Car audio - not a topic?

@jr1000 

I’ve often wondered if “Car Audio” would be talked about on this forum.

In August of 2024 I bought a new TESLA Model Y, AWD, Long Distance with Tesla’s Premium Audio System (which is a Tesla-engineered system with;

• 13 speakers (some sources count 14-15 depending on model year and speaker-count methodology)
• 1 subwoofer
• 2 amplifiers
• Immersive Sound processing

I find it to be a very good system. The best car audio system that I’ve ever had including my Land Rover and Corvette (which are both good).

The subwoofer adds that extra dimension and spaciousness in the cabin with an 8 inch subwoofer mounted in the right rear side-panel. There is an equalizer for adjustments. So it’s not just “Boom” that you hear. It can be adjusted for the sub along with bass, treble and mid-range and create a more balanced sound.

I took a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles (900 miles round trip) to attend an Upscale Audio’s REL Subwoofer Event and bought back a pair of REL subs.

I had a real chance to put the Tesla Premium Audio System through its paces with playlists I created in Qobuz and Spotify. I was pleasantly surprised with the sound quality through many genres of music…It’s a keeper!!

Thanks for broaching the subject,

Enjoy the music, even in your vehicle!

At the risk of sounding like a commercial, copied below is the system included in the car I chose. I added some additional underbody/wheel well soundproofing offered. Prior to that, the cabin measured at 56.1 Db cabin noise - respectable. Better now. I am greatly enjoying the system. Cabin shape, size and low noise is having an effect I think.

From Subaru:

The all-new Crosstrek brings many new features, including an available Harman Kardon premium audio system on the ‘Limited’ trim. The 8-speaker, 432 watt Harman Kardon premium audio system in the Subaru Crosstrek will provide a soundtrack as big as the adventure… on or off the road.

@jr1000 

What was your prior car? What was its stereo brand? 

2010 Infinity G37x with a premium Bose stereo.

Whether the cabin was ever quiet, what with my foot on the gas could be questioned. Noise leaks in later years made it definitely not quiet!

Hard to compare systems, given those differences in cabin, though I greatly preferred the Infinity system to my wife’s Rav4 with stock Bose in their youthful years. Which isn't saying much.

time to stop  buying big gas guzzlers. It should be a thing of the past (should have been for decades)

@frank009 I am so sorry about your pain of having to drive 100K luxury cars that are not from Germany.