Car stereos - why are they so poor sounding?

Rocker

A car is not exactly an easy environment to fit a stereo player.  It can be done [for relatively little money] but the units fitted to modern cars are in a word, junk.  I have a Honda car, priced around €35K, and the radio is very poor.  It can pickup dozens of stations, automatically select the best transmitter if I drive around the country and all that.  But it sounds terrible.  Seriously compressed and indistinct sound, a sound that works sort of OK with music but unintelligible with speech.  News bulletins and sports bulletins for example.  I tried turning it up and then turning it down, more treble, less treble, more bass, less bass but I can't make it sound any clearer.  There is no sonic sweet spot.

Do the people who select these things for factory fitting in cars actually listen to the radio when driving on real roads?  Seems not.  I would pay a small additional premium to include a decent radio in a car purchase.  As far as the garage is concerned, the radio works.  They fail to grasp the fact that there is a difference between 'working' and being able to hear what is being said on the radio.  Aftermarket dealers are no help either.  Mostly young lads who wind up the bass and blow your head away with noise.   So what to do about this first world problem.  Suggestions welcome please.  Thanks. 

octatonic

Because they can charge you more to put a decent one in.

Phil_aka_Pip

Fit better speakers. If that does not improve things then retain the rf stage, and substitute the audio stage of your choice plus a graphic EQ.

Paul_C

It needs a wooden dashboard.

Phil_aka_Pip

Paul_C said:

It needs a wooden dashboard.

Real Tree on the dashboard will always improve the quality of a car

munckee

My car is a kia sportage with a JBL stereo and speakers sounds great.  My friend has a VW micro thingy with a fender stereo in it, one of the best factory fitted stereos I have heard.  I do kind of miss the days of fitting a blaupunkt or prioneer or sony as soon as you got a new car and fitting 100 watt speakers on a wooden shelf attached to the parcel shelf!

Phil_aka_Pip

It's just occurred to me that you may be listening to crap radio stations. You know, the kind that compress the music to buggery before transmission and presumably treat the DJ's voice in the same manner. The DJ/newscaster may also have crap diction.

Rocker

octatonic said:

Because they can charge you more to put a decent one in.

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Fit better speakers. If that does not improve things then retain the rf stage, and substitute the audio stage of your choice plus a graphic EQ.

Solid advice guys, thanks.  But the problem I have is that nobody who sell and fits this aftermarket kit has a clue about what I need or even what I am talking about.  More bass - no problem.  They don't seem to understand the word 'intelligibility'.  And as for listening to the radio in a car going at 100 Km/H, forget it.  There just is nobody with the expertise to analyse and solve my problem with the car radio.

guitarfishbay

Focal do car stereo stuff. Based on their studio monitors I’d expect them to sound good

mr-mac

It doesn't... Well not of ya fitted an old school quality head unit and good speaker at a minimum..

but yes most factory ones are poor

strumjoughlamps

Mine sounds great, just ask the rest of the neighbourhood:D

ESBlonde

To do this properly you need to analyse the frequency response within the car when silent and also when travelling along at say 50mph (the two are likely quite different.
Do you have a PA/sound system installer friend that has the toys?

Then eq the processor to compensate for those two distinct states.

After that you can play your squashed mp3s and digital radio broadcasts to your hearts content, they will still sound shyte mind you.

Bridgehouse

Car audio is often about sound stage.

When you go expensive and upgrade manufacturers systems on the options list, you often find that the main difference is the level (physical) of the audio projection in the car. The addition of a centre dash speaker, high level tweeters and higher rear speakers lifts the sound stage, and is then balanced by lower subs and separate amps to balance things out. 

This change in the physical height of the projection of sound around you will increase the clarity and perceived quality massively. 

Imagine buying a £2000 pair of speakers and sticking them on the floor - then imagine them at shoulder height mount.

Similarly, guitar and bass amps can sound poor when playing to your ankles.

ICBM

Mine (Renault factory system) sounds fine... I almost always listen to the radio too, not CDs.

Sporky

Rocker said:

There just is nobody with the expertise to analyse and solve my problem with the car radio.

That's not true.

Burmeister will do you a fantastic sounding car system. Focal do some very decent installations too.

Bridgehouse

Sporky said:

Rocker said:

There just is nobody with the expertise to analyse and solve my problem with the car radio.

That's not true.

Burmeister will do you a fantastic sounding car system. Focal do some very decent installations too.

merlin

Most modern (shite) speakers and systems are geared towards modern music  which is mostly about highs and lows only, you know BOOOM, BOOOOM, SHIZZZZZLE, SHIZZZZZLE kind of crap. Very few cheaper systems handle mids very well, which is the area our ears actually deal with best. 

Car sound systems are the same. Provided they can handle heavy bass and heavy treble, then most people can get on with them. People who actually listen will be challenged and the vast proportion of human speech is within the mids, not the bass or treble frequencies. 
 

NelsonP

strumjoughlamps said:

Mine sounds great, just ask the rest of the neighbourhood:D

Kool !

Sporky

Bridgehouse said:

Sporky said:

Rocker said:

There just is nobody with the expertise to analyse and solve my problem with the car radio.

That's not true.

Burmeister will do you a fantastic sounding car system. Focal do some very decent installations too.

Well, yes, but it's certainly not true that no-one has the expertise to make a good sounding system inside a car.

There's always Dynaudio at the lower cost end of the scale. Or Harman.

FX_Munkee

Buy a Volvo. I'm fairly sure mine has been specifically designed for Radio 4.

In all seriousness Volvo audio systems are rather good, shame about the turbo hoses, and the swirl flaps, and the windscreen wipers..

Bridgehouse

FX_Munkee said:

Buy a Volvo. I'm fairly sure mine has been specifically designed for Radio 4.

In all seriousness Volvo audio systems are rather good, shame about the turbo hoses, and the swirl flaps, and the windscreen wipers..

I have a new Volvo and the stereo does an exquisite rendition of Radio 4 Extra.