9 replies to this topic

[Geno88]

Believe it or not, I've NEVER cranked the sound system on my Nismo. 

 

I'm listening to Pandora, Iheart radio, etc.........all within low limits to hear the mechanics on my car. 

 

The other day, I left the studio in a hurry and as I'm listening to the mix I did in the studio, I had to really turn up

the volume and YUCK. It's terrible. Quickly thinking it's the mix, I listened to the radio and same thing, SUCKS. Pandora, Iheart, same shit, just rancid sounds. 

 

Is there a quick fix to get a better sound without going crazy? I'm not gonna be cranking the stereo loud in the GTR so i'm not gonna invest in a sound system. Just looking for some quick cures................

[Tim]

I can’t even hear my radio and if I have to take a call..just pull over and turn car off

[HiBoost]

Adding a multichannel amp to the remaining factory gear did wonders for my system.  If you really lean on it you'll eventually blow the factory speakers, but with good clean power they can usually tolerate quite a bit.  That's where I'd start, it'll probably be all you need.  And if you decide to upgrade the speakers later you'll need to have done the amp anyway.  But new speakers with the existing amp is a complete waste of time.

 

Also, and I'm sure you know this if you do studio work, but most streaming audio (pandora, etc) is pretty bad by any type of hi-fi standards.  And in fact, it usually sounds worse the better the playback system is.  The crap stock stereos in most vehicles have actually had a lot of engineering put into them to make "almost anything" sound "almost good".  But as soon as you start building your own system you get into the "A and B sound amazing but C sounds like dog piss" scenarios and spend half your life redoing EQ profiles.  That said, here again the amp-only approach bypasses most of that because you are still benefiting from the factory tuning built into the drivers and head unit.

 

This post has a few details on how I added my amp, which may or may not be useful.  http://www.gtrherita...ge-3#entry23800

[socalaviator]

Couldn't of said it better myself. If you stream music and/or use BT streaming save yourself the $. If you listen via CDs then you will notice a big difference. Also, the sound of the exhaust will "ruin" much of the great sound you may gain with the aftermarket system anyways.

Personally, I just threw in a single JL 12" with a sealed box and called it a day. Just my opinion but my brother who is an Audio Engineer agrees with my logic. Haha

[thehelix112]

Holy shit guys HiBoost is back! Good to see you brother.

[Geno88]

I can’t even hear my radio and if I have to take a call..just pull over and turn car off

LOL! i know what you're saying, but my GTR is tame compared to yours. 

 

Adding a multichannel amp to the remaining factory gear did wonders for my system.  If you really lean on it you'll eventually blow the factory speakers, but with good clean power they can usually tolerate quite a bit.  That's where I'd start, it'll probably be all you need.  And if you decide to upgrade the speakers later you'll need to have done the amp anyway.  But new speakers with the existing amp is a complete waste of time.

 

Also, and I'm sure you know this if you do studio work, but most streaming audio (pandora, etc) is pretty bad by any type of hi-fi standards.  And in fact, it usually sounds worse the better the playback system is.  The crap stock stereos in most vehicles have actually had a lot of engineering put into them to make "almost anything" sound "almost good".  But as soon as you start building your own system you get into the "A and B sound amazing but C sounds like dog piss" scenarios and spend half your life redoing EQ profiles.  That said, here again the amp-only approach bypasses most of that because you are still benefiting from the factory tuning built into the drivers and head unit.

 

This post has a few details on how I added my amp, which may or may not be useful.  http://www.gtrherita...ge-3#entry23800

I hear you! maybe i'm just Bitching out loud cuz I needed a last minute analysis. 

 

Couldn't of said it better myself. If you stream music and/or use BT streaming save yourself the $. If you listen via CDs then you will notice a big difference. Also, the sound of the exhaust will "ruin" much of the great sound you may gain with the aftermarket system anyways.

Personally, I just threw in a single JL 12" with a sealed box and called it a day. Just my opinion but my brother who is an Audio Engineer agrees with my logic. Haha

cheers!

 

thanks people!

[droptopp]

I hear you! maybe i'm just Bitching out loud cuz I needed a last minute analysis.

cheers!

thanks people!

[choerizo]

not a quick fix, but adding sound proofing (dynamat, hushmat, or the likes) made a huge difference for me. bass is way deeper and blocks out a lot of road noise. 

[Geno88]

not a quick fix, but adding sound proofing (dynamat, hushmat, or the likes) made a huge difference for me. bass is way deeper and blocks out a lot of road noise. 

Thank you, but when I'm so focused on hearing a final mix, the car is not on, its not moving and i'm dead locked into the mix. there are no other variables involved. 

[Falcon900]

It is not the worst sound system I have had, BMW wins that one. The car is so loud I do not think anything could make it sound better.