1. Home
  2. misc-audio
  3. 166417-1635

Do you care about car audio?

I like nice cars and I appreciate the fact that I've been fortunate enough to lease and drive some very nice ones.  I would never drive a luxury car out of warranty, but that's not my point.  My point is, as much as I love audio, I never really had any urge to upgrade my car audio system.  Whatever came with the car was totally satisfactory to me.  Right now, my car came with a somewhat upgraded Meridian stereo, but it is not the full-blown surround/subwoofer deal.  It sounds fine and I've never wanted more than a standard decent car radio had to offer.  
Do you people have any enthusiasm for upgraded car audio as opposed to stock?  Then again, truth be told, I've never listened to the fancy car setups and I might be tempted if I thought it was that much more enjoyable.  Who knows. 
chayro
big_greg
6,821 posts
 
I had a really nice well tuned system in my car about 20 or so years ago and it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it a lot.  It's a different experience, much as listening with headphones can be a lot of fun, but not the same as a nice two channel system in a good room. 

With a car system, the room is no longer an issue, which is both good and bad - no room for proper placement and soundstaging, but it can be a very immersive and tactile experience. 

It's not something I would spend a ton of money on at this point in my life.  My car came with a very satisfactory system and I've put a decent system in my truck, but nothing like what I had before.

During "normal" times I typically drive close to 30,000 miles a year.  I love music.  Why not spend that time doing something I enjoy, because I certainly don't enjoy the driving part.
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Yes have Mark Levinson system in my car.
tablejockey
4,403 posts
 
If you're a tube fan with your home gear, this is what you do
https://milbert.com/

Get some nice speakers thru active crossovers  and you're driving a set of great headphones.
ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,443 posts
 
I bought a Lexus with the Mark Levinson system option. Designed into the car. I would not modify... but then cars aren’t important to me. 
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,717 posts
 
Back in the early 90’s, I had a very high end system in my car, all installed by me. I had 4 Soundstream amps which was one of the best brands at the time, all ADS separate speakers, 4 10 inch subs, an Audio Control 20 band EQ, top of the line Kenwood CD changer, etc. I loved the system until Christmas night, 1991 when my car was stolen out of my driveway. My very expensive car alarm never went off. Car was found 15 days later, all the audio components taken out, tires and rims gone. Car was sitting on 4 milk crates in front of a housing project. 

The police put over a dozen parking tickets on the car windshield yet no one checked to see if the car was reported stolen. The thieves even stole my dirty air cleaner element and gas cap. Car was a total loss and I only had liability on the car as it was long paid off. I lost every cent. Got smart and got back into high end audio in the home.


My new SUV has some high end Infinity system in it and I never listen to it. I find music in the car now distracting to me. Oh, the Infinity system isn’t that great either.
More to discover