webdzynes

Perhaps I am one of the few that really want a top quality stereo in the C7. Anyone else interested who also thinks the Bose system is garbage? Perhaps with enough interest here, we might get someones attention...

or not...

CaryKen

8 pages of posts on this subject:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c7-g...e-systems.html

You are not "one of the few."

SCM_Crash

I'm 99% sure that the stereo that will be in the C7 will actually be really good... for once.

Keeks said it was a 9 speaker system with a large sub in the back.

SBC_and_a_stick

FYI some of the Bose designs are really clever. I've seen testing on some of the shallow bass units and they offer impressive linear output per inch of depth.

Balthazar_B

Of course, that doesn't mean they sound undistorted, much less good...

racebum

lot of companies out there that have a LOT of auto sound experience. bmw used jl audio, real nice turn out and in typical jl fashion capable of volume without breaking up

why gm doesn't copy this? got me? i think to many of us, just on brand alone JL would be seen as a big upgrade from bose

toxin440

Bose could include a private pole dancing stripper with every system sold and I'd still never want their paper cone distorted garbage.

I've ripped out the Blose (Bose) crap in my last two new cars, replacing them with after market stuff but installed the RIGHT way and setup all nice and tuned. They spend more money in marketing IMO than they do on hardware or advanced designs.

If Klipsch ever started doing car systems -- SIGN ME UP

SBC_and_a_stick

The linear characteristics of a speaker, as they relate to suspension travel, motor force, and inductance performance are key parameters in speaker design. It ensures QTC remains stable over stroke which allows for DSP to optimize speaker response. A speaker's linearity is directly related to harmonic distortion and intermodulation distortion among others.

SBC_and_a_stick

I've seen very limited ingenuity from JL in terms of speaker design. When faced with GM given constraints on an installation I don't think they are the best in business in U.S. let alone overall. Don't forget that aftermarket does not equal oem. GM will no install large speakers in pillars or the dash to keep the view unobstructed, they won't install a 6 ft3 box in the trunk in order to maintain an adequate storage capacity and so on and so forth. When given the little freedom speaker OEMs are given to design a speaker in an OEM application I don't see how JL will have a higher capacity than Bose.

Frankly both will cost too much. Many consumers will not consider a car audio system top notch if it doesn't have the Bose or Jl name. Who do you blame, the consumer for using branding to qualify a system's quality, or GM for knowing the role brands play in consumer choice and acting accordingly?

VNAMVET

It's a sports car, not a Concert Hall.

However a Mark Levinson system (found in Lexus?) would be nice though...........

SBC_and_a_stick

Some of the best speakers in the world use paper cones. They afford very good damping, and the strength to weight ratio can be easily fine tuned. Coatings can be applied for smoothing the frequency response or waterproofing. Some companies have sliced them or varied the thickness to reduce nodes.

The only downside to paper is consistency, but that applies to many other materials like composites.

Balthazar_B

Correct-o-mundo, and Bose (the Monster Cable of audio) speakers don't touch JL, Focal, DynAudio, etc., in sonic or overall quality.

I agree with others that a noisy car like the Corvette will not let audio components reveal quality to the extent a more insulated car will. That said, on my old S2000 I replaced the audio system -- partly to make it iPod friendly -- including new speakers, amps, and HU (practically speaking, no room for a sub in that car), and the difference was night and day, despite the much less than ideal environment (I did put a little dampening in the doors but not too much weight-wise). If they wanted, Chevy could provide an audio option nobody would seriously criticize...so let's see if they do so next year.

webdzynes

I would think that most people who value a quality sound system would also identify Bose as not (present day) quality but rather a well known brand which perhaps had its day 30 years ago. And no its not a concert hall - but that is why the question was posed as an "upgrade" option. I'm sure there are many enthusiasts who spend a great deal of time in their cars and a quality stereo is a significant consideration along with everything else. For those like yourself who would appear not see the need, that's fine too. It would just be nice given that replacing the stock system causes all of us some apprehension considering installation and warranty issues. I'd much rather spend the 2-4k and not have to worry about either.

SBC_and_a_stick

A convertible sports car is the toughest environment for audio reproduction, for that I say, you need to built it even better! It has to be light, high output, low distortion, and small footprint.

So let's see what the top companies have done:
Bose (reverse motor)
B&O (waveguide) Audi S8
In general: a molded plastic ported enclosure instead of infinite baffle, and class D amplifiers

And I think that's basically it Car audio is so far from using the best technologies for the task.

hig4s

More like 35! I seriously considered and passed on Bose 901s back in 1977. Even in its day it wasn't that impressive. They made their name with the 901 pedestal series. They moved a lot of air and sounded good if positioned properly. They had to be on their 3ft pedestals, 18 inches from a side wall, and 12 inches from a back wall. They had to not be obstructed from the walls so the speakers could bounce and reverberate off the walls to create harmonics similar to those in at a live performance. If you didn't have the room to set them properly, and had to put them against a wall or in a bookcase because of space concerns, like you would with most speakers, they didn't sound any better than other mid priced units. Except of course they were not mid priced.


The whole theory was lots of full range speakers were better than lots of specific range speakers with cross over networks. This appeared to be true because lower and mid priced speakers used crappy components in their cross overs, but upper end Panasonic, Sansui, Harmon Kardon, Infinity and many other upper end speakers all had good cross over networks, and reproduced sound much better, with more range, less distortion, and many also with better efficiency than Bose did.

SBC_and_a_stick

That's just one design. Back then active crossovers did not exist and passive ones were fairly high distortion. Many speakers sounds like poo if you place them near a wall.

As applied in the C6, the Bose woofer is brilliant. A third party xmax of 5.3mm and an xmech of at least 7.5mm means it can move lots of air with low distortion. The paper cone matters little in this application as it only operates in the pistonic range. Combine that with the space optimizing cone and no 6.5" can touch it. Think that the average 6.5" cannot even have a linear operation of 5mm, and has nearly three times less surface area. For example, the Morel Elate was tested at only 2mm or so, just horrible. OEM 6.5" drivers are also around 2mm. All this means the factor Bose woofer can move 3 times more air than the better 6.5" speakers out there before producing 10% distortion, which starts to become audible. Many many times better than a Morel woofer for which people pay lots of money for.

rcallen484

I have to disagree with you there. In case you haven't noticed, there are some non-Vette guys here to badmouth anything and everything about Corvettes. Some are subtle about it, some aren't, but there are clearly some here with a agenda different from us Corvette enthusiasts.

hig4s

I have a set of 35 year old Kenwood 5 way speakers with passive crossovers that, as old and wore as they are, still sound better than most mid priced speakers. And back when they were new, their total distortion was considerably less than the Bose 901s with no crossovers.

ANTIVNOM

Agreed. I had one in another car and it blew just as bad as the one in my ZR1 does. Every speaker/system I've ever heard with their name on it sucked, home or auto. No exceptions.

SCM_Crash