I started this thread and I mentioned that music from my phone and from the USB flash memory drive sounded great.So in my case , speakers are not the issue
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
New Car Radios....a sorry state.
- Thread starter BruceB
- Start date
@michael hagerty Do you know if carmakers are still working on a universal infotainment operating system like this article talks about?
The Car Stereo aftermarket is dying faster than AM radio.
I don't know, but they absolutely matter.
I did mention I think that I replaced the front speakers in my truck, and sound, while still not excellent, was improved drastically.
The speaker systems in most new cars are pretty good from the factory, though, so there's really no need to upgrade them anymore, as in many cases they're good enough as is.
c
You are right, the car manufacturers are aware that people want good sound quality even if it's coming from their phones.According to the honda forum , the only difference between my model and the top trim is the number of speakers , not the speaker elements themselves.
@michael hagerty Do you know if carmakers are still working on a universal infotainment operating system like this article talks about?
Haven't heard a word. I think the blowback on GM for dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto may have got evenone to calm down;
Not that anecdote is the singular of data, but I just bought a JVC head until for my 2006 Corolla because the original one stopped reading CD's.
I had to trade my 5 CD changer for a single disc unit, but I'm just happy the car still runs.
I'm noticing that increasingly, what used to be the optional upgrade audio system (Bose, Harman Kardon, Infinity, B&O) are now the standard.
As BruceB says, in mainstream brands like Honda, it's just more speakers and maybe (only maybe) an amp or subwoofer.
In the more upscale brands, the upgrades are now things like Burmester, Meridian and Mark Levinson.
I had the choice of the Bose (mid-range) or Burmester (high end) in my Macan, and went with the Bose because it improved delivery time by several months for my color and interior choices. I did listen to both in the showroom, and my ancient ears did not hear $2,000 in differences.
Of course, the Macan is a very low end Porsche, so probably the salesperson's attention span would have been different if I wanted a 911 Carrera or a Panamera. Still, at the local dealer I got about the best new car attention and lack of "pressure points" that I have ever had. (Worse was when we bought a KIA as a utility vehicle to keep at our second home... they wanted to check my credit record just to get a test drive!)
The cavities the speakers are mounted in influence sound significantly as well. Dealing with problems in this sense is a lot harder than just replacing the speakers. In the olden days, good custom car stereo shops could go inside your dash and doors and modify things in this respect. I don't know how possible that is with a lot of modern cars. I doubt people like David would like a bunch of automotive sawbones taking to the innards of his Macan, either.
Changes in cab interiors over time have had their own influences on sound. Soft fabric seats, floors, doors, and cab roofs helped prevent the "resonant box" ambiance many hard interiors today have.
Last edited:
I'm sure this is all true but it does not address the point of my original post which is that the radio in my new Honda sounds bad but sources like my phone and my USB flash memory drive sound good.
The speakers are not the issue the poor quality of the radio is what I was addressing.
As someone else pointed out, generally speaking, the speaker quality in new cars is pretty good.
My friend just got a new Mazda, same issue, radio sounds bad music from his iphone sounds great.
That's because most people complain about poor reception and static, not sound quality. So the radio tuner's audio is drastically rolled off, even on FM, to minimize hiss and static, at the expense of fidelity.
But the radio in my VW does do one neat thing: to bridge the huge gap in bandwidth between its analog AM tuner and digital HD AM, when it switches into HD mode, it gradually increases the audio bandwidth, instead of suddenly jumping from 4 kHz to 15 kHz. And when it detects that the HD is running out of buffer and may end up switching back to analog, it does the reverse, gradually decreasing the bandwidth to smooth out the transition.
How can you tell when it's at full bandwidth?
I own a 2023 Toyota Tundra (1794 Edition) and it has a quasi-infotainment system. The system offers Apple-Play, which is what I use most of the time. I have messed around with the tuner somewhat. Unfortunately, there isn't any capability to tune up and down each frequency of the bands. Your only option is to "scan" up and down the bands. When it locks onto a station you can select that station as a favorite and it will throw the logo of the station on the display screen as an icon. You can do this for AM and FM and the icons are visible on the screen simultaneously. So, just by selecting an icon you can go from an FM station to an AM station. Perhaps someone that knows better than I may have figured out how to actually tune each frequency, but so far, all I have been able to find is scan up and down the band. I will say the sound of the tuner in this system is quite good, especially in HD and the sensitivity and selectivity is not too bad either. I'm pleased with it but Just find it weird you have to scan the bands.
As for HD AM. I didn't even know that was a thing. I've listen to HD-FM often but one day about a year ago I was near Schenectady, NY when I drove past WGY-AM's tower. I selected the station and it went into HD! The HD signal sounded slightly better than the analog, but it's a talk station so not much there to really determine if the difference between the analog and HD are of any significance.
As for HD AM. I didn't even know that was a thing. I've listen to HD-FM often but one day about a year ago I was near Schenectady, NY when I drove past WGY-AM's tower. I selected the station and it went into HD! The HD signal sounded slightly better than the analog, but it's a talk station so not much there to really determine if the difference between the analog and HD are of any significance.
The Ford I traded in did not allow me to tune in to individual frequency either had only scan.My new Honda has both scan and individual frequencies.Which I like much better. seems to just be a matter of manufacturers.
I can't tell what's more demoralizing. Automakers allowing people's complaints about static to stampede them into ruining the sound even for drivers with good reception... or so many people thinking static is a radio defect, and not a location issue, that their complaint volume can cause that stampede.
It's all about the JD Power "customer experience" score. Any issue that causes a customer to take their car to the dealer, even if it's a simple misunderstanding and nothing is actually wrong with it, counts against the automaker.
That's the reason why GM got rid of the manual DNR and wide/narrow bandwidth buttons on their radios in the '90s. People would complain about static and poor reception, and the dealer would instruct them to turn on the noise reduction and switch to narrow bandwidth to resolve it. This counted against them, so they solved it by making the DNR permanently on and implementing an automatic bandwidth adjustment based on signal strength.