I've been looking at 8's for a while now, and my one major gripe is the deck dosen't come out! I would consider myself an audiophile, and like to have a totally clean system with everything amped. Replacing speakers is the easy part, but a clean signal sounds to be much harder in these cars. I am saying this all within reason as well, of course with a few grand to spend anything is doable, but is there anything feasible that would please an audiophile?

 

One problem you'll run into, even if you do some custom plastic or fiberglass work to mount a new deck, is that the factory head unit also runs the climate controls. I'm not kidding, it really does. Check out this thread:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-interior-audio-electronics-24/normal-heating-ac-controls-not-work-head-unit-removed-72957/

A lot of people on here have done quite a lot with the stock audio system -- I'd recommend digging around in here for a bit if that's something that your choice is contingent on.

I have to admit, though, that with all the mechanical music from the engine and tranny, the 8's cabin isn't exactly an audiophile listening room. Kind of like listening to your stereo with the vacuum cleaner running.

 

This all depends on a few things.

I am an audiophile myself and not entirely satisfied that you can change out your deck without some major changes to the RX8. However, they do put a decent system in it that seems to be OK for me. If you like the Bose sound, the upgraded Bose system does a decent job.

However, I find myself really enjoying just turning off the stereo, put the windows down, open the sunroof and listen to the quiet roar of the rotary and feeling the wind in my hair.

The true joy of the RX8 for an audiophile is listening to the sweet sound of the rotary and nothing else. Not the typical loud knocking sound of your 4 cycle otto.

I even notice that at low speeds with the windows down, I can hear the crickets and birds chirping at 25-35 MPH. Try that in a Mustang, the engine will drown that out (and scare the birds in the process),.

So, in short, the system that is put in for an audiophile is passable (and fine by me to listen to NPR or sports talk) but the joy of sound from the RX8 is to NOT turn on the radio. Let the car speak for itself... you will enjoy those sounds much more.

 

An audiophile can be happy with almost any car. All is needed is a well put together audio system that's tuned to do what it's capable of & suppose to.

 

Better off getting a Lexus or something. the stock tyres on the 8 are very very noisy, and as wintergrn pointed out, the cabin is very noisy as well.

 

The stock head unit's output is "pretty good". I cannot evaluate how good, as I didn't listen to the stock unit and a high-end aftermarket unit side by side.

I don't know whether you have the Bose headunit or not, but the Bose headunit is definitely flat at the preamp outputs (which need to be summed using an aftermarket adapter). I *think* (and really hope) that the base (built-in amp) headunit is also flat (without the ALC and EQ) throughout the volume range. In the case of the base headunit, you need a line output converter (like the David Navone NE-774V).

David Navone claims that with his NE-774V and your typical headunit, you can get excellent sound out of the deck ("competition quality").

Ok, so it may be flat, but now: how good is the DAC on the stock headunit? How susceptible is it to voltage fluctuations? How much does the built-in preamp (in the base headunit) color the sound, despite the high-impedance line output converter?

An aftermarket headunit *can* certainly have a better sound.

You will find, though, that in an automotive environment, you have a quadrillion gazillion issues that will drag down your sound quality before the headunit becomes an issue:

* phasing issues between front and rear speakers
* phasing issues between left and right speakers, because you don't sit in the center of the car
* "pulled to the left" soundstage, because you don't sit in the center of the car
* listening to mids off-axis, if they are mounted on the doors
* quality of the amps powering your speakers, and whether the amps really produce clean output at rated power
* vibrating door panels that resonate and affect your frequency response output
* shape of the car and the interior shapes can create funky frequency response dips or peaks
* front speakers typically not beefy enough to play low enough in the front, causing your sub to play a higher frequency range, and pulling the bass away from the soundstage and towards the back of the car
* highway driving increases in-cabin noise, causing you to turn up your system higher. If you hit the limit or approach it, you may get strained sound or bass bottoming out, depending on your speakers
* quality of the ground connection of your amps
* quality of the wires, and the noise picked up by them

I think the only major thing going against the RX-8 is that there is less space in the car to work with than, say, a big SUV. This limits your options for kick-panels, for example, which is a popular way of aiming the speakers towards the listener to alleviate the "soundstage left-of-center syndrome." The RX-8 still doesn't eliminate that option, of course.

Nice things that the RX-8 DOES have gong for it: the stock alternator is pretty damn beefy (~100A), which means you can handle more power with less strain on the electrical system. The stock door locations can accomodate gigantor mids (due to the Bose 9" woofers), so you can stick a system with 7" and 8" mids in there no problem.

So, as you can see, there's a whole lot of work to do in a car to get it to the audiophile level. Most every issue above is solvable with one thing or another. Heck, the RX-8 has a location for a center speaker, so you can have a more naturally sounding center soundstage, with a clever system.

The big question is: what do you consider audiophile? (And after that, it is: how much are you willing to spend?)

In other words, one person can consider the top-of-the-line system from the mall Bose or Cambridge Soundworks store audiophile. Another person will settle no less than for a $2000 set of speakers, a $1000 turntable with an $800 cartridge, with a $1000 preamp and a $400 1-meter RCA cable connecting the two. And that's just the low end of the grade.

I think that it is possible to approach and exceed sound quality in the RX-8 that most average people will consider audiophile, even using the stock headunit. Excellent fronts, excellent amps, deadening everywhere, quality cable, quality EQ/signal processing units and a whole lot of tuning can get you there. That, however, is a whole lot of money and a whole lot of work.

Speakers in the kicks, horn-loaded component drivers, ribbon tweeters are some of the other things that can further improve the sound and the imaging. That's even more money and even more work.

 

Ah, I missed your last sentence. By saying "anything feasible", you mean probably "less than a few grand." I think that for about a grand and a half (without installation) and using the stock head unit, you can have a great-sounding system that will please an audiophile enough. A multi-band parametric or a 30-band EQ can help you smoothen out funkiness in the frequency response and dial in a more "neutral", less fatiguing sound (maybe add a little warmth or a little brightness to taste).

I think there's sets of speakers out there that may not go very loud, but deliver a pretty clear sound with a pleasing tonality. It really depends on the taste.

I myself am shooting for a high sound quality system in my RX-8, and so far the system is running me $1600-2000 (aaah!!!), but I'm hoping it will sound great. Using the stock headunit.

 

I think it's working 97M! My system ( not only my opinion) is audiophile. You find my system in the -Interior, Audio, and..../Pictures of Bose Door Woofer/- thread.
I don't use the factory head unit. One of the reason that i needed hi voltage output for the amps to get better sign/noise ratio.

 

I dont know how well it works, but if you want the stock unit to be more like an aftermarket one in terms of SQ, u should check out the JL audio cleansweep. Yes, it is expensive, but [probably cheaper than reworking the dash to fit a regular aftermarket HU

 

The 8 is not that bad for a sports car. Give a 350z a try and get back to me.