The dealer who sold me the car told me that as the sound of my engine gets louder, the radio autmatically adjusted louder to drown it out...However I have not noticed anything different when the car gets going...Do I have to turn something on?? Or is it that difficult to notice??

 

Need to turn on Audiopilot (if you have the Bose system). Use the same **** on the right, push in, that you use to adjust base, treble, fader, etc.

I personally leave mine turned off though.

 

without the bose, it's the same... the lvl **** on the right side of the radio... hit it once & you will see ALC (auto lvl control) prolly set to off... you can turn the **** to make it lvl 1 - 3... but mine is also off permanently.

 

Without the Bose system it's called ALC. It has 3 levels, 1 being the least effect and 3 being the greatest. It actually adjusts based on your speed, not engine noise (Audiopilot might be different, I dont know).

Edit: damn you beat me by a couple seconds

 

I honestly can't tell the difference, if Autopilot is working or not. I'm disappointed at the Bose system, it doesn't seem to do anthing right.

 

the ALC on the base system works as advertised, it increases volume as speed increases. I set it at level 1, which adjusts the volume without being disruptive or unnecessarily loud

 

i dont think the adjustment on the bose is to adjust sound relative to speed. it turns on and option in the bose system where it listens to itself and readjust amp configurations for less distortion and better sound for each listener position in the car

 

why would anyone want to drown out the beautiful sound of this engine?

 

This is interesting...I thought that the Bose audiopilot was just a volume adjust kind of like the factory one, only Bose. I, like others, haven't noticed it doing anything at all. Where does this info I quoted from the other reply come from????

 

I could tell difference. and my gf noticed too.
Drivers can't notice that because they are so into driving 8s

 

It's not like the speed<->volume adjustments that my Miata stereo had... the Bose tends to boost the bass output to compensate for noise that it picks up with the cabin microphone. I can tell, but only at lower volumes and it's pretty subtle.

 

this feature sucks, is anyone really that lazy?

I'm also not thrilled about the quality of the Bose system. That was one of my big reasons for buying the Touring pkg... but that's my fault for not testing it enough.

 

To clarify: the base stereo has a "simple" speed volume adjust (1-3). It will increase the volume base on the cars velocity.

The Bose system has a proprietary system called Audiopilot that is supposed to increase the volume, bass, etc based on interior noise (from tire roar, wind, engine, etc.) It is most certainly noticeable, but then, you loose some control of the volume of the radio (not that this radio sounds good at all). I think it actually sounds better with the Audiopilot computer turned off (unless the volume is very low).

 

I turned off the Audiopilot feature within a few days of having my car. I don't find the Bose system that bad myself though. Maybe it is just too many years of listening to loud music.

 

Same goes for me on the Audiopilot -- It's exactly the opposite of unobtrusive, especially the way it messes with the tone contour by boosting the bass way too much for my taste.

Besides, when the motor is loud, that's what I want to hear! The radio is just there to keep you occupied while sitting at stoplights.

 

I set my ALC to 1 during the warm months when I drive with the windows down, and 0 in the winter. I like the feature alot. If I want to hear the engine, I turn the radio off.

 

my audiopilot only has an on/off setting, i have the bose system too btw. i like the way it boosts the bass when im sitting in the car alone, but as soon as my girlfriend gets in and i turn it down to hear what shes saying, the stereo gets loud again..... i turn it down again and it gets as loud as it waas initially.. frustrating with people in the car, but somewhat satisfying when im alone.

 

I wonder how this is? That half the people here can't discern any difference and the other half notice it so much that they turn it off because it's intrusive? I listen to every type of music, loud and soft, windows up/down, and I just cannot find the Audiopilot making a difference. Have I gone deaf? Or maybe my Bose is broken...

 

It's probably more about personal preference than anything else. I like a "flatter" EQ curve than most people I know when I listen to music, so the Audiopilot sounds too bass-heavy to me. It all depends on what you like, though.

 

i have to lean towards. this.. BOse has done soo well in other cars... i dont know.. but they really cheaped out... id rather have the FORD MUSTANGS. mach radio .. the crazy top of the line one... its so much better than the bose..

 

I agree, it's odd that some have noticed such a noticeable difference, and others (including me) can't tell if it's even on most of the time. I did use it for a while (testing it out, really) as a "loudness" control at low volumes - it would boost the bass at low volumes to compensate for rolloff of the woofers. However, I also noticed this happening when it was turned off. I have experimented a bit more since, and it seems that I have random adjustments of bass level in my car, regardless of whether Audiopilot is on or off. (By the way, I do enjoy good home stereo sound, and I'm pretty sure I know what I hear. This issue is very obvious.) I wonder if my system is malfunctioning. Is there any way to test this? I don't trust any dealership to be able to address this issue without some objective testing procedure.

I have noticed one reliable (predictable) function of my Audiopilot system. The sound does automatically get louder above 6000 rpm. I love the sound of the engine up there, but it's fun having the rotary wail competing with Red Barchetta. (shifting and drifting...) :D

 

I keep my ALC on 3 due to having more fullness in the music even though the fluctuating volume is quite irritating.

 

Wow. So maybe I'm not crazy then. I've noticed the same semi-random bass boosting. Today I was switching Audiopilot on and off, just to give it another chance in light of the discussion here, and I swear I heard the same "loudness control" effect whether it was on or off. It was on a Soul Coughing track with some decent bass, and the Bose system was doing it's best to convince me I had a trunk full of subs.

You've convinced me to do more scientific testing. Time to dig out Moving Pictures...

 

Here is a link about the Bose system that might help explain how it works:

http://www.bose.com/controller?event...tive/index.jsp

 

BUMP

SO I got my RX-8 a few weeks ago, and I can indeed hear the Audiopilot system working (the Bose mic/cancellation method, not the ALC system), but I was wondering if anyone has tried this....

Make a CD with all bits at zero (i.e. pure digital silence), play the CD and turn the Audiopilot on. In theory, shouldn't the system try to cancel all the road noise picked up by the mic, leaving you with a much quieter cabin (say for talking on the cell phone with the windows down etc.????

-C