crap with the Dual and Blaupunkt names couldn’t have left those brands in the past instead of diluting them with low-end garbage.