titaniumgrey

Ok , I use to have a titanium grey base model and I noticed it sounded ALOT better than the bose system in my new lightning yellow GT. Anyone have any comments on this ? Because seems weird the base model sounds better than the higher end one.

PaulieWalnuts

The base setup in my wife's Protege sounds better than the Bose Premium in my Millenia. I looked at the speakers from inside the Protege's trunk and they're Pioneer. Maybe the base setup in the 8 is Pioneer. Mazda used to use Clarion and they make great audio products.

emailists

is your new system broken in yet? When speakers are new they are stiff and don't move as much air and can be lean sounding. That being said, I never heard the stock audio system.

loco4rx8

Neither system sounds particularly good. In fairness, I've only heard the Bose system while sitting in a car waiting for a couple test drives. I wasn't impressed enough to upgrade from the Sport package.

Fact is, Bose just isn't all that. I would never spend extra money for that name.

flatso

Bose must offer auto manufacturer's good incentives to include their systems because by and large they are about the worst OEM sounds that you can buy, yet they are in many new vehicles. I wish Mazda had used the Mark Levison's system.

TM45

The vase system is pretty good, I think. I did not find the Bose worth the extra--couldn't see an improvement.

Kel Rx8

thats strange mine is the total opposite
my friend has a gt like mine and he said mine hits harder and
some of his friends said the same.
my bose sounds excellent no need for a system right now im gonna save some money for now.

rotarygod

The only thing BOSE is good at is marketing. They really suck in the sound quality business.

RX-jimenez

God!!! so why they are in the market???? i think they are not to bad....or remember the bose 901....

bochawa

I was leery of the BOSE system after reading all the negative comments here and was expecting to have to swap out some of the speakers - but after getting the car and adjusting the levels and turning off audiopilot, I think the BOSE systems sounds quite good. Even the minidiscs recorded in LP4 sound good to me.

Spin9k

^ Nice animated rotary there bochawa!

rotarygod

I guess my standards are just higher. For the price of Bose products, theirs should be too.

If the 901's were so good, why did they come with an equalization circuit that HAD to be used with them? It's all about marketing and people believe it. That's why they are around.

MP3Guy

First, like the choice of a car, sound is a very subjective thing. As most of you know, I own an MP3 Protege, which has the mother of all sound systems built into it standard- seven interior speakers, a powered sub, and a head unit with more adjustments available than many home systems. But yet, I am not truly satisfied with it. I prefer a "warmer" sound for my music, and no matter what I do, the system always sounds too "bright."

However, the massive power has it's advantages. You can drive with all four windows rolled down, and it will easily overcome wind and traffic noise with no hint of distortion. But the system never really grabbed me as a whole.

RX8MAN04

whatever the base model sounds better ,what are you smok'in.
gt has 300 watts base has what 100. my 2 cents

flatso

sometimes too much bass can muddy the sound. The base does not have a lot of bass.

bureau13

Unless you always drive around with it cranked "to 11" that has zip to do with sound quality.

jds

QUOTE]Originally posted by RX8MAN04
whatever the base model sounds better ,what are you smok'in.
gt has 300 watts base has what 100. my 2 cents [/QUOTE]

newtlicious

I thought the bose sounded a bit crummy in my car as well. I soon discovered the audio pilot feature. This woke up the sound tremendously!! I've found the best eq settings to be Treble+6 and Bass+4 for a wide variety of music. The audio pilot compensates for interior noise and makes it more "punchy" I think it sounds great. It's like the "loudness" feature on other systems.

TM45

The base system sounds pretty good to me, but then again, my first radio was a floor model Admiral, so maybe I am behind the times.

My son is young and a certified automotive audio installer, though, and he says the Bose is not as good as the base system, so I went with that recommendation.

psionic1

Speakers will mature, and loosen up a bit after some use. I think someone already said that, but I totally agree, so I thought that I'd mention it. I am a home audio/vintage audio freak with no less than 10 sets of speakers in my house. They all have very different qualities. I have one pair of new Warfedales that sounded like crap when I got them, but after about six months really started to sound great.

I also agree that more wattage does not equal sound quality. That is BS that all the salesmen of audio would have you believe. But my Marantz amp that puts out 50 watts per channel sounds better than just about any new, shiny plastic heap that you can buy at the good guys.

Sound quality to me is measured by how well the frequencies are seperated from one another. You can easily kill that with bad speaker placement. Bass needs to be crisp or breathy, not crunchy. Mids tend to be brassy and harsh, so I appreciate the Mid control in the base 8. The highs should be clear, but not peircing.

The trick to a good sound is NOT more power, but a smart set up. Sound waves behave in certain ways, and adhere to certain laws.

Want better sound? The first place to look is at the speakers, period. The second would be the head unit. then, add more power.

I don't think the sound in my 8 is very good, but waiting to see how the speakers open up after some time...

my 2cents

SMigneco

I have the Bose system and I think it stinks. When I was having my leather put into my current 8, I had a loaner 8 with the base system and it sounded much better to me than the Bose system.

I have a pretty nice setup at home and about 9 years ago I used to sell audio equipment so I kind of know good sound when I hear it. At home I am running seperate amps for front and center channel speakers and I have re-routed the power that is supposed to be used for my front speakers from my receiver to the rear speakers. Front speakers are Martin Logan's 5' tall electrostatic speakers and I have to tell you they are some of the cleanest sounding speakers I have heard. Props to Martin Logan! If anyone is in the market for some high quality home speakers I strongly suggest you check them out.

But, if I had the choice between Bose or base system I would choose the base system in the 8. Where I used to sell audio equipment we had a saying for the Bose: "No highs...No lows...I'ts got to be Bose.":D

Just my 2¢

SMigneco

One more thing I wanted to add...

What psionic1 said about wattage not meaning better sound quality is absolutely correct. Amperage makes a big difference. The more amps the better.

I can setup a 50 watt system that will sound better than a 300 watt system. There are many factors to consider when setting up an audio system.

I never use my sub when listening to home music. It is strictly for movies.

Mikelikes2drive

I like my bose system. i sat in the base model and my car, and at first yeah the base model sounded a little better but now i believe my bose sounds better. maybe it is because it has settled in but everyone who goes in my car always compliments me on my sound quality.

rotarygod

Somone has audio component importance completely backwards. In the true world of hifi audio, the most important parts of the entire signal chain begin at the source. The father you move away from the source, the less important it gets. In other words the head unit is the most important piece then the amps and then the speakers last. This doesn't mean that they aren't important though. If you could upgrade the head unit and add a nice amp, you'd be surprised at how much better the factory speakers sound. Just remember the saying, "crap in, crap out". If you are putting crap into the speakers, it will come out that way whether it is a good speaker or a bad speaker. The thing that makes the Bose systems sound so bad is their use of built in eq. Those guys wouldn't know good sound if an orchestra drove over them. A little tuning can go a long way or it can kill everything. Unfortunately Bose kills it. I guarantee I could make a Bose speaker sound good. I just couldn't use the rest of their equipment to do it.

CryoMax

Heh, that's exactly the same settings I've settled on with my Bose system, although I'm not convinced on the AutoPilot stuff yet -- I haven't been able to notice a difference there.

I also took the advice someone else posted somewhere around here, and shifted the fade to the rear by 2-4, I think. That definitely seemed to make a big improvement.

...Paul

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

I haven't heard the Bose in the 8, but if the base stereo with it's crappy paper speakers and foil-thin baskets sounds better for some than the Bose, then the Bose must be real bad.

I have a hard time to believe that the Bose could be beaten by the base stereo. Something must be seriously wrong there...