Nousaine wrote:
Kevin McMurtrie wrote:
In article ,
Codifus wrote:
While I tend to agree with most that Bose in the home is more a function
of marketing genius than good engineering, I really do like Bose car
audio. I think the 'compromise' engineering in sound bodes very well in
the compromise audio environment of the automobile. What say you all?
CD
Compared to the factory system, you're spending 5x on the audio system.
Bose then spends 1.5x on the hardware. Yes, it sounds much better.
Factory audio is made from the cheapest hardware that can survive for 8
years. That doesn't mean that the Bose system was a good deal. Other
aftermarket systems would be far better for less money.
This last statement is simply not true. I've tested about 500 OEM concept,
prototype and production vehicles over the past 5 years and over the past 15
years hundreds of aftermarket speaker and full autosound systems and quite
frankly only a handful of carefully assembled and installed afrermarket systems
sound as good as, let alone better, the best Bose premium systems and those
that match cost thousands more.
This has been my observation, although it's a whole lot less experienced
one. In order to put in a better aftermarket system than Bose, you
really have to spend the big bucks, and, more importantly, do the
homework to fine tune all those aftermarket components to your car.
There's nothing off the shelf that will work optimally in your Cadillac,
Mercedez Benz, Acura etc.
The biggest advantage to Bose in the car is the fact they get to tune
the system to the acoustical properties of that particualr vehicle. I
really wish I could buy a whole system from Clarion, JVC, or whomever
that was built for my car, but that ain't gonna happen. And so what if
the Bose system only last 8 years and they use paper. Yes, there are
more modern materials out there but paper sounds good, it's even been
said that paper has a more neutral tone than the likes of polypropelyne
etc. I haven't seen car speakers made of Kevlar yet, but if they do
make 'em, you can bet they'll be pricey, pricier than even a Bose
system. Also, since when do people keep their cars for 8 years now? I'm
not knocking people who own cars for the long run, after all I'm one of
them. But given that most cars are leased for 3 years at most, the Bose
system will outlast most owners.
Having said all that I will admitt that the Bose systems, when compared
to aftermarket, does tend to that middle ground, or as that
popular phrase goes, no highs, no lows, must be Bose. To clarify what
I've heard is that the Bose car systems maybe needed a slightly better
tweeter up top. They've had plenty of bass, but the the speakers driving
the bass tend to be too small for the job and over-load quickly. Overall
though, the balance of the sound coming from the entire system makes it
very hard to beat, and the balance is key. Other systems which have
better highs and lowere lows usually don't have the balance unless you
spends thousands. I've heard Bose in the Mercedes E class, Nissan
Maximas, the C4 Corvette, and found them very enjoyable.
CD