Ever wonder why the Bose "upgrade" in our cars sucks....

I found this posted on another Porsche forum and I cut and pasted it here. The original poster was "stumil"... The original text was the following:

"see this ink for a critical but well written article from the guys at Stereophile Magazine:"

Amar Bose Dead at 83"

You can read the full thread on the other board here:

Original Thread Here

And of course, I will paste my response (as if it is the most important one) here:

High fidelity audio is near death, only kept barely alive by us older folks with a few bucks.

It is a shame as there is so much beauty to be experienced....

A Practical Reason for HI FI in our cars:

There actually is a very good rational for hi definition audio in our cars: A true HI FI will allow you to listen more comfortably at lower volumes. Our ear/brain system has to filter out ambient sound like wind, tire, and engine noise, as it focuses on music or news. If the stereo sound is accurately articulated, your brain does less work and therefore you can understand talk better, enjoy music more, all with the volume turned down to a comfortable level. Hi Fi is not about high volumes or thumping bass.

If you read this far and are not an audiophile, were you even aware of the value of Hi Fi in my paragraph above? Most fans of Hi Fi music know this and knew it long ago. The loss of this knowledge is evidence that Amar Bose and Walmart won.

Sad but true.

Bruce in Philly



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2013 02:41PM by Bruce In Philly (2000 S Boxster, now '09 C2S). (view changes)

The original Bose raison d'être of having loudspeakers with multiple drivers firing every which way out the back was faulty in theory and execution.
I assert that "high fidelity" as such is impossible in a car due to the environment: a small, misshapen space with asymmetrical listening positions; a high noise floor; etc. That last quality negates having a sound system with a wide dynamic range: compression is necessary to maintain aural perception of what would otherwise be pianissimo, no matter the system's resolving power.

Quote
Laz
The original Bose raison d'être of having loudspeakers with multiple drivers firing every which way out the back was faulty in theory and execution.
I assert that "high fidelity" as such is impossible in a car due to the environment: a small, misshapen space with asymmetrical listening positions; a high noise floor; etc. That last quality negates having a sound system with a wide dynamic range: compression is necessary to maintain aural perception of what would otherwise be pianissimo, no matter the system's resolving power.

The original Bose theory was, as you note, faulty. It was anything but 'high fidelity'. I've read posts on other boards where Bose are also an optional stereo and the general sense that one gets today is that quality sound will thump you into next week, with shrill shattering treble and a hollerin' mid-range. The idea that 'high fidelity' has anything to do with the idea of 'fidelis' being a reproduction of the actual sound is relegated to the coal bin, with most of our ears being accustomed to compression and distortion. Compound that by, as you rightly noted, by being in a car, and I've never been a big fan of drinking the Bose Kool-Aid. That much being said, my other car has Bose in it.

It has a very satisfying bass and treble and images all over the place....

Quote
Laz
n/t

Correct!

va;lid.

We must seperate various BOSE technologies. The warly work on direct vs reflexted sound i'll simply leave alone, sicne they did NOT apply this to their recent auto business. What they did in the auto is essentially equalize for the car's interior and speaker locations. Exactly the things you say, are extenuating c ircumstances were their targets - the interior has uneven reflectivity, adn teh speakers dont aim evenly at your ears. In fact they characterize each car interior and then reverse equalize for it.

The theory works. The implemntation works. The problem is shitty amps and speakers. That's a technical term.

Grant
(the "was a hgih end amp, presmp and digital filter designer")

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Whose name is on the amps, speakers, and maybe the wiring, too? Or at least who approved them?

The acoustics of the car can be at one level taken as a whole, although certainly both teh passenger and the driver would benefit from more. That, however mostly falls into the catagory of "balance control" whcih we already have.

The BOSE system has its drawbacks. That's what i pointed out, btu its nto a fundamental design tenet flaw - its cheap instantiation.

That said, the BOSE system in my Audi, whcih lots of people bitch about too, is actualyl quite tolerable. Yes, its muddy, btu warm and muddy is generally a good kind of distortion, if you need to have one. Tubes do this as well (albeit also with a huge helping of those lovely odd-order, low-order harminics that we all love so much).

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Well, I love them tubes!
Audio Research Classic 120 (x2, of course)
[www.audiomusicae.com]

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Peace
Bruce in Philly

I love my CJ M-75A1 with my Theil CS 3's

Pure sweet and great dynamics

Tubes = Great Sound

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2013 07:55PM by TheFarmer. (view changes)

Just for the record, I don't think the Bose system in my 2009 C2S sucks. I just think it is overpriced and overhyped for how it sounds. I can enjoy music on it but have heard better. And for those who think you can't have good sound in a noisy sports car, this is simply not true. Hi Fi is even more required in a noisy environment otherwise you keep turning it up to understand it.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

I have not heard a newer Bose system in a car recently and I think an expensive sound system in an environment like an open cabin sports car with a motor behind the seat like a Boxster is a challenge anyway. The Bose option is pretty expensive IMO.

My 1993 Mercedes S class had the Bose upgrade option with a ridiculous number of speakers and amp power for a car. I think there were supertweeters behind the rear view mirror. The system was supposedly designed specifically for that car. S class Mercs at the time had dual pane windows which lowered outside noise.The sound system with a good CD sounded incredible and anyone I had in the car that experienced it was pretty impressed.

There are a group of people that are Bose haters because "true audiophiles" would never purchase Bose. I had a pair of 901 series II speakers, maybe the best ever in the series, in the mid 70s that sounded incredible. I liked them because they sounded like live music. Problem with these speakers was their large power requirements, critical room placement, and they would not reproduce sound correctly without the proprietary equalizer and proper hookup through the tape circuits. I've listened to a lot of audiophile grade speakers costing much more and those 901 IIs still impress.

Buy what sounds good to you and pleases your ear. Everyone's musical tastes are different.